3 ms·

How is it that Amazon's price per unit is still so often nonsensical?

6 points by chrisjj 2y ago

E.g. smoke alarm, "£24,950.00/kg". https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kidde-233045-Smoke-Alarms-Battery/dp/B07FRZ1NQF Its is not even remotely accurate mathematically.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
mikequinlan 2y ago
Either the value is automatically determined by a bot/AI and it sucks at doing that kind of thing, OR the value is entered manually by a person and people suck at doing that kind of thing.
bediger4000 2y ago
Aren't there documented bot pricing wars?
seabass-labrax 2y ago
That's extraordinarily nonsensical for something written so prominently next to the price. It doesn't even work if you assume that the continental decimal notation is being used. I'd go as far to say it might even be a criminal offence; quoting the Weights and Measures Act 1985 section 31, emphasis mine: > Without prejudice to section 30(2) to (4) above, if in the case of any goods required by or under this Part of this Act to have associated with them a document containing particular statements, that document is found to contain any such statement which is materially incorrect, any person who, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that statement to be materially incorrect, inserted it or caused it to be inserted in the document, or used the document for the purposes of this Part of this Act while that statement was contained in the document, shall be guilty of an offence.
- chrisjj 2y ago
  But Weights and Measures Act does not apply to goods not sold by weight/measure. Such as smoke alarms.
muzani 2y ago
Some things are often listed from other markets. So it could be something exported from China that was manually converted by someone unfamiliar with £.
Spooky23 2y ago
It’s not something the company values, and there’s no effective regulatory framework. Gasoline prices are consistently posted and grocery stores mark prices consistently because they get fined if they do not.
- chrisjj 2y ago
  > It’s not something the company values Company values it enough to put on almost every product offer page. That is the real indictment. Company values nonsense info above no info.

6 points by chrisjj 2y ago

E.g. smoke alarm, "£24,950.00/kg". https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kidde-233045-Smoke-Alarms-Battery/dp/B07FRZ1NQF Its is not even remotely accurate mathematically.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

mikequinlan 2y ago

Either the value is automatically determined by a bot/AI and it sucks at doing that kind of thing, OR the value is entered manually by a person and people suck at doing that kind of thing.

bediger4000 2y ago

Aren't there documented bot pricing wars?

seabass-labrax 2y ago

That's extraordinarily nonsensical for something written so prominently next to the price. It doesn't even work if you assume that the continental decimal notation is being used. I'd go as far to say it might even be a criminal offence; quoting the Weights and Measures Act 1985 section 31, emphasis mine: > Without prejudice to section 30(2) to (4) above, if in the case of any goods required by or under this Part of this Act to have associated with them a document containing particular statements, that document is found to contain any such statement which is materially incorrect, any person who, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that statement to be materially incorrect, inserted it or caused it to be inserted in the document, or used the document for the purposes of this Part of this Act while that statement was contained in the document, shall be guilty of an offence.

chrisjj 2y ago
But Weights and Measures Act does not apply to goods not sold by weight/measure. Such as smoke alarms.

muzani 2y ago

Some things are often listed from other markets. So it could be something exported from China that was manually converted by someone unfamiliar with £.

Spooky23 2y ago

It’s not something the company values, and there’s no effective regulatory framework. Gasoline prices are consistently posted and grocery stores mark prices consistently because they get fined if they do not.

chrisjj 2y ago
> It’s not something the company values Company values it enough to put on almost every product offer page. That is the real indictment. Company values nonsense info above no info.