The i-Deals Incident

[Mirror Image]

I always keep about a dozen or so discs in my Amazon wish list, last night is when I noticed that some were $1, well that changed over night and those deals were gone, as if they didn't exist, now that $1 MP sale is back on some of them.

And I am an Amazon junky, not just with music, but with everything, and now that I have a kid I'm buying him stuff on Amazon all the time, you have to watch for their "deal of the day" and "Lightning Deals", I'll admit there are scenarios where I'm buying things I don't really need but become seduced by the savings. 

If I get all the CDs I ordered from them in the mail, then I know all of this wasn't a dream.

[flyingdutchman]

Well, I won't count on any of these coming in.  And if it doesn't Amazon will simply pay us back.  That's an awful lot of charges returned.  The MP seller will have to pay back a lot in reverse charges.

[Scarpia]

Well, I won't count on any of these coming in.  And if it doesn't Amazon will simply pay us back.  That's an awful lot of charges returned.  The MP seller will have to pay back a lot in reverse charges.

I noticed a few items in my cart were reporting MP offers of $1 from i-Deals, and I figured there is no risk in ordering a few that I have been interested in (Bavouzet's Beethoven, Vanska's Nielsen, some Henze, Herzogenberg, Tansman).   I'll be watching to see if the items get shipped.  In the mean time, there are a few other $1 items parked in my shopping cart that I still haven't decided on.

Maybe it's a pricing error, maybe some hacker has broken into i-Deal's account and is trying to cause havoc, or maybe some CD warehouse somewhere is going out of business and liquidating huge amounts of stock.  : (

[Mirror Image]

Well, I certainly took advantage of these incredible prices again tonight: 25 more recordings on the way.

[bigshot]

Insane.

[DavidRoss]

Re. ideals:

I've bought from this seller before. They often list items briefly for significantly less than other sellers--say $5 for an item others are selling for $10--but I've never seen $1 to $5 box sets before, or even new singles for a buck or two. Friday night I was culling some stuff from my cart (which had grown to dozens of items) when I spotted a "No longer available from the seller you chose but others have it starting at $1" message. I followed it up and discovered the same thing discussed here and on the purchases thread -- many items offered at very low prices.

Since it was widespread but not uniform, and since the reduced prices I saw ranged from $1 to $14, I supposed it was some kind of inventory reduction measure, with losses abated somewhat by $3 per item shipping charges on stuff that might be sent as bulk orders via media mail.

I ordered a couple of dozen items that I was interested in but would probably never buy at normal prices. I would have ordered more except that I accidentally put several into my cart instead of "one-click-buying" them, only to find that they suddenly were unavailable. I saw the same thing last night and this morning and ordered a few more. Then suddenly the ones in my cart went "unavailable" again, and I was a bit relieved because it stopped me from spending just because it was such a bargain. (Seriously, Friday night I saw HJ Lim's complete Beethoven sonata set for $1 and almost bought it, till I realized it would just waste precious shelf space!)

We'll see what happens. If the pricing is legitimate, I expect my orders will be filled. If it's an error or a malicious prank by a disgruntled employee, it would hardly be fair to force the seller to make good at the cost of hundreds or even thousands of dollars -- maybe tens of thousands, if they also sell pop music and the same thing happened with Lady Gaga discs!

[madaboutmahler]

I had a look on I-deal's amazon page and was absolutely amazed.... it's absolutely incredible! So many cds I want, for so cheap!! Looking at the feedback, there has been tonnes of positive, but two negative in the last day.
Should someone email this seller just to see what is going on, and whether this incredible 'sale' really is true?

If it is true, I'll start begging someone to lend me some money so I can dive in!

[Mirror Image]

I had a look on I-deal's amazon page and was absolutely amazed.... it's absolutely incredible! So many cds I want, for so cheap!! Looking at the feedback, there has been tonnes of positive, but two negative in the last day.
Should someone email this seller just to see what is going on, and whether this incredible 'sale' really is true?

If it is true, I'll start begging someone to lend me some money so I can dive in!

I haven't emailed them, but I imagine they would email me if it wasn't true. In any case, as I'll keep saying, I'm not the only one who took advantage of these deals. There's no telling how many Americans just on the East Coast alone who were buying from them at the same hour I was buying from them. If they refunded all the orders I placed, which many of them were placed in different orders, then I would be leaving a total of 11 negative feedback votes for their deception and bad business practices. My Dad also took advantage of these prices and he would be leaving I believe 6 or 7 negative votes if they were to cancel his orders. So I would say that 17 negative votes will not help their total feedback out too much.

