[meanguy]

I've never had a bad experience with Amazon or any of their third parties across hundreds (!) of transactions. Long time collector, I purchased two pieces of art yesterday via the beta. Known gallery, brick-and-mortar. It's already a total debacle.

Late 90s press quoted Bezos as saying he wanted Amazon to sell everything except livestock and gasoline. Compared to art galleries, there's less bullshit and more ethics among the beef and oil companies.

But I pushed the button yesterday specifically knowing Amazon had my back. That says a lot.

[dblock]

Could you elaborate on the debacle part?

[meanguy]

Nothing that's Amazon's fault. Amazon purchase history shows order complete, paid via Amazon credit card. Gallery currently refuses to ship either piece.

Verdict: yes, Amazon has successfully brought the magical experience of dealing with art dealers online. Not sure earning their cut is going to be much fun for them, but like Prime I'll happily use it as long as they offer the implausible service.

[dblock]

I presume the gallery refuses to ship the piece because they didn't get the money yet, right?

[meanguy]

Thank you for having "developer at artsy.net" in your bio as I would have found this continued questioning odd otherwise.

The gallery cancelled the order claiming both pieces are out of stock. A direct email to the gallery said the pieces were in stock. Typically gallery scam nonsense.

And literally while I was typing this, Amazon called me, totally unprompted.

So there's your verdict. Art galleries still suck, Amazon is still awesome, and it's still virtually impossible to make a significant purchase on the internet in 2013.

[dblock]

Thanks. Just trying to learn.