How trustworthy are sites like Ebay, Amazon etc? [Archive]

The Stranger

12-19-2009, 13:07

TEE

is there anyone who uses them frequently? ever encountered any problems, like product broken or not shipped at all? I'm thinking about buying some games, so i'd like to know.

I've sold something trough a similar site once, but the guy came to pick it up. so its a bit different.

pevergreen

12-19-2009, 15:42

eBay depends on the user.

Amazon - should be ok? Never used them.

Vuk

12-19-2009, 16:26

Amazon merchants are completely trustworthy, as are most user merchants on Amazon with good ratings. I have never had any problems, nor heard of any, and me and my entire family use Amazon a lot.

The Stranger

12-19-2009, 16:32

as are most user merchants on Amazon with good ratings

ill assume you mean Ebay

thank you both :)

Greyblades

12-19-2009, 17:32

No see amazon sort of rents out to private dealers who sell at differing prices to amazon's standard price see the used and new bit under the "ordering at christmas".

Alexander the Pretty Good

12-19-2009, 20:55

Amazon itself (non-third-party sellers) is pretty reliable, haven't had something shipped to me broken that I remember.

edyzmedieval

12-21-2009, 12:55

I ordered a lot of items from Amazon.uk, never had any problems.

Ebay, can't order unfortunately. I'm not a friend of PayPal.

Beskar

12-21-2009, 14:35

Amazon - trustworthy, bought from them regularly.

Ebay - I wouldn't trust them with a £5 free book token.

The Stranger

12-21-2009, 20:59

hmm oke thanks all!

The Stranger

12-21-2009, 21:03

so what about this deal than?

http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Total-War-Limited-Pc/dp/B002RD6MV4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1261425695&sr=1-4

it is trustworthy? will i gett the entire game?

edyzmedieval

12-21-2009, 23:59

Yeah, there won't be any problems from Amazon.

Decker

12-22-2009, 00:20

You can definitely trust Amazon. I've bought books, games, movies, and entire DVD sets and no problems.

Beskar

12-22-2009, 01:38

The Stranger

12-22-2009, 13:23

cuz... 40 dollar is really cheap to preorder a game like NTW. i think when it will come out in holland it will cost at leat 50 euros... which is roughly 65 dollar or more

Mouzafphaerre

12-22-2009, 15:11

.
ebay, Amazon, Alibris, A1books and a couple others... :rtwyes: The only troubles so far have been due to our native mail.
.

Husar

12-23-2009, 01:09

so what about this deal than?

http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Total-War-Limited-Pc/dp/B002RD6MV4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1261425695&sr=1-4

it is trustworthy? will i gett the entire game?

Nah, Amazon has been the biggest scam ever and has been going on in public for the last five or so years. Everybody who says they successfully ordered from them is a shill-bot from Amazon, the real victims are out there everywhere but noone has noticed them yet. :sweatdrop:

The Stranger

12-23-2009, 01:45

:whip: do i have to remind you of the origin of this recent recession?

edyzmedieval

12-23-2009, 01:54

Shoot Madoff, then his other acolytes. They are the cause.

Beskar

12-23-2009, 03:43

:whip: do i have to remind you of the origin of this recent recession?

Banks who offer mortages for crumbling broken down houses to jobless people in America which they could not repay and the values of the houses sharply declining due to being in a bad state, also known as the subprime market. Then all these massives of debts are then packaged together as "structured investment desposits" then sold by American banks to all the other banks of the world paying over-inflated prices for what they were really worth and when the world realised what happened and that the banks actually had no money at all, it caused a number of them to crash, the loans dried up, no body could borrow any money to buy anything, thus the economy suffered as there was no demand and surplus supply, etc etc.

So what does this have to do with anything with Amazon?

Husar

12-23-2009, 15:21

:whip: do i have to remind you of the origin of this recent recession?

If you're always weary about established business,do you ask you mom whether the supermarket can be trusted before going there? After all by the time you find out they sold you plastic apples, it might be an empty building with all the scammers gone. ~;)

I was just surprised that you didn't even know Amazon is trustworthy. It's one of if not the most famous online shop.

Ja'chyra

12-23-2009, 16:23

I've used both sites at least 50 times each over the years and have had no problems that a quick e-mail or checking to see if the neighbours had taken my package in didn't sort.

Also have a look at play.com if you're in the UK, free delivery on everything.

