Re-wrapped CDs sold as "NEW"

It's getting a little tense in here.

So you keep the topseal on to mislead the customer and it's up to them to figure out it's a reseal. OK!

 

Have you ever opened a factory sealed CD at the top? It very often leaves a sticky residue on the case. It's actually often easier to open the case on the bottom hinge.

But, again. I think you continue to miss the bigger picture here. These CD's were not randomly opened and re-sealed for the purpose of tricking people. They were only opened at a customer's request, if we didn't have a promo available.

Maybe if you had worked in a music store and interacted with customers you would have a better understanding of this issue and wouldn't be so judgemental.

 

There is DEFINITELY a limit on how many times you can go to the Amazon A-Z well before they close your account. This is true EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT FOR THE COMPLAINTS. So use it with discretion. The number of times is an Amazon secret (the putative number is 5, but that can be overriden at Amazon's discretion), and differs depending on the nature of your account (how many orders, how often, price, etc.) But you can get blacklisted for overusing A-Z.

Complaining to a seller does NOT entail an A-Z strike. Only if Amazon has to intervene do you get an A-Z strike.

Sellers get an A-Z strike any time an A-Z case is opened EVEN IF THE SELLER WINS THE CASE. And they never go away. So these are bad for sellers.

 

Some of the big used sellers on Amazon reshrink EVERYTHING they sell. They sell it with honest grading (used), but ship resealed. These get into the system and ignorant or unscrupulous resellers will then try to pass them off as new.

I'll bet the jerk whose emails you posted could not present a legitimate source for sealed product...

 

Thanks, this is scary. I'm showing 845 orders since mid 2012. That must count for something. You would think they would give you ratio like 1 A-Z per 100 purchases. That would be more reasonable. I think I used two on this guy and maybe 2 before that. With this situation I was on the phone with Amazon twice and it was escalated to a supervisor, although I did not speak with supervisor. The rep told me that the supervisor gave me a 5 dollar coupon to use when I buy from Amazon. Hopefully these two won't be used against me.

I'm thinking maybe I should have a relative set up another account for me now and if I ever ended up getting banned then I will change my ip address, that's very easy to do from what my tech buddy tells me. I will definitely stay away from A-Z and maybe not use it at all. I'd rather eat 10 or 15 bucks than get banned from Amazon.

I buy out of print factory sealed cd's as the stuff I want is usually reasonable for a new copy. Only when prices are high do I venture into the used section and often when they are high on Amazon I can get a new one cheap on Ebay with some patience or maybe right off the bat. Musicfiendz is a big seller and I see him often in the new section. I should have caught on to him earlier like I have with other sellers that I avoid because they've burnt me before. I'm mailing 4 sealed cd's to him tomorrow that are probably reseals and a couple more open ones. The idiot should have just refunded me off the bat, but he ignored me for a couple days and that is when I called Amazon.

 

It's called "fraud."

 

Wow, this really seems a bit like a tempest in a teapot to me. It is definitely a little annoying when someone reseals a used LP, even if it looks pretty good, because sometimes groove damage can have occurred that is not obvious to visual inspection. However, the stories of the record store owner opening a CD once to be listened to in the store, probably with no fingerprints put on it if the owner put it in the player - it seems pretty over the top to be irritated at this. I don't see any way in which the CD or liner notes could have been damaged in that process or if there was damage it would have been obvious to visual inspection. Seriously, why do you care whether it was opened if the product is totally fine, even down to the sticker along the top being in place? I really couldn't care less in these kind of situations.

 

Well, my unlucky streak is still on. I got a re-seal today from Amazon Marketplace dealer Big_Box_Bargains, who sold me a used copy of Chicago - Group Portrait (OOP) advertised as "NEW". While the item is in very good condition, it's obviously a used product displaying minor scratches and finger smudges. The shrink-wrap was the usual homebrew and not factory-sealed. This is a very real and growing problem, especially with regard to OOP items. The turkey even has the nerve to sell it with a "Prime" option!

 

Big Box Bargains - total con artist. Always Fulfillment by Amazon, prices too cheap on oop items and selection too big - that's a tipoff. I bought once from them and that was it - got burnt for maybe 6 bucks. Watch out for gmara as well - "New in shrinkwrap!" That guy is everywhere. Yet another other used reseal on Ebay yesterday which is now yet another freebie added to the pile. At one point I was considering speaking to a class action lawyer I knew who is worth like 50 million bucks, maybe I should give him a call. The key is tying Amazon to this and being able to hold them responsible. I might call him one of these days.

 

The opened and resealed items should have been clearly marked that they had indeed been previously opened. That's the honest thing to do. To suggest that someone should be able to perceive the difference between homebrew-sealed and factory-sealed products is insulting and criminal. One might expect that behavior at a sleazy flea market, but not in a real music store. Shame on you!

