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D*** you Amazon!

line6man

line6man

Jun 20, 2008
17,043
4,730
Close to Los Angeles, CA
#1
Since Netflix pulled Father Ted, I have been without laughs, and forced to consider the purchase of a very expensive DVD set. Amazon had it for $47.49, but I had seen used copies come up for much less in the past, so I decided to check every-so-often to see if any third-party merchants had an inexpensive copy. After a few uneventful months, I finally decided that as soon as Amazon accepted my trade in on some stuff, I would just spend the money and buy the DVD set. I got my email this morning, and went to finally go buy it, only to find that since yesterday, the price has gone up $10 ! :mad::mad::mad:

It's like they knew I was going to buy it, and raised the price on me the second I was ready! :crying::crying:
 
#3
line6man said:
Since Netflix pulled Father Ted, I have been without laughs, and forced to consider the purchase of a very expensive DVD set. Amazon had it for $47.49, but I had seen used copies come up for much less in the past, so I decided to check every-so-often to see if any third-party merchants had an inexpensive copy. After a few uneventful months, I finally decided that as soon as Amazon accepted my trade in on some stuff, I would just spend the money and buy the DVD set. I got my email this morning, and went to finally go buy it, only to find that since yesterday, the price has gone up $10 ! :mad::mad::mad:

It's like they knew I was going to buy it, and raised the price on me the second I was ready! :crying::crying:
Click to expand...

Thats not Amazon's fault. The third party retailer raised their price.
 
#6
line6man said:
No, I was going to buy from Amazon, because there are no third-party merchants selling. Actually, there is one, but their price is higher than Amazon's.
Click to expand...

Ah, my mistake. You didnt mention in the OP that you didnt find it available from a 3rd party.
Even still, it could be that the vendor who supplies the DVD set to Amazon raised their price.

I found the complete boxed set, used for $33 + shipping from a 3rd party: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1358441934&sr=8-10
 
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#8
MatticusMania said:
Ah, my mistake. You didnt mention in the OP that you didnt find it available from a 3rd party.
Even still, it could be that the vendor who supplies the DVD set to Amazon raised their price.

I found the complete boxed set, used for $33 + shipping from a 3rd party: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1358441934&sr=8-10
Click to expand...

I can't tell if that's the complete set or not. It doesn't really have any information.
Nightsun said:
If you set up a proxy and use a UK IP address you can access 4OD which has Father Ted on it for free, as well as most of Channel 4's comedy output for the last 20 years.

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

Can I do that on my BluRay player?
 
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#13
Jim Nazium said:
I'd be interested to learn more about their pricing algorithm. I have a bunch of stuff in my "saved for later" cart, and every time I log in, a couple of items have changed price. It's usually just a few cents. I'd be interested to know how they determine it and how well it works.
Click to expand...

Amazon being a distributor, the supplier determines pricing. Amazon purchases goods for an agreed upon price, and they keep stock in the Distribution Centers. The seller tells Amazon what price to list their goods for. 3rd party retailers have purchased the goods from the seller, and sell them through Amazon at a price they choose. I believe Amazon can lower prices under certain circumstances like clearance items and sales, etc. The company I work for currently has items for sale on Amazon via 3rd party retailers, and we've recently struck and agreement to supply Amazon directly with over 3,000 items. Its my job to set these items up. I determine the pricing! :smug:
 
#14
Is it just me, or was the thread title ammended to include the letter "D"? Why would the word "duck" need censorship? Such a gentle, delicious creature. I WAS LED TO BELIEVE THIS THREAD WOULD CONTAIN COLORFUL LANGUAGE. Since it has become apparent there will be none, i bid you good day!
 
#15
My understanding is that the price changes don't just involve market forces (supply/demand in the market as a whole) but also include YOUR shopping history to determine a pricing structure. They know based on your purchase history just what percentage you'll wait for, and price accordingly.

Curious? Try clearing all your cookies and do a Google search for the amazon price. Doesn't always work but often it'll be lower than your "saved in cart" price.
 
#16
A good website to keep track of DVD and Blu-ray prices is blu-ray.com. They have a price tracker on most releases and according to their listing on Father Ted, it seems to stay around $57. Near where the current price is for the DVD, you'll see a graph. If you put your mouse over it you will see it's prices for the last couple of years. It looks like Amazon had it for $29 back in August. If you join their website you can sign up for them to email you when certain movies are on sale.

Here's the listing: Invalid Link Removed
 
#17
I have had that same thing happen to me while web shopping alternate vendors for the same item. I checked it on Amazon, then another site, then checked back on the Amazon site to confirm the product description, etc, then checked another site. The next day I checked Amazon again and the price had gone up. I just figured it was the Amazon computer gouging the price up as a result of click count. So I emailed them about it. They denied that their system was set to do that. I don't believe it though. The entire retail world tracks internet activity by click count, page count, etc. ... it's the old rule of supply and demand.
I ended up buying the item from another source, even though I generally like shopping on Amazon, to save a few bucks. And since then I've limited my click count on Amazon to one search inquiry per item to insure their computer doesn't kick into action and raise the price.
 
#18
I heard a news piece on NPR about this a few weeks ago. Apparently, Amazon is calculating consumer demand for products almost in real time right now, so prices can take large jumps both ways in relatively little time. They were talking about how the Star Wars DVD boxset had shifted back and forth multiple times over like a $70 range for a few days around Christmas time.

Also, related to this topic, many of you may know this already, but if you go online to buy plane tickets, you're better off buying them right then and there. If you leave the website and come back, they'll almost always be a higher price, and not just because they've sold more seating between the time you left and came back.

unrepresented said:
My understanding is that the price changes don't just involve market forces (supply/demand in the market as a whole) but also include YOUR shopping history to determine a pricing structure. They know based on your purchase history just what percentage you'll wait for, and price accordingly.
Click to expand...

This was also discussed on the NPR piece; however, I can't recall if Amazon specifically is doing this. I remember the discussion centered on how this could (understandably) create a consumer backlash.
 
#19
LiquidMidnight said:
Also, related to this topic, many of you may know this already, but if you go online to buy plane tickets, you're better off buying them right then and there. If you leave the website and come back, they'll almost always be a higher price, and not just because they've sold more seating between the time you left and came back.
Click to expand...

Thats why you leave the original window open, and browse elsewhere in a new window.
 
#20
line6man said:
Since Netflix pulled Father Ted, I have been without laughs, and forced to consider the purchase of a very expensive DVD set. Amazon had it for $47.49, but I had seen used copies come up for much less in the past, so I decided to check every-so-often to see if any third-party merchants had an inexpensive copy. After a few uneventful months, I finally decided that as soon as Amazon accepted my trade in on some stuff, I would just spend the money and buy the DVD set. I got my email this morning, and went to finally go buy it, only to find that since yesterday, the price has gone up $10 ! :mad::mad::mad:

It's like they knew I was going to buy it, and raised the price on me the second I was ready! :crying::crying:
Click to expand...

Yep...you need to somehow get the Channel 4 catch-up player 4OD. I've done every episode of FT to death..and I still giggle out loud. There's some brilliant archive stuff on there...Black Books, Absolutely, Brass Eye,all the Comic Strip stuff, Inbetweeners, Face/Fonejacker, IT Crowd, Phoneshop...and all for free. :)
 

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