Is Amazon.com better than Ebay?

I guess you should always ask if there is any doubt, and if you don't get a response, and a fast response, then do not buy that one.

I personally would ask the same question to each seller of the item, and go with the one that has fastest response time and lowest price / closest location. Make it a competition for the sellers where each needs to out perform the other in several ways. And if they don't deliver in the first round, hold off for a few months, come back later.

It's just a silver disc, nothing you need right away.

 

That works sometimes, and is my usual practice if the listing is unclear. However, there are times when only one seller is offering a particular item and you are aware it isn't that common and you run the risk of someone buying it from under you if you wait. It is not uncommon for items I've placed in my amazon cart to get bought out from under me while I debate pricing, etc.

Fortunately, caveat emptor doesn't apply to amazon sales. Sellers need to be either more careful or smarter when trying to pass off $5 record club CDs as $30 SACDs. If they don't know better, they should.

 

I wish Amazon had built-in tools like that... I add my desired titles to a wishlist, set the priority, and check back on a regular basis. There are 3rd party price notifiers out there like "Wootch" and Apnoti" but I have never used them.

Considering the asking price of this title on Amazon, I would be more inclined to seek it out on Ebay. Save the search "City to City DCC", and have alerts Emailed to you.

 

It's been revealed here that the disc http://www.amazon.com/City-Night-Ow...TF8&coliid=I1PE2DH3RICT82&colid=20NHE34497ET1 is a clone of the DCC mastering. As they say, information should not be used for investment purposes.

 

I've sold 42 CDs in 3 weeks (since being on amazon), so I would say it is better than ebay.

But the funny thing is, I price my discs a buck lower than any in same condition, and after my copy sells I go back and look to see where everyone else's are, and there are none for sale, or one copy at 4 times my price.

So it looks like other copies already sold before mine, but how come my condition was better and price lower, yet mine sold last?

It is almost as if there are dummy copies listed when I am setting my prices so that I under price?

Like I sold a 6.99 CD, and set my price because there were several others in the 4.99 to 14.99 range, this was one day ago. I check to see what is there after mine sold and only one new copy at $50 remained. I felt like my mint copy at 6.99 was far to low if there is none currently besides the sealed new copy for $50.

I think there are games being played on sellers regarding true availability. So from now on I am jacking up prices above the higher ends listed. If a mint unused one is 24.99, I think I will start out at 29.99 rather than 23.99 like I was doing. I can always lower price after 60 days.

And besides I am seeing some action on my stuff, I can afford to play the waiting game until next year - before I strat blowing out everything left.

 

I'm sure that happens, but it has to be bad if someone pays and the item isn't in stock. I'm not sure you will take a feedback hit, but Amazon surely keeps track of refund stats.

I recently lowered some prices to be the "lowest" but I've sold stuff without being the lowest. I always talk about extras in the description. "Case kept in gift-worthy resealable poly sleeve in smoke-free environment. Free upgrade to 1st Class." People will pay a little extra for a little better product and service.

 

I've had just one purchase not go through. It's pretty easy to click and cancel the order if you're a seller. No refund is involved now, as Amazon changed the payment time to 'sometime after shipping'. They even send me little reminders about not using tracking all the time.. (yeah, $2.99 covers postage, envelope and tracking? not quite. I use it only for more valuable items, not the $3 ones)

About the worst thing is that Amazon doesn't really push the feedback thing. I've sold about thirty items and have a positive feedback of 3. Maybe I should push it more. eBay seems to make it easier (you can find all your orders, but just try doing it..)

 

Reminders to use tracking? You don't say exactly what you mean here.

Same here as far as shipping costs, I can ship for 2.07 + .40 for CD box = 2.47 and they pay me 2.98 = .51 profit on shipping, this after they take 2.24 fees on a 2.99 CD, = .74 profit on a 3.00 CD. .74 + .51 = 1.25 total profit on this 3.00 CD. Amazon's fees are 60% on the very small items.

