[CodeToad]

I've been on a CD buying binge lately and a thought a little comparison was in order.

1. Amazon 15 total - 3 bad disks - 2 no shows - 20% fail rate

2 Ebay 4 total - 1 no show - 25% fail rate

The Ebay fail was caught by Ebay themselves and they deleted his account...after I had paid him. Paypal will no doubt cover it.

Generally Ebay descriptions seem to match the product more closely than Amazon.

I got one disk from a seller on Amazon listed as "acceptable" but he neglected to say the scratches were on the foil side. Probably an honest mistake as many people don't know about that. You could see light through it all over the disk. He sent another disk at his expense and all was well.

Got another disk from a joker who listed it as "very good" but he omitted the description of the multiple concentric rings scratched deep enough to snag a fingernail. He refunded half the money as I told him after I ground the POS he sent me with a car buffer and polishing compound (I had nothing to lose at that point) I ended up recovering all but one track. All was well.

Got another listed as "very good" with more concentric rings scratched so badly I could not recover half the tracks. He never responded to multiple emails but refunded 100%. All was well.

Never received 2 others from Amazon. One responded immediately and reshipped. The other lagged in their response and only offered a solution after I pointed out that the ip in their email header was in a different country and "were they shipping from there while posing to be in the US?" Immediate action to reship on that one.

So this leaves me with one question and a possible solution to another.

Where do all these absent cd's end up?

Wouldn't it be beneficial to Ebay and Amazon to require sellers of CD's to download an app (something they create and control similar to EAC) that would verify whether a CD is in fact usable?

 

[yourstruly]

Could you list the sellers that you bought it from? I have shopped for everything on amazon, literally hundreds of purchases, without ever getting a single hitch. I wonder if your problem is that you're not picking the right sellers. IMO an app to check the cd is unnecessary.

My method of checking sellers is this:

1) Do they have a website? If no, forget it.

2) Look at the their track record. I don't buy anything from any seller with less than 500 ratings, and they must maintain at least a 97% positive. Also, if they have any negatives, I look over what those negatives were(and if the seller responded).

3) Lastly, check on google to see if anyone had any hitches with the seller. (like electronics expo with the A700/AD700 switch)

 

[tattoou2]

I don't use eBay, but my recent CD buys from Amazon have been just shy of a disaster.

Last week I received six new CD's. Four had badly cracked cases, one had the liner notes ripped, and one was completely empty when I opened the case. This last one was new and was purchased directly from Amazon. The others were used but listed as "excellent."

I decided I'll now buy in person if necessary or through Head-Fi where I know most take proper care of their stuff or at least extend an accurate description and price accordingly.

 

[CodeToad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yourstruly /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) Do they have a website? If no, forget it.

Oddly enough all of the problems I've had on Amazon were with commercial ops. Individuals (without a website) usually come through.

Another thing I've noticed is that first class mail most of the time is as fast as priority. Tracking is always a plus and I highly regard sellers who issue a shipping notice, especially ones with a tracking number.

Media mail sucks. I look for the "ships first class" as a prerequisite. If you buy the mailers cheap enough there isn't any reason you can't ship first class and not be covered with 2.98.

 

[mark2410]

never had a prob whith things on amazon, ebay only had one fail so far which was wierd, ordere a couple from same place and one didint come then they vanished from ebay so couldnt contact to chase up

 

[Tridacnid]

I buy most of my CDs off eBay. Never had a problem.

 

[fatcat28037]

In the past two years I've purchased over 150 used CD's from Amazon associate sellers and had only one problem, which the seller quickly corrected. I stick with sellers whose rating is at least 95%. I use to buy on EBay also but found Amazon sellers less expensive, and I like the Standard shipping fee.

 

[thornygravy]

ebay seems to be a bit more on top of keeping shoppers happy. I only buy new CDs from sellers on amazon with a store with tons of good feedback.

 

[Aslan123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tridacnid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I buy most of my CDs off eBay. Never had a problem.

Same. I've never had a problem with either Ebay or Amazon, and I live in Canada, buying most of my CDs from the US.

The closest thing I've had to a problem was that the Joy Division Heart and Soul box set I ordered from Amazon UK had a number of glue spots on it, but those wiped away without any issues.

 

[shredder]

I lost track of how many I've picked up on Amazon. I've had 2 problems, both recently. Both issues resolved with one email followed up by refund within one hour. I try to leave realistic feedback after a buy and can only hope others do the same.

 

[mwallace573]

Amazon all the way for both used and new CDs. I've had one cracked case from Amazon sellers out of dozens, and on that one there was no damage to the CD or liner notes. My only suggestion for Amazon is to try to get the Expedited shipping if you want to get it in less than a week. I don't know what service they use for the "Standard" shipping, but it's slower than Christmas. I think it took one CD close to 10 business days to get from New York to my apartment in Georgia. Most of the travel times for Standard shipping that I've seen are anywhere from 6-8 business days.

 

[RationalGaze]

I have never had problems with Ebay or Amazon. The one time I had ordered from Amazon and did not receive the CD for 21 days, I just contacted the seller, and he shipped another one to me.
So far I am happy.

 

[thisbenjamin]

I had a couple of nasty issues with some high dollar items on Ebay and Amazon marketplace, so I've stuck to buying used from people directly if I need to go that route, otherwise I just buy from one of the local indie shops, and if anything have them order stuff in for me - let them handle the hassle

 

[linuxworks]

be careful with media-mail!

the postman can declare the box 'arrived' even if you never got it. 'delivery receipt' is a LIE, plain and simple. its not end-to-end delivery when the postman can drop the box in the bushes and say 'confirmed delivery'.

ebay has a deal with power sellers and media mail. beware! you will get a 'receipt' that the item has been delivered and paypal will NOT help you if you didn't get your item.

its a scam. avoid media mail at all costs (grin).

 

[Uncle Erik]

I mostly buy from eBay. It's generally trouble free, though I got stiffed a couple weeks back. PayPal refunded me, but still, that was a SACD I wanted.

What drives me crazy are sellers who don't actually have the disc, then order it after the auction. eBay shouldn't allow people to sell things they don't actually have.