Husar

12-23-2009, 17:51

play.com also has free delivery to Europe, just the prices are a tiny bit higher, usually still way below european average though. Same for dvd.co.uk who actually deliver faster to me(and are sometimes cheaper than play.com, despite the 1.15€ delivery fee outside the UK), I think because they ship from Switzerland as well. Haven't had any problems with either shop so far, though Royal Mail seems a bit...slow.

Ja'chyra

12-23-2009, 19:19

There you go, if Hus says it then its true. :beam:

CrossLOPER

12-23-2009, 19:36

Amazon: Don't buy from non-Amazon featured sellers unless they have at least a 95% approval rating.

ebay: Pretty much the same rule.

I have never had a problem with either. Some of the sellers take forever to send stuff. Amazon sends their things REALLY fast, even around the holidays. I don't understand why some people hate ebay so much.

The Stranger

12-24-2009, 15:21

If you're always weary about established business,do you ask you mom whether the supermarket can be trusted before going there? After all by the time you find out they sold you plastic apples, it might be an empty building with all the scammers gone. ~;)

I was just surprised that you didn't even know Amazon is trustworthy. It's one of if not the most famous online shop.

im not always weary about established business. i just never really used online shopping before, i didnt know the way amazon worked, so thats why i asked. you dont have to go all sarcastic up my ass.

its not like its the most important piece of info every person should know about.

Husar

12-24-2009, 15:26

im not always weary about established business. i just never really used online shopping before, i didnt know the way amazon worked, so thats why i asked. you dont have to go all sarcastic up my ass.

its not like its the most important piece of info every person should know about.

Heh, I didn't want to insult you, it just surprised me because you're young and post a lot, so I expected you to be more....at home on the internet.

And yes, it's important information, or why exactly did you ask? ~;)

Beskar

12-24-2009, 15:46

ebay: Pretty much the same rule.

Also other Ebay rules -
Never buy anything electrical, it never works.
If the only picture of an item is the box, what you are going to get is the box.

Yeah, I don't like Ebay because it is full of con-artists. Never go near it.

CrossLOPER

12-24-2009, 16:00

Also other Ebay rules -
Never buy anything electrical, it never works.
If the only picture of an item is the box, what you are going to get is the box.

Yeah, I don't like Ebay because it is full of con-artists. Never go near it.
I've been shopping there since the late-late nineties. I just can't imagine someone with 1000s of transactions going rogue. I've bought electronics before and that turned out alright and any good seller will offer a refund if their product fails within a certain time period. Common sense is always a useful tool when out buying anything anywhere. If the situation calls for it, I ask the seller to provide more images and information.

The Stranger

12-24-2009, 23:31

Heh, I didn't want to insult you, it just surprised me because you're young and post a lot, so I expected you to be more....at home on the internet.

And yes, it's important information, or why exactly did you ask? ~;)

im not insulted :) dont worry.

most of my posts are from a few years back... lot of spamming. i never really bought anything online, enough shops where i live.

nvrmind. its allright

ps based on what beskar says my questions about ebay are pretty valid

ty anyway for the tips

Forward Observer

12-26-2009, 06:36

I have been buying a wide variety of items on EBay for over 3 years and many of them games for
the PC and the PS 3. I have never had a problem and have always beat any price I could find elsewhere
on line.

All one has to do is look at the seller's feedback. If they have 200 or more sales with 98% or better positive feedback, one is just about as safe as with any on-line vendor.

I have bought 1 or 2 used PS 3 games, but all of the rest have been brand new factory sealed games. Some of the same seller associates you find at Amazon also sell on EBay, but many time at a better price.

I just got Resistance 2 for the PS 3 brand new for $24 delivered. The best I found with one of the Amazon associates at the same time was $27 plus $4 to ship.

If one uses Paypal they have a buyer protection program with Ebay since Paypal is owned by EBay anyway.

The Stranger

12-26-2009, 15:15

so if i would buy the game from this link http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Total...1425695&sr=1-4

i would get the full NTW game for just 40 dollars?

Forward Observer

12-26-2009, 17:58

Your link doesn't work, but I checked Amazon and the best price I found was $39.92 with free shipping from Amazon. Looking at their associate listings, the best I found was $38 including shipping, but the customer satisfaction ratings were varied--some low as 94%

However, on EBay I found it, also factory sealed new, for $27.69 plus $3.99 shipping. This seller specializes in game sales and has a sales history of 6700 transactions with 100% positive feedback--far better than most of the Amazon associate sellers.

