Pete D.

Before I started using CamelCamelCamel, it did not realise just how variable most prices are on Amazon. If you can wait and buy something at a better time, then savings of about 10-40% are possible.

When buying anything, I use the price history, to see if the current price on Amazon is a good price or not. If the current price is good, then I will buy. However, if the current price is higher than normal and I don't need the item straight away, then I can set up an alert and then I just wait for the email.

Not every item that I want on Amazon is tracked, but I get enough hits that I tend to check the price history of all expensive items before buying.

I use the UK version (uk.camelcamelcamel.com) for amazon.co.uk.

I used to trust TrustPilot, but I have recently discovered for myself what others here say about it - that for its paying customers, it suppresses bad reviews and ignores blatant fake good review campaigns.

I tried to report some very obvious manipulation of TrustPilot ratings by a particular company, even providing proof. In May and October 2015 their rating was elevated from 3.6 to 9.4 by two blocks of five star reviews, one over 2 days and the other over 10 days. Most of the reviews were simple one liners by accounts with only a single review. At the same time as the first block of fake reviews, there was a posting in the client's own forums that urged forum users to elevate the sites ratings on TrustPilot.

No action was taken by TrustPilot. It would appear that the client in question is one of those that are a 'paid subscriber', In the meantime, I have observed a negative review in the process of being removed at the behest of this same client.

Looking more closely at a random selection of reviewed websites, it is obvious to me now that TrustPilot is not impartial, as it favours its paying clients, and its ratings are easily manipulated by clients and by other vested interests.

On my first, and only purchase on eBid, the seller sends the wrong item. So OK, they made a mistake on their listing, I will just hit the return button. But wait... there is NO return button on eBid. I have to go to a LOT more trouble pursuing this directly with the seller via messages.

Unlike eBay which has a great infrastructure to manage transactions between buyers and sellers, eBid is just a wannabe copycat, except that they have missed out most of the essential functionality.

I will be deleting my account.

UPDATE - I had a reply from a message to the seller who sent the wrong item: 'This email is not monitored'. Unbelievable. I have never had this much trouble at Amazon or eBay.