An unfolding

C: Great news, Bottle! Turns out there are some copies in stock, just under a different listing. 

B: How's that possible, Compy? 

C: Oh, well the $25 one was backordered, but the $28 one is still in stock but low quantity. 

B: I know where this is going, Compy, but indulge me a moment. They're the same pressing, right? 

C: Well, yeah. 

B: One doesn't have a used napkin or a keychain inside? 

C: No, that's silly. 

B: Silly or not, and correct me if i'm wrong, the only logical way the exact same record could have 2 different listings at two slightly different prices is the reality that they aren't currently housed in the same building. 

C: Yeah, the backordered one would have shipped from Kentucky, but i'm not sure where this one ships from. 

B: So again, i'm willing to be wrong here, but Merchbar isn't really what we'd call an actual "retailer," are they? 

C: Huh? 

B: Merchbar is just an order placer, skimming pennies off facilitating transactions, a market interface if you will. 

C: Oh, yeah, i guess when you say it like that, then yes. 

B: Ok, learning experience time. We're gonna see what happens. 

[Several emails later] 

Ok, i cancelled that first order and reordered it. Either A) i'll be properly credited for the first purchase and we'll wait to see if the second order arrives, or B) i'm out 30-something dollars. That's not  the point though, the point is that we want to find out if Merchbar's absolutely abysmal customer rating is due to their terrible service, or due to the fact that consumers don't understand that Merchbar isn't actually a store. They are a liason for undisclosed suppliers of merchandise. 

Hey hey, look at that, an email from a person's name and intelligent, if slightly scripted, confirmation that my order for a record that was never going to show up has been cancelled and refunded. 

C: What are you talking about? 

B: I am not a general consumer, Compy. I know exactly what we're dealing with here, and i can distinguish between what is or is not within Merchbar's control. What you're going to see a lot in terms of people complaining about Merchbar being a scam, is that Merchbar is really just Craigslist or Marketplace with an added layer of anonymity for sellers. It's not technically Merchbar's fault if the actual seller is illegitimate, it's only a problem if they don't hold up their own responsibility for taking the hit if the transaction falls through. 

C: I'm so confused. 

B: I don't doubt it. Merchbar would be better called an insurance company, and they make their money by insuring financial transactions between sellers and buyers. In theory they take their profit from my puchase when it works, and from the seller as punishment if it doesn't. Merchbar the company is nothing more than a customer service representative making sure the absolute minimum amount of resources are used to resolve any particular situation. People don't understand that in exactly the same way people treat that poor kid at the returns desk like they personally woke up with the intention to ruin someone's day. 

Quick peeksies at my bank account, and yessir there's a pending credit for the original order. 

So far, so good....