Basant Nanda

I recently saw Lawrence of Arabia at half.com for $21.00. Before ordering, I looked at the feedback for the guy who put up the DVD for sale and I saw that there were a lot of complaints that this particular seller pockets the money and never ships the merchandise.

My question is:
Does half.com protect buyers from getting ripped off by the seller and vice versa? What is the best course of action when the seller never ships the merchandise and doesn't respond to e-mails? A lot of the bad reviews say that half.com doesn't intervene on the ripped-off party's behalf. Can we dispute the charges with the CC company?

I am a bit leery of ordering with them or Amazon's Z-shops after reading the negative reviews. Am I being a bit too paranoid?

TexasGuy

Half.com has a "buyer protection" policy for ripoffs like that or for merchandise that does not match the quality stated (like shipping you a badly scratched DVD after advertising "like new" condition). Read here:

http://www.half.com/help/index.cfm?h...on=guarantee_p

You are limited to 1 claim per month and lifetime totals of 3 claims or $750, whichever comes first. The seller has to have a 3 or higher rating for you to make a claim (or have no rating at all).

I made a claim once. The DVD was horribly scratched and wouldn't play after being listed as "like new".

I wouldn't be worried about buying. The seller has to prove he shipped it to you. That's why Half.com reimburses seller for the cost of delivery confirmation. If the seller didn't buy delivery confirmation (pockets the money) and thus can't prove he shipped it, you've got a good case with Half.com.



[Edited by TexasGuy on 05-15-01 at 04:54 PM]

J-Dubya

I think if you're going to save less than $10, why not just go buy it new? I've been trying to get a refund for a 5.99 book that I ordered in february on half. Keep to the highly rated sellers.

Basant Nanda

Thank you both for the advice. I ordered LOA from a guy who listed it brand new in the original shrinkwrap for 22.99. I used the $5 coupon and received it for around $20. It was just as the seller had described -- Brand New and still in the shrinkwrap. Not bad for a brand new copy of LOA.

The movie itself was one of the best I have ever seen...but that is a topic for the Talk forum.

IIG

As an upcoming buyer on half.com, I have a question on sellers. What is the golden rule on buying from sellers with at least a certain number rating? I refuse to buy from anyone below 4 any way, but I feel that anyone from 4-4.9 are potentially capable of ripping me off, especially from reading at least one negative review from others that have dealt with them. I don't really trust those ranked with a 5 either, because many have only sold 15 items or so. Any advice to calm my nerves?

centermonroe

I've sold over 200 items, and three 4/5s out of 53 5s have dropped me to a 4.9

I would never rip anybody off. It makes me sad that because some people do not understand 5 level service that I would be considered potentially scam-worthy for a 4.9

lancer1

I was somewhat reluctant to go with half.com but with a $10 off $50 I had to try it. I picked up a book and three DVD's:

- Bring it On
- Keeping the Faith
- Stargate:SE (upgrade)

All were listed as "Like New" and I chose sellers which had a 4.8+ rating. I placed the order on the 5/25 and two of the movies showed up on my doorstep this afternoon 5/29. Take into consideration that Monday was a holiday, I was freakin' amazed.

BIO was still shrunkwrapped with the security tags still on the case and KtF was in mint condition. In all three, I paid 50% less than retail and 20% less than most online deals.

I have to say that I am very pleased with the sellers and will be shopping for other titles in the future.

God... I hope I didn't hex myself by reporting!

nlane

The downside of the buyer protection plan lately is that Half.com is taking virtually forever to act on it. I am chasing two orders from late February (a little over $16) that were likely never shipped (same seller). So far Half.com keeps saying they are on top of it but haven't done anything in two months. Last year I had a similar problem that was resolved in a few days. Others seem to be having that same problem of delays now. Is this another cash flow problem like brandsforless and giftcertificates.com? Am I just unlucky or is this a trend?

Movie_Man

I would consider anything above 4.5 as very good, but you need to read the individual comments. I have a whole bunch of 5/5 ratings, with comments like "Great condition, just as described" and "Super fast service". But one person had to rate me a 3 with the comment of "not like new, CD scratched"
Now who are you going to believe, the one person that said something bad, or the 20+ people that were super happy? Now I know that disc I sent was in great shape when I sent it, and maybe there was a trivial scratch on it, but the point is that if there is only 1 or 2 bad comments, and 20 happy people, then go for it. There are some people that you just can't please, especially considering the nature of used merchandise.

klh

I sell on half.com but I've been shifting my business to Amazon. I make less money, but I feel better about the company and the transaction. Amazon gives buyers a way to contact me (and me them) if there are any questions and that makes me feel better.

Half.com pissed me off with allowing Netflix to mis-represent their DVDs as "good" so they could plaster $7.99 deals all over their site. Netflix sells "acceptable" DVDs by half's standards! Plus their 3 transaction limit on guarantees is a joke! Why should I have to suffer because they are concerned with fraud! I wonder what Visa's stance is on undelivered goods from half.com sellers. I would just go to them and not even bother with half's system.

ellone

You also have to consider that people who are unhappy with what they got are more likely to leave a comment.

Some guy left me a 3/5 on half without any explanation as to why.

Jadzia

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GJKowal

Quote:

You also have to consider that people who are unhappy with what they got are more likely to leave a comment.

Some guy left me a 3/5 on half without any explanation as to why.

Some guy left me a 3 because the DVD didn't have a chapter list insert: but it's one of those cheapy MGM titles that don't come with inserts!

I was also upset once when a person have me a low rating because he said it took 3 weeks to arrive. If he would have looked at the post-mark he would have determined it wasn't my fault, but the post office's. I ship all my orders out the same day or the next business day as required by Half.

However, even with those two unjustified negatives, my average is still 4.9.

It just sucks that Half doesn't allow you to respond to negative comments.

Eric F

Most people don't even rate me. Those that do usually give me a 5.

I've purchased lots off stuff yoo and haven't been ripped off yet. I've occasionally given a 4 if the seller doesn't ship the next business day like they're supposed to (look at the postmark). What really bugs me is when folks ship paperback books (especially the larger comic TPBs and Graphic Novels) in manilla envelopes and I received it all scrunched up in my mailbox. Why is it so hard to put backing on it?

I think I gave a 3 once when someone said a book was in "brand new" condition and it wasn't. Not even close.