claim the internet titan artificially inflates prices
All prices are artificial.
Amazon accused again of overcharging shoppers with Buy Box
Submitted 9 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/10/amazon_buy_box_lawsuit/
Comments
blazera@kbin.social 9 months ago
MadhuGururajan@programming.dev 9 months ago
No the claim is that the inflation is artificial… not the prices.
blazera@kbin.social 9 months ago
They both always are. Companies make up the prices, and price increases. Predicting how much folks are willing to pay.
CrayonRosary@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Not “cost plus” pricing.
Kushia@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
So is most of the junk they sell on Amazon. I’ve gotten so many fake and poor quality products in the last couple of years that I shop anywhere else I can first.
taanegl@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Welcome to new Amazon. For the cheapest possible pricing, we have prepared a form process equivalent to Dragon Quest. You can remove each beurocratic hurdle with an extra fee, or alternatively pay a premium to use the “Buy Now” button.
Amazon: you are our bitch now - what tf you gonna do, start a competitor? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA stupid trell.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 9 months ago
“New”?
DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
I’m a DQ fan but I don’t get this reference. I’ve played 1-4, 9 and 11.
taanegl@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Actually, I referred to the wrong game. I meant “Dragon Lair”, in that you’ll have to go through a gauntlet of challenges.
Thought it was an apt way to describe a laborious beurocratic process that causes anxiety, in that you’re in a dungeon where every twist and turn is trying to kill you.
andyburke@fedia.io 9 months ago
Canceled my prime a few years ago. You don't need that bullshit in your life, people.
subtext@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I just can’t get over this terribly forced alliteration
Bazaar of Bezos buries bargains, allegedly
XTornado@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
Oh come on we were so close to all be words that start with “b”… The of could be replaced with a by,… But the allegedly, I have troubles with it.
Bazaar by Bezos buries bargains,… belivedly?
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 9 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Amazon has been sued by two customers in the United States who claim the internet titan artificially inflates prices, hitting shoppers in the wallet.
Each product listed on the gigantic e-souk usually has a so-called Buy Box on the right-hand side of the page encouraging folks to put items straight into their virtual carts.
For those who don’t know: Sellers in the FBA can, among other perks, use Amazon’s sprawling warehouse and delivery network to offer free two-day shipping of items to Prime subscribers, making those vendors attractive to shoppers.
The proposed class-action fight was brought by two California netizens, Jeffrey Taylor and Robert Selway, who claim Amazon broke its home state of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.”
They requested a jury trial and damages, and asked other Amazon customers who have made any purchases using the Buy Box from 2016 onward to join the cause.
Over in the UK, consumer-rights activist Julie Hunter took Amazon to a Competition Appeal Tribunal in a £900 million ($1 billion) lawsuit.
The original article contains 604 words, the summary contains 188 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Marcbmann@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The ability to win the buy box is exceptionally predictable.
It is based on a combination of factors. The price point, fulfillment method, shipping cost, and feedback provided by customers about each individual seller.
If I am the brand owner, using Fulfillment by Amazon, have the lowest price, and good seller feedback, I will win.
If you come on the listing a lower price, no shipping cost, and equivalent feedback, but you are shipping the item yourself and have a slightly lower feedback rating, you will not win the buy box.
The system is not rigged against the customer. Amazon is attempting to improve the customer experience, with price just being part of it
jettrscga@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Unrelated to this claim, but I’ve also noticed really rapid price adjustments of a few cents on products.
It seems like Amazon raises prices frequently based on what’s in carts and how many page clicks it gets.
A $6 item changed from $5.95 to $6.05 to $5.98 in a span of an hour.
DAMunzy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
Put some items in your cart. Move them to Save for later. Almost every time you go back to your cart you’ll have a notification saying that prices have changed. Happens more on some days than others. Not just Amazon provided items either. Other sellers have bots that automatically adjust the prices using who knows what guidelines.
jettrscga@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Exactly, that’s what I did. Removed it from my cart and waited an hour and suddenly it was a little cheaper.
I have no doubt there are bots monitoring to get every cent out of each transaction, knowing that people probably won’t care about small changes.
HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
On the other hand, I recently got 5 cents and 17 cents back for things I bought some time ago and was wrongly priced, apparently.
Marcbmann@lemmy.world 9 months ago
There is a new promotion type used by sellers that allow us to target people who have abandoned cart. We can offer exclusive discounts to those people.
TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 9 months ago
Well also remember that to win the “buy box” is also a competition amongst people who are just drop shipping similar items, sometimes by the pallet load, directly to Amazon warehouses and then based on margin basically doing a constant reverse auction to win the box the customer sees. Amazon also knows all this and will adjust its own competing stock/listings according to these changes as well. I have also heard that their prices are similar to Walmart and will vary based on estimated income of the customer. Have an iPhone or Mac and you are probably paying more than someone that shops on a cheap Android phone or no name PC.
Marcbmann@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Prices do not vary based on estimated income. Pricing control is not that granular.
Marcbmann@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Majority of products are not sold by Amazon. Some sellers use price automation software, some use built-in functionality provided by Amazon. Amazons built in functionality allows sellers to set competitive prices relative to other sellers on Amazon.
It has nothing to do with page views, clicks, or cart adds. Sellers cannot see cart adds in real time.
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 9 months ago
Yeah, thats so obnoxious.