They only way to scale these fees is to ship two items at once to same buyer, or sell only 9.99 and up items. I'm doing mostly 5.99 to 74.99 CDs, with a few 2.99 thrown in for measure.

I no longer feel guilty about pricing my CDs 49.99, 59.99 and 74.99 when no other seller is offering them, or only one seller and they want 100.00 for the disc.

I like the way buyers never get to complain about shipping costs, if they don't like it - they can scram. See in a store if you don't like the prices or shipping you simply leave. Ebay has gotten where they train the buyer to bitch and complain and leave negs over shipping. At amazon, if you are too cheap for the high class experience, then go somewhere else like ebay's .99 CDs, or half.com, and try your luck, but stay the hell away from my rare UK and Japanese imports with normal shipoping costs.

 

I got a polite email note saying something to the effect that they'd noticed I wasn't always putting a tracking number in when confirming shipping and that customers really liked having a tracking number. It wasn't any more than that. I think I only had the one. I think I've sold maybe two items worth putting tracking on, i.e. over $30. For me it's somewhere I park 'don't care anymore' items. If they don't sell, they go back to the local store or the charity donation.

 

Have you sent reminders to your buyers? Most will go ahead and give positive, especially if you RTF.

They were pestering Mikey H for not spending a little extra for a tracking number.
https://mailtracking.usps.com/mtr/resources/deliveryConfirmation/deliveryConfLaunch.pge

 

Yeah, I do agree, Mikey should give up .80 on that 1.20 profit, and just make .40 on a 3.00 CD. Are they out of there minds?

I do the same, tracking only on bigger tickets.

 

Only sellers get a rating on Amazon marketplace.

 

I told them I'd start using tracking, "which buyers really like," once they either raised the shipping by a dollar or went to a system like PayPal, where tracking costs .19. I never heard back.

 

Not true. Go to "manage orders", then scroll down to "feedback received", then on the right you will see a button that says "leave buyer feedback"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200278900

 

I see.... this is so well known that out of several hundred purchases I have precisely one feedback as a buyer, sitting there with my four as a seller. I've updated all that I could.

And I had to enter my ID twice on the way there, too. I like that bit in the help .."most buyers do not view their feedback" .... or even know it's there.....


Thanks for the info!

 

You can use Paypal shipping to send Amazon orders and get the online discount for DC, if you want to. I believe the button to press on the Paypal site is "Multi-order shipping".

 

You know, I forgot about that. I've only done it twice. Thanks for reminding me.

 

I will put a used item in my shopping cart and watch the price fluctuate. I pull the trigger on buy when the price hits my target number. Kind of like watching the stock market.

 

Yes, but don't you have to pay paypal for the shipping label print out, or some other fee? I thought there was a charge for paypal shipping beyond postage? I mean paypal is all about fees right?

 

I mean listings that only show up on the seller's page, the rest of the world does not see it.

Because it makes no sense that my copy would be the last to sell. Unless the other ones simply expired and were net yet relisted.

 

I just looked. No paypal fee. I think the USPS cuts them in.

 

Pitney-Bowes, actually. They probably give up some of their USPS discount to Paypal in return for the volume.

If you don't do Paypal for whatever reason, you can also use the USPS Shipping Assistant program to print labels with the discounted Delivery Confirmation, and hand the package over and pay for it at the PO.

 

I love ebay......

Today I received a cd that was in such great shape. A forum member recommended him saying he grades nice.

I get a cd with 1/4 of the play side having a bad rash and also three scratches. Front booklet has severe dimple marks from case. The seller described the cd as "flawless". To make matters worse the mailer was not enough protection, not even bubble wrap around the case and the case was smashed ripping the spine on the back art in half and crushing the rest of it.

So lately I am thinking it is a toss-up. I have such bad luck, I guess I should try buying very good cds and maybe I will get mint.

 

I've bought optical opiscs on Amazon marketplace. How easy is it to do the opposite and become a seller?

 

It took me a few minutes to fill out the seller info, and they want a bank account number.