Amazon pricing.
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Fuzz
18-Jul-18
Anyone notice the huge price swings on certain products on Amazon?
Example: Last year I found a Predator camo jacket priced for about $90 that I put in "my cart". I'll get a notifications about any price changes. The price has changed from as low as $72 to as high as $144...IN A SINGLE DAY! It is changing constantly, normally just a few bucks, but to double in price from one hour to the next? SHEESH!!!
From: SixLomaz
18-Jul-18
Signs of things to come. We will most likely witness extreme fluctuations as the market is adjusting to political changes. There are few who try to take advantage driven by greed and fueled by consumer fears. Hang in tight for the bumpy ride. We are not in Kansas anymore.
From: Ucsdryder
18-Jul-18
Amazon prices off the market. If their algorithm sees a low price it matches, and goes from there. At least that’s how I understand it.
From: Lost Arra
18-Jul-18
never assume Amazon pricing is the best you can find
From: Ucsdryder
18-Jul-18
Good point arra. Amazon is like carmax. They’ve convinced everyone their prices are the best, mainly because they were for a long time. They’ve started to slowly raise prices and a lot of people click and buy without shopping around.
From: Missouribreaks
18-Jul-18
There is room for improvement, but generally I find them cheaper than Cabelas and others when shipping is factored in.
From: Fuzz
18-Jul-18
From: Halibutman
18-Jul-18
I know people that spend hours, sometimes even days, checking different websites and pricing goods. My time has value. I dont know how anyone had time to do that.
From: StickFlicker
18-Jul-18
I've read that prices can sometimes even vary depending on the type of computer or browser that you use to access an online retail site. Apparently studies have shown that people that use Macs or other Apple products are less price sensitive, and other factors like that, are considered. I've made a lot of money on Amazon stock, so whatever they're doing seems to work!
From: elkmtngear
18-Jul-18
Monday and Tuesday were "Amazon Prime Day" this week. Supposed to have deals scattered throughout Amazon, might have effected pricing.
From: lv2bohunt
18-Jul-18
Amazon’s business model is effective for sure. Not so much for a local economy but great for Amazon. I prefer to shop locally if possible and I don’t price shop. I do like the convenience of online sites though.
From: Dyjack
18-Jul-18
Amazon also is a middle man for lot of different sellers. Fluctuation may mean the lowest seller sold out so the price goes to the next merchants listing.
From: Brotsky
18-Jul-18
I value my money just like Amazon values their's. I'm going to price shop, and all things being equal I will buy local but if they can't match Amazon or another online retailer's price then I'm not giving away cash to subsidize them.
From: Bou'bound
18-Jul-18
Amen
It’s not my job To buy local.......... it’s locals job to win my business
From: Halibutman
18-Jul-18
Without the "subsidy" you're sure to kill off your local retailer. Then, there won't be a local economy of much value, and everyone will have to order things from Amazon. That's how Jeff Bezos became the richest man on earth (and soon to be ever, adjusted for inflation). He makes afew pennies off millions of transactions daily. The price shopper chooses to buy from him, not considering the "little man". That's fine I guess, if you're OK with that.
From: WV Mountaineer
18-Jul-18
It's your right to shop where you want. And, I do a fair amount of price shopping myself. However, I will and often do pay more local. As long as they aren't trying to bend me over, I'll gladly keep locals in business by paying more when I see they are trying to meet the consumer halfway. I cant expect a retailer paying local land and business taxes, salaries, workers compensation, taxes, etc.. to compete with a supplier with so much more volume to offset their costs. That's just me. And, I'll pay way more for American made stuff too.
From: Scar Finga
18-Jul-18
What Bou'bound said!
From: thedude
18-Jul-18
I live in ak and a local retailer me quoted me 580 bucks for atv tires without installation. I found the same set for 279 and free shipping on amazon. I would like to shop all local up here but the prices are either insane or they don’t carry my size or what I need. I do quite a bit of shopping at local retailers but sometimes it doesn’t make sense.
From: jdee
19-Jul-18
I shop where ever I get the best bang for the buck, local or online. I do know that the local shop is not going to do any thing to help me if I fall on hard times.
From: TEmbry
19-Jul-18
Amazon is hard to avoid in Alaska because of the free shipping. I usually shop local but can’t always justify it.
From: Ace of Spades
19-Jul-18
Check out camelcamel.com
You can see the price history of items on Amazon, pretty useful tool.
