Why is Amazon.com changing prices for Prime customers?

[requiem99]

A friend brought this to my attention tonight. I can't figure it out.

This item:

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic...VKUQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305615634&sr=8-2

is 116.95 for my friend. But I see 121.57. Both have free shipping, but the more expensive price is for "Prime" customers. My friend's roommate also has Prime and sees the price that I see, but my brother, who also does not have Prime, sees 116.95

This is only an example. It affects a lot of items.

Why?

 

[PiERiT]

The $116.95 is from a merchant that's not Amazon. The $121.57 is from Amazon directly.

I guess it's defaulting to Amazon if you're signed in and a Prime customer. You can still buy it for $116.95 if you really want, just click the "24 new" button.

 

[requiem99]

So Amazon defaults to Prime fulfilled by Amazon or one of its Prime Affiliates first, over cheapest price + shipping? Dumb!

 

[Tsumi]

No, it's smart business practice. Why would they want you to buy from a 3rd party vs direct from them, where they get full profits instead of a percentage of the profits?

Additionally, with Prime you get free 2-day shipping, whereas the 3rd party seller usually has standard shipping which you have to pay for.

 

[requiem99]

No, it's smart business practice. Why would they want you to buy from a 3rd party vs direct from them, where they get full profits instead of a percentage of the profits?

Additionally, with Prime you get free 2-day shipping, whereas the 3rd party seller usually has standard shipping which you have to pay for.

Usually. But not always, and not in this case. I understand the soundness of the business practise in theory, but in actual practise this causes your customers to distrust your pricing. On top of the whole "add shipping into the cost of the item and pretend the shipping is FREE" bullshit they've started to allow recently and I'm starting to seriously mistrust Amazon.com

 

[Neb]

So Amazon defaults to Prime fulfilled by Amazon or one of its Prime Affiliates first, over cheapest price + shipping? Dumb!

I actually prefer sold by amazon over "cheapest price + shipping". Amazon handles returns much more quickly compared to most 3rd party sellers, in my experience. As Tsumi also mentioned, it simply makes business sense.

On top of the whole "add shipping into the cost of the item and pretend the shipping is FREE" bullshit they've started to allow recently...

Do you have proof of this? Amazon does have dynamic pricing...

 

[Thug Esquire]

I actually prefer sold by amazon over "cheapest price + shipping". Amazon handles returns much more quickly compared to most 3rd party sellers, in my experience. As Tsumi also mentioned, it simply makes business sense.

This. Thanks for being a voice of reason in a rage thread.

 

[requiem99]

1. I rarely ever have to return a product. I do my research and only shop at trustworthy vendors. Return policy, as such, has little to do with a purchase, especially with foodstuffs and household items, my biggest spending categories at Amazon.

2. No proof at the moment but in the last month they have changed two items I regularly buy, promoting as the item page price a "deal" that is actually a huge ripoff both times. I've also had them push these "sales" at me via my personalized "today's deals" area, -after- I had already purchased it previously for much less.

This is not an Amazon rage thread. I love Amazon and spend way, way too much money there. I simply don't like some of the things I've seen happen on the site. As someone who spends a solid grand there every month or two, I think I deserve to have an opinion.

 

[AQ_OC]

Amazon has worked like this for ages. There is nothing wrong with them sometimes having a slighter higher price. Plus, they are showing you on the very page what there is a better price available at some other vendor, giving you the choice to take that option if you wish. Their objective is to keep you happy and give you as many options as possible. I applaud this practice and I too spend way too much money there.

 

[Neb]

1. I rarely ever have to return a product. I do my research and only shop at trustworthy vendors. Return policy, as such, has little to do with a purchase, especially with foodstuffs and household items, my biggest spending categories at Amazon.

I guess that's where we differ. I also do occasional purchases of foodstuffs and household items, but the majority of my purchasing with Amazon has mostly been computer parts. In that respect Amazon has, in my opinion, one of the best return policies of any retailer. Regardless of you well you research a product, products DO fail, and when they do the difference in return policies make all difference.

On more than one occasion Amazon has shipped the replacement of an item via next day air in advance of my return. That's a breath of fresh air when it's fairly typical to expect a week before getting a return replacement. In my experience with other retailers it typically takes 2-3 day shipping to retailer + 2-3 day shipping from retailer.

As for your second point, it sounds more like typical Amazon dynamic pricing. Happens all the time and that's why it pays to use a tool like http://camelcamelcamel.com/ to verify a deal is actually a deal. It's less of a nefarious plan by Amazon to factor in shipping than it is a wonky pricing algorithm Of course, that's just my opinion and you're welcome to view it as a conspiracy by amazon....

I applaud this practice and I too spend way too much money there.

Amazon + Steam deals = broken wallet

 

[Zepher]

2 day shipping from the $116 vendor comes to $159, so amazon is cheaper if you want it in 2 days.
Amazon is even cheaper if you want it tomorrow.

 

[boss99]

It seems to be pretty inconsistent then, because I have prime and when I searched for "ibert" (a children's bike seat), the first result was a more expensive (by 20 dollars) option by one of its marketplace sellers, which wasn't fulfilled by Amazon. So I checked the other options, and there was the Amazon price, so I think it's a YMMV kind of thing.

 

[wjogert]

So, essentially $4.62 for 2-day shipping versus the other store using "free, whatever-method-we-choose" shipping. That is worth it to me right there. Add the additional peace of mind from the protection benefits included with the Prime account......

 

[Mr. K6]

Amazon puts up their price first because you signed up for Prime, the assumption being that you use their service because you want two-day shipping. If one was paying $80 a year for their Prime service, I'd imagine he/she would want to use it every chance he/she gets. The discrepancy comes in when you're a cheap ass student milking the system (I'm using free Prime too, so I'm in this), and you want to have your cake and eat it too. If that's the case, become more versed in how Amazon works, select a different seller, and stop bitching.

 

[NACZ3]

I have Prime and when I do a search for a product on Amazon, Amazon does not always come up as the first selection. Sometimes it's a different vendor. Sometimes cheaper, sometimes not.

 

[synergyo1]

I don't see anything wrong with it... If you want the cheapest price, then view the entire merchant list.

As for myself, I don't mind paying a little extra to go with Amazon + 2 day/overnight shipping. They are usually quick to get the item out of the door (unlike some merchants that like to dick around for a few days before shipping out the package). And I like to support my local company

 

[fattypants]

I see the $116 price as well, but it's not prime eligible. I checked on two-day shipping (to make it the same speed of service as Prime), and the merchant charges $42.47 for shipping. No thanks; I'll stick with Prime.

There are sometimes products that are cheaper than if you buy it with prime, but you don't get free two-day shipping/$4 one-day shipping. It's been that way as long as I can recall.