Caiman.com on amazon Suspect cdrs sold as new.

[robviti]

i made a $50+ order yesterday. although they're not as cheap as the $4-6 titles that appeared locally (yea newbury comics), it's nice to be able to get some of these while they're still available.

[mikelz777]

Re: Caiman, I've had a love/hate relationship with them. More than once they've totally screwed me over by cancelling my order then offered the same item for sale at a higher price. Amazon didn't give a damn about my complaints because I'm sure Caiman generates a lot of fee income for them. Trying to deal with their customer service with anything that requires a response other than their canned/non-responsive answers is an exercise in frustration and futility. They're the worst I've encountered. After one such incident I swore I would never use them again but unfortunately, I'm such a bargain whore that I broke my vow within a couple months. It only got easier to use them again with each bargain transaction after that. I've gone to them again and again for some great deals. I just order and hope for the best. They come through much more often than not.

Right now, I'm in a love mode. Sitting before me from todays mail is the Complete 1955-1957 Jackie McLean Quartet, Quintet, Sextet Sessions (6-CD) from Caiman outlet, brand new/sealed and delivered for $48.00 and change. That's $20.00 cheaper than their current listing at their regular store on Amazon. Why? I have no idea. (and no complaints)

Edited November 15, 2007 by mikelz777

[neveronfriday]

My take is quite simple: I save tons of money and because of that I put up with a few idiosyncrasies here and there. It's not going to kill me writing a mail (all mine have always been answered/reacted to right away) for the odd release they can't deliver. On the plus side, I've been able to buy a lot more music and altogether I have a steady stream of Caiman shipments reaching me. Just today I got two somewhat difficult to get hold of European classical releases that Amazon doesn't carry anymore and I always think it's quite funny that I have to order stuff - as in this case - from the Netherlands ... via Caiman in the States ... and at a greatly reduced price (great exchange rate at the moment) as well.

I'm a totally satisfied customer.

Let's hope it stays that way.

[Ron S]

As I indicated previously, I've learned to manage my Caiman expectations. Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered a fairly rare CD from them last night (they had the best price by far), and as soon as the transaction had cleared, I checked Caiman's individual Amazon listing page which indicates the quantity of the particular CD that Caiman or its suppliers pruportedly have in stock (there's a convoluted pathway you can click through to get to the Amazon Marketplace seller listing for an item you've purchased, if anyone's interested). Well, after my purchase, the listing indicated that Caiman was then sold out of the CD (supposedly meaning that I had gotten the last one). In the past, I've found that any Caiman listing that did not indicate a fairly large quantity in stock (i.e., 10 or more) would mean that my order ultimately would not be filled, and I'd have to cancel. Well, lo and behold, this afternoon I received a shipping notice from Caiman (remember that I just placed my order last night). I don't know whether Caiman has actually improved (it does appear that their favorable rating percentage has gone up to something like 93%, iirc), or this time I just got lucky.