Not Everything on Amazon Prime Day is Really on Sale
Beware the Amazon Pricing Scam.
Like Black Friday each November, Amazon Prime Day is a great time to find products on sale at steeply discounted prices. Before filling your Amazon cart, however, keep one thing in mind. A sale isn’t always a sale.
As Mouse Print recently uncovered, Amazon sometimes promotes “phony” discounts by comparing the current price of an item with its seldom used “manufacturer’s suggested list price” or MSRP. In doing so, the discount looks more substantial that it is.
For example, Mouse Price found Hammermill paper advertised for nearly 50 percent off its MSRP. Sounds like a great deal, no? It does until you realize there were only four periods lasting no longer than a day or two when Amazon listed the paper at that price.
How can you protect yourself? Before making an Amazon.com purchase, check an item’s price at CamelCamelCamel.com or The Tracktor. Both sites allow you to track Amazon prices for items over a period. In doing so, you can see whether a sale price is real or phony.
Like millions of others, I love shopping at Amazon.com and plan to do so again on Amazon Prime Day. To maximize my savings, I plan on using CamelCamelCamel to compare prices. So should you.
The third annual Amazon Prime Day will be held tomorrow, July 11. The event starts tonight at 6 p.m. PDT, offering Prime customers 30 hours of deals on millions of items.
See also: