> When you start to price compare, you realise how bad of a deal Amazon has become real quick. For the majority of the stuff I was buying, Amazon prime was marginally more expensive. For a minority of them, it was substantially (30%+) more expensive, and I had no idea.
Agreed, but I'm currently trying to get a close friend to realize that Amazon can have terrible pricing. But I think the convenience factor is difficult to overcome.
Before Amazon, you had to just "know" which venue to buy each particular product. Now you can go to one place for practically anything online.
For every purchase (online or not), I do some mental calculation of "My estimate of what this costs to make is X", and I wouldn't pay more than X + Y%.
I also think "Which venue would have the best price for this?". For small junk, I would do some complicated Ebay searches and buy it for $4 from China. For larger things, I would do some complicated analysis of supply vs. demand for a used good and maybe check local classified ads. For other stuff, I'd go to Costco, or some specialized store.
I also have to do an analysis of how much I'd be willing to save to get it in 1 week or 1 month instead of tomorrow.
But most people just don't think that much. Relatively guaranteed shipping of 1-2 days and all from one place is enough for people that don't do this kind of thinking for purchases.
Costco doesn't always have the best pricing, but you know that you'll never overpay too much, it's always quality, and they'll take a return if you're willing to trade some of your life to do it.