Beware: Amazon Ups Prices from Cart to Checkout!

[SwampSurvivor]

Were you buying something from Amazon or an independent seller?

Remember, a lot of stuff on Amazon is from multiple sellers. If you grab it at the lowest price from seller ABC, and , over the course of a week, ABC sells theirs - you may and up with one from XYZ .. who charges a bit more.

Maybe you hit it odd where the lowest price one did sell?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
IMO adding something to the cart is a clear intention to buy, and the price should get locked in at that point.

Say you go to walmart and put a TV that's currently on sale in your shopping cart. You stash the cart away somewhere for a few days, then come back and take it to the register and demand that they sell it to you at the sale price that was in effect a few days ago. Do they have to honor it? I don't think so.

I realize that's an unlikely scenario, but with on-line shopping carts that's reality. People put stuff in their shopping carts all the time but may not actually proceed to check-out until days or weeks later, or never. Some etailers will empty your shopping cart after a while. Others won't.

 

[97tbird]

Adding to cart is NOT a definitive intention to buy - lots of online stores incl Amazon even has a function where you add to cart only to see a discounted price, etc.

I have added and removed many items on Amazon and elsewhere. If Adding to cart meant a def. BUY, then there won't be a 2 step process - items will only have a 'buy' button.

what happened to OP is annoying, but certainly not bad enough to 100% boycott an e-tailer (although one must respect his choice if he does)

 

[TallPaul]

I like Amazon. Buy books and a lot of CDs. Still I go to local book stores and music stores too, more fun, but Amazon has great prices on used stuff. I had the oil analysis kit in my cart for about $7 each and went back and they were $15. I didn't get upset, just realized I should have acted right away. "Strike While The Iron Is Hot."

I bought a book pre-release and when the price dropped Amazon issued me a refund for the difference. Nice.

If its in your cart its just a bookmark. Not like in the store where they can't go into your cart and put a different sticker on.

 

[DBMaster]

I do use Amazon occasionally, but I tend to gravitate toward eBay and the Google Product Search (froogle.google.com). Sometimes, Amazon is the only place to get something and the "Amazon Marketplace" is sort of like an eBay within Amazon. I will be further avoiding Amazon in the future because, as some of you may be aware, they have a physical presence in Texas (Irving) and will be charging sales tax. I do not begrudge my state its due, but as a purchasing agent I strive to get the best price possible while still supporting domestic sellers.

 

[Quattro Pete]

For those wanting to monitor prices of specific items on Amazon, check out http://www.camelcamelcamel.com/ You can view historical prices of a given item. You can also sign up for price alerts and get notified when the price falls below your desired limit.

There's also the Priceblink add-on for Firefox that will automatically show you retailers with lower prices (including eBay) when you browse sites such as Amazon, BestBuy, Newegg, etc.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
but I tend to gravitate toward eBay and the Google Product Search (froogle.google.com).

Google shopping search used to be decent in the past when it was free for the retailers. Now only the paying retailers get shown by Google, so it's very likely that the same product may be offered for less elsewhere, but Google won't tell you about it because that particular store did not pay a fee to Google.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I just saved 40 bucks on a LCD TV from them because of theor lowering the price and they also have a policy of LOWERING the price of a TV for 14 days after the sale if their price drops. They REFUND the money.

Yup. On select big ticket items, they have a 30-day price guarantee and will refund you money if either they (Amazon) or one of the major competitors offers it for less during that time. I also got $40 back that way on a 42" TV I bought recently.

Amazon is not always the cheapest, but their customer service is very good (in my experience) and their return policy is also pretty good.

 

[TallPaul]

Good info DBMaster. I tend to use Amazon because Ebay is too much bidding and I prefer to just buy it. The Buy it Nows on Ebay tend to be expensive. I'll have to try the froogle.google.com. Never knew it existed.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Google shopping search used to be decent in the past when it was free for the retailers. Now only the paying retailers get shown by Google, so it's very likely that the same product may be offered for less elsewhere, but Google won't tell you about it because that particular store did not pay a fee to Google.


Didn't know that, Pete. The last thing I bought through a froogle search was a Google Nexus 7 tablet for my daughter, who is a college student. I had completed the order on Google directly, but then Capital One decided that my credit card had been used too quickly between charges on Black Friday - imagine that! My son had used it on Play Station Network thirty seconds before my charge with Google went through.

