The i-Deals Incident

[Madiel]

Why would someone leave a review for a CD they never heard?

You'd have to ask the myriad of fans that seem to do this every time a listing goes up for a new pop music CD.  They proceed to give 5-star reviews saying how excited they are about the new album (which they haven't heard yet).

[kishnevi]

John, you sound like the kid who was caught by his mother with his hand in the cookie jar, and is angry with his mother for stopping him from getting more cookies, even though he knew he wasn't supposed to have any of those cookies to begin with.

I-deals screwed up, you tried to take advantage of it, and now are angry because they aren't saintlike enough to honor an advertised price that was screwed up and which you knew was screwed up.  And the fact that they aren't honoring it may be for a legitimate reason--you don't know they're lying about not actually having it in stock.    Be grateful for what you got, and leave well enough alone.   

This genuinely made me laugh.  A person sees the words "In Stock" on a computer screen from half a world away and takes this as conclusive proof that the disc is in fact sitting in the warehouse.

+1

[Madiel]

It is the job of the online seller to keep their inventory up to date. Whether you believe this or not is irrelevant. At the end of the day, they will continue to cancel orders and customers will continue to leave negative feedback. That's just the way online business works.

Well yes, of course it's a very important part of their job to keep the online inventory up to date.  But you didn't say they were incompetent, you said they were lying.

[bigshot]

Greed is not something that should be waved around like a flag.

[bigshot]

I never disrespected you or lost respect for you for a minute even if I disagreed with you, but if this is how little you think of me, then maybe we shouldn't be friends.

Respect is something you earn. It isn't given to you.

[Mirror Image]

Greed is not something that should be waved around like a flag.

Really? You should just get over yourself. Get off your freakin' high horse already. I did what any CD collector would have done and stocked up on CDs that I didn't own already and found this a viable way to get new music from composers I haven't heard yet. So sue for me taking advantage of something that I thought was incredible and that I thought was something that was legitimate. Getting emails that state that my orders have been cancelled because they're "out-of-stock", regardless of what truly happened, which, by the way, we still don't know, seems like bad business practices to me.

I don't give a flying crap if you agree with me or not. You can't say that you've never took advantage of a sale because you'd be lying if said you haven't. It's kind of like this: you walk into a store and see something that is mispriced, but its something you wanted for quite some time, are you the person who walks up to the cashier and tells them "This product is mispriced. It's a lot more expensive than this. You need to fix this problem." No, I don't think you'd do this, because it's our natural instinct, as a customer, to want it for that price that we saw it for. Usually, you'll have to get a manager, but a store shouldn't be so careless. If I misprice something at my job, you better believe that the customer will be walking away with that item for that price. I never said I didn't have my flaws because I do, but you should really take two steps back and look at yourself and what you've done and what you've taken advantage of. You're not perfect and you don't practice what you preach. That I'll bet a $1 on.

[mc ukrneal]

Really? You should just get over yourself. Get off your freakin' high horse already. I did what any CD collector would have done and stocked up on CDs that I didn't own already and found this a viable way to get new music from composers I haven't heard yet. So sue for me taking advantage of something that I thought was incredible and that I thought was something that was legitimate. Getting emails that state that my orders have been cancelled because they're "out-of-stock", regardless of what truly happened, which, by the way, we still don't know, seems like bad business practices to me.

I don't give a flying crap if you agree with me or not. You can't say that you've never took advantage of a sale because you'd be lying if said you haven't. It's kind of like this: you walk into a store and see something that is mispriced, but its something you wanted for quite some time, are you the person who walks up to the cashier and tells them "This product is mispriced. It's a lot more expensive than this. You need to fix this problem." No, I don't think you'd do do this, because it's our natural instinct to want it for that price that we saw it for. Usually, you'll have to get a manager, but a store shouldn't be so careless. If I misprice something at my job, you better believe that the customer will walking away with that item for that price. I never said I didn't have my flaws because I do, but you should really take two steps back and look at yourself and what you've done and what you've taken advantage of. You're not perfect and you don't practice what you preach. That I'll bet a $1 on.

Some of us do. It is a matter of how we choose to live our lives and how we choose to view our fellow man. Even after I read about the deals here, I chose not to buy anything from them, because I felt that was the right thing to do. In hindsight - I wish I had done more. I wish I had written them an email indicating there may be a problem. You see, I am not trying to suggest I am better than you - I could have done better.

The other day, I was at a restaurant that forgot to include a dish on the bill - I mentioned it to the waiter and they were so thankful (as I imagine you would be at your place of employment in a similar situation). I did it, because I would have wanted to others to do the same if the roles were reversed and because it is the right thing to do. A lot of people would not have done so, you are correct in that. But that does not mean we should not. I do ask if I think something is mispriced - this is not a tactic. It is a way of life.

