Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

Not long ago, I was contacted by a man who wanted me to try out a new service for buying and selling things online. I agreed to try it out, because as someone who has bought and sold a lot of things online, mainly video games, I’ve had my share of ups and downs with the whole thing. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never been taken, though I have to give those who backed up their systems, like PayPal and Amazon, some of the credit for that.

There are some interesting differences between a service like Glyde, which has just entered its Beta test a short time ago, and things like eBay and Amazon.

Selling

Firstly, there are very strict and clear descriptions of what’s allowed at Glyde. Everything you list has to come from the intimidatingly massive Muze list of books, music, movies and video games. Beyond that, the condition must fall within the range of brand new (that would be factory sealed, buster) down to “good,” which means it’s complete (with box and manual, in the case of a video game) and in good shape, no scratches, no visible issues with the box at arm’s length. Former rentals are not allowed at all.

Once you’ve selected your item from the flashy dynamic database, where it narrows down your options as you type, you tell it which of the allowed conditions the item is in, and then it suggests a price you sell it at to make sure your copy is the first one to sell. Here’s a fascinating point: Glyde’s man tells me the price point that’s suggested is defined not only by the condition of the item, but also a complex combination of the retail value, the average critical score, and supply and demand. As a result, all things being equal, good games cost more. That sounds fair to me, but you can adjust your price in either direction if you like. Drop the price to sell it faster. Raise it to be greedy. The coolest aspect of this is as you set your price, Glyde shows you immediately how much of that would be yours when the item sells, and how much Glyde’s 10% cut comes out to.

When I sold an item (which was a game) the mailer arrived in about three days. I mailed it out the next day, and it was delivered about three days later. The mailer had first class postage on it, which in the US usually means a 2-3 business day delivery time. That week delivery time accounts for not only the ship time to me, but the mailer getting to the seller, and the weekend which happened in between. All in all, a reasonable turnaround.

While the item traveled in the mail, Glyde held the money, escrow-style. On my transaction page, the item’s box was shown with a cute little “bill of sale” receipt taped to it. When the item was delivered and the recipient determined it was as listed, they hit Glyde and said so, and my money was released. If they had done nothing for 24 hours, the money would have been released anyway. Glyde actually watches their tracking number at USPS for each item to recognize when items are delivered, and the recipient gets an email reminder that day to report the item as correct so the seller can get paid faster. And again, if they don’t, you get your money a day later anyway, because it’s assumed the item’s fine if nobody starts yelling.

Any money you make is held at Glyde to be spent again immediately if you like, or you can have Glyde do an electronic funds transfer (which takes a couple of days) into your bank account for free. They’ll cut you a check for a couple dollars instead, if you’d prefer.

Buying

Shopping’s also done in a very clean way, and it’s very easy to follow. The game boxes (or books, if you’re into that junk) sit in a neat row of seven at the bottom of the screen. You can pan through them a page at a time by clicking arrows at either side, or waiting a few moments for it to pan smoothly by. As of now, there is no search function available, but I’m told they’re working on it. Clicking on a box zooms in on the stock image, gives you a description and a price point, plus the shipping cost, which is low, generally a few dollars. You’ll see more than one price point if more than one condition is available. For example, a copy of GTA IV for PS3 on there right now is available for $25.87 in good condition, or $27.00 in excellent condition. Make your purchase, and Glyde congratulates the seller on the sale via eMail. Then the seller gets a prepaid envelope in the mail which they pop the item into, seal, and send back out.

When I bought an item (a DVD, in this case) it arrived in about a week, coming from California. Transactions are kept in a row of product images on the transaction page. Click on one to get a little bubble telling you everything about the transaction, from how much was paid to how much you made after Glyde’s fee and the cost of the mailer, which the seller covers out of their profit. That’s around a dollar.

If you get something bad in a purchase, you’re not stuck. You can return an item within 48 hours if something’s wrong with it. If it’s not as listed, you notify Glyde and another mailer comes your way, and the process goes backwards. You get your money back, and half the cost of the shipping. If it’s a bootleg or other “suspect” item, you get everything back and the item goes to Glyde, then Glyde freezes the offender’s account and apparently even notifies the authorities… something even PayPal won’t do if you’re given a refund.

Glyde vs. eBay

The transparency is refreshing on many levels.

