Amazon is cheating on Black Friday Sale

[Bart Kela]

Let's look at it from a slight different but completely real perspective.

Let's say someone here say, "I bought ____ accessory at Amazon which is $24.99 right now" and posts a link to the item.

Does it show up as $23.99 for some and $25.99 for others? Not according to years and years of the discussion threads I've seen here (or other online Q&A forums).

In fact, tweeters with tens of thousands of followers put out these sort of promotional posts all the time.

If there was any real, substantiated evidence of Amazon micro pricing by ZIP code, age group, income, revenue generated, etc., there would be massive complaints about it here and elsewhere.

But there's not.

A more likely explanation is a handful of Amazon shoppers get pissy when they see the price of a recently purchased item change (which happens all the time) and erroneously attribute it to targeted micro pricing.

 

[iMi]

Let's look at it from a slight different but completely real perspective.

Let's say someone here say, "I bought ____ accessory at Amazon which is $24.99 right now" and posts a link to the item.

Does it show up as $23.99 for some and $25.99 for others? Not according to years and years of the discussion threads I've seen here (or other online Q&A forums).

In fact, tweeters with tens of thousands of followers put out these sort of promotional posts all the time.

If there was any real, substantiated evidence of Amazon micro pricing by ZIP code, age group, income, revenue generated, etc., there would be massive complaints about it here and elsewhere.

But there's not.

A more likely explanation is a handful of Amazon shoppers get pissy when they see the price of a recently purchased item change (which happens all the time) and falsely attribute it to targeted micro pricing.

You are correct.

Amazon uses computer algorithms to adjust pricing on the fly. The higher the demand, the higher the price. I've seen prices on items fluctuate from one hour to another. It's not uncommon. This is becoming a standard pricing practice in retail. Aside from prepared promotional events, pricing "can change at any time and without notice." That disclaimer is there for a reason.

In a traditional brick and mortar store, changing the pricing costs money. Adjusting the POG costs money. Literally. You have to pay someone to go and change the price. Online, it can happen within minutes and automatically without any real cost based on the data generated.

Micro targeting is a real concept but not in the way it has been described.

 

[CrystalQuest76]

Don't know about Amazon pricing being different based on zip code, region, or type of computer accessing web site.
But economists have found that a number of entities do have different posted prices on those variables. A couple years ago researchers found Price Discrimination in The Princeton Review's Online SAT Tutoring Service. Naturally those kind of price discrimination will impact if someone goes on to college and their future earning potential.
Other price discrimination conducted by Staples has been documented.
ProPublica also had a report about the practice.

 

[hajime]

I heard that the adjust the price not based on zip code but based on the purchase habit of the customers. They can also play the users by changing the prices and see how they respond. Then, adjust the prices accordingly. Sound scary!

 

[Ken Linger]

This is a form of A:B testing. Test two different scenarios and see which one fares better. You may think "how obvious is it that we'll sell more at $10 then at $20?" but in reality, if you sell out at $20, then $10 was too cheap to begin with based on simply supply and demand. Many times, the price between large and small versions of an item force people to buy the small because the difference is too great. Add a medium that you don't expect to sell and make the large $1 more than the medium and it seems like a great bargain!

I had read (no I don't have a source to quote) years ago that Coke was testing machines with dynamic pricing at places like football stadiums. Based on the current outside temperature, the price of a can/bottle would be higher or lower. And why not? The best price is whatever you can get the market to pay and still sell out your inventory.

 

[Bart Kela]

I heard that the adjust the price not based on zip code but based on the purchase habit of the customers. They can also play the users by changing the prices and see how they respond. Then, adjust the prices accordingly. Sound scary!

As I mentioned, people often refer to a specific Amazon product quoting an exact price and the price doesn't vary by who visits the hyperlink.

What does happen is the price changing for everyone over time, but there is no targeted price adjustment for individual buyers.

Again, if you see evidence that this is happening, please provide sources for your allegation to defend your "theory".

 

[Nunyabinez]

As I mentioned, people often refer to a specific Amazon product quoting an exact price and the price doesn't vary by who visits the hyperlink.

What does happen is the price changing for everyone over time, but there is no targeted price adjustment for individual buyers.

Again, if you see evidence that this is happening, please provide sources for your allegation to defend your "theory".

He didn't say he was claiming that they did, he said he "heard that they did" and then asked if anyone else knew if it was true.

Then you jumped on him with a "prove it or shut up" approach that seems awfully strong for someone asking about something that they heard.

 

[Bart Kela]

I asked him in post #22 where he heard this rumor.

He has yet to answer.

He keeps saying that he heard it, but he won't say where. Some overheard conversation on the subway? A classmate? At a bar during last call? Reddit? Snapchat? His sister's boyfriend's uncle?

 

[BR485]

This is common among many retailers. They raise the price two months before, then for Black Friday they "lower" the price to what it was the entire rest of the year and call it a huge sale!

Capita;

After waiting for weeks to buy an Anker charger, lightning cable, and other items, I am disappointed to find that what Amazon called Black Friday Sale prices are actually the same prices as pre-sale prices. They shouldn't do that.

