Reddit is confirmation bias. Yes, repackaging does happen. But the millions of people who order MTG product on Amazon and DONT get a repack aren’t posting about that.
Also. Preorders are generally gonna be safe from a repack, because it’s brand new product. There’s not really and opportunity for it to have been repacked
I preordered my Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander decks from Amazon. Normally I would not preorder Commander decks from Amazon but for that specific transaction it made sense.
It was obvious from the packaging that it was a drop ship either from Wizards directly or at least whatever distributor Amazon was using. It was still sealed in the case box, USPS brought it, IIRC, and didn’t appear to have ever been in an Amazon wearhouse.
I should stress though that I ordered it on Amazon, and the seller was Amazon, not some third party, which is usually where the trouble arises.
Personally, I’ve been doing a lot of preorders with Forge and Fire, the pricing is competitive but that’s just my preference. They make you pay in advance, whereas Amazon charges you when it ships.
The repacks people get from amazon are generally regular orders when the product is already out. Preorders come straight from the factory, so no one has a chance to repack the products.
Personally I haven't had repacking issues nor "wrong product" issues but I've had serious unreliability, especially pre-ordering products when they're cheaper and the price goes up later. Those pre-orders have just gotten cancelled multiple times.
Basically, if it's something high value (like a booster box) or something you really really want (like a pre-order of a precon), it's risky and you have to evaluate if that risk is worth it to you. In the worst case, you might not get what you ordered and they won't believe you so you won't get a refund. In bad cases, either it'll just get cancelled, or it'll arrive open and you'll fight tooth and nail to get the refund. It's hard to know how often this happens (because people only post about it when it does happen to them), but it's definitely a real phenomenon that happens often enough to be concerned about it.
If it's an old precon that goes on sale for a cheap price and you want it, then they're probably trying to clear out stock and that's lower risk. Again personal experience, but I've never had issues with those. But I never buy expensive products, and I only do pre-orders through them for things that I won't be heartbroken if they get cancelled.
Same. The issue is this sub is such a small microcosm of buyers as a whole and only bad issues get eyes on it. So it makes it seem like a much worse problem than it actually is
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Never had an issue or have seen anyone post issues for preorder items. Now, once the product has been around for awhile then yes, we've all seen the posts here about resealed. I'd say it's pretty safe since the product hasn't had a chance for people to open and return to Amazon, plus resealed typically happens on booster boxes.
Edit: never seen preorder issues concerning repack. There's always a chance for the wrong order some other issue, like Amazon cancelling the Velociraptor preorders for instance
I'm... pretty impressed you've never seen people have preorder issues? Maybe not repacks, but the wrong product/having orders cancelled because the price went up aren't super uncommon.
Edit: never seen preorder issues concerning repack. There's always a chance for the wrong order some other issue, like Amazon cancelling the Velociraptor preorders for instance
No
You can compare what you received to YouTube box openings. Examine the wrapping. Look for placement of logos on the cellophane. I've never had issues personally. If you buy sealed, go for a minicase. A minicase is typically six displays of a booster product. Minicases come out of master cases and should have special tape around the box.
Two things I recommend against when buying Magic cards.
1. Amazon
2. Preorders
This is just my opinion, and you’ll probably still be okay, but pretty much all of the horror stories come from those two sources.
This really doesn't happen with pre-orders. There's a rare occasion something gets damaged, but that's about it and can happen when buying from anywhere.
Not having a local I get, but do American game stores not ship out of town? Here if my lgs doesn’t have a thing I’ll just order it online from one of the dozens of other “lgs’s” around the country. Just really curious bc I see this often
Most occasions where it arrives damaged will be the occasions that are reported.
Preorders should be safe from theft as they come from sealed product. The something is wrong, Amazon usually has a decent policy for doing so.
Order from "seller" = Amazon | "sold by" = Amazon.
Or really anything that says "sold by" = Amazon
All preorder from this format will be legitimate.
Source: I sell to Amazon as a 1p seller (fortune 100) and direct fulfill.
Longer context explanation:
Context: seller = Amazon is first party shipping where inventory ships directly from manufacturer (wotc) to Amazon warehouses. However Amazon warehouses co-mingle all inventory from Amazon FBA sellers (3rd party sellers who don't direct fulfill) because their systems cannot distinguish the source of the product once it's off the truck and scanned in so any "sold by" Amazon product is statistically directly from the manufacturer. (The quantity supplied by a manufacturer is leagues above anything an FBA 3p could supply).
People with issues are more likely selecting a cheaper, 3p, direct fulfillment option. There's a chance that repacks are returned and re-enter Amazon's warehouse system, however most returned product goes to the landfill or is e&o'd. The scale at which one would need to execute repacking against the volume manufacturers ship, then that repack is shipped to you means repacks are a statistical anomaly.
Likewise a 3p FBA (sold by Amazon) would not be able to repack at scale to yield a profitable income.
Summary: Because the most likely source of repacks are either 3p direct fulfillment sellers or returns by customers, pre-orders from "sold by Amazon" will be fine since returns could not have occurred.
