Amazon Marketplace Issue

[writebyhand]

Last night, I was browsing Amazon.com and visited this page: http://amzn.com/B000VPJA0K, which advertises the Lamy Studio Palladium fountain pen through the Amazon Marketplace system. At the time I visited, the price of the Lamy Studio Palladium was $ 40.00 (with free shipping), as shown in large crimson font near the top of the page.

 

The name of the seller was provided on the website as follows: "Japan Slect Shop Are you worried about buying original Japanese items from countries other than Japan?Our Japanese staff will send you with care." That seller is still offering the pen for sale through the page (now at a higher price), as you can see by clicking the link on the page that says, "20 new from $199.95." (As the particulars of the terms of sale of any given item are constantly changing on Amazon Marketplace, this link may appear differently by the time you visit the page.)

 

Because $ 40.00 is an unusually low price for the Lamy Studio Palladium pen, and I suspected that an error had been made, my first thought was to contact the seller. However, as far as I could discern, that is not possible through Amazon Marketplace: I could find no way to get an inquiry to the seller. None at all – not through Amazon Marketplace, nor by e-mail, phone, or mail. A bit strange, for a business dedicated to facilitating buying and selling to provide no means for buyers and sellers to communicate with each other.

 

My second thought was to send an inquiry to Amazon.com, Inc. about the item. However, that is not straightforward either. The webpage for the item itself does not provie any way to lodge an inquiry (which would be nice, because then it would be clear that the inquiry relates to a particular item and maybe even a particular seller of the item). Amazon.com has a general-purpose "Contact Us" page ( Not only is it hard to find, but it forces the user to navigate through a series of forms without any obvious way to actually contact Amazon.com staff.

 

A bit frustrated, but not wanting to drop the matter, I placed an order for the pen at $ 40.00.

 

I was contacted by the seller the next day; its message to me said:

 

[Here, the order number was stated]
1 of LAMY studio GB17302 Medium Nib Fountain Pen [ASIN: B000VPJA0K]

------------- Begin message -------------

Dear [here, I have redacted my name]

We are very sorry that the ordered item has been sold out at the shop.
We would appreciate it if you could cancel the order given the situation.

Please accept our sincere apologies for this.


Thank you for your understanding.


Japan Select Shop

------------- End message -------------

 

 

Not that I am without sympathy for the seller, but that message is false. The seller continues to offer the same item through Amazon Marketplace, now at a higher price, as you can see by visiting http://amzn.com/B000VPJA0K and clicking the "20 new from . . ." link.

 

It's not my objective to have a dispute with the seller, which is probably just as frustrated with its experience using Amazon.com, as I am with mine. However, I do not want to leave the issue be, with Amazon.com conducting a huge volume of business through its automated system but seemingly ducking contact from its customers and not letting buyers and sellers talk to one another before the placement of an order.

Any suggestions?

[Cyber6]

It seems to me they only realize the mistake when you placed the order. That's ok.. they have the right to not sell you the pen at that price.

 

I don't see why you should have a dispute with the seller, and no one (not even Amazon) can force the seller to sell you the pen at a huge loss to them, in summary.. I am not sure what you are asking.

 

 

If your concern is the communication gaps... I am sure you can address those concern directly to Amazon. It took me two clicks to find the Help & Customer Service and the Marketplace Support.

 

 

C.

[PS104]

Amazon seems to be adopting a Byzantine path to contacting them directly. Not a good sign.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

You can contact a marketplace seller on Amazon.

I have done it before, this past week in fact.

If you click on the name of the seller.......then click on the link "detailed Seller Information".....then scroll down near the bottom you will see a link "contact this seller"

 

I was able to do this for that exact marketplace seller you talked about.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

Contact Amazon thru their system and complain to them that you purchased something thru...........etc.

 

They are the best when it comes to customer service.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Zaphod_Beeblebrox

[jdllizard]

I've contacted Amazons Customer Service very recently about a pen return and was able to get an actual person on the phone who was very helpful and took care of the return issue quickly and without trouble.