Ski
From: Halibutman
19-Jul-18
So Jdee, you've never seen a local fundraiser of any kind, ever? That seems highly unlikely. We have them all the time in Texas. The first people to donate to offer help are the local stores/shops. It must be terrible to live where you live.
From: Tilzbow
19-Jul-18
I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon for a few reasons. Their service,communication and return policy are all very good plus I can find almost anything. We’ve got Scheels, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Cabela’s with 15 miles but they rarely have the specific items I’m looking for when it comes to sights, arrows, releases, boat stuff, fishing rods and reels, etc. We also have an Amazon distribution center 20 miles away and it’s not uncommon to order something on a Thursday and receive it on Friday.
That said I haven’t found Amazon to consistently have the best prices but availability and service makes up for the small difference.
From: stick n string
19-Jul-18
In my line of work we get screwed over by Amazon. I don't know that it's necessarily Amazon's fault but we have competitors on Amazon selling products for less than they are actually allowed to list the products for online. The manufacturers have a priceline in which you cannot list below online and a lot of the people selling those products online do anyway, selling it for ridiculously low prices because the volume is going to make the difference for them and they don't have to really do anything to make that money. That's screws the brick and mortar dealers. The manufacturers supposedly regulates it but I don't see much of that happening. Sure, we could do the same thing but once again you have a situation where the good guy that plays by the rules get screwed over.
I'm not sure if this type of thing translates over to archery products or other areas but I know we deal with it in my line of work. Right or wrong but just because of that I rarely buy anything off of Amazon
From: Matte
19-Jul-18
It is bad with all industries. I'm in the Paintball buisness I own two playing fields and had a store. My manufacturers would not enforce MAP minimum advertised price so I closed the store. In today's buisness world unless you are the manufacturer there is really no price protection. Great for the consumer for now. Give it ten years and we will see.
From: APauls
19-Jul-18
I like to support my local bow shop because I like him and beyond providing a product he provides a service. Amazon can't do that. As far as pure products if Amazon keeps us happy buy from Amazon. If a point comes where people value something other than what Amazon can provide someone will start a business and fill the hole. That's the beauty of a free market. Right now, amazon is just doing it better.I bought 6 books to read to my daughter yesterday for less money and less time than it would take me to get out of the car and it will be delivered right to me, and returns are as easy as can be if need be. Hard to beat that.
From: Deertick
19-Jul-18
Capitalism is "creative destruction", and this is part of it. So long as the laws are the same for everyone, I say "play on" to all businesses, local, state, country, and internationally. It's not pretty, but without capitalism, nothing changes, nothing improves, and price reduction isn't possible. I agree with Bou.
From: Halibutman
19-Jul-18
I'd be interested to know what a guy does for a living, and where that living takes place that you're so insulated from your local economy. How can a guy make a statement like some of the above and live in anything that approaches a community? I shop local. I do it deliberately. I do it for everything I can possibly do it for as often as possible. I want my community to have stores and shops, and be vibrant. I support that with my dollars.
From: Scar Finga
19-Jul-18
well Halibutman, for me it's about convenience, finding what I need in 5 minutes or less, no hassle about returns and being able to purchase something I need the next day or two at 4AM or 12:00AM and it's delivered to my door and I don't have to waste time going to 5 different stores and still not finding what I want/ need... Does that answer your question? That being said, for normal everyday things, I shop local, but somethings are not available locally without a LOOOONG Wait!
From: lv2bohunt
19-Jul-18
This thread reminds me why most of us don’t know our neighbors anymore. We buy gas without going inside a store, we use the drive thru for dinner and banking. We are even buying groceries now without going into the store. People tend to insulate ourselves more and more today. Shopping Amazon is no different it just provides a way to shop without having to interact with a store clerk.
From: lv2bohunt
19-Jul-18
Whether these are all good things or not, we will see in time.
From: stick n string
19-Jul-18
So, what about buying American? What are the thoughts there? Cheaper price is the standard?
I totally get the convenience thing. And some guys here certainly live out in the boonies and Amazon is a much bigger necessity, i get it.
I have people in my area but products off Amazon for $10 more than i pay for it straight from the manufacturer as a dealer with great pricing because of the amount of stuff we get from them. When you are in my shoes in that situation, you just might be less likely to have the "local has to earn my business" attitude. Again, could we go against the rules and do the same thing, yeah. But shouldnt integrity count for something too???
