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Amazon’s iPhone dynamic pricing prior to the Apple keynote

43 points by bezierc 12y ago

eyeareque 12y ago
The link seems dead.
- dhbanes 12y ago
  Works for me. Here's a cached link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wF2uwXTrak0J:blog.monitorbook.com/post/97653622519/amazons-iphone-dynamic-pricing-prior-to-the-apple+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wF2uwXT...
dhbanes 12y ago
Is this clearly a result of Amazon's own dynamic pricing or simply third party sellers undercutting each other which is common on close out or soon to be replaced items? In the case of third party sellers, I don't believe Amazon directly controls the pricing. Currently, the best price for the iPhone mentioned in the article is offered by a company called "TRUE DIGITAL" and isn't even fulfilled by Amazon.
- discardorama 12y ago
  > Is this clearly a result of Amazon's own dynamic pricing or simply third party sellers undercutting each other which is common on close out or soon to be replaced items? Bingo! Monitoring prices on Amazon without using their API is a Sisyphean task. They can show a price from any of a bunch of sellers; and which one they pick depends on the overall price, the stock at hand, etc.
  - mgdo 12y ago
    Good points. But on the US store we can still clearly see the general trend showing that the price has been falling for weeks.
nickm12 12y ago
This article implies that it is Amazon that is changing the prices. Many people don't understand this, but Amazon is a marketplace where sellers compete to sell products. There are currently ~120 sellers with offers to sell a new iPhone 5s (space gray) all with different prices and Amazon just picks one to be the default. So this graph is really showing something more akin to a market price for the iPhone 5c. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00F3J4B5S/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00F3J4B5S/ref=dp_olp...
- nickm12 12y ago
  In fact, Amazon doesn't even sell the iPhone 5c.
  - pidg 12y ago
    Indeed, I just read an article entitled 'Why doesn't Amazon sell iPhones'. Who's right? http://www.cnet.com/news/why-doesnt-amazon-sell-iphones/ http://www.cnet.com/news/why-doesnt-amazon-sell-iphones/
- saosebastiao 12y ago
  Its a correct point, but the purpose of dynamic pricing is to emulate a market where none exists, so they are going to look pretty similar.
  - bezierc 12y ago
    Does anyone know why all of a sudden this post got to the 2nd page?
WildUtah 12y ago
The Apple store price for the iPhone 5c 16GB for the period in question was US$650. But Amazon sellers were asking and frequently getting, according to the chart, US$670 and seldom less than US$650. But you could just get on from Apple at the store or with free shipping for US$650. Why would the buyers pay more? Maybe the Amazon sellers making a profit by not paying sales taxes. I thought that Apple sold iPhones at a wholesale discount to retailers, so shouldn't they be able to make a profit at even lower prices? Competition doesn't appear to have brought prices down to marginal cost here.
- chrisBob 12y ago
  > I thought that Apple sold iPhones at a wholesale discount to retailers, so shouldn't they be able to make a profit at even lower prices? Competition doesn't appear to have brought prices down to marginal cost here. I think Apple restricts the price their products can be sold at. If you sell at lower prices then you won't sell them anymore. Often agreements like this restrict the advertised price which is why you see things where you must add it to your cart to see the price [1]. [1] http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/iphone-phones/ http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/iphone-phone...
thrush 12y ago
Many customers sell their iPhone around the time the new one comes out (using services like iCracked and Gazelle). Basic economics dictates that as supply increases, prices will go down. This is a guess as to what could cause the prices to go decrease so rapidly.

43 points by bezierc 12y ago

eyeareque 12y ago

The link seems dead.

dhbanes 12y ago
Works for me. Here's a cached link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wF2uwXTrak0J:blog.monitorbook.com/post/97653622519/amazons-iphone-dynamic-pricing-prior-to-the-apple+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wF2uwXT...

dhbanes 12y ago

Is this clearly a result of Amazon's own dynamic pricing or simply third party sellers undercutting each other which is common on close out or soon to be replaced items? In the case of third party sellers, I don't believe Amazon directly controls the pricing. Currently, the best price for the iPhone mentioned in the article is offered by a company called "TRUE DIGITAL" and isn't even fulfilled by Amazon.

discardorama 12y ago
> Is this clearly a result of Amazon's own dynamic pricing or simply third party sellers undercutting each other which is common on close out or soon to be replaced items? Bingo! Monitoring prices on Amazon without using their API is a Sisyphean task. They can show a price from any of a bunch of sellers; and which one they pick depends on the overall price, the stock at hand, etc.
- mgdo 12y ago
  Good points. But on the US store we can still clearly see the general trend showing that the price has been falling for weeks.

nickm12 12y ago

This article implies that it is Amazon that is changing the prices. Many people don't understand this, but Amazon is a marketplace where sellers compete to sell products. There are currently ~120 sellers with offers to sell a new iPhone 5s (space gray) all with different prices and Amazon just picks one to be the default. So this graph is really showing something more akin to a market price for the iPhone 5c. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00F3J4B5S/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00F3J4B5S/ref=dp_olp...

nickm12 12y ago
In fact, Amazon doesn't even sell the iPhone 5c.
- pidg 12y ago
  Indeed, I just read an article entitled 'Why doesn't Amazon sell iPhones'. Who's right? http://www.cnet.com/news/why-doesnt-amazon-sell-iphones/ http://www.cnet.com/news/why-doesnt-amazon-sell-iphones/
saosebastiao 12y ago
Its a correct point, but the purpose of dynamic pricing is to emulate a market where none exists, so they are going to look pretty similar.
- bezierc 12y ago
  Does anyone know why all of a sudden this post got to the 2nd page?

WildUtah 12y ago

The Apple store price for the iPhone 5c 16GB for the period in question was US$650. But Amazon sellers were asking and frequently getting, according to the chart, US$670 and seldom less than US$650. But you could just get on from Apple at the store or with free shipping for US$650. Why would the buyers pay more? Maybe the Amazon sellers making a profit by not paying sales taxes. I thought that Apple sold iPhones at a wholesale discount to retailers, so shouldn't they be able to make a profit at even lower prices? Competition doesn't appear to have brought prices down to marginal cost here.

chrisBob 12y ago
> I thought that Apple sold iPhones at a wholesale discount to retailers, so shouldn't they be able to make a profit at even lower prices? Competition doesn't appear to have brought prices down to marginal cost here. I think Apple restricts the price their products can be sold at. If you sell at lower prices then you won't sell them anymore. Often agreements like this restrict the advertised price which is why you see things where you must add it to your cart to see the price [1]. [1] http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/iphone-phones/ http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/iphone-phone...

thrush 12y ago

Many customers sell their iPhone around the time the new one comes out (using services like iCracked and Gazelle). Basic economics dictates that as supply increases, prices will go down. This is a guess as to what could cause the prices to go decrease so rapidly.