 

Maybe you could contact the CS department and talk with them about it.

 

Though I wouldn't hold much sympathy for the seller, as it appears he is doing an old bait and switch. Used car dealers do it a lot. They'll advertise a price, but when you get there that particular item is no longer available, but they will sell you this other (identical one), for more money though.

 

You might be able to press Amazon and get the pen for the $40. As I think they rather like the good reputation they have and don't like it when sellers mess with that.

[Chrissy]

You can contact a marketplace seller on Amazon.

I have done it before, this past week in fact.

If you click on the name of the seller.......then click on the link "detailed Seller Information".....then scroll down near the bottom you will see a link "contact this seller"

 

I was able to do this for that exact marketplace seller you talked about.

Yes you can contact any marketplace seller in this way.

 

If the seller has stock and has made a mistake in the price, then he doesn't have to sell the item at the wrong price. However, he may not ask you to cancel the order, he has to send you a full refund and cancel the order himself. By asking you to cancel the order, he is aiming to not get himself any bad feedback from his customer

Edited January 13, 2015 by Chrissy

[Larry Barrieau]

There are a few companies that I find it impossible to speak to a human. I am not good with electronic technology so when I need help the FAQ's usually speak gibberish to me telling me to unzip my X1, cache my kadiddlehopper, or check the megathings on my Zuber Duber. The contact button tells me to check the FAQ's but gives no phone number. If there is a phone number I end up listening to a catchy rendition of "We've Only Just Begun" until I wake up in a puddle of drool. The worst offenders are Adobe (Elements) and iTunes.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

There are a few companies that I find it impossible to speak to a human. I am not good with electronic technology......

Not to take you out of context, but you do know this is an electronic bulletin board.......no humans to speak to here either just electronic communication.

[Larry Barrieau]

I'm just tickled that I can handle posting here.

[Cyber6]

There are a few companies that I find it impossible to speak to a human. I am not good with electronic technology so when I need help the FAQ's usually speak gibberish to me telling me to unzip my X1, cache my kadiddlehopper, or check the megathings on my Zuber Duber. The contact button tells me to check the FAQ's but gives no phone number. If there is a phone number I end up listening to a catchy rendition of "We've Only Just Begun" until I wake up in a puddle of drool. The worst offenders are Adobe (Elements) and iTunes.

 

 

You are confusing Customer Support with Technical Support... light years from each other. And, I can sympathize with your plea.. I am a techie and I would rather chew my leg off than to endure going through a Tech Support line..

 

 

 

C.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I'm just tickled that I can handle posting here.

:) :)

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I have contacted the Amazon Customer Service via "live chat" many times and has been the best way of handling issues with Amazon and their marketplace sellers.

[Larry Barrieau]

Yes, I'm often directed to join a chat or go to a forum but those places, (like here) can be hit and miss as far as accurate information is concerned unless you've been there long enough to know who's opinion to trust. That's why I look for someone who can tell me what I'm doing wrong right away and not spend a long time trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thanks for the feedback.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

"Live Chat" is talking with the customer service rep of Amazon, this is totally different from the Forums that are similar to this site.

 

So no hit or miss with Amazon "Live Chat".

[writebyhand]

I received an e-mail from "Amazon.com Marketplace" today stating:

 

 

We're writing to inform you that your order . . . has been canceled because the price for the item(s) was not set correctly by the seller.

 

I am glad that the issue has been brought to an honest end. It's still a bit problematic -- in my opinion -- that Amazon.com does not have a reasonable system in place to detect pricing errors, which means that erroneous prices will crop up on the site to the vexation of both sellers and buyers. And, apparently, some sellers try to get customers to cancel orders when really it is the seller who should cancel the order due to seller error. What is Amazon.com doing to prevent this behavior, which is likely to ensnare unwary Amazon Marketplace customers?

 

 

 

Edited for typographical errors only.

Edited January 16, 2015 by writebyhand