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0 pointsinanutshellus7y ago0 comments

And don't forget resellers stealthily jacking up the price of commodities.

I used to buy indiscriminately from Amazon. If Amazon had it, it was the best price. Why bother shopping around?

I've been bitten multiple times now with ordering something only to realize some reseller has jacked up the price and I didn't notice.

(e.g. buy baby wipes for $10, later re-order same baby wipes and think "hm, $18.50 seems higher than I remembered. Oh well, I need baby wipes!")

So now I shop around for everything. Since Amazon is "forcing me" to shop around, I've started to exclude them out of spite.

I get it, it's capitalism. If some Amazon reseller (including the "fulfilled by Amazon!" resellers) dupes me, I'm the sucker. Amazon's not to blame for capitalism. But... I still blame them. :)

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3 comments · 2 top-level

lagadu7y ago· 1 in thread

There are a few browser extensions that automatically compare prices from some major retailers based on whether they ship to you.

Give one of them a try, sometimes they find you nicer prices.

smt887y ago

I like the idea, but the privacy implications scare me away. My Amazon activity and data says everything personal about me, including medical conditions.

bitL7y ago

Amazon keeps constantly increasing fees in their marketplaces or warehouses, then there is a brutal competition on price via algorithmic repricers, so resellers try to compensate wherever they could. Increased price could be also a consequence of Amazon kicking out cheaper sellers and the remaining ones without doing anything by using a repricer would set a higher price, not mentioning some advanced repricers using game theory to find equilibrium as well.

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