Amazon Online Shopping
 

I dont know about others but i buy lots of my bike related items on Amazon and recently I bought this Giro Helmet for $249.00 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Then several weeks later I noticed it was $189.00 then about a few days later I checked again and it was back up to $249.00 This also just happen to me on several pairs of Pearl Izumi Shoes I also bought on Amazon.Anyone else?

I've frequently seen prices fluctuate on Amazon. Sometimes Amazon runs specials but stuff listed on Amazon can also come from other sellers who may be having sales. For example, if some vendor has a surplus, it may show up cheap for awhile until the surplus is depleted. If I need something, I do a quick search of the vendors I often use (incl Amazon) and get it from the cheapest place considering shipping time, cost, etc.. If it's something I want, I search periodically pouncing on a good deal when it comes up.

Those darn internet dealers, they should tell you when a sale is coming up. Kinda like the brick and mortar stores did when they were still open.

Yeah, I've seen it too. I especially hate when I hesitate to buy something and check it again, sometimes only hours later, and the price has INCREASED! Seems like they raise the prices when you take a look a second time. it may all be happenstance but it sure seems to happen once in a while.

I always keep a lookout for good values. Amazon and eBay are favorites and the prices do fluctuate. Sometimes the good deals are closeouts of last years items. But I don't care. Savings 2 grams on this years models is not a big deal compared to saving 40%.

I bought these Pearl Izumi Shoes for $309.00 about a month ago mazon prime and they been $349.00 for the last 3 weeks or so..Amazon.com: Pearl iZUMi Men's Tri Fly Octane Spinning Shoe, Safety Orange/Black, 45.5 EU/11-11.5 D US: Cycling Footwear: Shoes

Amazon's humongous massive computer systems is always crawling the net to look for best price to beat as well as each customers buying history to find that persons buying price point.

Point being.......if you see a price that you like on Amazon buy it now!!

I personally am about sick of Amazon. It seems like every order lately has taken two weeks before they even ship it. I always make sure it is coming from Amazon and it is in stock so I get the free shipping.

Amazon is notorious for price changing. I tend to put items I am watching in my cart. I might put it in save it for later. If you go to your cart, you will a notice of price changes.

If you have Prime, they ship right away. If you don't, you are lucky to see it two weeks later. Now that they are collecting sales tax in my state, I really think twice about ordering from them.

I'm not a very big consumer, maybe order online once a year or so, but with buying the bike I have a couple of orders since this spring. The order from Amazon was Aero Design (guessing name) shorts, Pedro tire levers, and under saddle bag and it came in 4 days. Previous order was a couple of cheap flashlights and handlebar mounts coming from Hong Kong and a Take-a-Look mirror. Mirror came in 3 or 4 days and even the lights from hong kong was no more than 8 days. Love Amazon for what little online shopping I do.

This is valuable information, so take heed:

There is this thing called camelcamelcamel which is free to download onto your web browser. When you are looking at an item on Amazon, you can click on the little camel icon up at the top and it will show you the price history of the item. You can decide what price you want to pay; and then camel will send you an email when/if the item becomes available at that price. This is no BS--I have saved a bunch of money this way. I thought everybody used it.
Amazon price tracker, Amazon price history charts, price watches, and price drop alerts. | camelcamelcamel.com

In some ways, Amazon is really a modern reworking of the old Sear's catalogue shopping concept. Especially for rural dwellers (throughout most of the 20th Century) buying different merchandise from the local store was not possible, they just could not carry the variety, so in stepped the catalogue market. If I cannot find an item in my LBS, either because they do not carry the brand, or they do not stock the item, it is usually easier to buy it on line, either through Amazon, eBay or an on-line retailer. Brick and mortar stores have always been under some threat by other vendor models. Those who adapt will survive and those who don't...
I will usually buy most of my stuff from my local retailer as I live in an urban environment and "most" things are usually available. It is the unique or rare item that I will search for on-line. I have even been told by a few vendors that they can order the item for me, but I might as well do it myself. Retail has always been a tough business, and the owners have to adjust to the market conditions, it is not up to us to keep them in business. My pockets (as most peoples') are not bottomless, and we purchase based on cost, service, availability etc. Loyalty - should be to my family first, and it buying from the LBS will make life better, then I will buy there. If they are overpriced...well...:innocent:

Same problem with air fare. Two ways around the price jacking.

1. Clear your cookies out when you return.
2. Use a different computer or device to make the buy. When the IP number changes, the vendor can't track the cookie.

Also, while I haven't made a practice of it, if you need an RMA for a working Dell Direct purchase, they will knock 20% off to entice you to reconsider.

It certainly isn't up to you to support any retail environmrnt, the point of my earlier post was simply be aware that when independent retailers are gone, big box and Amazon will be what you have left to deal with. As far as adjusting to market conditions, I am daily hit up with internet and big box prices below our cost (sell televisions and photography equipment), and when you sell below cost I don't care what business model you choose, It won't keep a store open very long. Maybe there is a bigger profit margin in the cycling industry:innocent:

Amazon uses a "Dynamic pricing" structure. that looks at variables such as number of searches , buys etc. Then prices are adjusted to maximize profit. You might get a better deal when demand is down or when taking a hit on margin creates better utilization of resources. You have to just keep looking until you get your price.

What would mean of a drop in price right after i purchased something? I bought a Giro Aeon Helmet for $249.00, checked back a few days later and that same helmet was $189.00 then I checked back in a few days time again and that same exact helmet was back up to $249.00 This same thing also happen to me on 2 pairs of different Pearl Izumi Shoes.

if I order ANYTHING that has the Prime Logo Icon next to it, it is here in a matter of one or two days and for $2.00 more, they will send it overnight express. This is only for PRIME Items..I always check to make sure item is availible for PRIME before I buy.

I've done that a couple times and then found a lower price. Maybe a fluke???

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that the price that you see on Amazon is YOUR price, based on cookies. I remember looking at Amazon at work one day and then the price was lower at home on my computer. Also, things that I put on Amazon's wish list almost always go down in price if I leave them in there for a while. AMAZING.

I consider those to be small victories of self-discipline. There's always another deal, maybe on something even better.

If I know it's something I am interested in I put it in my cart. Over the next week or two I get notifications of price changes every time I check my cart. The prices will go up and down. When I catch it a price I know is on the low side I place the order. With Amazon Prime I even get Sunday deliveries.

Amazon changes their prices up to 2.5 million times a day.
Camel is probably your best tool to help you determine your price with Amazon.

The camel thing is good info. I'll check it out. A big thing to consider is return policy. My wife is probably Zappo's biggest customer. She has very large feet, and can rarely find shoes in regular stores. With Zappo's, you can order several pair, find the one that fits, and send the rest back, no charge. It's usually full retail, but so are shoe stores. REI used to have a "forever" return policy that's recently been changed to 1 year - any reason, no questions asked if unused, and if any problem, like "i thought the hiking boot fit, but when I went on a hike, I got a blister", they always accept it.

So, Amazon will give me a lower price if it calculates that it must in order to get me to buy, but set the price higher if it calculates that I'm a sucker? Perhaps I should have seen that coming, but I assumed that price fluctuations were due to market influences and applied to everyone. That's too big-brotherish for my taste. I suppose if I'm going to buy online I'll just have to make my purchasing more "dynamic" to keep the milking to a minimum.