Best Amazon Marketplace Participant

I dunno--I've had more bad experiences on Marketplace than Ebay; but, I only buy on Ebay if there's a photo of the CD and the seller gives me specific info, so that automatically eliminates most Ebay listings.

It seems that Caiman sold me something fraudulent--we shall see.

 

Amazon pretty much guarantees everything. If there is a problem with a purchase through a third party vendor used or new goods, you have recourse and pretty much a money back return policy. I have a lot of confidence when using Amazon.

 

Import CD Specialists of CA delivered again. my second order with them arrived in 4-5 days. While Newbury Comics remains my favorite, none of these Marketplace participants always carry what I want at the same time.

 

I just ordered the 1963 Beethoven Symphonies cycle in SACD by BPO and Karajan from Newbury Comics. The set is priced almost $20 below Amazon. This must be my 5th or 6th order from Newbury and I just cannot sing enough praises of this New England-based store. I have always received my order in 3-4 days.

 

I've ordered 50-60 items off Amazon Marketplace this past summer. Newbury Comics is by far the best of the larger sellers. They definitely ship out the items fastest and the packaging is very good. Some of the other sellers though have serious problems, even the ones with relatively high ratings.

From my experience anything less than a 97 or 98% rating usually reveals underlying problems with the seller. For some it's a packaging issue(it's crushing to receive a smashed jewel case/cd after waiting for it) or a delivery issue(the most serious issue I've had of all my orders is a seller(ReflexCD) who claimed that my order disappeared in their software system even though my card was charged).

 

Newbury Comics

 

I had given up on Amazon used CD sellers, but recently gave Newbury Comics a shot based on all of the positive things said on this forum. So now, I have ONE Marketplace seller, i trust.

 

Actually, Import CD Specialists, based in Irvine, CA, is a pretty good participant as well. I have ordered 3 or 4 times from this store and it has delivered every time. To be sure, it cannot deliver as fast as Newbury Comics since the latter is virtually a local store to me.

 

I was just about to post a mention of Imprt CD Specialists. They've always delivered for me. In fact, I am now waiting for the arrival of my latest order from them.

 

I have ordered many hundreds of CDs through countless Amazon sellers and have never had substantial problems. The greatest deals I've ever found have come from Amazon's marketplace.

 

Since I started this thread as a way to learn about the Amazon MarketPlace Participants, I have bought from about half dozen Amazon sellers and most of them appear to be quite good, as I have stuck to those with ratings over 90%. So far, I have stayed away from Caiman due to a number of rather negative views posted by fellow forum members.

 

Caiman have been fine (at least a couple of hundred purchases over the years) until you hit a problem. Then, communication with them is akin to getting blood from a stone. I tried them under their guise as the new proprietors of Tower and the single transaction was a mess - once bitten!

Good Amazon traders I can attest to are...

ch____marche24
direct-offers
importcds.com
selectcheaper
thermite media

 

although i used to order from them, caiman is the only one of a dozen sellers at amazon marketplace i've tried that i now avoid ordering from. never know if they actually have it, or if it might be 3 weeks before you see it.

 

My wife has had a new bad experience with Caiman. I don't buy from them anymore, but she decided to. The problem with these people is that, different from Amazon, they charge you upon making your order (Amazon does it when they ship the item). So, if they announce, as is the case I am referring to, an item as 'in stock' and then tell you that they are having problems getting it, meantime you (and other helpless souls like you) are financing them.

 

An online merchant is not supposed to charge a customer's credit card until the item ships. That is why I have not made any purchases from Caiman since I recalled seeing a number of real negative postings about this joint.

 

I avoid Caiman if necessary but they consistently undercut other sellers on price, especially for new sealed items. They do have a major problem of listing items they don't really have in stock.

 

There is a fixed limit, though, on the number of times you can complain to Amazon and receive a refund from them. After that, you're on your own. It's in the very small print on Amazon's website. For prolific purchasers this is a problem.

Regards,
Brett.

 

As far as I can tell, Caiman don't actually stock anything, but simply "drop ship" every order. So their "stock" listed on Amazon is just an aggregation of all their wholesalers listings each day. There are a heap of similar "sellers" on eBay -- you've probably seen them, they sell new titles a few dollars cheaper than everyone else but charge huge sums on shipping. And because everything is drop-shipped, there's no discount for multiple items.

Regards,
Brett.

 

Of the larger dealers, I have the most experience with Caiman and Import CD Specialists. Both are reasonably good for their size. I'd say that I probably get my order a tad bit quicker with Import CD, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Plus, the mailers they use are a bit sturdier. However, Import CD was the one seller where I had a mix-up--I ordered Parliament's Chocolate City and received a copy of Richard Rodgers' Victory at Sea. Not a biggie--except that the return slip had the UK address rather than the Irvine address on it. Things got fixed a-ok.

They tend to be quantity sellers, and they do offer the best deal when you're in the U.S. and looking to purchase U.K. cds, such as those made by Ace/Kent or Castle/Sanctuary. That's the real utility of these companies. I'll also once point out that I was lucky enough to get a brand new copy of the OOP Harvest Festival from Caiman for about $70 a few years back. It's the only time I had to really wait for the item to ship (just over a month), but it was really worth it.

The other thing worth mentioning is that Caiman has an actual website, whereas most Amazon Marketplace sellers do not. So, even if they do drop ship, you can get a reasonable idea of what's available by visiting their website.

As for smaller sellers, I've been doing business with Sounds NYC lately. Their service is impeccable. If buying second hand, my advice is to always buy from a seller who will take the time to answer your queries in a reasonable amount of time and provide the information you actually want. This is especially important when trying to determine if you're looking at a promo, cut-out, etc.

Cheers!

 

I generally have had good experience with Import CD Specials, it is based in CA. I did have one SACD that arrived with a cracked jewel case due to flimsy packaging - brown envelope with no cushion.

 

And Amazon does not enforce some code of conduct on its MarketPlace Participants? Perhaps it just turns a blind eye to the non-conforming participants since it does not wish to lose revenues?

 

POST DELETED

 

I make regular purchases from Amazon marketplace sellers and have only ran into a problem 3 time out of over 200 or so purchases in the last 6 years.

 

Another recommendation for Newbury Comics. Bought tons from them backj in the 90s when I lived in Back Bay. Great service and great prices.

 

I just did a new order this morning with Caiman thru Amazon Marketplace...actually a new "Caiman-outlet" shop...and within 2 hours I got shipping confirmation via e-mail. I've never had that kind of service before from them.

I'll let you know how long it takes to get it, and what shape it's in when it arrives, but maybe they finally have started to get their act together.