If the topic interests you, you might want to check out the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I don't agree with everything in it, but I love how the book is about the choices we make in life.

[Scarpia]

Really? You should just get over yourself. Get off your freakin' high horse already. I did what any CD collector would have done and stocked up on CDs that I didn't own already and found this a viable way to get new music from composers I haven't heard yet. So sue for me taking advantage of something that I thought was incredible and that I thought was something that was legitimate. Getting emails that state that my orders have been cancelled because they're "out-of-stock", regardless of what truly happened, which, by the way, we still don't know, seems like bad business practices to me.

I don't give a flying crap if you agree with me or not. You can't say that you've never took advantage of a sale because you'd be lying if said you haven't. It's kind of like this: you walk into a store and see something that is mispriced, but its something you wanted for quite some time, are you the person who walks up to the cashier and tells them "This product is mispriced. It's a lot more expensive than this. You need to fix this problem." No, I don't think you'd do do this, because it's our natural instinct to want it for that price that we saw it for. Usually, you'll have to get a manager, but a store shouldn't be so careless. If I misprice something at my job, you better believe that the customer will walking away with that item for that price. I never said I didn't have my flaws because I do, but you should really take two steps back and look at yourself and what you've done and what you've taken advantage of. You're not perfect and you don't practice what you preach. That I'll bet a $1 on.

You are lying even in this post, where you say you thought you were taking advantage of something "legitimate."  When you first posted about your luck getting these CDs you said unambiguously that you were sure that the low prices were an error.   It is defensible to order under the assumption that the offer might be legitimate and with the understanding that orders might be canceled if the offer turns out to be a mistake.  But to loot the on-line store, to go to great lengths to get Amazon to coerce the seller into fulfilling the spurious orders and to sabotage the venders web site if spurious orders aren't filled crosses a line.  I would not presume to judge a person by their 'on-line' presence, but the actions you describe strike me as those of a selfish, immoral person.  That is why you have apparently lost whatever respect you had from Karl, me, and perhaps some others here.

[DavidRoss]

This is one of my favorite Larson cartoons:

[Mirror Image]

You are lying even in this post, where you say you thought you were taking advantage of something "legitimate."  When you first posted about your luck getting these CDs you said unambiguously that you were sure that the low prices were an error.   It is defensible to order under the assumption that the offer might be legitimate and with the understanding that orders might be canceled if the offer turns out to be a mistake.  But to loot the on-line store, to go to great lengths to get Amazon to coerce the seller into fulfilling the spurious orders and to sabotage the venders web site if spurious orders aren't filled crosses a line.  I would not presume to judge a person by their 'on-line' presence, but the actions you describe strike me as those of a selfish, immoral person.  That is why you have apparently lost whatever respect you had from Karl, me, and perhaps some others here.

Said the guy who never has taken advantage of a sale in his life who is perfect all the way around.

[bigshot]

Really? You should just get over yourself. Get off your freakin' high horse already. I did what any CD collector would have done and stocked up on CDs that I didn't own already and found this a viable way to get new music from composers I haven't heard yet.

The thing you don't seem to understand is that the problem isn't in the ordering. It's the attitude of entitlement you've adopted since then. It started at the beginning when you said "but I won't be posting the name of the seller here" and it continued through rants about legal action and threats of feedback retribution. It's ugly and it doesn't reflect well on you. Maybe you don't care what other people think and all you want are cheap CDs, but when you post in this thread, you're allowing all of us to see a side of you that none of us would be particularly proud of if it was ourselves. Listening to you makes me feel bad. I'm just being honest here because up to now I've respected you.

I find I often mistake who people are based on superficial aspects of their avatar and screen name. I guess that's human nature.

[Mirror Image]

The thing you don't seem to understand is that the problem isn't in the ordering. It's the attitude of entitlement you've adopted since then. It's ugly and it doesn't reflect well on you. Maybe you don't care what other people think and all you want are cheap CDs, but when you post in this thread, you're allowing all of us to see a side of you that none of us would be particularly proud of if it was ourselves. Listening to you makes me feel bad. I'm just being honest here because up to now I've respected you.

Scarpia is right that I thought something was wrong with their system at first, but it was just a guess because, honestly, I didn't know. When I saw the sale went on for another night, I thought that it was legitimate and thought what Scrapia said about maybe they had a warehouse that was getting rid of a lot of merchandise seemed like a possible answer. I see now that it was a mistake on their part and maybe the business part of me thought they should honor everyone's orders. I mean I've never seen something like this happen online but twice so far. I've seen Naxos of America mark CDs down this low, but theirs seemed like it wasn't error and they were truly having a sale.

