CDJapan vs. YesAsia

I'm in a real dilemma over which site to buy my stuff from. I've already narrowed it down to these last two, cdjapan and yesasia. I initially had it down to four, but then decided to scratch out Amazon and HMV (Amazon because the system was too confusing for my sleep-deprived brain to navigate, plus it involved secondhand merchandise - the horror! HMV because their shipping is expensive, you're signed up for express mailing without any say in the matter). The problem is, these sites have twigged aeons ago that because what they're selling is pretty much homogeneous, some form of product differentiation is necessary.

The result? A huge headache for me. See, CDJapan is known for being very quick and extremely helpful. They also don't have much problems with stocking and are very good for getting all those freebies that come with first-press limited editions. Speed is their best feature - it's amazingly speedy; sometimes you get your order on the day it's released!

YesAsia loses out on the gross price factor, because theirs are noticeably higher than those on CDJapan. But then again, it's actually just them hiding their shipping costs - because this site proudly promotes its Free Shipping offer. So net price-wise, YesAsia is actually cheaper.

However.

CDJapan costs more. Money is a sore point, with heavy weightage in this issue.

YesAsia has more cons, but its overall cheaper price makes it a serious contender still. This site tends to be rather erratic with its delivery - for some orders, it can be surprisingly efficient, but many have complained about having to wait for weeks to get their purchases, and sometimes never get their packages (which have already been paid for). Worse, some unsatisfied customers say that the customer service department is completely unhelpful when contacted, saying they don't know where the shipment is. They also have been said to be unreliable when it comes to getting the all-important freebies. This, I've heard, is because they actually only start sourcing for products when an order has been placed - which makes them a lot less attractive.

Both, apparently, are pretty good when it comes to packaging orders - plenty of protective bubble-wrapping. There have been a couple of stories about YesAsia's products being damaged, but that probably isn't a frequent occurence. CDJapan does have better packaging, though - they bubble-wrap your stuff, put it in a cardboard box for extra protection and tape it to the inside of the box to minimise movement.

Now, this post might seem to be slanting a whole lot towards CDJapan, but as I said, money is a pretty big factor. CDJapan's cost comes out to be about RM50 more expensive than on YesAsia, which could buy me a normal album in local stores already. That having been said, if I'm already spending a few hundred on this stuff, maybe an extra fifty to guarantee its quick arrival in good condition is worth it - it would not be funny to have my hundreds of ringgit disappear somewhere in the Pacific.

I don't know, really I don't. Someone decide for me, please - before stocks run out! :(