Yes - you're both right. I am flawed and should improve. That being said this is just an honest account of an experience.
Please consider using a brick and mortar store to physically compare products first. Amazon has a nice mobile app that lets you purchase an item very quickly by just scanning the barcode (using the mobile's camera).
Obviously not a big deal as a one-off, but if this is a consistent shopping habit I would really hope you reconsider it.
Obviously not a big deal as a one-off, but if this is a consistent shopping habit I would really hope you reconsider it.
I don't really see the point in artificially trying to keep business models afloat that can't compete. If anything, it's harmful to the free market. It might warm your heart a bit, but the overall benefit to society is to cast your vote (your $) for the most efficient business method.
My only concern was that the advice artificially keeps a business model afloat (Amazon) that relies on the existence of brick-and-mortor stores. Its like people using the local hardware store for advice then buying all the parts at Wal-Mart.
That's not really how pricing works. A retailer sets the price that maximizes their revenue, not based on their costs. If jason_shah stopped doing that it'd probably just mean a (very small) increase in their profit margin.
If everyone shopped at Amazon this way, they wouldn't be able to sell their goods as cheaply as they do.
That wouldn't be very smart off them. I think it's more probable that they would just limit the conditions of returns.
How do their operating costs not factor into their revenue? Are you saying that when gas prices go up, retailers just absorb the extra shipping costs and don't pass it on to consumers? I was always taught that's not the case. Genuinely curious as I only took ECON101.
But consider Kindle vs paperback prices on Amazon for the same book. If costs were the most important thing in setting prices, the former would never be more expensive than the latter; but we see it often is, because demand sets the price, not cost.
Your advice might actually raise the cost of that item. (Return) Shipping is but one variable in the huge equation that is an Amazon sale. Only Amazon knows for sure.