Buying is great, because the minimum condition allowed is “good,” and you know you’re getting something that’s at least complete and not banged up. Of course, someone could lie, but then they don’t get their money. Selling is great, because there’s no guesswork in listing, and the conditions are very clear. You know looking at your item which category it fits into. You never have to take any pictures. You never have to write a description, calculate shipping, or anything else. Just set a condition, set a price, and hit go. On top of all this, you know exactly how much of your money Glyde will take for their fee and mailer, whereas eBay keeps that information from you until after the fact. The payment system is built in, so you aren’t dealing with PayPal fees either, simplifying things. Further, now that eBay’s feedback system is broken, making the site a free-for-all for non-paying bidders, it’s become a very unpleasant place for sellers. Not so at Glyde.

Glyde vs. Goozex

I like Goozex, but it has its problems. Everything has a price that’s defined by the system, which you cannot change. This price is calculated in points, which makes it unclear exactly what the value of something is, which is actually part of the point. It’s something you either understand and accept or you just don’t use Goozex. There is no clear definition to users on what condition things have to be in, though, so you could get something that’s in poor shape, but still includes the box and manual, like my copy of Soul Calibur III which has a rip in the manual. It’s also not uncommon to receive something on Goozex that isn’t complete, even though it was supposed to be so, and the system doesn’t allow for returns of items that aren’t completely broken, wrong, or pirated, so you’re out of luck. Shipping is also more complex than Glyde, though Goozex now has a shipping system similar to PayPal’s integrated. I haven’t used it, but it’s probably the same Pitney Bowes system PayPal uses.

Glyde vs. Half.com

Half.com has a clear definition of what condition you can list something as: if it’s not complete with a box and manual, the game MUST be listed as “acceptable.” Take a look at any game on Half.com though, and look at the “Like New” items. The description in almost every case will say “game only, no box or manual, works great.” Since Half.com only shows the cheapest few items in each condition by default, these sellers who list the item in the wrong condition are taking advantage of the system, and Half.com doesn’t enforce it, and when they do, they don’t do it fairly. Several years ago, I had an item reported and delisted because of this issue. In response, I went back and reported all the other listed copies that were also listed incorrectly. Half.com actually locked my account in response to my reports with the message to contact customer service. I’ve done so many times, and have never had a response. I tried talking to eBay, the parent company, about the issue and all they say is they have nothing to do with Half’s customer service. The account remains locked. It should be no surprise, since eBay runs Half.com now and have shown time and again that they’d like nothing better than to kill the site.

Half.com, like Glyde, offers fixed price selling, and suggests a price for each item. However, there are no pictures of the actual items, and without conditions being clearly defined by Half, or accurately reported by sellers, you’re rolling the dice when you shop there. I still buy and sell on Half, but I am extremely cautious and try to only buy items where the condition is not so critical, like books. Overall, I’ve done very well on Half, especially selling textbooks. You make much more money selling textbooks than trading them in to your school bookstore.

Glyde vs. Amazon

Naturally, it’s hard to compete with Amazon. If you’re buying something new, buying it at Amazon is your best bet. Not only do you get a huge selection, but free shipping over $25 is hard to top. On the other hand, you might check Glyde as well. There are new games on Glyde (I’ve sold two, in fact) and they’re cheaper than retail. You pay shipping, but in my experience, ship times are actually faster than Amazon’s “super saver” shipping, which is what they use for their free shipping. If you’re open to games that are… well, open, then Glyde is a better way to go. Amazon breaks down user-delivered items under “new” and “used”. Beyond that, condition descriptions are up to the seller, and no photos are provided. It becomes a lot like Half in that way. I’ve bought two bootleg CDs on Amazon this way, which was upsetting, but the seller refunded my money one one, and Amazon refunded my money on the other. Most of the advantages Amazon has are, admittedly, due to the fact that they’re more established. It remains to be seen what happens with Glyde, but for now, there are a lot of good deals.

The final word

Glyde needs a search function for the games. When that arrives, it will be a great site. For now, it’s pretty surprising what they’re doing and I’m excited to keep watching for deals. I’ve moved my Goozex items that qualify onto Glyde, in fact, and removing them from Goozex as they sell. So far, they’re moving faster on Glyde than they were on Goozex, and for more money.

If you’d like to try Glyde, be aware that it’s in Beta and by invitation only. Use the link below to access the site using Aeropause’s invitation code. You can browse, but to buy or sell you’ll need to create an account, which will let you bypass the invitation-only page in the future. Let me know what your experiences and opinions of the site are, keeping in mind that the makers are watching for your feedback. They say they want to make the site fit our needs, and they’ve been very responsive to my suggestions and observations so far, coming from the Alpha build, so I believe it.

Aeropause.com Glyde invitation link