EBay on line game store (http://cgi.ebay.com/EMPIRE-TOTAL-WAR-NEW-RETAIL-SHIPPED-FROM-USA_W0QQitemZ160381314568QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVideo_Games_Games?hash=item255778a608)

One just has to look at all the particulars and simply use a little common sense.

Beskar

12-26-2009, 18:12

Forward Observer

12-26-2009, 20:53

Beskar,

I do realize that one can download it much cheaper, but many still like to have a disk---plus a manual and the other paper ephemera (as crappy as it is!)----and even though one still has to activate the game through Steam, a 12 gig footprint game like Empire can be installed on your hard drive with a disk in a mere fraction of the time it would take to download---unless one has a really super broadband service. If one were on dial-up--forget it.

Cheers

Husar

12-26-2009, 21:18

so if i would buy the game from this link http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Total...1425695&sr=1-4

i would get the full NTW game for just 40 dollars?

No, you wouldn't. Because that is the US amazon(though the link says invalid page) and the shipping, tax etc. would be added to it, if you're really unlucky you'd pay 1.5 times as much or so. Better look at the UK sites(www.amazon.co.uk in case of amazon), you might pay shipping as well, but it should be a lot less.
If you want to be sure, create and amazon account(my .de account works on .com and .co.uk as well) and go ahead until you get to the final summary before sending the order, there it will show you the shipping costs for the address you entered.

Alternatively, play.com has the normal version with some exclusive unlock as well: http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/11554889/Napoleon-Total-War/Product.html
That delivery would be free to Europe and cost just the amount of Euros it says on the page.

Well, if you want everything, you'll probably have to pay extra for the Imperial Edition: http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/12761543/Napoleon-Total-War-Imperial-Edition/Product.html

Whether you want to pay Sega and CA 15EUR more for a few units and some nice papers is up to you I guess.

The Stranger

12-26-2009, 23:34

nah... the normal version is good enough. ty husar for the tips. it almost seems to good to be true :P just 25 euros for the game... ive been paying waaaaay to much over all these years.

Husar

12-27-2009, 07:22

You know I bought Little big Planet from dvd.co.uk for a grand total of 22€(I think) while it cost 70€ in the big electronics and games stores here. And yes, they sent me the full game.
The moral of the story is if you shop around a bit you might just get two or three games for the price of one. :smash:
Be aware that my copy of ETW from play.com took a whole month to arrive though, the Band of Brothers Blu-Ray took only one and a half week though, just don't expect delivery times of two or three days from the UK.

The Stranger

12-27-2009, 13:11

oke youve got me convinced :P im buying the game!

Husar

12-27-2009, 16:31

It was just general shopping advice, I'm not going to buy NTW myself and wouldn't advise you to, either. :sweatdrop:
Nothing to do with Steam or the shops it's just NTW, not my period etc.

lars573

12-31-2009, 19:33

so if i would buy the game from this link http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Total...1425695&sr=1-4

i would get the full NTW game for just 40 dollars?
You realize that you have to make an account right? Ebay or Amazon you've gotta make an account. And with Amazon it will direct you to buy from the one in your region. For example I can't buy anything from Amazon.com that Amazon.ca doesn't sell too. In other words Amazon is :daisy: Ebay is your best bet. If you've got half a clue you can sniff out the scammers. And with PC games if it's open keep on walking. Especailly a steam game like NTW is going to be. I've bought many toys via Ebay, and recieved all of them. But I was also very careful if the seller is from a scam heavy region. They being eastern europe, China, or southeast asia. I might roll the dice on a seller from Hong Kong though. If I didn't get a bad feeling that is.

rory_20_uk

01-01-2010, 18:36

I've purchased items from all over the place, from second hand things in the UK to some Hong Kong imports. My X-box 360 games tend to be at least 1 year behind the cutting edge but hence a lot less than when they're first released. Delivery times obviously vary depending where they came from.

ebay when purchased through paypal will refund (i.e. take money from the seller) if you go through the grievance process, although after purchasing over 100 items I've not had to use this.

~:smoking:

lars573

01-02-2010, 00:44

But if someone is going to scam you they won't have money in their paypal account. And ebay can't take what isn't there. The best protection is using a credit card through paypal. There-by if you have a problem you cancel the payment with your CC company.