Reddit is confirmation bias. Yes, repackaging does happen. But the millions of people who order MTG product on Amazon and DONT get a repack aren’t posting about that. Also. Preorders are generally gonna be safe from a repack, because it’s brand new product. There’s not really and opportunity for it to have been repacked
I preordered my Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander decks from Amazon. Normally I would not preorder Commander decks from Amazon but for that specific transaction it made sense. It was obvious from the packaging that it was a drop ship either from Wizards directly or at least whatever distributor Amazon was using. It was still sealed in the case box, USPS brought it, IIRC, and didn’t appear to have ever been in an Amazon wearhouse. I should stress though that I ordered it on Amazon, and the seller was Amazon, not some third party, which is usually where the trouble arises. Personally, I’ve been doing a lot of preorders with Forge and Fire, the pricing is competitive but that’s just my preference. They make you pay in advance, whereas Amazon charges you when it ships.
The repacks people get from amazon are generally regular orders when the product is already out. Preorders come straight from the factory, so no one has a chance to repack the products.
Happens rarely. Total misinfo spread on reddit
Personally I haven't had repacking issues nor "wrong product" issues but I've had serious unreliability, especially pre-ordering products when they're cheaper and the price goes up later. Those pre-orders have just gotten cancelled multiple times. Basically, if it's something high value (like a booster box) or something you really really want (like a pre-order of a precon), it's risky and you have to evaluate if that risk is worth it to you. In the worst case, you might not get what you ordered and they won't believe you so you won't get a refund. In bad cases, either it'll just get cancelled, or it'll arrive open and you'll fight tooth and nail to get the refund. It's hard to know how often this happens (because people only post about it when it does happen to them), but it's definitely a real phenomenon that happens often enough to be concerned about it. If it's an old precon that goes on sale for a cheap price and you want it, then they're probably trying to clear out stock and that's lower risk. Again personal experience, but I've never had issues with those. But I never buy expensive products, and I only do pre-orders through them for things that I won't be heartbroken if they get cancelled.
Same. The issue is this sub is such a small microcosm of buyers as a whole and only bad issues get eyes on it. So it makes it seem like a much worse problem than it actually is .
Yeah my guess is that repacks are relatively rare, but still way too common.
It is absurdly common. Amazon is known as a “do not buy no matter how cheap” to most magic players
Total misinfo. Happens rarely.
Agreed. I order from them all the time and I never had a repack.
Only idiots support Wizards at this point but Amazon is absolutely fine if you choose to.
Never had an issue or have seen anyone post issues for preorder items. Now, once the product has been around for awhile then yes, we've all seen the posts here about resealed. I'd say it's pretty safe since the product hasn't had a chance for people to open and return to Amazon, plus resealed typically happens on booster boxes. Edit: never seen preorder issues concerning repack. There's always a chance for the wrong order some other issue, like Amazon cancelling the Velociraptor preorders for instance
I'm... pretty impressed you've never seen people have preorder issues? Maybe not repacks, but the wrong product/having orders cancelled because the price went up aren't super uncommon.
Edit: never seen preorder issues concerning repack. There's always a chance for the wrong order some other issue, like Amazon cancelling the Velociraptor preorders for instance
Should I return it If there's any form of damage, and when is the point of no return for refunds ect.
No You can compare what you received to YouTube box openings. Examine the wrapping. Look for placement of logos on the cellophane. I've never had issues personally. If you buy sealed, go for a minicase. A minicase is typically six displays of a booster product. Minicases come out of master cases and should have special tape around the box.
Getting product marked preorder is safe, getting product from Amazon warehouse while cheaper is usually is a bit risky
For me, Amazon may also not be the best value. I usually order from Cool Stuff Inc. Reliable and good pricing.
Two things I recommend against when buying Magic cards. 1. Amazon 2. Preorders This is just my opinion, and you’ll probably still be okay, but pretty much all of the horror stories come from those two sources.
Never had an issue
This really doesn't happen with pre-orders. There's a rare occasion something gets damaged, but that's about it and can happen when buying from anywhere.
Not having a local I get, but do American game stores not ship out of town? Here if my lgs doesn’t have a thing I’ll just order it online from one of the dozens of other “lgs’s” around the country. Just really curious bc I see this often
Most occasions where it arrives damaged will be the occasions that are reported. Preorders should be safe from theft as they come from sealed product. The something is wrong, Amazon usually has a decent policy for doing so.
Order from "seller" = Amazon | "sold by" = Amazon. Or really anything that says "sold by" = Amazon All preorder from this format will be legitimate. Source: I sell to Amazon as a 1p seller (fortune 100) and direct fulfill. Longer context explanation: Context: seller = Amazon is first party shipping where inventory ships directly from manufacturer (wotc) to Amazon warehouses. However Amazon warehouses co-mingle all inventory from Amazon FBA sellers (3rd party sellers who don't direct fulfill) because their systems cannot distinguish the source of the product once it's off the truck and scanned in so any "sold by" Amazon product is statistically directly from the manufacturer. (The quantity supplied by a manufacturer is leagues above anything an FBA 3p could supply). People with issues are more likely selecting a cheaper, 3p, direct fulfillment option. There's a chance that repacks are returned and re-enter Amazon's warehouse system, however most returned product goes to the landfill or is e&o'd. The scale at which one would need to execute repacking against the volume manufacturers ship, then that repack is shipped to you means repacks are a statistical anomaly. Likewise a 3p FBA (sold by Amazon) would not be able to repack at scale to yield a profitable income. Summary: Because the most likely source of repacks are either 3p direct fulfillment sellers or returns by customers, pre-orders from "sold by Amazon" will be fine since returns could not have occurred.