Amazon Marketplace Sellers.

Amazon offers new DVDs and CDs for sale, often at reasonable prices. So
far, I have had no problems when dealing directly with Amazon.

However, when Amazon does not have access to a factory-sealed DVD or CD,
these titles are often available new and used from Amazon "Marketplace"
sellers. These Marketplace sellers are independent sellers who operate
under the protection of the Amazon website, but these sellers are
responsible for delivering their products to the customer.

As a type of disclaimer, Amazon makes available customer feedback about
individual Marketplace sellers. While most of the feedback is good,
about 1 in 25 feedback posts reads like these random examples:

"I never received the DVD set I ordered. I had to repeatedly email these
people to find out where my stuff was. Finally, I just asked for a
refund. My worst online shopping experience!"

"I ordered a DVD from them and never saw it. I emailed them twice then
finally got a response saying they were looking into my issue. PRODUCT A
NO SHOW! Still have not gotten my $$$ back."

Dealing with Amazon Marketplace sellers can be risky and the odds of
getting ripped off are much greater than dealing directly with Amazon.
Amazon does offer a guarantee, but getting your money back involves a
complicated and time consuming procedure.

Here is my question: Has anyone here been ripped off by an Amazon
Marketplace seller and, if so, how did you rectify this problem?

Scot Gardner

Having sold many books on Marketplace, I'd like to point out that one of
the reasons buyers leave the type of feedback you're seeing is that Amazon
doesn't make it quite clear that Media Mail shipping, which they call
"standard" shipping, can often take 3 or 4 weeks to arrive. Many buyers
therefore have an unrealistic expectation that they'll get their book, CD,
etc. in a few days and leave this type of "never arrived" feedback without
even contacting the seller first.

We even included a lengthy explanation of shipping issues in our initial
order confirmation e-mails and still received ocassional "never received"
feedback within a week or two of shipping orders that subsequently arrived.

So, while I'm sure there are some really unscrupulous, or outright criminal
sellers on Marketplace, my feeling is that most of the feedback you're
seeing is the result of USPS delays, especially when the seller's overall
rating is 4 or higher. If you don't want to chance a long wait, I would
order everything with "expedited" shipping, and don't buy from Marketplace
sellers who don't offer it. And avoid anyone with a rating lower than 4.


Dave

"Scot Gardner" <> wrote in
news:20040213110753.932$:

> Amazon offers new DVDs and CDs for sale, often at reasonable prices. So
> far, I have had no problems when dealing directly with Amazon.
>
> However, when Amazon does not have access to a factory-sealed DVD or CD,
> these titles are often available new and used from Amazon "Marketplace"
> sellers. These Marketplace sellers are independent sellers who operate
> under the protection of the Amazon website, but these sellers are
> responsible for delivering their products to the customer.
>
> As a type of disclaimer, Amazon makes available customer feedback about
> individual Marketplace sellers. While most of the feedback is good,
> about 1 in 25 feedback posts reads like these random examples:
>
> "I never received the DVD set I ordered. I had to repeatedly email these
> people to find out where my stuff was. Finally, I just asked for a
> refund. My worst online shopping experience!"
>
> "I ordered a DVD from them and never saw it. I emailed them twice then
> finally got a response saying they were looking into my issue. PRODUCT A
> NO SHOW! Still have not gotten my $$$ back."
>
> Dealing with Amazon Marketplace sellers can be risky and the odds of
> getting ripped off are much greater than dealing directly with Amazon.
> Amazon does offer a guarantee, but getting your money back involves a
> complicated and time consuming procedure.
>
> Here is my question: Has anyone here been ripped off by an Amazon
> Marketplace seller and, if so, how did you rectify this problem?
>
>
>
>

Dave

Scot Gardner wrote:

> Here is my question: Has anyone here been ripped off by an Amazon
> Marketplace seller and, if so, how did you rectify this problem?

Yes, it just happened to me. I ordered a DVD boxed set on Dec. 21st.
Amazon sends you an e-mail confirm with the counter-party's e-dress.
They say to wait 10-14 days (for good old USPS) then if the item hasn't
arrived, take it up with your seller.

When the item didn't arrive, I attempted to contact my seller. After
five e-mails went unanswered I contacted Amazon about their "A-to-z
Guarantee". They responded within 24 hours that they would "look into
the matter" and the refunded my money within about ten days.

At least for me, their system worked. I'd still have rather gotten the
DVD's...

trent
--
I read it on the Internet, therefore it must be true.

trent

Dave <> wrote:

>Having sold many books on Marketplace, I'd like to point out that one of
>the reasons buyers leave the type of feedback you're seeing is that Amazon
>doesn't make it quite clear that Media Mail shipping, which they call
>"standard" shipping, can often take 3 or 4 weeks to arrive. Many buyers
>therefore have an unrealistic expectation that they'll get their book, CD,
>etc. in a few days and leave this type of "never arrived" feedback without
>even contacting the seller first.

