Marketplace

[visualnickmos]

Can anyone explain what exactly is the difference between Amz and Amz marketplace, and how does one actually find it? I've tried to get it, but it just goes to the "normal" Amz????? I'm baffled - (again) What am I doing wrong?

[Dave2002]

Can anyone explain what exactly is the difference between Amz and Amz marketplace, and how does one actually find it? I've tried to get it, but it just goes to the "normal" Amz????? I'm baffled - (again) What am I doing wrong?

1. Look for something you want to buy, e.g.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sibelius-Com...8782518&sr=1-1

2. Look for a line like N new from £Y.

Currently that Sibelius set has the line

18 new from £10.70 - the word new is a link.

Selecting that link will bring up the corresponding page of marketplace sellers. Sometimes they are cheaper, though often the postage takes the price higher than the vanilla Amazon price.

[teamsaint]

if you are up for used, there are some good bargains, though choice can be limited.
I have been picking up a lot of stuff for around £1/£2, which with £1.20 post still makes for a good bargain.
Quality from Zoverstocks, who seem to be one of the bigger stockists is excellent.
Picked up 2 Stravinsky CD's of the symphonies and the VC for £6 this week.

[hafod]

if you are up for used, there are some good bargains, though choice can be limited.
I have been picking up a lot of stuff for around £1/£2, which with £1.20 post still makes for a good bargain.
Quality from Zoverstocks, who seem to be one of the bigger stockists is excellent.
Picked up 2 Stravinsky CD's of the symphonies and the VC for £6 this week.

Overall, my experience of Zoverstocks is more variable. Generally, their stock is either described as 'new' or 'very good'. I have never had a problem with the former although cardboard flip top box sets have been damaged in transit because they are simply stuffed into a padded envelope making the corners vulnerable - especially the larger boxes. For example, Chailly’s Mahler cycle for £9.99 suffered two bruised corners in transit though the discs were pristine. 75% of items described as 'very good’ have been exactly that (or better) but the rest have ranged from good to disgraceful. In my experience if you complain they refund without quibble but take no notice of anything else you say about improving quality control. Perhaps the quick refund is a tacit acknowledgement of the inadequate quality control because it may be more cost effective than doing something about it. It is not uncommon for an email to be received saying that an item has failed its final ‘quality control’ (sic) and a refund is given and occasionally they have sent the wrong item.

I do wonder if standards of condition are more rigorously applied by classical buyers (but within the criteria set out by Amazon) than by others. I now never buy anything expensive from Zover and reckon that the many great bargains received have offset the turkeys which, if they play ok, I consign to the car and don’t bother to make a claim but give a ‘1’ in the feedback. However, given the huge numbers they sell the latter barely registers. At the last count they had 2,493,648 ratings of which 97% were positive. Nevertheless that means almost 75000 were not so draw your own conclusions!

[teamsaint]

I have to say Zover have been excellent.
I have only bought very cheap stuff, under £3. I only buy very good or better.
the CD's I have received have been top quality, the cases and booklets less so, but not to a fault.
1 item never turned up, got quick credit. 1 item they emailed to say they wouldn't supply due to it being of insufficient quality when tested.
So I am happy, though they do seem to have a less than perfect reputation. I would think hard before shelling out much money on used though.
Another issue to just watch out for is description, especially on multi volume editions...make sure you know which bits you are paying for.

[Thropplenoggin]

Zoverstocks have served me well to date. As has every other Marketplace seller. In my experience as an eBay seller and Marketplace buyer, the newer sellers with fewer reviews (around the 100 mark) with high feedback scores (99-100%) are probably more keen on receiving positive feedback and, thus, are more honest in descriptions of discs, etc.

I have a question relating to Amazon. How often do you shop around the various Amazon country sites .com, .fr, .es, .de, .it, etc?

Did you know that you can generally search for one item on one of the sites and then there is a short-cut to see what price it is at the other Amazon sites.

e.g. Search for 'Busch Quartet Beethoven' in Amazon.co.uk, click on the disc, and then change the .co.uk to .fr, .es, .de, etc. in the address bar to compare prices around the EU/globe for that particular item. Saves a lot of faffing around.

[vinteuil]

I have a question relating to Amazon. How often do you shop around the various Amazon country sites .com, .fr, .es, .de, .it, etc?

