What's up with Amazon's prices?

[TwoBees]

I looked at an item earlier today, it was on sale. I just pulled up the item again, and it's not on sale! What gives??

[jvs195]

Was it a "Special Price" for a limited time or just the price when you looked was better than MSRP? Amazon prices change by the minute but usually only by a few cents and some days by a few dollars. Depends on the item. Put it in your cart and track it or go to camelcamelcamel.com and see the trend.

[TwoBees]

Was it a "Special Price" for a limited time or just the price when you looked was better than MSRP? Amazon prices change by the minute but usually only by a few cents and some days by a few dollars. Depends on the item. Put it in your cart and track it or go to camelcamelcamel.com and see the trend.

It didn't say anything but the sale price (The MSRP was crossed out) and "you save XX%". Now it's just the MSRP. That really sucks.

[viba424]

Also watch out for price gouging. You need to know what the stuff retails for because you'd be surprised how marked up some things are. I noticed it with toys and a household item.

[conniez]

I agree...Amazon's prices drive me crazy, too. They fluctuate so quickly!

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

I agree...Amazon's prices drive me crazy, too. They fluctuate so quickly!

:yeahthat: I HATE it!

[brittone2]

Yeah, you can put something in your cart and have the price change within a few minutes. That happened to me a few weeks ago with Charlie's (the laundry soap). It went up 2 bucks while sitting in my cart for a few minutes.

[KrisM]

Also check that it is the same seller you're looking at. There might be someone else at the top that there was last time. Check the other sellers on the right.

[TwoBees]

Also check that it is the same seller you're looking at. There might be someone else at the top that there was last time. Check the other sellers on the right.

I had no idea this existed. Thanks! and :angry-smiley-005: at Amazon. Makes me not want to shop there.

[lovebargains]

I consider it a game - I add all my wish list items to my shopping cart, and mark save for later. A few times a day I check my cart and it notifies me as prices go up and down. I probably have 50 items in cart right now, but after a month or so, I know a good price for something, and eventually it comes around again. I can't deny my love for amazon - where else do I get 2 day shipping and super low prices

[wellyes]

I had no idea this existed. Thanks! and :angry-smiley-005: at Amazon. Makes me not want to shop there.

The good thing about it is that if a seller offers it for less than Amazon itself (including shipping), they'll make that the deal you see on the main page. More than once I've seen Amazon's offering of an item as the 3rd or 4th one down because they're asking for more $ than another vendor.

[KrisM]

The good thing about it is that if a seller offers it for less than Amazon itself (including shipping), they'll make that the deal you see on the main page. More than once I've seen Amazon's offering of an item as the 3rd or 4th one down because they're asking for more $ than another vendor.

Yes. And while some are smaller sellers, others are Target, Drugstore.com, etc and just using Amazon as a platform to sell. Amazon has pretty decent standards to sell on their site and to continue. They aren't perfect, but you can read sellers' feedback on the site.

[vball4all]

Also check that it is the same seller you're looking at. There might be someone else at the top that there was last time. Check the other sellers on the right.

Exactly!

AND - don't just trust that the price at the top is the cheapest, I've found once or twice where it was cheaper from another seller....sometimes because of availability (sometimes I don't care how long it takes.)

[mamaAnn]

It's often about supply and demand. An item might be x price but then if the item is sold out, amazon offers the item from another vendor and their price is higher (or sometimes lower). So it's not always amazon's fault per se.

While I can sometimes find things cheaper, they are the best deal 85% of the time, and with free prime 2 day shipping-they can't be beat!

[Momof3Labs]

The good thing about it is that if a seller offers it for less than Amazon itself (including shipping), they'll make that the deal you see on the main page. More than once I've seen Amazon's offering of an item as the 3rd or 4th one down because they're asking for more $ than another vendor.

Not quite true. The main page deal isn't always the lowest price - sometimes one on the side is better. That's one thing that I wish that they would change.

[conniez]

I consider it a game - I add all my wish list items to my shopping cart, and mark save for later. A few times a day I check my cart and it notifies me as prices go up and down.

Is there a setting or option I need to change to be notified of price changes? I've had the same Sonicare toothbrush in my cart for at least a week now, if not more, and whenever I come back to my cart I don't see any message or notice coming up that the price has changed (I just notice it did because I'm looking for it).

[KrisM]

Not quite true. The main page deal isn't always the lowest price - sometimes one on the side is better. That's one thing that I wish that they would change.

Amazon has a formula for determining what gives the seller the 'buy box' on the front page. It's based on total price, feedback rating, how many of something the seller has sold, and more things. Usually, they rotate through 3-4 sellers over the course of the day. If it was only based on price, the sellers would have to continually drop prices to get the buy box and that only sounds good. It would be very difficult to sell for a profit there and I think many sellers would leave completely.