There are some major retailers that are attempting to compete with Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day, one of which is Walmart+. Each company wants you to think that their deals are the best of the best, but it’s often a smoke screen. Amazon, in particular, has been caught in a lawsuit since last September by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states, alleging it inflated prices of their products using an algorithm. In other words, if you have a hunch that the price for a “deal” on Amazon was actually cheaper in the past, you may be right. One study from 2022 revealed questionable tactics deployed by Amazon to trick consumers into thinking they're getting a deal when, in reality, the savings are negligible, at best — and even higher than before, at worst. The trick is called “price-increase and list-price synchronization.” Basically, a seller disguises a price increase as a discount by increasing an item’s “list price” (the original price) and then slashing that list price to show you a “sale price.” Let’s say Amazon lists a television for $500. Then, one day, the “list price” becomes $600 with a slash through it. Amazon then bumps the TV "down" to $550. A blissfully unaware buyer might be tricked into thinking they’re saving $50, when in reality they’re paying $50 more for the TV than it originally cost. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure to use price-tracking pages like Camelcamelcamel for Amazon or Honey for major online retailers on deals you feel seem suspicious. Look at their price history to make sure that the “deal” is actually a deal.
That Amazon “Deal” Might Actually Be a Hidden Price Hike
There are some major retailers that are attempting to compete with Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day, one of which is Walmart+. Each company wants you to think that their deals are the best of the best, but it’s often a smoke screen. Amazon, in particular, has been caught in a lawsuit since last September by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states, alleging it inflated prices of their products using an algorithm. In other words, if you have a hunch that the price for a “deal” on Amazon was actually cheaper in the past, you may be right. One study from 2022 revealed questionable tactics deployed by Amazon to trick consumers into thinking they're getting a deal when, in reality, the savings are negligible, at best — and even higher than before, at worst. The trick is called “price-increase and list-price synchronization.” Basically, a seller disguises a price increase as a discount by increasing an item’s “list price” (the original price) and then slashing that list price to show you a “sale price.” Let’s say Amazon lists a television for $500. Then, one day, the “list price” becomes $600 with a slash through it. Amazon then bumps the TV "down" to $550. A blissfully unaware buyer might be tricked into thinking they’re saving $50, when in reality they’re paying $50 more for the TV than it originally cost. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure to use price-tracking pages like Camelcamelcamel for Amazon or Honey for major online retailers on deals you feel seem suspicious. Look at their price history to make sure that the “deal” is actually a deal.