When I look up a CD or DVD I want to buy I have to pick from some third party to actually purchase it. WTF??? I imagine this means that if I have a problem with the order, Amazon will tell me, “Hey, take it up with flybynite123 in Florida. We’re not responsible.”
I’d prefer to buy directly from the “store” and have a single point of contact. Last night, I decided to buy from a local merchant’s web site instead. Are their book sales going to go this way in the future? I may never shop at Amazon again, if so. That would suck. I really liked the convenience of their site. But I won’t do business over the internet with some anonymous user name.
What were you buying? There is the Amazon marketplace, which is an option of buying new/used items from others without going to a site like Half or eBay. Generally, if whatever you are looking for is in-print, Amazon will have it for direct purchase for them. If it’s out-of-print, the marketplace is a decent place to start looking for what you want, as anyone who has it and wants to sell will have the item listed. It’s theoretically no different than buying from eBay or Half. You’re buying from an individual (or company) which advertises goods on Amazon. Amazon then gets a cut of whatever the item sells for.
Yes. Amazon has zShops and Amazon Marketplace/auctions which are co-searchable with its own retail operation. The Amazon version of the retail item should show up first if available (if you don’t see it, it means it’s out of print, etc.). Thus, these third-party options just give you additional alternatives, plus the option of paying through your Amazon account. There’s probably some recourse if you’re not satisfied, and most of the vendors I’ve dealt with are heavy repeat players, and have an interest in keeping good feedback.
In short, it’s an alternative, and one I’ve found useful and reliable, for when Amazon.com itself doesn’t stock an item, or when the retail/new price is substantially higher than what one of their affiliates offers.
I had a similar very unsatisfactory experience with Amazon.co.uk.
I paid for a DVD of Apollo 13, and shipping, which was coming from a third party vendor. I received the following mail from Amazon:
I then got a mail from the vendor, via Amazon, saying:
I was then refunded the price of the DVD, but not the shipping. Several emails to Amazon regarding this have gone unanswered. It’s only a small amount, but it’s the principle that they should not have that money that irritates me.
Don’t think this is necessarily a GQ, however. If it were in the Pit I might have some more choice words to say…
I was looking at CDs and DVDs only and I don’t remember an option to buy from anybody except third parties. I understand it’s just like buying from eBay which is what I don’t like. If I wanted to risk a purchase on eBay, I’d just go to eBay. What good is Amazon.com anymore if it’s just another eBay?
What we’re saying, YellowTail, is that this typically only happens when the item is out of print. In-print material goes striaght thru Amazon same as it used to.
For instance, here’s a book that’s currently in print which you can order from Amazon or, if you want, buy used thru an Amazon Marketplace seller by clicking the “More Buying Choices” link at the right. However, if you wanted to get this sadly OOP book, you can’t get it direct from Amazon, but have to click through to an affiliated seller. It sounds to me that you’re probably searching for things that have gone OOP.
" Amazon.com Inc. is helping customers find something surprising this holiday season: its retail rivals.
Nearly a decade after it wowed millions with online shopping, Amazon is betting that the big money on the Web lies in connecting buyers and sellers.
So when Amazon shoppers search for computers, the results might include a link to Dell Inc.'s online shopping site. Browsing for Ralph Lauren duds could get you connected to fashion retailer Bluefly Inc. A digital camera sold by J&R Music and Computer World is sometimes displayed more prominently than the same one sold by Amazon.
“We wanted to position ourselves as the place to start for shopping,” said Diego Piacentini, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide retail and marketing. “The strategy is to keep connecting people with products.”
There is a guarantee of goods you purchase through Amazon, but from a Marketplace (or other) seller. I’m not gonna go to Amazon and put the link here; it’s not that hard to find.
I’ve bought a fairly large number of used books from Amazon Marketplace sellers, and on the whole I’m quite satisfied. I have learned to send email inquiries first, unless the seller gives full details (binding, trade or BCE, marks (e.g., remainder, ex-lib), etc.). When I’m looking for an OOP book (as is very often the case), I check eBay, Half.com and ABEbooks, but as often as not, I find the cheapest copy on Amazon, including trade firsts of fiction that I’m trying to backfill into my personal library. I can count my disappointments on the fingers of one hand.
WRT new books, Amazon stocks - or at least purports to - every single book published in the US by a regular “trade” publisher (and I think they also stock some self-published books which reach a certain level of popularity). And most of the time their discount is bigger than alternate sources. They aren’t begging you to buy either new or used books from the zShops or Marketplace; they’re merely offering them as a way to nail down more customers.
What others said, YellowTail. It’s no different from the way it’s been for a long while. Obviously you never looked for a deleted CD before so you hadn’t noticed.
I hate to keep beating this dead horse, but I’m not looking for books! One is a CD, one is a DVD and I know for a fact they are not “out of print” as I just ordered them from a local retailer instead of Amazon.com.
One poster seemed to get it right with the excerpt from an article implying that Amazon is now doing the same thing as eBay. That may be the the future, but it’s not my future. I’ll just shop locally instead.
I think I know what the original poster is talking about.
I recently ordered this book from Amazon:
“The Ultimate”, by William Poundstone.
The Amazon page describing this book indicates that it “Usually ships within 24 hours from Amazon.com”. That is, nothing unusual.
However, the invoice for this order says:
“Your order contains one or more items from an Amazon.com partner and may be subject to local sales tax, depending on the state to which the item is being shipped.”
“The following products are sold by Borders teamed with Amazon.com, Inc.:”
and then lists the book I ordered.
So you can’t judge from Amazon’s description page whether they are using a partner to provide the item.
True, Amazon has several partners. Target, Circuit City, Borders, Toys R Us are four off the top of my head. However, I still think the OP was talking about the Amazon Marketplace, not other large corporate partners.
Wow, that, really surprises me. I’ve bought non-book items through Amazon partners, and the Amazon page did specify where the item would actually be coming from. For example, I just bought some music software through the Amazon site that was actually shipped by Zzounds.com, and that was clearly stated on the description page. But as you say, there’s no such indication on the page for that Poundstone book.
Well, YellowTail, I just my own research and I cannot find what you’re talking about. FWIW, I see the same behavior with both books and CD’s, so the CD-vs-book thing is a moot point.
For anything I tried to look up (from the latest U2 album to obscures oldies, I get two different things on the right-hand side of my screen. “Ready to buy?” with an “Add to Shopping Cart” button that adds it directly to my Amazon shopping cart, and “More Buying Choices” which, I assume, takes me to third-party shopping. Everything I put in a shopping cart using “Add to Shopping Cart” appears to be coming from Amazon itself.
I think I may have just figured it out. I went back and searched again for “Give It Up” by Bonnie Raitt. I can either click the “add to shopping cart” button or “48 used and new” link. I’ve been clicking used and new instead of add to cart.
When I search again for the Blues Brothers DVD, it says see all buying options instead of add to cart. It doesn’t look like I have the option to buy from amazon there.
The other DVD I looked for was Silver Streak but it hasn’t been released yet (according to amazon), so it just says to pre-order. But I ordered it locally and it didn’t say anything about not being released yet.
There’s too much clutter on the screens and their not entirely consistent making it confusing to me.
Wow. I can’t believe that Blues Brothers is OOP. I thought it was popular enough for it to still be available. Well, considering that it retailed for 35 bucks, 55 isn’t bad if you really love the movie. As for Silver Streak, unless the local place broke the ship date, you still won’t get it until the 14th.
But I won’t do business over the internet with some anonymous user name.