Amazon Trickery

[DailyDi]

I have a computer on my Amazon Wishlist (https://a.co/5rDYjhW  ) as a pie-in-the-sky maybe someone is rich and wants to bless me with a new PC item. It was $1609 when I added it to the list. 2 Days ago it went up to $1849. Now it's "on sale" for 1699. That's some sneaky shit lol.

But still, I'd do anything for a new computer [licks lips] ANYTHING!

[AwakenEvil]

Jeff Bezos needs a little rocket fuel

[Crinklz Kat]

Well, here's part of the reason for the chicanery.   Not sold by Amazon.  Not to say I don't see price changes on products they sell directly, but I can't say I see stuff get jacked up then listed as "on sale". 

[DailyDi]

10 minutes ago, Crinklz Kat said:

Well, here's part of the reason for the chicanery.   Not sold by Amazon.  Not to say I don't see price changes on products they sell directly, but I can't say I see stuff get jacked up then listed as "on sale". 

Didn't notice that. Amazon must have sold out of the ones they had.

[Crinklz Kat]

4 minutes ago, DailyDi said:

Didn't notice that. Amazon must have sold out of the ones they had.

And that's the typical trickery Amazon pulls --- switching vendors on things.   And not always providing the best price or seller on an item as well! (look for the "available from other sellers" link).  I try to avoid "marketplace" sellers now and only go for items sold or shipped from Amazon.  Otherwise, there's little protection if the seller screws you.  And I missed that on an item from a recent order.   What I received what not what the listing stated -- and Amazon won't do anything.  The seller is stating they'll accept the return so that's in progress, but still no guarantee if I'll see my money back.  Fortunately, it's less than $17 (still pisses me off though). 

[ppdude]

Amazon plays a lot of games on their site.

You have to really be careful to  note what you're really buying and whom you are buying it from. It can waste a lot of time when you're trying to buy the item you actually want. I also do the same in avoiding sellers other than Amazon. All of a sudden there are high shipping costs and long ship times. Sometimes it's hard to find the item in all of the trash they throw at you. Then there's the stupid sales tax they're more than happy to add. Sometimes I'd just like to tell them to stuff it/1 and find the item some place else!

OOps! I just peed myself while typing this...

 

[square_duck]

Amazon it evil.....and so is Jeff Bozos...or what ever his name isn't..

[Little Cub Pants]

I LOVE Amazon! I'm a huge Amazon fan! I do all my shopping there. They really treat their employees well too! I'm even a member along with my mom! Got some great deals this cyber weekend too!???☺️❤️ All hail Jeff bezos!??❤️?❤️☺️? Amazon for life!!!!!❤️?☺️??❤️???

[Dubious]

All stores in all countries does the same, so you need some kind of price engine site to see prices.

I never buy anything before I check what it cost before.

[Little Cub Pants]

22 minutes ago, Dubious said:

All stores in all countries does the same, so you need some kind of price engine site to see prices.

I never buy anything before I check what it cost before.

That's pretty smart buddy!?❤️☺️??❤️

[feralfreak]

21 hours ago, DailyDi said:

 

...But still, I'd do anything for a new computer [licks lips] ANYTHING!

youd better be careful, that might come back to haunt ya

[WetDad]

Have you tried https://camelcamelcamel.com ?

I have signed up and use that quite often to get notifications of price drops on desired items.

[square_duck]

As far as I know, I havn't bought anything using Amazon. But as above, I do check prices and vendors and locations!! I have never and WILL never order or buy anything from China!! I used to buy stuff off Ebay, but that got cut back a lot, but again, only ordering or buying from the continental  US, locations and vendors, checking for excessive shipping charges, shopping for like items for price comparisons, and now only using "buy it now" instead of bidding against robots ??.

 

[rusty pins]

When I search for something I try and find the lowest cost.  I go to DVD Price Search for DVD's (I know, I don't stream and still buy DVD's).  Amazon had the lowest price for what I wanted and free shipping.  Problem is free shipping is for $25 and over and my purchases always come under by a couple dollars, therefore I'm forced to look around the Amazon site for something else to buy to get past the $25 amount so I can get free shipping.  As it was, being the Christmas season, I did find another item to get as a gift to give.  And people complain about shopping in the stores!  To me you can have just as much problems with on line shopping as you can fighting the crowds in the local stores.  Only reason I shop on line is when the brick and mortar stores don't have what I want.

[Crinklz Kat]

Yes, Amazon is evil.   Plain and simple.  Let vendors sell their wares on the site... then Amazon steps in with their own "Basics" brand rip-off of the products and undercuts the small guy.  Using their search engine to favor their own products or to insert paid ads into the top search results (aka sponsored products).  The big business of selling fake reviews to jack up your "credibility", which Amazon doesn't really do anything about.  Too many people will just look the other way, but they're under extreme scrutiny (just like Apple, Google, and other "Big Tech") in Europe and eventually here in the US (though I doubt we'll see any real sanctions against any of them here). 

