Is Amazon.com better than Ebay?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Evan L, Jun 8, 2010.

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  1. Evan L

    Evan L Beatologist Thread Starter

    Location:
    Vermont
    .....I think so. No hassles with bidding or being outbid at the last minute or with Paypal. With Amazon.com you just buy the item outright and enjoy.

    What do you all think?

    Evan
     
  2. Doug Sclar

    Doug Sclar Forum Legend

    Location:
    The OC
    Well I've bought well over 1000 items from Amazon and less than 10 items from ebay. I lost about 3 items on ebay to other bidders. I'd much rather start and finish a transaction at the same time.
     
  3. Billy Infinity

    Billy Infinity Beloved aunt

    Location:
    US
    I like them both for different reasons. Like you mentioned, Amazon is considerably more no-nonsense. But you can find some real gems on eBay that you may not find on Amazon (but of course vice-versa).

    I've picked up some CP35-3017 Dark Side Of The Moon discs on both and have gotten great deals throughout.
     
  4. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    I quit Ebay a long time ago. Life is too short.
     
  5. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I buy a lot from both. Amazon a little more when it comes to DVDs. Can get them cheap from used dealers. Half.com as well. I always check all three before I make a purchase.
     
  6. Drew

    Drew Senior Member

    Location:
    Grand Junction, CO
    I haven't purchased an item off Ebay in awhile. To often things are misrepresented. Too many amateurs have gravitated to Ebay.
     
  7. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    I normally buy cheap new CDs and SACDs from the Amazon Marketplace (Newbury Comics is a great seller). There, I know exactly what I am getting. Sadly, the Amazon Marketplace is practically useless when trying to buy used discs. Few sellers give an adequate description as to the particular pressing, and far fewer respond to e-mail queries. So, one is often buying blindly. Of course, not everything is a bargain in the Amazon Marketplace. Many items are far from being priced fairly, let alone a bargain.

    eBay certainly has its drawbacks, but you very often get a picture of the item and some description of the condition. Most eBay sellers respond to queries. Granted, some eBay sellers are dishonest or have no clue how to grade a used item, but one runs the same risks with all web sites.
     
  8. Jay F

    Jay F New Member

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Same here, and great way to put it.

    I only buy things on eBay I can't get anywhere else, or if an item is substantially cheaper on eBay. I buy and sell things on Amazon or Amazon Marketplace all the time. I hardly ever sell anything on eBay.
     
  9. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    i use both. too bad Amazon Marketplace hasn't developed into an eBay killer. i've had great transactions on both and i've also gotten the shaft. in fact, i have one pending issue with each right now. some of these sellers...well, let's just say that I have NO CLUE how they find their way out of bed each morning....
     
  10. It'll never happen either. No way you'll ever find some, say, splatter-vinyl Zombies 7" from Lebanon through Amazon, but through eBay you might get lucky. I check Amazon for new and recently OOP stuff, and eBay for the more rare and obscure items, and occasional bargains on the new stuff.

    For the record, I've never had a problem with Amazon or any Marketplace sellers, but have been burned about a half-dozen times by eBay sellers in about 400 transactions, either by the sellers providing greatly inferior goods or not coming through at all. And 2/3 of those were Canadian sellers; so much for our good-guy reputation!
     
  11. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    Amazon Marketplace is my main place to shop.
    I haven't cared about ebay since 2002 or so.
     
  12. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    That's a pet peeve of mine with Amazon. Case in point, I wanted to get a Repetoire version of Humble Pie's Town and Country. Amazon described it as such, but none of the sellers did. A few e-mails went unanswered, the ones that did answer said it wasn't the Repetoire, it was the Charly version. Annoying as hell. On the flip side, I've gotten some great vinyl deals there, like a vg+ original import of Then Play On for 12 bucks. It's a crap shoot.
     
  13. jojopuppyfish

    jojopuppyfish Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    How do you really compare?
    One place might have the item. The other may or may not.
     
  14. Years ago, eBay was clearly the better place to get bargain deals on media items. But their incessant fee increases and shift in business model has driven away a lot of the smaller, independent sellers. Those types were often the best way to get great deals. eBay has always been more of a hassle, with the de facto Paypal requirement for buyers and the auction format. My Amazon Marketplace purchases outnumber eBay purchases in a 15 to 1 ratio in the last 18 months.
     
  15. mark f.

    mark f. Senior Member

    Why would anyone ignore any market option? I include Half.com, eBay, GEMM and Amazon in most of my searches.

