Want To Use Amazon Prime? You'll Pay $50 More For This TomTom Unit
Steve was going to split the cost of a TomTom GPS Navigator unit with a friend so they could give it to his sister as a gift. They were having trouble figuring out how to split it, though, because Steve—who is a paying Amazon Prime member—was being offered the unit for $300, while his random stranger friend was seeing it for $50 less.
Regarding Amazon Prime, I have always touted and encouraged others to purchase Amazon Prime because I thought it was an incredible savings. Two-day shipping was ALWAYS two-day shipping with no delays. Of course, it boosted the amount of products I purchased on Amazon, but I always believed they offered the best prices. However, when shopping for my sister's birthday present for a Tom Tom One XL Navi system for her car, I noticed something incredibly shocking. As an Amazon Prime member, I was being quoted a HIGHER price for the same exact item a person who was NOT a member of Amazon Prime was looking at. A friend who would have been splitting the cost of the gift saw the item as $250, whereas I only had the option of adding the product for $300. I was incredulous.It's clear to us, and we hope to Steve, that this is not a case of Amazon offering different pricing to members and non-members—instead, it's a case of a third-party vendor simply offering a better deal. When you compare the two screenshots, you can see that the cheaper option is actually being offered by another company, which can discount its merchandise all it likes and make up the difference in other ways—for example, with shipping fees (although in this case, free shipping is offered with the cheaper deal). Steve should just forgo Amazon Prime and buy the cheaper item.
 |  |
But this does raise a question—is Amazon Prime a valuable product to purchase? This is the strongest example we've seen yet of its limitations. Sure, you may save on shipping over the course of your membership (provided you order enough from them)—but you're stuck with Amazon's inventory and prices if you want to use Amazon Prime, even when there are vendors who can offer better deals.
The appeal behind Amazon Prime is that Amazon's prices are good enough to make this whole scheme work. Then there are gotchas like the TomTom.
Update: Based on the comments below, it appears a lot of readers feel that I'm saying that Amazon Prime customers can't see or take advantage of the better deals on the site. This is not the case. I've edited the headline slightly and added more text to make some assumptions very explicit, and to better focus on the issue of whether or not Amazon Prime is valuable. —Chris
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam porta mauris ut purus adipiscing tincidunt ut in tortor. Duis diam justo, posuere sed semper sed, pretium nec odio.
Post a comment
Comments:
umm the cheaper unit is not being sold by amazon. It's a different retailer. how is this amazon's fault?
Amazon offers the best price to members who are not logged in so that new customers come to believe that Amazon always has the best price for merchandise. Once customers are repeat customers and expect to receive the best price, Amazon does not offer the best price any longer, knowing that the repeat customer already believes they are receiving the best price.
@y2julio & @somuch: Read the post after the two thumbnails. I'm pointing out that Amazon Prime locks you into Amazon's inventory and pricing, which despite popular belief is not always the cheapest or best deal.
I think the OP may have confused the two offers as both being from Amazon, but I make it clear in the post that that's not the case.
if steve had just clicked on that "51 used and new" button he would have seen all of the available prices that amazon's vendors have to offer.
@Chris Walters: I still don't see how amazon = bad. The buyer has various opportunities to select a different vendor. Even under the "add to cart" button from the Amazon prime page, there is different listings of the item from different sellers. It even showed another vendor selling one for $249.99.
When I searched I got both results. I'm a prime member as well. My 1st result was from Amazon and the other result was from a retailer who sells through Amazon. This is how it always works...gotta keep your eyes open.
I've noticed that I get better prices at Amazon when I clear my cookies before shopping there. Then when I find the best price, I log in and buy it at that price. Of course, I don't use Amazon prime as the lack of cookies defeats that service.
l3rn to use the internets steve...someone call the waaaambulance
Um, you are not locked into buying from Amazon even if you have prime, just click on add to cart for any of the other buying options on the right side. Don't go blaming Amazon when this is clearly a simple error on your part.
I'm pointing out that Amazon Prime locks you into Amazon's inventory and pricing, which despite popular belief is not always the cheapest or best deal.
except the "locks you in" language makes it sound like they actually hide these things from Amazon Prime customers - unless you have your search refined to only show Amazon Prime products (and then ignore the "51 used & new" link), I have to agree with the above poster who posits that Steve may be bad at Amazon.
(and I will note, I usually *hate* the blame-the-victim comments with a passion)
Amazon can't be at fault here. Prime can only be applied to AMAZON INVENTORY. They can't guarantee 2 day shipping on a third party vendor...nub. So, learn to click on the "51 new and used" and you can shop from other offers. I can't believe consumerist posted this and gave that nub a forum to post his "non problem".
oh, I LOVE the blame the victim posts.