Did you know that you can generally search for one item on one of the sites and then there is a short-cut to see what price it is at the other Amazon sites.

e.g. Search for 'Busch Quartet Beethoven' in Amazon.co.uk, click on the disc, and then change the .co.uk to .fr, .es, .de, etc. in the address bar to compare prices around the EU/globe for that particular item. Saves a lot of faffing around.

... now that, thropples, is really useful! I regularly shop between the various ones - this will be really helpful

[Thropplenoggin]

... now that, thropples, is really useful! I regularly shop between the various ones - this will be really helpful

Good to know, vinteuil.

[teamsaint]

Good to know, vinteuil.

I will give this a go too...didn't know about it. Thanks.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Overall, my experience of Zoverstocks is more variable.

Same here, hafod. I've had a number of orders cancelled, as the item has turned out to be 'no longer in stock'. My last order with them - for a rare Massenet opera usually available only at exorbitant prices - saw the wrong disc sent and getting the item refunded was a protracted affair.

I actually have a theory about Zoverstocks - they obviously use Amazon software which will automatically undercut other sellers' best prices by a penny. Other sellers use this too. I suspect that, in the case of the rare Massenet, that they never had the item in stock in the first place and put it 'on sale' speculatively, to draw other sellers into lowering their price so that they can then snaffle it up cheaply to then put on sale at a high price... a risky practice if someone 'times it right' and picks up what they think is a bargain. I've resolved to avoid them in future.

[zola]

I'm fairly certain I read that Zoverstocks is the "Amazon arm" of an outfit that advertise on satellite TV ( have forgotten the name, something Monkey I think ? ) where you send off job lots of unwanted cds / dvds in exchange for cash. So Zoverstocks having an item "in stock" could mean just the one with little prospect of replacements arriving.

Amazon marketplace sellers could be those with a full warehouse or it could be you and me with a pile of discs in a cupboard. Ebay under another name really.

[hafod]

Did you know that you can generally search for one item on one of the sites and then there is a short-cut to see what price it is at the other Amazon sites.

e.g. Search for 'Busch Quartet Beethoven' in Amazon.co.uk, click on the disc, and then change the .co.uk to .fr, .es, .de, etc. in the address bar to compare prices around the EU/globe for that particular item. Saves a lot of faffing around.

There is an alternative which I posted some while ago on the bargains thread. I can't find it so herewith a repeat.
Put the following website into your Favourites bar and open it in a second tab.

https://pricenoia.com/

Simply copy and paste the ASIN number into it and on the page that comes up click on the picture of the disc - bingo - the prices (and delivery charge from where you are based) are listed on a single page for the various Amazon sites (there are also results for marketplace new and used as well). Generally reliable but occasionally fails to include a result that you know should be there, and the delivery charge for a marketplace seller in the uk is wrong - given as £1.45 when it is £1.26).

A couple more steps than Thropplenoggin's method but these only need to be done once to obtain all the Amazon sites on a single page. It can also work if you enter the disc catalogue number rather than the ASIN. This normally brings up a page saying 'Not the expected results? ‐ Search this on all Amazon shops'. Click on this search and then on the picture of the disc that comes up as before.

It all sounds very complicated (probably my stilted instructions) but try it three or four times and it becomes routine. Saves a great deal of time.

[teamsaint]

Hafod...this is great, just tried it.I had to double click the name of the work to get all the prices, but it works very well.
Although I suspect its going to make me spend more, rather than less , overall !!

[hafod]

I actually have a theory about Zoverstocks - they obviously use Amazon software which will automatically undercut other sellers' best prices by a penny. Other sellers use this too. I suspect that, in the case of the rare Massenet, that they never had the item in stock in the first place and put it 'on sale' speculatively, to draw other sellers into lowering their price so that they can then snaffle it up cheaply to then put on sale at a high price... a risky practice if someone 'times it right' and picks up what they think is a bargain. I've resolved to avoid them in future.

I have heard of this wheeze. Where individual sellers are concerned the item in question is often described as 'acceptable' and a note added along the lines 'disc # missing or badly scratched' to deter purchasers - the price-matching software taking no account of condition. However, I wonder if a large outfit like Zover would do this as they normally have no one on the staff who knows anything about classical music and given the amount of stuff sold by a business of this size it would surely be a drop in the ocean (unless there was a dedicated unit for the purpose!) On the other hand for a large organisation it would be much easier to hide. Who knows?

[hafod]

Hafod...this is great, just tried it.I had to double click the name of the work to get all the prices, but it works very well.
Although I suspect its going to make me spend more, rather than less , overall !!

Well, there is always a downside.