This is the biggest problem, from my (seller) point of view: having no
idea that something is wrong until the bad feedback shows up. Each buyer
gets a confirmation email from me stating when the book was shipped and
this provides an easy way for the buyer to contact me if he has to.
Fortunately, problems occur in much less than 1% of my sales, but an
unhappy buyer is much more likely to leave feedback than a happy one.

Some things to keep in mind:
"Standard" shipping is Media Mail. This can easily take 2 weeks or more to
get across the country, and even longer to Alaska and Hawaii. Even if the
seller puts the book in the mail the same day you buy it (as I often do),
you are paying for slow USPS service.

"Expedited" shipping is either First Class or Priority Mail, almost always
the latter in my case. This is what you should pay for if you want your
item in a hurry. Note that a smart seller will usually offer a free
upgrade from Standard shipping to First Class mail for CDs or DVDs.

The Post Office does screw up. I had one package where the PO ripped
everything off the outside, including the shipping label (luckily I wrote
the return address directly on the package), so now I hand-write the
shipping address on every package.

Even though most buyers praise the quality of my packaging, nothing can
stop the Post Office from mutilating a package if they want to. These
problems CAN be resolved if the buyer would say something.

Another time, the PO returned a package to me as "undeliverable, no such
address". I double-checked with the buyer, and the address was correct,
and I re-sent it--the second time it was delivered. Good communication
from the buyer alerted me to the delay in receiving the package, and good
communication from me kept the buyer happy.

Check your emails from Amazon, too! One buyer wrote to me asking where his
book was, but the sale was never completed; due to some problem, _Amazon_
cancelled the sale, so the book was never paid for. For every sale, Amazon
collects the money, and then pays the Marketplace seller. Amazon also
cancels a sale when they can't collect. Amazon does alert buyers when this
happens. But buyers will blame the Marketplace seller.

And there's always bound to be a few problem sellers in such a large
population, just like on ebay. My advice is to not only check the feedback
rating, but try to 'read between the lines' in the sellers' comments for
each item. I'm also a frequent buyer on Amazon Marketplace, and I will
avoid a seller who has no comments or just generic comments on the item
he's selling. And if you end up with a problem that's not resolved, you
can get your money back from Amazon.

Robinandersen9


--
Reply address munged. You can figure it out.

Robin Andersen

My biggest problem is the disconnect between the ad and the product.

When an individual or small business sells something on eBay, it's usually
a good bet that the item physically exists waiting to be shipped.

On numerous occasions I've ordered small electronics or entertainment
media (video or audio) only to find out, sometimes _weeks_ later, that
they don't actually _have_ the item listed as available for sale.

For instance: two weeks ago I ordered an imported "special edition"
version of a domestic CD which came with a bonus DVD of music videos.

It's supposed to be here already, per the terms posted on the Amazon web
site detailing when the dealer is required to ship and what the acceptable
delivery window is given the selected shipment method.

So I email them. Two days later, an email appears saying the item is "on
back order" and would I like to keep the order open. Mind you, they have
known about my order for 2 weeks, and only told me of this situation when
I wrote to find out why I haven't heard or received anything.

I'm normally pertty tolerant of this sort of thing, but after the Nth
Amazon Marketplace dealer pulling the same ****, I blew a fuse. I'm sure
it didn't accomplish anything but letting me blow off steam, but I'm
getting a refund and a contrite apology without explanation.

Caveat emptor. By the way, this dealer's rating was 4.6 out of 5.

Mike S.

"trent" <> wrote in message
news:...
Scot Gardner wrote:

> Here is my question: Has anyone here been ripped off by an Amazon
> Marketplace seller and, if so, how did you rectify this problem?

<<Yes, it just happened to me. I ordered a DVD boxed set on Dec. 21st.
Amazon sends you an e-mail confirm with the counter-party's e-dress.
They say to wait 10-14 days (for good old USPS) then if the item hasn't
arrived, take it up with your seller.>>

<<When the item didn't arrive, I attempted to contact my seller. After
five e-mails went unanswered I contacted Amazon about their "A-to-z
Guarantee". They responded within 24 hours that they would "look into
the matter" and the refunded my money within about ten days.>>

<<At least for me, their system worked. I'd still have rather gotten
the DVD's... trent>>


The problem with having Amazon fix the problem is that the Amazon
website says, "Buyers are limited to a lifetime maximum of three
claims." It appears that the odds of getting ripped off are around 1 in
25, so you may need to make more than 3 claims in a lifetime. I asked
about disputing the charge with my credit card company and Amazon sent
me an email with the following information:

"The A-to-Z Guarantee claim, once submitted, gives us the ability to
refund you, as well as to investigate the seller. Buyers are limited to
a lifetime maximum of three claims."

