Amazon seems to be getting more and more expensive

[RGIvy]

I realised the other day that my shopping habits have changed a bit in the last few months.

For the last two or three years I have bought almost everything from Amazon because:
1) they were cheaper
2) the review system offered handy info and feedback
3) returns policy was (and still is) great

It used to be a case of deciding what I wanted to buy, checking various sites for info and then making final decisions and purchase on Amazon.

However, I've noticed for a few months now that Amazon prices are quite a bit higher than eBay.

So now I do some research on Amazon, then I go to sellers websites and/or eBay to get it at a more reasonable price. Once I cancelled an Amazon sale (FBA) for a 12T press that cost £120 and on eBay it was £100 (from the exact same company selling through eBay and FBA). I strongly suspect that the seller would earn the same net profit, just that Amazon took a big chunk through FBA. Having studied FBA it would appear that they take a big chunk of money in order to sell through the platform (various costs adding up).

..so it looks like supporting small and medium businesses by going to their own website is working out for us
...except that Amazon returns, albeit possibly morally wrong in terms of carbon footprint, is one reason to pay more?

 

[Rorschach]

I don't know where Amazon got the reputation for being cheaper from. I have been buying from both Amazon and eBay for years and eBay is cheaper 99% of the time. The main benefit to Amazon is speed of delivery and easy returns. When I buy from Amazon I accept I am paying a higher price for these reasons, and of course if returns or delivery time don't matter then I will buy from eBay instead.

That being said, eBay customer service are in general excellent, of thousands of sales and purchases I have made I can only think of a handful of issues. Amazon customer service hasn't been totally perfect in that period either.

 

[marcros]

Aside from books and stationery, I have never found Amazon to be particularly competitive. I have used them at times because I have prime (so prepaid "free" delivery), the app is easy to use and the next day delivery could be relied upon. On small orders using the premium delivery service they are understandably a few quid more than elsewhere.

 

[Rorton]

not sure if you have ever used it, but CamelCamelCamel.com is a brilliant website for tracking amazon prices. You can put in the item, or link to the item into the website, and it shows you the up and down prices over time.

You can also setup an account and then get it to 'watch' items you are thinking of buying and it will alert you when below a threshold you set

 

[D_W]

I don't think amazon is getting much more expensive. I think that other retailers (especially walmart here in the states and subbusinesses) have decided to go after it online.

I checked for two jet grinders to make metal things (big 1320 watt grinders, not like a 400 watt hobbyist grinder) and bought first one on ebay (it was about 8% cheaper than amazon) and then followed the site for the ebay seller and bought a second after both ebay and amazon listings increased their prices. The site itself had a coupon that the ebay listings didn't. Even though it was already cheaper than amazon (marginally) on ebay, at the home site it was cheaper yet.

The business is an industrial supply sub-business owned by walmart. Amazon's price was good, better than most others, as it would've been years ago. Walmart's business was better yet. What's set a lot of this up is coordinated drop shipping, and all of the places backed by walmart and sub-suppliers have free returns, anyway - walmart started that.

In the states, walmart (pre-pandemic) still did about 3-4 times as much business as amazon and as they improve their internal processes (warehouse picking, distribution, etc), they can easily add on front end web services and drop shipping items from anywhere.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We've found Amazon (or someone selling through Amazon) quite competitive - I've just ordered something that was considerably more than the identical item from every seller on ebay. Between the three of us we get something from Amazon probably every second day, sometimes two or three items at a time.

 

[pgrbff]

It has been a long time since Amazon could be considered economical. I still find bargains though, the prices do fluctuate wildly. For me, living in Italy, Amazon.uk was often cheaper but since Brexit I haven't really ordered anything.

 

[TheUnicorn]

amazon vs high street, normally a lot cheaper IMO, I think that is where the reputation for price is formed

 

[NickWelford]

I buy a lot from Amazon, after price comparison with others, but the thing that annoys me most is that you can never actually talk with anyone either by phone or by email/message. It annoys me that their drivers consistently deliver next door and I cannot seem to let them know. The “how was our delivery” response is ignored.

 

[billw]

I think some sellers put stuff on platforms and then forget about it, Tyzack Tools operate via their own site, Amazon, and EBay and the prices on all three often differ but one is never always the cheapest option especially when you have to factor in the inclusion/exclusion of postage.

Also Amazon isn’t full of scammers.

 

[Ollie78]

I find Amazon can be cheaper some of the time.
I always check amazon ebay and other places.
Often if you find the sellers name on ebay or amazon then search for their own website you find better pricing without fees.

Ollie

 

[Jeremy Nako]

I ordered a webcam from Amazon 3 weeks ago (I knew at the time that delivery would be 2+ weeks) for £88.

Received an email today that the shipment wasn't coming, and that the order was cancelled and I'd be refunded.

So.. I looked for the same product again on Amazon. It's now available for next day delivery, but at £140.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I buy a lot from Amazon, after price comparison with others, but the thing that annoys me most is that you can never actually talk with anyone either by phone or by email/message. It annoys me that their drivers consistently deliver next door and I cannot seem to let them know. The “how was our delivery” response is ignored.

the joy of 'hunt the parcel', last summer a neighbour of mine came to me with a picture, provided by amazon / the delivery company, of her parcel, shoved under a random garden chair, did I know where it was? After about 5 minutes of headscratching, zooming into a blurry picture to identify a plant etc etc, and a 5 minute walk, we eventually found it. My sister on the other hand, had a package delivered (in theory) that she has never seen, despite asking about 20 neighbours, and then of course was asked to pay for it.

 

[marcros]

I buy a lot from Amazon, after price comparison with others, but the thing that annoys me most is that you can never actually talk with anyone either by phone or by email/message. It annoys me that their drivers consistently deliver next door and I cannot seem to let them know. The “how was our delivery” response is ignored.

I treated next door to a large number sign for their gate clearly showing it was 58A and not 58! Best fiver that I have invested in months.

 

[Boxer]

By my reckoning Amazon prices have become far less competitive, and the quality of goods has gone down considerably over the last few years. Last month I had enough and decided to cancel Prime and give the £8 a month to charity instead. If you want to know what Amazon is really about then try cancelling Prime and see the tricks they try to pull on you.