@Chris Walters: I still don't get the "locks-in" part here.
Prime customers have amazon listed first, doesn't everybody?
@milty45654: You don't even have to click that. Amazon even gives you a short price list from other vendors underneath the "add to cart" button.
By "locks you in" I mean "you have to buy the Amazon inventory to receive the Amazon Prime benefits." IOW, Amazon Prime does not give you free reign to purchase the best deal on Amazon and still receive the AP benefits.
In this case, again as I noted in my post, shipping is free on the non-AP inventory, so there's really no reason to use AP.
However, imagine you are an AP customer. To maximize the value of your AP membership, ideally you want to take advantage of AP every time you order something from Amazon. The concept behind AP is that it brings you added value to each Amazon purchase because it saves you shipping fees when you shop from Amazon. In this case, AP conveys no benefit whatsoever to your purchase of a TomTom GPS navigator. You're better off buying the Crutchfield one and taking advantage of their free shipping.
Now imagine that situation happens repeatedly throughout the year—your AP membership becomes less valuable with each deal you find that offers better value outside the AP universe.
That is the point of my headline and post: if Amazon repeatedly isn't offering the better deal, AP is not a worthwhile purchase. The question then becomes, "Well, is this situation happening enough to ruin the value of AP?" which probably differs for each shopper and is outside the scope of this post.
Sorry to say that everyone here is right. Amazon prime isn't screwing anyone.
In fact; Prime has NOTHING to do with the pricing AT ALL.
Amazon sells it for $299
Crutchfield sells it for $249 (through Amazon).
It isn't rocket science, yet whoever sent in the complaint clearly doesn't understand how Amazon works (and sorry to say that the Consumerist doesn't either).
If you want it shipped free from Amazon it'll be $299, or you can get it from a different vendor for less. Plain and simple.
IOW, this is about Amazon Prime, not the TomTom unit.
How did this ended up on Consumerist? This is just a lack of proper research by the shopper.
@milty45654: Except in this case, there is no victim to blame, only a self-professed smart shopper who clearly doesn't know his way around amazon.
*sigh*
Okay, well, I did what I could to explain it. You guys have fun.
The point of Amazon prime is to save you on shipping charges if you frequently purchase from Amazon.com. Amazon Prime is not for you to receive lower prices or anything. Now if Amazon prime promised you lower prices from Amazon.com items and they didn't then yes, you would be right.
@Chris Walters: Well yes, but you could make the exact same argument about Super Saver Shipping - you can only get that with Amazon inventory, so you're "locked in" there too.
Am I the only one surprised that Crutchfield has the lowest price on ANYTHING?
This is an unfortunate and misguided blaring headline for what I think is sadly a case of bad/misinformed consumer. I've been a Prime member happily for over a year now, and Amazon is never going to always have the best deal, but the site NEVER excludes other options, and in some cases actually defaults to another vendor instead of shipping for their own stock. In cases where you want the better price, you simply click the appropriate "Add to cart button" corresponding to the vendor/price you want, and eat the shipping. In cases where I want free speedy delivery, I eat the price increase and go with Prime.
The screenshots in the original post even feature the Amazon price and the Crutchfield price on the sidebar of the pages where each respective vendor is featured. There's no attempt to charge anyone anymore for anything here - it's just what pops up as the default vendor for the item, which would make sense to default to Amazon when a Prime member is viewing the item since they're paying for fancy shipping from Amazon.
Seriously - you might want to consider updating/editing this post, since the headline is entirely misleading, and nibbles on Consumerists' otherwise Kevlar credibility.
I mean, I see your point, but I don't think it's of much concern unless there are far more items that are cheaper than Amazon's inventory.
But this is also true if you want to qualify for free shipping as a regular customer. You always have to use Amazon's inventory. I've faced the same frustration. It's hardly news. And Amazon doesn't hide it. This article definitely has a misleading headline.
This post is idiotic. Amazon's price is simply more expensive than Crutchfield. This Amazon Prime member could have bought it for $249 + shipping through Crutchfield.
Somebody needs to wake up on this site
Why are you buying TomTom in the first place? does this guy live in Britain?
Get a Garmin.
@Chris Walters: That is the point of my headline and post: if Amazon repeatedly isn't offering the better deal, AP is not a worthwhile purchase. The question then becomes, "Well, is this situation happening enough to ruin the value of AP?" which probably differs for each shopper and is outside the scope of this post.
So the point you are trying to make with your headline is outside the scope of the post. Perhaps now you can see why everyone is saying the title is misleading?
@youbastid: You don't pay an annual fee for Super Saver Shipping. It is not a product Amazon sells. Amazon Prime is.