I'm sorry to have disappointed all of my friends here with my attitude. I've certainly disgraced myself enough here. Goodbye to everyone. Time to go back into the shadows and reflect upon this for awhile.

[bigshot]

No grudges are ever held on my part.

[Mirror Image]

No grudges are ever held on my part.

Thank you and I apologize for my boorish behavior tonight. I suppose more than anything I was just venting my frustrations over this mess, but I shouldn't even let it bother me, because, in the end, it has no signifigance on my life whatsoever.

[Mirror Image]

I feel terrible for the way I acted tonight and actually for the way I've been acting since Friday night. I really don't know what came over me. Sorry to Karl, Bigshot, Orfeo, Scarpia (even though I never thought we were getting along anyway), Dave Ross, and anyone else I may have maligned in my inexcusable and unwarranted tirades. Time to get back to reason why I'm here: the music, which is the only thing that matters to me. It's not the CDs, the CD players, the iPods, all of this are just ways to enhance your experience. It will always be about the music for me and it's the reason I continue to come back to this forum time and time again to learn from those who have much more wisdom than I do. I just enjoy everyone's company here and finding common ground with people.

[bigshot]

If it's the *right* CD, one CD could theoretically satisfy you for the rest of your life. I'm trying to figure out which CD that is. All I have to do is narrow it down a bit...

[springrite]

I feel terrible for the way I acted tonight and actually for the way I've been acting since Friday night. I really don't know what came over me. Sorry to Karl, Bigshot, Orfeo, Scarpia (even though I never thought we were getting along anyway), Dave Ross, and anyone else I may have maligned in my inexcusable and unwarranted tirades. Time to get back to reason why I'm here: the music, which is the only thing that matters to me. It's not the CDs, the CD players, the iPods, all of this are just ways to enhance your experience. It will always be about the music for me and it's the reason I continue to come back to this forum time and time again to learn from those who have much more wisdom than I do. I just enjoy everyone's company here and finding common ground with people.

Thank you, John. I know you can talk and act that way. But more importantly, I know that this IS you, which is why I never really get upset at you.

I am so happy to read this from you. I mean it.

[Mirror Image]

If it's the *right* CD, one CD could theoretically satisfy you for the rest of your life. I'm trying to figure out which CD that is. All I have to do is narrow it down a bit...

That would a touch choice because there are so many I cherish. One that springs instantly to mind is Bernstein's 1979 Live in Japan performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. For me, this music has everything: mystery, emotional drama, the idea that what we're hearing is really not what the composer actually meant, and this Bernstein performance has everything you could want in a performance: incredible sense of flow for the music and the shaping of the musical lines, passionate playing from the New York Philharmonic, and great audio that captures all the ambience of this live performance. It's definitely a recording I would bring to the desert island with me.

[Mirror Image]

Thank you, John. I know you can talk and act that way. But more importantly, I know that this IS you, which is why I never really get upset at you.

I am so happy to read this from you. I mean it.

Thank you, Paul. I just hope my friends, especially Karl and Dave Ross can forgive me. I was out-of-line and completely insensitive. I was, quite frankly, annoying myself. It's kind of like I dug myself into this hole and by the time it was all over, I buried myself.

It's good to be back. Thank you, Paul and everyone else who kept me in check.

[Que]

So far, here is what is on the way:

[PLEASE ENTER HERE THE PICTURES OF A TRUCK LOAD OF CDs]

I'm quite thrilled they shipped three orders I placed, but I will be even more thrilled if they ship all of them.

I suppose more than anything I was just venting my frustrations over this mess, but I shouldn't even let it bother me, because, in the end, it has no signifigance on my life whatsoever.

Frustrations? About what?  A company made a mistake of which they have let you profit from BIG time!

Shouldn't you just be happy with whatever you got out of this?? You act being disadvantaged and wronged, but you are not.
You got incredibly lucky, profiting of a mishap of which you already knew all to well that it might be the case.

I know I have been lucky - my single order got shipped. 

Although my advantage is modest since I still had to pay for shipping to Europe and I didn't have the chance to do more orders (the store closed at that time), I am not frustrated. 0:)


EDIT:

I feel terrible for the way I acted tonight and actually for the way I've been acting since Friday night. I really don't know what came over me. Sorry to Karl, Bigshot, Orfeo, Scarpia (even though I never thought we were getting along anyway), Dave Ross, and anyone else I may have maligned in my inexcusable and unwarranted tirades.

OK, I missed that post before posting - I do hope you now feel happy about your windfall, instead of frustrated...

Q