Caiman on Amazon

[Bol]

Has anyone ordered an out-of-print or otherwise hard-to-find item from the Amazon marketplace seller Caiman? I have the impression that they just list items without having any scruples about their ability to fill the orders. For the third time in a row, they did not have the items that they listed and I ordered. I guess I will avoid them like the plague from now on. Why waste everyone's time like this?

[kulu se mama]

i quit buying from them for that exact reason.

if there are multiple sellers and they are the cheapest, then i will buy from the second cheapest.

i don't know why they are allowed to do this.

[Claude]

I´ve read elsewhere that Caiman has almost nothing in stock, so it's pointless to order stuff that is OOP.

[riverrat]

I've had exactly the same experience and no longer use Caiman either.

Their service is not the worst, I eventually got a refund on a SACD that didn't play right. But I found it very annoying that they often list CDs that they do not stock and cannot get. They also refuse to directly address questions about these matters. I actually left them negative feedback over this issue, the first time I ever left negative feedback for anyone.

I think I saw some of their recent listings on Amazon which specify that the item is "in stock", so maybe they are changing their ways. But I still avoid them.

[felser]

I have found that all of the big sellers on Amazon work the same way with not keeping stock. They are moving staggering amounts of CD's. I actually find them to be the best as far as fill rate on the harder to find CD's, and they are my seller of choice on Amazon/Ebay. And I have done well with their customer service in the past when I've had a problem.

[Dan Gould]

These issues have come up before.

Its clear, at least to me, that if Caiman lists a disc that you know has been out of print for years, there's little reason to order from them. But for good discounts on individual CDs, they are an excellent source, and my experience has been entirely positive with them. Well, maybe not 100% - there is a CD out there that shipped Oct. 23rd and I still haven't seen it. Three others that shipped at the same time have arrived. If it doesn't show soon then I may have to deal with their customer service soon, and we'll find out how that goes.

One other thing: when it comes to fill rate and prices, Caiman seems to be about 100% better than at least 80% of the sellers on GEMM.

[Eric]

These issues have come up before.

Its clear, at least to me, that if Caiman lists a disc that you know has been out of print for years, there's little reason to order from them. But for good discounts on individual CDs, they are an excellent source, and my experience has been entirely positive with them. Well, maybe not 100% - there is a CD out there that shipped Oct. 23rd and I still haven't seen it. Three others that shipped at the same time have arrived. If it doesn't show soon then I may have to deal with their customer service soon, and we'll find out how that goes.

One other thing: when it comes to fill rate and prices, Caiman seems to be about 100% better than at least 80% of the sellers on GEMM.

Agree - my experience has been similar.

[brownie]

Don't buy stuff often from Internet but when I have done so, it went mostly via Caiman. Another happy customer here!

[mandrill]

Down with Caiman.

[jlhoots]

i quit buying from them for that exact reason.

if there are multiple sellers and they are the cheapest, then i will buy from the second cheapest.

i don't know why they are allowed to do this.

Exactly!!

[ghost of miles]

Long, long prior discussion here.

My experience has been similar to Dan's. Very good for readily available titles, but dicey for anything more obscure.

[Bol]

I'm glad that some people have had good experience. But whether you get a good experience dealing with them should not depend on whether you know already which of their listed items you can order without getting jerked around. They are in effect practicing fraud.

[mikeweil]

Never had any problems with Caiman, but OTOH I never ordered items that obviously were OOP .....

[ghost of miles]

I'm glad that some people have had good experience.

I have had great experience with this Bol fellow--why, the last time I purchased items from him, he delivered them in person! Five stars...

[Bol]

I have had great experience with this Bol fellow--why, the last time I purchased items from him, he delivered them in person! Five stars...

Glad to be of service!! Just don't go around supporting fraud-perpetrating sellers on Amazon.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Bol

[Ken Dryden]

I think this is the same organization/person that sells through half.com. I've had some orders filled and some that never arrived that I had to complain about. But they would confirm orders whether or not they had the merchandise, which is very dishonest. How can one confirm an order that is supposed to ship within two business days if it isn't already on hand? I had a friend that never received his only order through half.com and he never got credit either, which embarassed me, since I had directed him to this seller.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Ken Dryden

[Dan Gould]

The fact of the matter is that Caiman sends you a link to your order status as soon as they receive it from Amazon. That link shows you the status of what you've ordered -whether it has shipped or is "in transit" which means its on its way to them so you can breathe easy, and the other category which I do not recall, but it means its on order.