@Chris Walters: As a highly frequent Amazon.com customer and Amazon prime member myself I dont even consider 3rd-party vendors an Amazon purchase. Sure they are the ones that charge my credit card, but they are the equivalent of paypal in those circumstances. In a sense I view Amazon as offering two seperate and competing services on the same page, one where they offer products to purchase from themselves (with the benefit of AP), and a listing services where I can buy the same products, yes sometimes at cheaper prices, from other vendors. Maybe I just compartmentalize it differently.
I completely understand your point, but I cant fathom how any of this is news for anyone who has used amazon enough for which Prime would be a consideration. The fact is 3rd-party free shipping is very rare (in my experience) and the reliability of purchasing from Amazon directly CANNOT be ignored. This is a bad example since Crutchfield is fairly reputable. But do you want to trust "DBROTH" and their lower prices to get you your product guaranteed in two days? A week?
All Amazon is doing is giving you a way to purchase it from someone else who sells it for less. That is one of the great things about Amazon, they often have a great price, when they don't they will facilitate your buying it from someone who is selling it for less.
Can you say "sucker born every minute" ?
You're never "stucked" with prime. The annual fee for prime is $79 but you can cancel it anytime and get the unused portion refunded.
Whatever happened to the editor for the Consumerist?
you're stuck with Amazon's inventory and prices, even when they've got vendors who can offer better deals.
That simply isn't true. As an Amazon Prime member you can still buy all the other goods. Maybe they don't promote the other goods as much but I don't want them to.
When I'm shopping with Amazon, I only want to see goods that are directly from Amazon. If I wanted to shop elsewhere, I'd use Google to find the cheapest price.
Chris is right, though, that people should definitely really think about whether AP is worth it. If you dont need your purchases right away or find it useful, the free Supersaver shipping is great and usually only takes 1 or 2 days more than 2-day. Sometimes it's just as good if you live close to a warehouse.
But dont underestimate Amazon has really nailed down distribution and the only problems I've ever had purchasing from Amazon has been when I've purchased from "cheaper" alternatives on their site. There's been at least a half-dozen times my order has been cancelled (days later!) for being "out of stock" since they dont update their inventory on Amazon quick enough.
So just buy it from the independent vendor and select a cheap shipping option. You'll come out ahead of the Amazon price.
@Chris Walters: So what? I didn't realize that the expectation that comes with AP is that all Amazon inventory products will always be cheaper. You have to admit that your headline is completely misleading.
@humphrmi: This is really scary if AMZN is giving new customers better deals. This would be a HUGE story if we can get some verification on it. I trust them for everything and am a Prime Member. Get to work Consumerist Team!!!!
@y2julio: Absolutely. The headline is totally betrayed by the photos. Note that the Prime offer does not say "Best Price" and Crutchfield is clearly listed. An enterprising Prime customer might wonder, "Hmm, what price is Crutchfield offering?"
Amazon Marketplace plays by different rules, because you're not buying from Amazon and shipping rates are set by the seller. Amazon Prime has nothing to do with the Marketplace:
Products sold by third parties, such as Target, or through third-party areas, such as Amazon Marketplace, are NOT eligible [for Amazon Prime].
I'm sorry Chris, this story may have had value, but the headline means I'm nominating it for the 2008 Worst Story on Consumerist.
Finally us apple geeks can make fun of another group of people who love a product so much!
I use Amazon Prime at least twice a month and I saved over 400 in shippng last year. I always looked closely at all offered prices before I purchased. Sometimes I ordered from AP even when the other vendor was cheaper. The reason being is that even with the 2nd day air option, I get it automatically upgraded to Next day air by UPS for free! (does being in Chicago have anything to do with this?)
I would still suggest to people that they should get the AP service if you use amazon more then a couple time a month.
@Chris Walters: Yeah, we understand what you meant. After reading the comment threads and rushing over to check Amazon.
The reason everyone is confused is that you made a story out of smoke and mirrors - there's just nothing to this story when you write it clearly ("Amazon Prime, while offering free shipping, may not have best total price for one particular item. Prime may or may not be worthwhile for your needs.") To make this "a story," you had to come at it from a misleading angle, and frankly, a pretty egregious headline (I was in full freakout mode when I clicked on the RSS, and until I read the comments).
Blaming the reader and treating them with disdain ("Sigh. I tried. Have fun.")? If 90% of the audience doesn't understand the message, maybe the problem was with the way it was presented. We didn't all get stupid at once.
Just to be clear-- this is not an example of Amazon itself having two different prices for the same product. This is an example of how sometimes Amazon's other vendors have a better price. Right?
The possibility that Amazon charges different prices to different customers has been raised, but I can't find any proof or information if that is still going on.
I have prime and my UPS guy thinks I'm bonkers.