Originally Posted by
mikepwagner
If you really thought Amazon has expertise in every product they sell, I think that you miss understand their sales/business model. They aren't really very much like a chef at a restaurant. They are more like a cashier at Wal Mart.
Yep, I really don't expect much from them. I had another recent experience with them that left me baffled: I arrived home one afternoon to find a box from Amazon addressed to me. In it was a couple of items and a packing list with another customer's name. Even odder was that the packing list did not match the items in the box. I contacted Amazon and they were rather unresponsive, but I persisted and then waited three months for them to tell me that they were not able to figure out how to do a RMA from an address not connected with the intended customer's location. At that time, they suggested that I should take the package to UPS and pay for the shipping and they would then credit my account. I expressed some displeasure for this idea and they then told me to keep the stuff (hinting that they did not want to waste anymore time). Again, more humor.
Originally Posted by
sauerwald
Purchase from an LBS where you can see exactly what you are getting, and talk to a real person.
If your only concern is price, then take what you get.
The intent of my post was to express my amusement in dealing with Amazon, not to imply that I consider them to be my preferred choice (and to say that my only concern was price). I generally agree with the LBS resource as I like to see, feel, and discuss alternate products. In this case; however, I called around to some of the LBSs within a reasonable distance and had no luck. None stocked this particular item. One offered to special order but did not give comfort that they understood what I wanted (and so I reckon I would have to take what I get, right?)
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
-G