So once you've placed an order, no one can claim they don't know what is going on.

[felser]

I'm glad that some people have had good experience. But whether you get a good experience dealing with them should not depend on whether you know already which of their listed items you can order without getting jerked around. They are in effect practicing fraud.

They have 400,000 feedbacks on Amazon alone in just calender year '06, which probably means they are moving well over a million items a year. I know how out of date my trade lists can get moving 100-200 items a year from it. They make an honest attempt to acquire any title and to keep up with what is current. They ship very quickly on some items (which they likely have in their Florida warehouse) , and slower on others, and occasionally they are out of stock and cannot obtain, and they will keep trying to get it for as long as you're willing to wait, and very glad to refund your purchase price if you cancel the backordered item. That's not fraud any more than your corner CD store putting in a special order for you and not receiving the item. They are doing the best they can to mesh their business model (which is a sensible one for they volume they are moving) with Amazon's business model (which ensures Amazon gets their cut up front). I think they're a great organization, and an honorable one, and will continue to buy 80% of my Amazon CD purchases through them, as I have in the past year. To call them fraudulant is ludicrous.

[Bol]

I'm glad that some people have had good experience. But whether you get a good experience dealing with them should not depend on whether you know already which of their listed items you can order without getting jerked around. They are in effect practicing fraud.

They have 400,000 feedbacks on Amazon alone in just calender year '06, which probably means they are moving well over a million items a year. I know how out of date my trade lists can get moving 100-200 items a year from it. They make an honest attempt to acquire any title and to keep up with what is current. They ship very quickly on some items (which they likely have in their Florida warehouse) , and slower on others, and occasionally they are out of stock and cannot obtain, and they will keep trying to get it for as long as you're willing to wait, and very glad to refund your purchase price if you cancel the backordered item. That's not fraud any more than your corner CD store putting in a special order for you and not receiving the item. They are doing the best they can to mesh their business model (which is a sensible one for they volume they are moving) with Amazon's business model (which ensures Amazon gets their cut up front). I think they're a great organization, and an honorable one, and will continue to buy 80% of my Amazon CD purchases through them, as I have in the past year. To call them fraudulant is ludicrous.

I disagree. The presumption is that if an Amazon marketplace seller lists an item, it is supposed to be in stock. Amazon itself got into some trouble some years ago with federal investigators for misdescribing their stock info on their website. The Amazon marketplace idea would be radically different from what it currently is if people came to think that the sellers often do not have what they list. Caiman is the only seller in my own experience -- ordering about 15-20 items per year for the last 3-4 years -- that lists items that they do not have, and does so systmatically, not just as a result of oversight. If all sellers did that, Caiman itself would not be able to do the business it now does, as Amazon marketplace would not be so frequented by customers. Basically, what if everyone did that? For one thing, no one would be able to buy a hard-to-find item without having to go through the hassle of e-mailing every seller to find out whether they really have the item. I don't think that is the idea behind the Amazon marketplace. And as Ken points out above, the whole idea of confirming an order is to express to the buyer the seller's intention to ship within 2 days. Obviously, Caiman when it confirms orders for items it does not have is acting fraudulently.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Bol

[Daniel A]

So far, I've received what I've ordered from Caiman. However, I was a bit disappointed in finding that a Blue Note disc was the copy-controlled Euro version, allthough it was shipped from the US. My first - and hopefully last - copy protected CD.

[JohnS]

I've always been happy with Caiman. But then I usually order fairly new releases, taking advantage of their modest pricing and reasonable international shipping charges.

[AmirBagachelles]

felser get your head out of the sand. they rip people off, charging cards for items they CANNOT obtain. verrry slow on the refunds, it's called FLOAT. you do us all a disservice with your plug for them.

[T.D.]

I ordered a few items from Caiman via Amazon Marketplace, with no particular problems.

Then I bought an item from Caiman's eBay store, via "Buy it Now". They charged my credit card, didn't have the item, and it took over a month, and a lot of hassles, to get a refund.

I stopped buying from them after that. I might use them again (Amazon, not eBay) if they had an outstanding price on a non-exotic item, but the situation hasn't yet arisen.

[Chalupa]

Geez, I guess I've been lucky. I've probably bought 25-30 cds from them and have never had a problem. I order through half.com though I'm not sure if that makes any difference. Then again "rare" for me has been the "Free America" or BYG titles.

[chris olivarez]

That's interesting I had no problems dealing with GEMM but I never dealt with Caiman.