From: Grubby
19-Jul-18
I’ll buy local and pay more for it but I had better get something for that extra money. I expect service and you had better have product on hand. If I go in to my local store looking for something and they don’t have it they are quick to say “we can have it in 2 days” guess what, so can I , delivered to my door and much cheaper. Times are changing and if you don’t step up your game your out of business.
From: Franklin
19-Jul-18
Everyone is onboard with the new technology until it`s their job that gets eliminated....then the tears start to flow. Money isn`t as important to me as doing the right thing. I will NEVER and have NEVER patronized Amazon.....Bezos is against everything most on this site stand for....but some dopes don`t have a problem lining his pocket to be used against them in the future.
From: krieger
19-Jul-18
Yeah, Bezos is a POS...bought the Washington newspaper even, controlling information. It's a dog eat dog world, I support my local shop as much as possible. I have gone as far as contacting a seller, that I found on Amazon, after a search. Went to the website, sent them a message, and told them I wanted to do business with them, cutting Amazon out of the picture completely. Feels dam good! ;)
From: snuffer
19-Jul-18
I wish they would sell donuts.
From: grubby
20-Jul-18
I totally agree that a person doesn't need to use amazon always but anybody preaching "buy local" should come for a visit. I know a lot of the local retailers here are even selling online now.....at a much lower price than they get for the same product on the shelf.
From: WV Mountaineer
20-Jul-18
Franklin for the win. Everyone knows what he is. But, so many simply over look it because it makes it easier on them. It’s a shame. There used to be a day when a mans attitude and actions dictated how successful he was. Not now. In the day if the almighty dollar. It’s where can I get it cheaper while wearing my house shoes that seems to count to most.
We are no different then the average soccer mom. Who bases her decisions on convienence. Principal be damned by most here as well.
From: newfi1946moose
20-Jul-18
Went to Tractor Supply recently for electric fence wire. Aluminum 14 ga. 1/4 mile...around $45 made in China. went back later as needed another roll....found on the bottom shelf tucked on the back of the shelf a 1/4 mi. roll of 14 ga STEEL wire made in the US...$25. Noted to the manager that I, as a customer, felt cheated as the steel wire should have been displayed openly. Profit margins! Have by-passed TS for any further needs. amazon not the cheapest always
From: ELKMAN
20-Jul-18
That's what happens when you are the biggest retailer on planet earth and you can literally watch the market ebb and flow on your site alone...
From: Halibutman
20-Jul-18
Hey Scar Finga! You didn't answer my questions! What do you do to earn your way and where are you located. I'm more interested in the ethos of a person this insulated than their opinion. I want to know why you think shopping online is better fundamentally, or if you're just totally confused and helping kill your own livelihood.
From: Cheetah8799
20-Jul-18
Cheetah8799's Link
FYI since I don't see it mentioned. I use Amazon to buy a LOT of stuff. I know prices change frequently, and there are tools available to track price history and get email alerts when an item reaches a price range you want to buy at. I frequently hold out for the best deals when prices dip. And for things I haven't tracked before, but see on "sale", I can check the history to see if it is really a meaningful discount in price. This is also useful for price checking against other brick and mortar store prices or online sites.
camelcamelcamel.com works great for price tracking. I use it all the time.
thetracktor.com is another price tracking site I've seen, but I don't like their visual graphs as much.
All you have to do is find an item you are interested in on amazon's website, then copy the URL and paste it into the camel site's search box at the top. Then press enter. If they have data, they will show the history. You can then set a tracker for if it goes below a price you want to buy at. Simple.
From: Fuzz
20-Jul-18
Is this considered a "volatile commodity"?
Is this considered a "volatile commodity"?
Holy crap! check out this price jump again today!
Like a majority of the responses, it IS very important to me to buy locally sold and US made products. I will willingly pay extra at a local shop instead of at cheaper chain stores as long as they have what I want. I drove 16 miles past Cabelas on Monday to go get a new string on my Ol' Outback because I feel like I get better value.
But at the same time, I like that I can choose between 35 different options on Amazon when choosing planer board releases and have them here in 2 days.
From: lv2bohunt
20-Jul-18
I curious if the same guys that price shop have 2-3 pair of $2500 binoculars and several pair of $300 boots. I notice many here do.
From: ELKMAN
21-Jul-18
That's "why" they have 2-3 pair of $2,500 binocs, and $300 boots...
