Amazon Marketplace

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I just placed an order with a seller that goes by the name of Smogtown. Only time will tell whether they get a thumbs up or down...

I'm happy to report my experience with Smogtown ended happily. And delivery was pretty quick.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

So far, I'd have to agree on the above Caiman assessment - I've ordered dozens of CDs from them (nearly always pick the 'new' offerings) - can't remember having any not in stock or excessively delayed in their shipment - guess I've been lucky - 

Yeah, with Caiman I've found that when sticking with what's current and/or VERY recently OOP they're quite dependable.

But experience has taught me never to trust them again with something rare or relatively obscure. That's when their habit of listing items they don't have can do the most harm. Especially when a competitor lists the same item concurrently. In the past I've gone with Caiman even though a competitor had an identical item for practically the same price and I've been burned. So I get stuck with nothing since Caiman didn't really have the item while someone else gets the prize. Very frustrating!!

Now, if Caiman's the only one listing a rare item, sure, I'll go for it. Nothing to lose in that case.

[Gurn Blanston]

Of course, I'm a big Newbury Comics fan, but a couple of other sellers that I have recently had very good experience with are cddvd4u and Boston Computer. I admit, the name scared me off at first (Boston Computer? NO, the other one!), but I have got 4 disks in the last couple of months, all less than mainstream, and shipping, pricing, communication etc. were first rate.






----------------
Listening to:
K 468a 429alt Masonic Cantata  - Choir and Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper/Peter Maag - K 468a 429 Cantata for Boy Soprano, Male Choir & Orchestra - Dir, Seele des Weltalls

[George]

Update


Recommended:

Newbury Comics- IMO and many others the best seller on Amazon: fast delivery and great customer service!
Russian DVD.com - Excellent customer service and hard to find Russian titles.
archiv- Great reputation, fast delivery.
Wherehouse
Alphacraze
Music Express
Music_Media
ImportCds
movie mars
spun-dot-com
ruslania.com
ch____marche24
direct-offers
market_plus (UK)
selectcheaper
cddvd4u
Boston Computer
Smogtown


Avoid:

CDepot
Secondhandtunes
digital_eyes
Cheap_CDs
CDBARON
valuecd



Questionable:

hermanstreet - Has a good rating, but they often post things that they don't even have. When that's the case, they don't communicate that to the customer, as their customer service isn't poor, its nonexistent.
Direct Offers - Similar issues as hermanstreet.
caiman- For in print items, many of us have had good experiences with this seller but like hermanstreet, they post things they don't even have, usually OOP stuff. They have low prices, but its a gamble on OOP stuff.
gohastings- I've read more complaints about this one than any other, though some people have had good experiences with them.

[haydnguy]

Could someone tell me the best way to get to these Marketplace sellers to browse at their offerings?  Thanks.....

[George]

Could someone tell me the best way to get to these Marketplace sellers to browse at their offerings?  Thanks.....

Go to amazon, type the name of the seller and then a blank space and "store."

EX - "newbury comics store"

[haydnguy]

Thanks a lot George! I've wondered how to do that for a long time.

[George]

Thanks a lot George! I've wondered how to do that for a long time.

I actually just went over there and tried a few different searches and came up with it. Looks like you can't separate by classical only though.

I usually go the other way around, choosing the product that I want and finding the best seller for the least money. That's why I started this thread.

These days I just browse my bulging Wish List. It's now 13 pages long!! 

[haydnguy]

hmmm....doesn't seem to be working. Do I need to search in a particular department??

[haydnguy]

That's what I do to. I thought there might be an easy way just to bounce from one to another easily. Thanks for the help.

[George]

hmmm....doesn't seem to be working. Do I need to search in a particular department??

Sorry, it's not working for me now either.

The other way is to pick a very popular CD, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-9-Symphonien/dp/B000001GBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1233794026&sr=8-1

Click on "used and new"

click on the store name

click on storefront

if the seller is small enough, you can browse.

Sorry this is the best I can figure out.

[haydnguy]

That should work! Thanks. 

[George]

That should work! Thanks. 

I notice that it doesn't work for the bigger sellers. 

[haydnguy]

Like you said, there isn't a way you can browse, say, for just classical music in newbury comics so I guess that's not the best way.

(I guess Amazon doesn't want to make it TOO easy!)     

[George]

Like you said, there isn't a way you can browse, say, for just classical music in newbury comics so I guess that's not the best way.

(I guess Amazon doesn't want to make it TOO easy!)     

Good point.

I'd be upset if I used amazon in this manner, but I always search by product so I don't have an issue with it.

[Coopmv]

Good point.

I'd be upset if I used amazon in this manner, but I always search by product so I don't have an issue with it.

Among the MarketPlace vendors, I think ImportCD has just about the best selections and usually the best prices.  Newbury Comics also has some of the best prices, though its selections are not as comprehensive as ImportCD's.  Amazon's prices generally are nothing to write home about unless when it runs its occasional promotions such as that 80-CD Glenn Gould set that I paid $109 with free shipping.  I paid a great price for the Wagner Ring cycle by Karl Bohm at Newbury Comics last year.  Last I checked, it also had the Karajan's Wagner Ring at a price that is cheaper than is available at MDT.

[Coopmv]

I am still waiting for an order I placed with Caiman nine days ago. It's not that long, but I know others have received at least one of the discs I ordered. My order is still "being processed," which is what it's said since the day after I placed the order.

I am still avoiding Caiman.  There are enough good MP vendors out there.  I have had excellent experience with these vendors: ImportCD, Newbury Comics, Beach Entertainments and classical_music_superstore.

[Szykneij]

I am still avoiding Caiman.  There are enough good MP vendors out there.  I have had excellent experience with these vendors: ImportCD, Newbury Comics, Beach Entertainments and classical_music_superstore.

My one experience with Caiman was unsatisfactory so I never dealt with them again. I ordered a Vivaldi Four Seasons CD because I needed a recording of the piece it was coupled with. Caiman sent me a different Seasons CD by a different orchestra and without the piece I wanted. They never responded to my e-mails notifying them of the problem.

[nut-job]

I am still avoiding Caiman.  There are enough good MP vendors out there.  I have had excellent experience with these vendors: ImportCD, Newbury Comics, Beach Entertainments and classical_music_superstore.

I have used all of those, but twice had problems with ImportCD.  On two occasions I ordered DVDs which were explicitly listed as NTSC and received PAL DVDs.  On both occasions I returned the item and received a refund, but I lost time and the cost of mailing the thing back.

[Coopmv]

Yes, they are greedy financial wizards.  They pad their pockets by pretending their distributor doesn't have things.   

I sometimes wonder if any of these e-tailers actually place the orders with their distributors only after they have received the orders.  After all, keeping everything in stock all the time is expensive ...