    For buyers eBay has made a lot of improvements (encouraging free shipping or requiring $3 shipping max was a great move) and I've noticed that the competition with Amazon prices has gotten better for new CDs. For used CDs I think Amazon still has an edge but it's a pain sometimes if the seller doesn't provide detail. For records and other rare items there is no competition with either eBay or GEMM.

    Admittedly I'm a big eBay fan despite some annoyances. I just don't see the whole "they've driven away sellers etc" argument. It's still the biggest and best marketplace for the rare stuff and no competition in sight. For the average new import CD I think they'll eventually regain that market but right now Amazon is the place for the big distributors like Import CD etc.
     
  16. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I've rarely had a problem with sellers on either. I've found great deals on one or the other depending on my luck.
     
  17. tcj

    tcj Senior Member

    Location:
    Phoenix
    Amazon is way better than Ebay. I go out of my way to avoid Ebay, and if I have to deal with Ebay, I almost always go for Buy It Now items. But if I can, it's almost always Amazon first, then Half.com, then Ebay. I've had few problems with buying on Ebay, but I just find it annoying (selling, on the other hand . . . wow, is it stressful.) Amazon's not perfect, however . . .

    In addition to someone's comment about sellers not answering questions about products on Amazon, Amazon themselves are annoying when it comes to how products are handled. You find something from a particular seller and the description tells you something important. You buy it because of that. Let's say you get it and something's off. Now go back and try to prove it. You can't. There's no record anywhere in your account of that item's description. WHY?! How hard would it before Amazon to pair that item's description with your account? They have to purposely not do this. As a seller, I print out the buyer's address and product info page, so that info is not just stuck on the used/new page. Many do not because I often don't get that when I buy used items. My suggestion, if you're looking for something exact and you think the description depicts that, grab a screencap of that for safe keeping because that's all you'll have to prove it. You may even want it just for your own sanity.
     
  18. reb

    reb Money Beats Soul

    Location:
    Long Island
    i try and avoid purchasing items from e-sewer.
     
  19. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Amazon's Marketplace is great... just found a new sealed copy of T.Rex Electric Warrior (SACD) for a good price.
     
  20. musicmax

    musicmax New Member

    Are there any methods for receiving auto-notifications when an item becomes available (or becomes available at a desired price point) on Amazon Marketplace? For example, Amazon has the DCC of Gerry Rafferty's "City To City" for $99 right now, a price that's too steep for my budget. Meanwhile, there are no copies available of Sad Lovers & Giants' "Melting in the Fullness of Time". It would be nice to get either a daily notification summary email or instant notifications when items come up for sale, similar to the daily emails you can set up for eBay searches.
     
  21. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialistâ„¢

    Location:
    B.C.
    :agree: The same here. After receiving a few highly mis-graded CD's earlier this year I'm only sticking with sellers I know who've stood the test of time.

    Amazon is great to find decent deals and well represented items with professional sellers IMO.
     
  22. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    The Munich Quints

    The only thing I got from E-Bay was a Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder, a steal at $80. But Amazon makes it far too easy to get exactly what I want. My Bruckner collection quintupled over the last two months.
     
  23. electric man

    electric man Member

    Location:
    Minneapolis, mn
    I have never purchased music on Amazon but I've had good experiences on Ebay recently. I now only buy from two Ebay sellers who also operate record stores, one on Manchester England and the second is in the US. I find buying from Ebay listing maintained by real record stores gives me a general consistency regarding price and quality. Both online stores also list plenty of "buy now" vinyl.
     
  24. neo123

    neo123 Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Kentucky
    I buy from both eBay and Amazon (and the Marketplace). Both have pros and cons. It is easier to find rarer/OOP stuff on Ebay than Amazon but you don't have as much hassle on Amazon.

    When I buy from eBay, I prefer the "Buy Now" option, even if it means paying a few extra dollars. I hate the bidding process and losing out at the last second. I only do it on rare occasions for OOP/hard to find stuff, but I never overpay by much past the "market" value; it just depends on how badly I want the item. Also, I have my doubts about other true bids. I think the seller (or friends or family) artificially make the bids go up to get a better deal.
     
  25. Curiosity

    Curiosity Just A Boy

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    For in print or just out of print media (cd's & dvd's) I prefer amazon.ca/.com/.co.uk but it's rare to get sufficient information to identify a particular pressing variant.
    Ebay is better for hunting that down as sellers do pitch at the collectors market although you run the risk of dud's more I feel.
    Price - well are are sellers on both who overegg that sometimes when a used item is twice as much as the same item new shipped but you've got to learn to ignore those guys.
     
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