Why do online retailers drop prices briefly?
danger boy
Posts: 15,722
Do online retailers drop prices just to generate sales of a particular item? I was watching a Toshiba HD-A35 player.. the price now is up by $70 from just a few days ago.
PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
Post edited by danger boy on
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Amazon's really good for that.
They'll price dump something, wait for the word to get out that "Hey, xyz is on sale for $20 !", then they watch the Response-0-Meter.
When people start responding to the low price, Amazon starts jacking the price up.Sal Palooza -
I visit http://slickdeals.net/ from time to time, it's a forum where people point out those amazing short time offers or check out codes to save big money. Last year my Dewalt tool batteries (18 volt) died, the replacements cost about $80-90 each, I picked up a refurbished kit with a hammer drill, two batteries, upgraded charger, case and holster for about $10 more than one battery! I owe it all to a poster who pointed out the Amazon one day deal!Polk Audio RTA 12c's, Monitor 7c, Monitor 5JR+, SDA CRS+
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On-line stores are no different than the local big box stores -- they entice customers with low prices. However, on-line stores have an advantage -- they can easily change prices at any time. Amazon has been known to raise and lower prices two or three times per day on the same item. They're probably responding to the competition, level of inventory, customer demand, and other factors in real time. If there's an item I'm interested in, I usually put it on my Amazon wish list, then check it a couple of times per day for price fluctuations. I recently saved about 10% by purchasing my GPS system that way. The price dropped for only a few hours and that's when I grabbed it.HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50 LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub
"God grooves with tubes." -
This may not be relevent but I buy the replacement vacuum tubes pretty regularly for my VPI 16.5. I buy them two at a time for $11 apiece. I went to buy them last night from the same internet store I've been doing business with for this type of product. I didn't check the price until the very end when I was going to finish the transaction and the price was $52 plus like $7 shipping.
I scowered the internet and believe it or not found that the price above was the cheapest available. THAT ALMOST 5 TIMES MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS AGO.
WTF!!!
It is not like I can say, "**** it, I just won't buy then." I can't use my cleaning machine properly without them. -
Yeah, Amazon is well known for this. Usually what they do is drop the price to an insanely low amount, let the word on the street get out, and then gently raise the price back up. They don't typically go from $100 to $200 instantly, but rather in increments over the course of days or hours depending on the item.
Sure, it's kinda sneaky, but I think it's a brilliant model and seems to work well. The good thing about Amazon is they're really good at price matching if they lower the price. I recently bought my D40 there, and about 15 days after I bought it they did one of those 30 minute price drops and I sent them an email and they refunded me the $30 no questions asked.
You have to be a bit savvy and watch for the deals, but if you can catch them there is good money to be saved.
I monitor slickdeals and fatwallet, checking a few times periodically throughout the day. It just takes a few seconds, and I've saved literally thousands of dollars in teh last few years on stuff I was gonna buy anyway.