OT but oh well:
Capitalism works so well because it is in many ways an extension of the behaviors we call human nature. But what we have now is a kind of oligarchical plutocracy rigged to massively benefit a few thousand billionaires to the detriment of the rest of society. The plebs who have to work for a living can be legally ripped off via fine print disclaimers and legal technicalities and yesterday's outright scam is today's "grey area" and tomorrow's new normal. And they get to work longer and longer to maintain their standard of living and fear of sliding into destitution gives their employers massive leverage (power) over them. And Amazon etc. can freely take advantage of people's psychological need to believe that they are not being ripped off, tricked or scammed by the companies that effectively control their society. These are the signs of a society in deep trouble.

There is more than one way to do capitalism. The way we are currently doing it is not one of them.

/rant

 

[hajime]

This is very strange. I put some items on the Shopping Cart and Save Items. After Black Friday and Cyber Week, the cost of one item dropped by $60 (again depending on the time you check the price) while the cost of the other dropped by almost $20.

Do you expect the prices will drop even more around Christmas?

 

[Bart Kela]

They might. Then again they might not.

It's more wise to look at the price drop as a percentage of the original price, not the actual dollars. If a $1000 item drops by $60, that's 6%. If a $200 item drops by $20, that's 10%.

I use Amazon wishlists and I've seen prices fluctuate up and down over time, particularly for electronics, but I've rarely seen anything go up or down more than 10%.

In the end, if I want it now, I usually just buy it rather than trying to time the marketplace. I figure it'll all even out over years.

In a way it's like buying gas. If gas at $3.00/gallon drops by 10 cents, that's 3.33%. Is it worth it for me to run on fumes hoping the price will drop to save three percent? No, it's not. Likewise, I'm not going to drive cross-town to save 10 cents per gallon. If I buy 400 gallons of gas per year, that's a $40 savings, but the time wasted is more important to me.

 

[E.Lizardo]

After waiting for weeks to buy an Anker charger, lightning cable, and other items, I am disappointed to find that what Amazon called Black Friday Sale prices are actually the same prices as pre-sale prices. They shouldn't do that.

Check out camelcamelcamel.com They monitor Amazon prices and you can view a chart of an item's price history. You can set up a notification when it reaches your preset price level. Best of all, if you use their Browser add-on you can view a popup window of price history and set price notifications without leaving a product's page. I've saved a huge bundle with it. Oh,and it's free.

 

[Cobalt50]

This: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323777204578189391813881534

I don't have a WSJ subscription but you can get the idea in the teaser paragraph. I, too, had read that Amazon will change prices on an individual based on how many times the individual has "checked out" an item.

Just in the last week I was equivocating over buying a product on their site. When I would go back and look at it over the course of a week the price was always a little higher. I eventually got ticked off an bought the item someplace else.

I don't like to get played.

 

[hajime]

I put an item from shopping chat to the "Saved for later" list to see how the price changes. The item has been out of stock for about a week. It was about $450 but today the price jumped to $680. How come?

Another item that I am interested in has the price dropped from about $280 to $210. It has been staying at the price for about two weeks.

Do you expect there will be boxing day sales? I went to some big online stores but I cannot find Christmas Sale yet. It seems that Black Friday was the best time period to purchase items at big discounts.

 

[Tech198]

After waiting for weeks to buy an Anker charger, lightning cable, and other items, I am disappointed to find that what Amazon called Black Friday Sale prices are actually the same prices as pre-sale prices. They shouldn't do that.

lol..opps.. I dunno why companies reckon they can slip through the cracks and no one will notice... They must know its gonna become public..

 

[alphaod]

So go shop somewhere else.

Amazon's had dynamic pricing for ages.

 

[hajime]

So go shop somewhere else.

Amazon's had dynamic pricing for ages.

To be fair, their prices are generally lower than those listed in other places. I am not a rich person. I want to know their pattern of price changes so that I can make my purchase decision wisely. Anybody knows the pattern?

 

[hajime]

Another item that I am interested in has the price dropped from about $280 to $210. It has been staying at the price for about two weeks.

This is strange. The price of this item went up from $210 to $290 while some other companies have started boxing day sale. I was holding the purchase hoping that the price could be lowered on boxing day. Any explanation on the price increase?

 

[Trusteft]

Are you guys trolling or what?
Amazon changes the price of items all the time. It's nothing new, it's being going on for many years now. Not related to black friday and not related to your personal desire and wishes. There is no plan ahead, let's reduce the price on friday and increase it on tuesday then reduce it to an all time low on next monday. It is done automatically based on whatever algorithms they have running in their system. Most likely having to do with how well or badly the item sells.
Get over it.

 

[rafark]

While this is currently "hearsay," I'm not doubting it. You see, this has always been the case in retail. Take a look at the price of gas in the rich or "good" part of town and then drive a couple miles to the same gas station (chain) in the other, less-affluent part of town. Price is often 10+ cents more expensive in the nicer neighborhoods. It isn't like delivery of the gasoline has any extra overhead associated with it for one but not the other location within the same town.

The thing is, this is just much easier to do online. Demographics can be whittled down to the individual shopper with very little effort.

Keep in mind sq ft and other costs vary by zones as well. So in richer areas you get charged more, but stores also have to pay more for the property. With that said business do seem to take advantage of this.