4 ms·

That's what they want you to think ;)

by yaacov 10y ago

ams6110 10y ago
Honestly, what is and isn't a good deal is up to the buyer. If I see something I need on Amazon, and the price seems like a good value, I buy it. I don't worry too much about shopping around because my time is worth something and I have a ballpark idea of what a "good value" is for anything I would buy online.
ebbv 10y ago
That's a silly response. Amazon is an online retailer, they are the absolute most vulnerable to cross shopping. If I'm at a local grocery store or farmer's market and see something I like I'm much more likely to buy it there since I'm already there. If I'm shopping for something on Amazon it takes basically zero time to look at what the price is on Costco, PC Part Picker, my local stores, etc. and be sure I'm getting the best deal. I'm not a compulsive shopper who just buys things instantly when I see them.
- exhilaration 10y ago
  Amazon is an online retailer, they are the absolute most vulnerable to cross shopping... The 60 million+ of us that have bought into Amazon Prime are very unlikely to cross shop very often; we've happily locked ourselves into the Amazon ecosystem.
  - veridies 10y ago
    "Happily" may be an overstatement. I'm a Prime member, but some of the more recent changes have felt like they're designed to cheat me out of what I payed for. From "add-on items" (designed to avoid having to pay the cost of shipping them to Prime members for free) to wildly deceptive definitions of "two-day shipping", Amazon is more unpleasant to use than it's ever been for me.
    - DiabloD3 10y ago
      This is largely why I quit Prime. I liked it when I paid $69/yr and Amazon had competitive pricing. All these programs they're rolled out ("free" Apps, "free" Netflix clone, "free" iTunes Radio/Google Music All Access clone, "free" "unlimited" photo storage) that I have no interest in, and don't want, plus the whole add-on item thing you mentioned, plus most items being unable to Subscribe & Save to, plus the intersection of Subscribe & Save and Prime Pantry being absolutely retarded (can't S&S PP-able items, can't PP S&S-able items). Walmart is eating Amazon's lunch now, and I'm laughing my ass off. Good job, Jeff Bezos, you just destroyed your company.
  - ebbv 10y ago
    Please see above where I point out that I'm also a long time Prime member. That doesn't mean I only buy from Amazon or buy from Amazon even when it's not a good deal. Prime pays for itself even without compulsively buying everything from Amazon right now. If they stop offering good deals as the original article suggests, that won't be true and my Prime subscription will be canceled.
    - nommm-nommm 10y ago
      The average Prime user doesn't shop around or comparison shop. If you really do you are an exception and not the typical prime shopper. Prime users feel compelled to "get their money worth" by using the service more and they think of their shipping as free where it is actually prepaid. Getting someone to prepay for shipping for a whole year is a great way to create loyalty. Honestly, I, personally, don't understand Prime but I also don't buy very much stuff and don't find getting my stuff in two days compelling 99% of the time so I wouldn't spend even close to $100 on shipping. I very, very often buy my basics online (TP, paper towels, pet food, soap, etc.) but I just wait for a sale from any retailer to buy. Other than basics I rarely buy much else.
Spivak 10y ago
That's a little silly when you can find 10+ other retailers and sites that monitor price histories for just about any product to ballpark its actual market value.

That's what they want you to think ;)

by yaacov 10y ago

That's what they want you to think ;)

Honestly, what is and isn't a good deal is up to the buyer. If I see something I need on Amazon, and the price seems like a good value, I buy it. I don't worry too much about shopping around because my time is worth something and I have a ballpark idea of what a "good value" is for anything I would buy online.

ebbv 10y ago

That's a silly response. Amazon is an online retailer, they are the absolute most vulnerable to cross shopping. If I'm at a local grocery store or farmer's market and see something I like I'm much more likely to buy it there since I'm already there. If I'm shopping for something on Amazon it takes basically zero time to look at what the price is on Costco, PC Part Picker, my local stores, etc. and be sure I'm getting the best deal. I'm not a compulsive shopper who just buys things instantly when I see them.

exhilaration 10y ago
Amazon is an online retailer, they are the absolute most vulnerable to cross shopping... The 60 million+ of us that have bought into Amazon Prime are very unlikely to cross shop very often; we've happily locked ourselves into the Amazon ecosystem.
- veridies 10y ago
  "Happily" may be an overstatement. I'm a Prime member, but some of the more recent changes have felt like they're designed to cheat me out of what I payed for. From "add-on items" (designed to avoid having to pay the cost of shipping them to Prime members for free) to wildly deceptive definitions of "two-day shipping", Amazon is more unpleasant to use than it's ever been for me.
  - DiabloD3 10y ago
    This is largely why I quit Prime. I liked it when I paid $69/yr and Amazon had competitive pricing. All these programs they're rolled out ("free" Apps, "free" Netflix clone, "free" iTunes Radio/Google Music All Access clone, "free" "unlimited" photo storage) that I have no interest in, and don't want, plus the whole add-on item thing you mentioned, plus most items being unable to Subscribe & Save to, plus the intersection of Subscribe & Save and Prime Pantry being absolutely retarded (can't S&S PP-able items, can't PP S&S-able items). Walmart is eating Amazon's lunch now, and I'm laughing my ass off. Good job, Jeff Bezos, you just destroyed your company.
- ebbv 10y ago
  Please see above where I point out that I'm also a long time Prime member. That doesn't mean I only buy from Amazon or buy from Amazon even when it's not a good deal. Prime pays for itself even without compulsively buying everything from Amazon right now. If they stop offering good deals as the original article suggests, that won't be true and my Prime subscription will be canceled.
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    The average Prime user doesn't shop around or comparison shop. If you really do you are an exception and not the typical prime shopper. Prime users feel compelled to "get their money worth" by using the service more and they think of their shipping as free where it is actually prepaid. Getting someone to prepay for shipping for a whole year is a great way to create loyalty. Honestly, I, personally, don't understand Prime but I also don't buy very much stuff and don't find getting my stuff in two days compelling 99% of the time so I wouldn't spend even close to $100 on shipping. I very, very often buy my basics online (TP, paper towels, pet food, soap, etc.) but I just wait for a sale from any retailer to buy. Other than basics I rarely buy much else.

Spivak 10y ago

That's a little silly when you can find 10+ other retailers and sites that monitor price histories for just about any product to ballpark its actual market value.