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Post by pyrexandpearls on Feb 15, 2015 23:58:29 GMT
I am just not sure how I feel about this. I needed a new mattress pad but I wanted one that is waterproof but not crinkly. I found one on ebay for around $23 with free shipping and bought it. Today, I get a package from Amazon prime. I was super confused until I opened it and it was my mattress pad. I looked the item up on Amazon and it is $17.99. I don't have prime so I would have had to either pay shipping or place a larger $35 order. So, the price I paid was still pretty fair. The packing receipt inside made it seem as if they had chosen to send it as a gift through Amazon.
If the seller did indeed pay $17.99 they are not making a huge profit. However, it just rubs me the wrong way that it was not stated in the listing that this would be sent from Amazon. I used my Discover card to pay for it and they have some sort of price guarantee policy so I may call tomorrow just to see if they would refund me the difference. ( I've never used the service so I don't know exactly how it works.)
I certainly wouldn't ding or neg the seller over this. However, I am curious what your reaction would be in this situation? Do I just feel weird over nothing?
Edited to fix some typos.
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Post by jandsknight on Feb 16, 2015 0:10:41 GMT
I had that happen one time. I had checked the price on amazon before I bought & like you, I don't have prime. After the seller paid fees he or she made less than a dollar. Didn't make sense to me.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 2:33:13 GMT
I wouldn't care if the pricing worked out like yours.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 2:41:43 GMT
It wouldn't matter to me.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 2:46:52 GMT
No, I wouldn't care. Well, I might, but I'd be annoyed at myself.
Honestly, if the same item was less on Amazon, I'd be kicking myself for not checking around before I bought it. Even if the item was substantially less on Amazon.
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Post by pyrexandpearls on Feb 16, 2015 2:47:52 GMT
If the price difference were significant I would be mad.
I still think I am going to see if Discover will refund the difference. I'm not worried about a few dollars but I am curious as to how their price guarantee program actually works.
On a different note, has anyone ever used that feature of their Discover card?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 3:20:20 GMT
No, I wouldn't care. Well, I might, but I'd be annoyed at myself. Honestly, if the same item was less on Amazon, I'd be kicking myself for not checking around before I bought it. Even if the item was substantially less on Amazon. Definitely this! Annoyed at myself for not finding the cheaper price myself. Many advertised dropshipping training programs charge people $1000 or more to teach them to do this. Find things on clearance at Walmart (on another online site), swipe the photos, list it on eBay for a higher price, then order it as a gift from WM (or other). The idea being that they make MILLIONS by pocketing the price difference. That's a heckuva alotta volume you have to be selling to make those millions. Meanwhile the people that created the program are raking in the bucks from the people who got suckered into paying for the program. |
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 16, 2015 3:25:44 GMT
Isn't that against the rules over at Prime?
So yeah, it would bother me.
Much the same way it bothers me and I avoid buying from sellers on eBay who flout the rules and KW spam, steal stock pics, etc.
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Post by Pantlandia on Feb 16, 2015 4:01:38 GMT
Isn't that against the rules over at Prime? So yeah, it would bother me. Much the same way it bothers me and I avoid buying from sellers on eBay who flout the rules and KW spam, steal stock pics, etc. Yes, it absolutely is against their rules. Sellers cannot use their prime accounts for dropshipping. |
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Post by jandsknight on Feb 16, 2015 4:44:20 GMT
The ebay seller that I bought from was only buying on Amazon & selling on ebay. Since he wasn't also selling on Amazon would it still be against their rules?
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Post by Pantlandia on Feb 16, 2015 9:22:25 GMT
The ebay seller that I bought from was only buying on Amazon & selling on ebay. Since he wasn't also selling on Amazon would it still be against their rules? From the way I understand it, yes. I may be wrong, but I don't believe you can use your Prime membership for anything other than personal purchases. |
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Post by SA on Feb 16, 2015 12:02:36 GMT
It would not bother me either.
If I got what I purchased from the seller in the delivery time and method stated, I would leave nothing but glowing feedback, and reevaluate the way I shop. Honestly, I would have no one to blame but myself.
