Nice prices, but painfull at times
Every day computer user, not rich, a bargain hunter, an online shopper, value conscious, a comparison shopper, budget conscious, Budget-Conscious
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AUG
8
2008
From my experience as a seller, at first, Amazon was blazingly great. No up front costs, just list and wait, which for a eighteen year old college freshman trying to sell her first years worth of college texts, was a great idea. One small step hopefully into a better more benefical world. Then the commision costs hit, and well, thats so so, and okay they are the middle party, and then you look at what you actually get for shipping. Now I do understand that shipping costs are something that can be a bit outrageous with some dealers who abuse the right to charge for shipping, but for a textbook thats as big as a coffee table, $3 isn't gonna cover the packaging alone. Although thats a inconvience and a bit annoying, considering I do take the time to ensure that all my packages and items are well packed and shipped safely, its a definite annoyance. However what is downright beyond aggravating is the limitation of what can be sold in certain areas. Granted jewelry and watches, yeah you don't want a eighteen year old kid selling you a diamond ring, however, I do find the policy of 'pre-approved' sellers and then not accepting applications from long standing sellers who have good reputations but don't met that elitist two or three store owners/sellers that are selling in other these 'restricted categories' completly and utterly ridiculous. It limits free enterprise and defiently cuts small business owners out of a chance at doing well, and offering better prices to Amazon shoppers. Thats almost monolpolous and there's no excuse for it being in the name of consumer confidence, the A to Z Gurantee is there to ensure that, along with a feedback system to ensure that if a seller is bad, they can be marked as such. Along with word of mouth along the net having its own effects upon a seller.
Which leads into my experience with Amazon as a shopper on the other side of the fence. First time experience there ever was over textbooks for my college career, which at first were great, finding textbooks at almost half price was like putting a kid in a candy store for a budget tight college kid. Then I began to look elsewhere at places like eBay and Half.com and then were my eyes really opened. And not just to textbooks either. Much to my even joy was I able to find a complete anime series for less than thirty, for anyone whose shopped for anime, you know your doing well to get anything for around thirty, and less is heaven. Yet I'd been shopping faithfully on Amazon and paying alot more for the same items that were most of the time in inferior condition to the new products offered on either of those two sights. Faith shaken a little by that, however what got me aggrevated with Amazon was the lousy customer service you get from them. Sure the A to Z gurantee is there and it does a pretty decent job of insuring that a bad situation is made right, however, if you want to do a return to Amazon.com itself, you may as well start pulling teeth. No available customer service number I've found to date, I've heard rumors that someone found the CS number, but I myself am yet to shell it out. Second, again with the shipping. Turns out if you return a item to Amazon.com and you don't happen to pay attention to the options on the page, you get the shipping for your return deducted from the amount thats actually refunded to you, which wouldnt be so bad if it were the amount they give their marketplace sellers, however thats not the case. A case in point, when I returned a 13 x 19 50 page case of photo paper for a printer that mal functioned and I couldn't use those pages for it, I decided to return it to Amazon.com through their USPS service. Turns out that out of the $40 I spent on the case, I only got $17 back due to shipping costs? Now I understand paper is heavy and this particular case of paper was wide, but fifty pages of paper is not that heavy and even a 13x19 in a slim box would cost maybe $9-10 for a good rate. Turns out Amazon don't skimp on shipping costs when it comes to themselves. Nice isn't it?
So in conclusion, I am truly not satisfied with Amazon as a seller or buyer and have sense closed down my shop with them and reopened on Half.com and had much better success and only rarely now order anything as a buyer through Amazon unless its to use the last of my Amazon Prime before it expires, and no it will not be renewed, to get free two day shipping or becuase it was cheapier to go the Amazon route, which with carefull shopping now, its rare and far inbetween that thats necessary.
I have several years of experiences in consumer electronics, have been involved in computer resale and some refurbrishment although not as much as I like, and am currently a customer service manager for a respected retailer and own my own small businesses out of eBay, Half.com, and formerly, Amazon.com. This is not the review of a annoyed eighteen year old, but from someone who has had some experience in this field and is professionaly disgusted with this service.
Amazon.com is not recommended by Hakuryustar17
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