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Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

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Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#101

Post by Lewisham »

MBCook wrote: post #95
ben1040 wrote: post #58

Amazon Prime has definitely lowered my "impulse shopping" threshold. One Friday morning last summer, I decided to do some work around the house that weekend, but I didn't have a big enough ladder. A couple clicks later, I have a 22 foot extension ladder being delivered to me on a Saturday. Even with Saturday overnight delivery it was $2 cheaper than Home Depot, and I didn't have to try to figure out how to cram the l…

I've done that kind of thing a few times. But unless I really want something, I find I still fall into the old habit of "I'm ordering from Amazon, I might as well get a few things to make up for shipping." If I can't find enough things to make it "worthwhile", I often won't buy it. I've been a prime member for years. Shipping is free. But my mind is still usually stuck in the old ways (even if I'm only 28). I have to…

I find one-click is very helpful for this. Know what you want, find it, one-click, leave.

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#102

Post by georgemcbay »

Lewisham wrote: post #10
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

"82% of Prime members buy on Amazon even if the item is less expensive somewhere else" The supposed "source" referenced another study (sans link), so I can't get the answer to the obvious question: Was "less expensive" computed using the marginal cost to the customer of this particular purchase? Meaning, do other sites offer the widget for a few dollars less but charge a lot for 2nd day shipping? I'm a Prime customer…

I think the other thing that's missing from this is that Amazon's customer service is really very good. I'll spend the extra dollars buying something from Amazon than, say, one of their third-party merchants, because I know Amazon will take care of me if anything bad happens.

Yet another thing missing (which is huge for me personally) is predictability of shipping.

If I buy something on Amazon via Prime (which means Amazon themselves will be fulfilling it), I know that if I order it 2 day shipping it will arrive in 2 days. If I bump it up to next day shipping (within the clearly marked and real-time updated window of shipping) it will arrive tomorrow.

Amazon and Newegg are the only two web retailers that I trust to predictably get my items on a set time-table. It is all too common for other online sites to gladly accept orders for next day shipping or two day shipping at ridiculous markup and then actually use those shipping methods but only after sitting on the order for days before actually shipping it out... not exactly what I had in mind, guys.

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#103

Post by [deleted] »

Lewisham wrote: post #10
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

"82% of Prime members buy on Amazon even if the item is less expensive somewhere else" The supposed "source" referenced another study (sans link), so I can't get the answer to the obvious question: Was "less expensive" computed using the marginal cost to the customer of this particular purchase? Meaning, do other sites offer the widget for a few dollars less but charge a lot for 2nd day shipping? I'm a Prime customer…

I think the other thing that's missing from this is that Amazon's customer service is really very good. I'll spend the extra dollars buying something from Amazon than, say, one of their third-party merchants, because I know Amazon will take care of me if anything bad happens.

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#104

Post by msg »

graeme wrote: post #88
msg wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are legal reasons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com_controversies#Canadi...

That covers books. But amazon.ca also lacks the non-book products that are so plentiful on amazon.com I had assumed it was for import/distribution reasons, but I'd be interested to find out the real reason. The Canadian site now tends to have all the books the US site has.

Sorry for the lameness of this reference, but I think it covers the essential. If Amazon wanted to open a physical business in Canada, it would require Canadian partners that it might not have or want.

"The bottom line: If you are a non-Canadian who wants to open a business in Canada, you will have to immigrate to Canada or find one or more Canadians to team up with."

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/startup/f/Non-Canadians-How...

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#105

Post by goostavos »

firemanx wrote: post #15

The thing about the buying on Amazon vs. anywhere else, even if its more expensive: In the vast, vast majority of cases that I've price shopped elsewhere, Amazon is almost always the cheaper option. And if they're more expensive, it's generally by only a dollar or two (also depending on how their pricing algorithm is working that day - I've had times where I've checked in the morning, then come back to buy in the aft…

On the subject of the pricing algorithm, one thing that blew me away (and has made me a pretty loyal customer) was purchasing something in the morning, getting an email in the afternoon saying the price had gone down, and finally one last email in the evening informing me that the difference has been refunded to my card.

The price change added up to only 1 or 2 dollars, but from a customer service perspective, it was super classy. I'm yet to see any other company do this.

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#106

Post by nknight »

leeoniya wrote: post #63
philip1209 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely true. I bought shoes on Amazon, after 3 months they started to fall apart. I went on service chat and they refunded my full cost immediately and didn't even ask for me to return the old shoes.

this is a nightmare for merchants though, speaking from experience.

The only reason merchants get any business on Amazon is that customers are at least partly protected by Amazon's support infrastructure.

I'm sympathetic regarding some of the more egregious stupidities Amazon has foisted on some merchants, but when it comes to this part, it's pretty unambiguously what you signed up for.

Consider it from the other end: If you were selling autonomously on your own site, would you treat customers this well? What does your answer say about you? What impact do you think your answer will have on potential customers' choices?

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#107

Post by nknight »

sagres wrote: post #100
bostonvaulter2 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But don't you need to leave the house to return the items? I've always regarded dropping off and mailing packages to be a huge chore.

You don't need to leave the house. When you return something Amazon gives you the option to drop off or have UPS pickup the package the next day.

As far as I know, they'll only do that for really expensive items. I've never been given the pickup option for my returns (the most expensive was worth a bit under $300).

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#108

Post by mattmcknight »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

"82% of Prime members buy on Amazon even if the item is less expensive somewhere else" The supposed "source" referenced another study (sans link), so I can't get the answer to the obvious question: Was "less expensive" computed using the marginal cost to the customer of this particular purchase? Meaning, do other sites offer the widget for a few dollars less but charge a lot for 2nd day shipping? I'm a Prime customer…

I generally wish I could go to the site and not even see non-Amazon warehoused items- effectively always keeping the "prime only" box checked. I like buying from Amazon, not the marketplace. It's also confusing for the non-savvy user.

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#109

Post by MBCook »

Lewisham wrote: post #101
MBCook wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done that kind of thing a few times. But unless I really want something, I find I still fall into the old habit of "I'm ordering from Amazon, I might as well get a few things to make up for shipping." If I can't find enough things to make it "worthwhile", I often won't buy it. I've been a prime member for years. Shipping is free. But my mind is still usually stuck in the old ways (even if I'm only 28). I have to…

I find one-click is very helpful for this. Know what you want, find it, one-click, leave.

That's probably true. I have it turned off because I'm pretty sure I'd end up buying far too much.

Re: Amazon Prime members buy twice as much, don't compare on price

#110

Post by underwater »

MBCook wrote: post #98
dot wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but then they'd have a local presence in the states they ship to and would have to charge sales tax. they'd lose their ~10% price advantage.

If they could save at least 10% on shipping, they would still be in the positive on the transaction. That seems like it would be possible since the shipping part wouldn't have to be a profit center, just break even. That would be a bit too vertical for my taste. I'm not sure massive hassle of trying to staff & run their own to-the-door shipping empire would beat the UPS service I get now.

10% of shipping costs is much less than 10% of the sale price.
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