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Post by SA on Feb 16, 2015 12:05:18 GMT
And it could very well be Amazon's policy to not use your membership to drop ship.
Nordstrom Rack also have a NO RESELL policy (As MANY places some of us shop for resell). But many sellers shop there for resell. Would you be mad at that seller if you walked into your local NR and saw the item you just purchased $5 cheaper there?
Just trying to have you see it in a different light is all.
What's with the Discover and price match BTW?
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Post by jandsknight on Feb 16, 2015 15:53:11 GMT
In my case I still paid a little less by buying on ebay because I don't have Prime on Amazon. I estimated the seller made less than $1 and I couldn't know how many times he'd done this using his Prime, so couldn't deduct the cost for that. It just didn't seem worth the trouble for him.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 16:11:40 GMT
Drop shipping doesn't bother me as a buyer if everything goes well. Some sellers do a good job with it.
Is there a chance that your seller ran out of this item and quick ordered it elsewhere? Like others have said - it can't be worth the cost.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 17:43:42 GMT
I've had some office supplies dropped shipped from Sams Club maybe? Can't remember who. Didn't bother me at all.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 18:11:41 GMT
I've had it happen too. But now I always check eBay and Amazon if buying anything that could
be sold at either site. I'm finding A LOT that Amazon isn't the least expensive anymore with
so many people doing the merchant fulfilled (or whatever its called).
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Post by pyrexandpearls on Feb 16, 2015 19:42:42 GMT
I certainly won't ding the seller. I still got the item quickly and for a fair price. Like another poster said, I don't really see how they made more than a $1 or so on the sale as well.
And, fwiw, I already washed it and put it on the bed and it fit perfectly which is hard to find when you have a deep pocket mattress.
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Post by Gabi on Feb 16, 2015 20:10:33 GMT
It wouldn't bother me as long as I got what I paid for for the price I agreed to pay for.
As far as going against amazon rules goes, I guess it depends if they do this on a regular basis.
It happened to me before that I sold something that I didn't have/was broken and used another seller as a drop shipper. Maybe that's what happened with his seller.
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Post by SA on Feb 16, 2015 20:37:25 GMT
Just a thought, and I know it sounds crazy but some people do this:
It's not about making the $1. It's about making the $1, and POINTS on 3rd party sites from purchasing merchandise from online retailers to cash in gift cards for.
Example. (I'm using even, rounded number for this example--it's not penny perfect)
I sell widgets on eBay and drop ship from Amazon.
I sell 100 widgets this month @ $40, my price is $30 from Amazon (let's just pretend that is a $1 profit per item after fees, etc)
I go thru mypoints.com to purchase those items and have it shipped to my buyers
Mypoints credits my account 5 points per dollar from purchases from Amazon
By the example above:
I spend $3000 on Amazon for the widgets
I end up profiting $100 this month
Mypoints gives me 15,000 points
Just to give you an idea, a Williams Sonoma $100 GC costs 12,600 points--A Paypal $50 gift card is 8950 points
Yes, I know. It's crazy. But just a thought.
But I think I could do that amount of volume in no time flat if it's what I really wanted.
And if I did it full time? HOW EASY IT THAT? Do you claim the my points gift cards as income?
No inventory. No measurements. No shopping for inventory.
And how would the personal income taxes work on that?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 22:20:26 GMT
Yep - I've seen whole discussions/blogs/how-to guides devoted to what shopping*addiction is saying.
There are many that that don't even get into the whole points sites things (though that's an even better idea,) just selling & making a dollar or two per item without EVER having to touch/store inventory. Everything is basically virtual - except the money.
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Feb 17, 2015 17:40:51 GMT
They could also be cashing in on Ebates.
I just got a nice check yesterday after using them on my Christmas shopping.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2015 0:18:00 GMT
It wouldn't bother me at all. If I bought something I wanted and it came in a timely manner that's what matters. Hey at least it didn't fall off a truck. KWIM?
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