And then there's the shiploads of counterfeit goods from overseas that they still have not addressed.  Shut down a seller and they just pop back up under a new name.   And anything you search for, how many different listings pop up that are obviously all the exact same item, but every one from a different seller (that just happens to be in China!).

At least there's still a few markets they haven't destroyed yet. 

I dumped my prime membership a few years back.  The "free 2 day shipping" was a total lie.  It's 2 days from when they feel like shipping it out! Not from when you order.  There were times it took a week before I saw a ship notification! On Prime items!  What bullshit.  I've found that as long as I can meet that $25 minimum, I'm still getting my stuff nearly as fast as I would have with prime (a distribution center is not even 30 miles away).  I don't miss the streaming stuff at all.

[ValentinesStuff]

It's odd because the "sponsored" items rarely seem to match my search. They are close, but not exactly what I am looking for.

What has me confused/pissed is all the stuff that Amazon allows that is mislabeled. I was searching for some computer accessories and my results were slippers, pages and pages of slippers!

[Dubious]

3 minutes ago, ValentinesStuff said:

I was searching for some computer accessories and my results were slippers, pages and pages of slippers!

People wear slippers while at the computer.. 

[daryll]

On 12/1/2021 at 4:08 AM, Dubious said:

People wear slippers while at the computer.. 

Trust me, this is true. I frequently use my computer and I'm usually always wearing a massive blanket over myself, a thick diaper and some good old slippers. they're actually pretty good for games that require your feet.

[DprDJeff]

I live a dozen miles from Amazon HQ and my neighbor is on their marketing team. They have an algorithm that is supposed to decide which sellers they will show you based on your internet data. If they know you are unlikely to buy anything "Sold by Amazon", they will put independent sellers up first for you. If you always look for the cheapest, they will try to match the cheapest price from other sellers, so you buy from Amazon direct. It's very predatory.

Just be sure you always look for "other sellers" when shopping. Wishlists will also show shoppers whichever option means the most profit for Amazon within 10% of the lowest price.

[Little Cub Pants]

6 hours ago, daryll said:

Trust me, this is true. I frequently use my computer and I'm usually always wearing a massive blanket over myself, a thick diaper and some good old slippers. they're actually pretty good for games that require your feet.

Awwwww!??? You must always be very comfortable like that, all snuggled up like the baby you are.☺️?❤️???❤️?❤️????❤️? Big hugs baby!!!!!!?❤️?❤️? Love you!!!!!?❤️?❤️?

[Cute_Kitten]

It's not just Amazon- my local stores have done this as well. Conveniently just before Black Friday as well.

[ValentinesStuff]

Really confused here. It's been a long time since I bought anything AB or diaper related on Amazon, but my "Recommended based on your shopping trends" is currently filled with adult diapers and pads and such.

[WBDaddy]

Shoot, I have a particular flavor of a particular brand of zero-cal drink I like that's hard to find consistently in stores.  I found it on Amazon by the case, and I decided to take advantage of the subscription option for a 5% discount.  

Lo and behold, the next shipment, the price had DOUBLED.  I cancelled the shipment and was able to order it for the price I paid on the original order.  THAT is some sneaky shit. 

[oznl]

On 12/1/2021 at 12:00 AM, Dubious said:

All stores in all countries does the same, so you need some kind of price engine site to see prices.

I never buy anything before I check what it cost before.

Not quite...  It is explicitly prohibited by Australian consumer law (which I realise is of no help at all to the OP).

An "on sale" price that is discounted relative to a prior price that was NOT actually the price for "a reasonable period before the sale commenced" (some flexibility here but it's to do with how often the price would normally fluctuate - a few days won't cut it) is considered "misleading pricing" under our competition and consumer act.

The penalties are pretty steep: for a corporation, up to AUD10 million, or triple the benefit the corporation would have derived, or up to 10% of the corporations previous 12 months turnover.  In reality, they usually settle for a big fine and some kind of apology.

[Dubious]

11 hours ago, oznl said:

Not quite...  It is explicitly prohibited by Australian consumer law (which I realise is of no help at all to the OP).

An "on sale" price that is discounted relative to a prior price that was NOT actually the price for "a reasonable period before the sale commenced" (some flexibility here but it's to do with how often the price would normally fluctuate - a few days won't cut it) is considered "misleading pricing" under our competition and consumer act.

The penalties are pretty steep: for a corporation, up to AUD10 million, or triple the benefit the corporation would have derived, or up to 10% of the corporations previous 12 months turnover.  In reality, they usually settle for a big fine and some kind of apology.

Something similar in Norway, but they do it all the time anyway, and use trickery do do it somewhat legally.
Like same product with different product number.