[DavidRoss]

If they refunded all the orders I placed, which many of them were placed in different orders, then I would be leaving a total of 11 negative feedback votes for their deception and bad business practices. My Dad also took advantage of these prices and he would be leaving I believe 6 or 7 negative votes if they were to cancel his orders. So I would say that 17 negative votes will not help their total feedback out too much.

Would you really leave nasty feedback if it turned out that this was unintended due to an error, a software glitch, or a disgruntled employee's maliciousness?

[flyingdutchman]

Well, none of the orders I have made are showing as shipped, only as "shipping soon."  Anyone get a "shipped" notice yet?

[Mirror Image]

Would you really leave nasty feedback if it turned out that this was unintended due to an error, a software glitch, or a disgruntled employee's maliciousness?

Yes, I would.

[Mirror Image]

Well, none of the orders I have made are showing as shipped, only as "shipping soon."  Anyone get a "shipped" notice yet?

Nope, not yet, but I still have my fingers crossed.

[DavidRoss]

Well, none of the orders I have made are showing as shipped, only as "shipping soon."  Anyone get a "shipped" notice yet?

I wouldn't expect orders placed on the weekend to be shipped until the next business day at the earliest.

Yes, I would.

Wow. Be aware that what you get in life is determined by what you give. Newton's 3rd law.

[Mirror Image]

Would you really leave nasty feedback if it turned out that this was unintended due to an error, a software glitch, or a disgruntled employee's maliciousness?

A follow-up response: you pull into a gas station where gas was stated 99 cents a gallon on the billboard and then you go pull to the pump and the attendent comes out after you filled up your car and tells you "I'm sorry, sir, but our system has had a glitch. You will have to pay me the difference." What do you do?

[jut1972]

I've taken a punt on 17 boxes, but more costly in that I am having to pay to ship to the UK and the vagaries of the UK / US import system.
If the orders ship I may still get hit with some import charges and admin fees this end which will be a salulatory lesson.  Have to wait and see.

I was wrong assuming it was zoverstocks, had never heard of i-deals before, will be waiting with bated breath..  also waiting to see if amazon.es cancel my mozart 111 order.  My wallet could do with some cancellations!

[Sadko]

I had a look on I-deal's amazon page and was absolutely amazed.... it's absolutely incredible! So many cds I want, for so cheap!! Looking at the feedback, there has been tonnes of positive, but two negative in the last day.
Should someone email this seller just to see what is going on, and whether this incredible 'sale' really is true?

If it is true, I'll start begging someone to lend me some money so I can dive in!

I had a look too, and they were selling so quickly that between putting things into the cart and thinking about more they were sold out already, so I got nothing. But anyway, to Europe single discs often aren't such a bargain, because of the high shipping fee per disc. If one could combine ...

[Opus106]

A follow-up response: you pull into a gas station where gas was stated 99 cents a gallon on the billboard and then you go pull to the pump and the attendent comes out after you filled up your car and tells you "I'm sorry, sir, but our system has had a glitch. You will have to pay me the difference." What do you do?

Wrong analogy.

You go to a station advertising fuel at that rate. Then you request the attendant whether you could fill up at the rate (the equivalent of ordering at an online store), and the she notices the mistake and informs you that it was a mistake. No product offered to you and no money taken from you either.

[Opus106]

If one could combine ...

They had those RCO Anthology boxes for $1, each containing 14 discs and usually sold at around $170.

[Sadko]

Would you really leave nasty feedback if it turned out that this was unintended due to an error, a software glitch, or a disgruntled employee's maliciousness?

I wouldn't complain. I'd find it totally ok if they cancelled. On the contrary, since they are free to cancel I'd feel better taking the opportunity. Quite a while ago I had a few such orders, but with the combined shipping fees of 6 USD per item and them sending it in one parcel I guess both sides were happy.

[Mirror Image]

Wrong analogy.

You go to a station advertising fuel at that rate. Then you request the attendant whether you could fill up at the rate (the equivalent of ordering at an online store), and the she notices the mistake and informs you that it was a mistake. No product offered to you and no money taken from you either.

No, mine was the right analogy. In the United States, you go to the pump slide your card and begin to fill up. Most people who have credit cards don't go into the store unless they need something. If you just want gas, you don't have to talk to anybody.