I was about to pay around $235 (tablet plus tax plus shipping). I figured Google would offer the best price for a GOOGLE device. WRONG! I did a froogle search and bought the same thing from a seller on ecrater.com for $195, no tax, no shipping. So, I guess I can thank Capital One for running me through the ringer. I saved $40.

I also still like pricewatch.com when buying computer hardware.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Turk
Me: Wait, No store changes the price on an item once I put it in a cart and go to checkout, how can Amazon??

Not true. You could keep stuff in your cart and not buy it for days or even weeks.



I was talking about a "store".

It's $2, I know. It's the principle of it!

 

[Quattro Pete]

That's the whole "virtual store" for ya right there. The fact that you put an item in your internet cart does not mean that one has been reserved for you. If, before you make it to checkout, someone else buys one, and it was the last one, then the e-tailer has two options: either say sorry, but we're sold out or offer you the same item but from a different source at a somewhat different price, which it looks like what Amazon did in this case. Not ideal, I agree.

 

[Turk]

Now the exact same battery, from the exact same place is down to $9.00!

It was $8.99 in my Cart, $10.99 at Checkout, now back down to $9.00!!!

SCAM!!!

 

[rjundi]

Found the opposite of a lowering price from cart to check out....

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Adding to cart is NOT a definitive intention to buy - lots of online stores incl Amazon even has a function where you add to cart only to see a discounted price, etc.

I have added and removed many items on Amazon and elsewhere. If Adding to cart meant a def. BUY, then there won't be a 2 step process - items will only have a 'buy' button.

what happened to OP is annoying, but certainly not bad enough to 100% boycott an e-tailer (although one must respect his choice if he does)


Amazon does have one click ordering for at least some things. IIRC, buying music on there all I had to do was click one button to download and it would charge my CC, no checkout or anything like that.

Sure, you can add/remove things from your cart, but you can also do that in a regular store. They don't send someone around to reprice everything in your cart while you wait to checkout in a brick and mortar store.

It wouldn't be so sleazy if they had some sort of notification. A simple popup with a message like "vendor A is out of stock on this item, would you like to substitute for vendor B at $xx.xx?" would suffice. Instead they seem to be banking on people assuming that the price won't change. I'd also have less of an issue with it if the price changes were based on actual inventory/supplier changes, but very frequently with Amazon it's just a matter of what they think you will pay based on how much money they think you might have.

 

[Turk]

Well, I "called" them this time, and while the Rep OR Supervisor could "do nothing" online chat, Amazon PROMPTLY gave me a $2.00 Promo Credit over the phone!

Also, I ordered 2 packs of Silverstar Ultras on the morning of the 26 via free 2-day and it's now the 30th, they were shipped via UPS and I still do not have them...

 

[Mr Nice]

Maybe the weather caused a delay.

 

[DBMaster]

My pet peeve about ecommerce sites is not being able to see shipping costs until you are nearly at the end of the process. In fact, if a site forces me to enter a bunch of information to get to that point I often abandon the purchase. In some cases, shipping costs exceed the cost of the item. It still may be a good deal, but I want to know BEFORE I have to enter my shipping address, billing address, credit card number, blood type of first born, etc.

I think we are all plenty aware that transportation and logistics costs are built into everything we buy. You just have to be VERY aware of this when buying anything online.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Turk
Well, I "called" them this time, and while the Rep OR Supervisor could "do nothing" online chat, Amazon PROMPTLY gave me a $2.00 Promo Credit over the phone!

Also, I ordered 2 packs of Silverstar Ultras on the morning of the 26 via free 2-day and it's now the 30th, they were shipped via UPS and I still do not have them...

I would complaint about this 2-day shipping. You must have your order on second business day regardless of weather or otherwise.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Turk
Also, I ordered 2 packs of Silverstar Ultras on the morning of the 26 via free 2-day and it's now the 30th, they were shipped via UPS and I still do not have them...


I blame you, Amazon, and UPS for that one.

Realistically, they should disable the two day shipping option (or at least have a very visible disclaimer) for a few days before and after Christmas. Personally, I wouldn't pay for premium shipping at this time of year, but they shouldn't be offering that option right now, either.