"Please know that disputing the charge with your credit card company
would make you ineligible for the A-to-z Guarantee. Filing for the
guarantee in such a case allows us to uphold our high standards for our
seller community. That said, the decision of whether to dispute charges
or apply for the A-to-Z Guarantee is an individual one. However, if you
will dispute the charges with your credit card company, you will still
be eligible for the three claims."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...935609-8125526

Scot Gardner

"Robin Andersen" <RobinAndersen9_aol.com@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:...
<<"Expedited" shipping is either First Class or Priority Mail, almost
always the latter in my case. This is what you should pay for if you
want your item in a hurry. Note that a smart seller will usually offer a
free upgrade from Standard shipping to First Class mail for CDs or
DVDs.>>


My seller promised: "Free fast 1st class upgrade! You will love this CD
as well as our Super Fast service!!!" Order supposedly shipped 2 weeks
ago and I still have not received my CD. So much for the "1st class
upgrade."

The seller's remedy: "We will provide you with a refund as soon as you
receive our CD and return it back to us."

Pathetic!

Scot Gardner

"Dave" <> wrote in message
news:Xns948E567322BC0dsilbermanhotmailcom@64.164.9 8.49...

<<So, while I'm sure there are some really unscrupulous, or outright
criminal sellers on Marketplace, my feeling is that most of the feedback
you're seeing is the result of USPS delays, especially when the seller's
overall rating is 4 or higher. If you don't want to chance a long wait,
I would order everything with "expedited" shipping, and don't buy from
Marketplace sellers who don't offer it. And avoid anyone with a rating
lower than 4.>>


Thanks for the advice.

I am now convinced that the Amazon Marketplace is infested with
unscrupulous thieves and vultures who will lie and cheat in order to con
unsuspecting Amazon customers out of their money. Getting ripped off for
$15-$25 is just like getting an undeserved parking ticket: You hate to
pay it, but going to court costs you even more in lost time and lost
income.

I think it's the same with the Amazon Marketplace and its many
unscrupulous sellers who know that most people will not complain when
they are cheated out of small amounts of money. It's just too much
trouble to obtain justice.

What a racket! Unethical Marketplace sellers can continually defraud
people while hiding behind the perceived respectability of the Amazon
website.

Scot Gardner

In article <c0jsn7$t1a$>, says...

> On numerous occasions I've ordered small electronics or entertainment
> media (video or audio) only to find out, sometimes _weeks_ later, that
> they don't actually _have_ the item listed as available for sale.

[...]

> I'm normally pertty tolerant of this sort of thing, but after the Nth
> Amazon Marketplace dealer pulling the same ****, I blew a fuse. I'm sure
> it didn't accomplish anything but letting me blow off steam, but I'm
> getting a refund and a contrite apology without explanation.
>
> Caveat emptor. By the way, this dealer's rating was 4.6 out of 5.

I've had pretty mixed luck with Amazon Marketplace sellers. I recently
ordered a book from one, then when it hadn't shown up after a month, I
realized I'd failed to check the seller's feedback before ordering. Upon
doing so, a pattern emerged quickly: items never shipped, then seller
claimed they were "lost in the mail" and either a replacement was
shipped, or the buyer got stiffed with no further communication. Sure
enough, when I emailed the seller, he claimed it had been shipped, and
said a replacement would be in the mail shortly. It actually did show up
a couple of days later, fortunately, because since it was for only a few
dollars, I was unwilling to call in one of my three lifetime-allotted A-
to-Z Guarantees (the fact that one is limited to three claims, period,
ought to be an indication of the confidence Amazon places in its
Marketplace sellers' integrity). Another book I ordered recently from a
different seller arrived quickly, but the condition had been completely
misrepresented. This guy has actually had the nerve to email me
afterward and ask me to post positive feedback for our transaction,
which needless to say I will not be doing.

OTOH, when Blue Underground's limited-edition DVD boxset "The Mondo Cane
Collection" was first released, there was a Marketplace seller who was
offering new, sealed copies for about $60, a huge discount off the $150
list price and almost $20 cheaper than anyone else was selling it for
online. I ordered one, expecting to get an email saying he'd sold out,
but sure enough it showed up about a week later. It was in perfect
condition, too, a big plus since it was released with an attractive but
very fragile plastic slipcase, which many buyers reported damage to
before it was even taken out of the shrinkwrap.

Dave

Dave Garrett

"Mike S." <> wrote in message
news:c0jsn7$t1a$...
<<...after the Nth Amazon Marketplace dealer pulling the same ****, I
blew a fuse. I'm sure it didn't accomplish anything but letting me blow
off steam, but I'm getting a refund and a contrite apology without
explanation.>>


Right now, I'm trying to get a valid response to my Amazon question: How
many characters can be used to rate a Marketplace seller? Amazon email
says 80 characters ("Your comments are limited to 80 characters, so do
your best to keep them succinct."), but the actual form says 200
characters. I have experimented with my seller feedback and the form
actually accepts 200 characters. (Spaces are counted as characters.) I
have also noticed that other ****ed off people have responded with
feedback which uses over 190 characters.

Therefore, my seller feedback, as seen below, completely fits in the
Amazon 200-character box, with no characters cut off at the end:

BUYER BEWARE!!! Read ALL feedback!!! Seller has MANY undelivered CDs!!!
Seller promises: "Free fast 1st class upgrade" and "Super Fast" service.
LIES!!! Ordered 2 weeks ago & still no CD. WATCH OUT!!!

Scot Gardner