 

I doubt anyone here has an issue with opening and re-sealing CDs as long as the customers are aware that the items indeed have been previously opened by stating it clearly on their merchandise tags. To do otherwise is fraud!

 

Exactly. I fail to understand how people don't understand this. If it's not a big deal then label it as such. The failure to label properly is proof that they know it's a big deal and they are intentionally misleading their customers. It's a con game. There is no two ways about it.

 

Shame on me, seriously. Give me a break. Shame on Borders would be more accurate if you really feel that strongly about it. I didn't set the store policy on this, I was simply relating an experience I had more than 15 years ago when I worked as a Music Clerk at Borders.

But again, the purpose of this practice was not to trick anyone into buying a re-wrapped CD, but to allow a customer to preview a CD that wasn't set up at a listening station or that we didn't have a promo for.

The truth of the matter is that Borders didn't make much money on CD's, by far the biggest money maker in the store was the cafe. But, it's all a moot point now as Borders went out of business a few years ago.

 

Resealing CDs? That's almost as sketchy as bidding up items on eBay with absolutely no intention of making a purchase.

 

I think it's happened in the UK too. Bought the Madonna Immaculate Collection on Amazon, it was new and shrink wrapped but clearly used inside with a worn sleeve. Complained to seller and got a refund. This is something that the second hand shop That's Entertainment did, and I think a lot of their resealed product has ended up in charity shops with a 'replay' sticker on the front.

 

Some of That's Entertainment product is resealed, but most isn't (at least in my local store). That's how I get to inspect the discs.

 

I thought the stores had disappeared. I did notice it's gone in some places, and British Heart Foundation charity shops and Poundland stores have a lot of sealed 'replay' CDs.

 

They have gone from a lot of places. Only a handful of shops now exist, and my hometown has one of them. Morrison's also sold CDs with the replay sticker (no longer, it appears). The That's Entertainment site has been rebranded as Music Magpie, which is where their stock originated.

 

Replay stickered cds/dvds are 'refurbished' discs supplied by/from what's sent to MusicMagpie. Poundland & some charity shops (not BHF here, but some of the cancer ones have had them in a separate display, or mixed in with the cheaper donations, for a higher price) have been stocking them for a while now, it's not just ex-That's Entertainment stock.

Just searched & some That's Entertainment shops are apparently still going but the website's been replaced by musicmagpie's shop
That's Entertainment Store Locator | Cheap CDs, DVD, Games »

 

I think That's Entertainment has been connected with Music Magpie for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if the remaining stores were rebranded as Music Magpie outlets.

 

I presume from your wording that you purchased through an Amazon marketplace vendor as opposed to buying direct from Amazon. I buy mostly from marketplace vendors because they're often considerably less expensive than buying direct from Amazon, but there's always a risk of getting resealed product. This is especially so with OOP items. I recently shelled out some serious money for "The Cars Deluxe Edition", which was advertised as being brand-new. It was indeed a brand-new, but the marketplace seller failed to disclose that it had a marker line through the barcode denoting it as deleted stock. That pissed me off! I got over it though, and it really is a cool double CD edition of a rockin' classic!

 

Yes, it was an Amazon Marketplace seller, listing the CD as "new". I do wonder if others I've purchased have had the jewel cases or trays replaced, but I guess as long as it's in the listed condition that's the main thing. The Madonna CD was not.

 

NO! Despite the listed condition, if a CD has been removed from its original factory wrapping, it is NOT NEW! Perhaps "LIKE NEW". There are rare exceptions however. Recently I bought a compilation by the Moody Blues titled "This Is the Moody Blues". In the item description, it was stated that the item would not be shrink-wrapped. It arrived in positively flawless condition.

I keep a list of the marketplace dealers I do business with, and note those providing excellent service along with those providing poor service. In the United States, I repeatedly do business with Moviemars, i-deals, and sometimes cdimports, the latter of which ships from California and their product takes a long time to reach Florida. Nevertheless, they are a good reseller. I always check feedback ratings to make sure the seller has hundreds, if not thousands of feedback responses. Anything less than 97% positive, forget it! The only drawback to these resellers is that they obviously cannot sell a product that is OOP.

 

If it's sealed and looks new, you can't necessarily tell it isn't actually new.

 

Anyone who lists an open item, no matter how close to new it might be, is gaming the system and putting other more honest sellers at a disadvantage, since they will most likely be charging a premium over the used category and over other items in that category that are also close to new but are listed honestly.

That said, Amazon has very strict policies for how you list an item. If you list an item as "new" and it's not sealed (and it's an item that comes from the factory sealed), you can dispute the purchase and the seller loses, no question. Amazon will frequently not even make the buyer return the item. And so be it. The item isn't new.