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Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

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Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#121

Post by nkozyra »

kls wrote: post #108

Sounds to me like someone at Amazon is good at marketing. Let a few things go for an insane deal, knowing it will hit the front page of every blog. Then reap the rush of next years prime day with people scouring the site for pricing "errors". Pretty cheap and effective marketing. Kind of like a raffle but without having to get all the lawyers involved to make sure you comply with raffle laws.

> Sounds to me like someone at Amazon is good at marketing.

Ah yes, finally someone will be talking about Amazon and Prime Day.

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#122

Post by runevault »

christoph wrote: post #95
huangc10 wrote: post #4

They will cancel majority of the purchases. However, if you were smart, you'd have chosen 1 day shipping and have received the item. Me? I was not smart and did not select 1 day shipping so it looks like my order will most likely be canceled once Amazon deals with this...

Hold out hope. It gives excellent publicity to Prime day and their brand if they don't cancel them - why ruin that with potentially bad publicity, etc. over what probably amounts to a few hundred thousand dollars, which they can easily afford to cover.

Technically Amazon Canada but back in the day they mispriced Lisp in Small Pieces for really cheap and then cancelled almost every order.

I only bought a copy that actually arrived of that book last year to make up for it. Need to finish plowing through it at some point, the part I read is so good.

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#123

Post by acid__ »

I got in on this! I got a Sony A7R II and a 24-70 2.8 II I'd always wanted but could never justify the purchase of. ($~3k value for $200)

A few observations:

- Despite the extraordinary deal we got, my friends (who also made a purchase) and I all have our joy offset by a feeling of regret that we didn't order more. Greed!

- Despite the fact that I couldn't justify the purchase before I owned them, I now definitely don't want to sell the gear. A clear cut case of the Endowment Effect in action [0]

- A lot of people saying the orders are going to be cancelled -- seeing as I currently have both body and lens in possession, I find that unlikely.

0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#125

Post by quakeguy »

Armisael16 wrote: post #100
nicwolff wrote: post #42

A previous similar incident became a legendary in-joke over at MetaFilter 18 years ago: Astounding. I can't take a moral argument seriously from any of you who jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of an honest mistake. I don't want to hear ever again about greedy corporations or crooked politicians. You people just showed that you're willing to turn a blind eye when it is to your benefit. How does that make yo…

Can you change your quote block formatting? It’s essentially impossible to read on mobile.

Fine here, Safari on iOS.

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#126

Post by tomcam »

cwkoss wrote: post #23
WalterBright wrote: post #9

Amazon would be within their rights to refuse to honor such purchases. I also don't think it's ethical to take advantage of such mistakes. What if it was you who accidentally listed your house for $60,000 rather than $600,000? What if you accidentally included an extra 0 on the check you wrote?

If you reap the rewards of automation, you also accept its risks.

So if you listed your car on Craigslist for $150 instead of the $15,000 you intended you’d honor the offer and not explain to buyers what had happened?

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#127

Post by wsxcde »

huangc10 wrote: post #4

They will cancel majority of the purchases. However, if you were smart, you'd have chosen 1 day shipping and have received the item. Me? I was not smart and did not select 1 day shipping so it looks like my order will most likely be canceled once Amazon deals with this...

Nah, the blowback they'd get from not honoring the purchasing would be terrible. More generally, Amazon are one of the few companies who understand that short term losses can lead to long-term goodwill and profit.

So anyway, my prediction is that they will do nothing about your purchase.

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#128

Post by tomcam »

guelo wrote: post #41
WalterBright wrote: post #9

Amazon would be within their rights to refuse to honor such purchases. I also don't think it's ethical to take advantage of such mistakes. What if it was you who accidentally listed your house for $60,000 rather than $600,000? What if you accidentally included an extra 0 on the check you wrote?

In my ethical framework it is more than fine to take advantage of a mistake by one of the largest companies in the world. They'll take advantage of you if given the chance.

At what size company would your ethics require you to reverse course and treat them the way you would like to be treated if you had made the mistake?

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#129

Post by kyruzic »

WalterBright wrote: post #44
empath75 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly amazon would be better off honoring it. It’s a drop in the bucket and good publicity for prime.

Yes, Amazon would be. That doesn't make what the customer did ethical.

Your opinion doesn't even make sense. You are literally saying it's unethical for a customer to buy something at the price which Amazon is selling it for? Because it might cause Amazon to lose money?

You do realize businesses regularly sell products at a loss right? So at what point does the loss become so large that its unethical for the customer to buy it?

Re: Amazon Accidentally Sold $13k Camera Gear for $100 on Prime Day

#130

Post by [deleted] »

DonHopkins wrote: post #80
blakesterz wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I remember that one! I was just thinking recently it's hard to believe Mefi turned 20 years old this summer, and then I realized MY site turns 20 years old this fall... I know people feel old when their kids get old, but damn, having a website turn twenty just makes me feel old.

Ten more years and you won't be able to trust it any more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Weinberg#%22Don't_trust_a...

[deleted]
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