more Amazon sleight-of-hand

[broadway]

Putting "sponsored" items into Baby Registries.

Saw the segment on Good Morning America.
Unless you are careful, it is easily overlooked.


https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18116274/amazon-baby-registry-unwanted-sponsored-products-ads

 

[Chuckanut]

I'm not sure why they would think adding something to somebody's Wish List is proper even if it is labeled as a 'sponsored' item. It's supposed to be what the parents want/need for their child, not what some corporate marketing guru wants to sell. Why is that so hard to understand?

We could probably do a very long thread on why big companies do stupid things to alienate their customers.

OK, back to Costco this afternoon.

 

[broadway]

No, it isn't "proper", but apparently lucrative at $500K an ad for Amazon.

 

[Spock]

If it free, you're not the customer, you're the product.

 

[broadway]

If it free, you're not the customer, you're the product.

There are other stores offering baby registries.
I hope they get the business that Amazon loses.

.

 

[HadEnuff]

Amazon's response to being called on this:

We are constantly searching to find ways to "improve the shopping experience"...

Yeah! Nothing "improves the shopping experience" like finding out you spent your money on something somebody didn't want, because you were intentionally mislead into believing it was something they'd asked for.

 

[Spock]

And Amazon is starting to squeeze suppliers worse than Walmart
https://www.recode.net/2018/11/29/1...policy-changes-marketplace-control-one-vendor

 

[Chuckanut]

About two years ago I realized that Amazon no longer had the best or even the better deals on many items. What it had was convenience which is of value to me and often makes economic sense.

But, more and more I find the Amazon pricing to not be as competitive as it was. Especially if I am a bit patient.

 

[Sunset]

About two years ago I realized that Amazon no longer had the best or even the better deals on many items. What it had was convenience which is of value to me and often makes economic sense.

But, more and more I find the Amazon pricing to not be as competitive as it was. Especially if I am a bit patient.

I have noticed the same thing...

Plus, I searched for a hot pot glass lid, the first one on Amazon was $12. After about 5 searches on Amazon with different wording I found one for $8.
It is excellent.
So know I know Amazon does not always show me the best price objects even within their own site.

Maximize the profit.

 

[broadway]

So know I know Amazon does not always show me the best price objects even within their own site.

If they are not interested in helping me the consumer, I see no reason to buy from them unless absolutely necessary which isn't that often.

I have found for the small purchase, I simply go to eBay.

 

[Aerides]

So know I know Amazon does not always show me the best price objects even within their own site.

Maximize the profit.

This is indeed how it works, but because amazon factors in many things besides just Price to get what's called the "buy box" on an item. (short version, when there are 5 different sellers of the same item, one will be the one amazon shows, the others will be "more offers"). Those other offers may be lower price but higher shipping, or not prime, not fast, or lower price from lower rated sellers. Amazon is presenting the "top" listing as the one they believe is the best deal and experience - which includes Price, shipping, and performance.

 

[lucky penny]

What a tacky practice. I'm not sure I would have noticed this or registered the significance of "sponsored" but I certainly will now.

 

[Walt34]

About two years ago I realized that Amazon no longer had the best or even the better deals on many items. What it had was convenience which is of value to me and often makes economic sense.

But, more and more I find the Amazon pricing to not be as competitive as it was. Especially if I am a bit patient.

I am finding this to be the case also. Just yesterday I ordered some snow blower stuff from a placed called jackssmallengines.com and found their prices, including shipping, were lower. I've bought stuff from them for years (perhaps a decade?) and never had any issues.

 

[CaptTom]

I buy a lot from Amazon, but it's purely a business decision. If they can get me what I want cheaper, faster or more conveniently than the competition, they get my business. If not, they don't. Same as any other merchant.

But there are a few things which also make me feel good about shopping at Amazon. One is their customer service, which I've found to be far ahead of the competition. eBay totally turned me off once when they notified me that one of their merchants got hacked, but wouldn't refund the payment I'd made - which eBay itself told me was fraudulent.

Another is that Amazon totally disrupted the old model for mail order. Gone are the inflated "shipping and handling" charges and "allow 6-8 weeks for delivery" policies. Without Amazon's influence, that would still be the e-commerce world.

Finally, I really like the tools Amazon gives me when buying. Legitimate customer reviews and Q&A's are enormously helpful, and most listings have pretty good descriptions and photos. Again, eBay falls short in these areas.