Amazon will no longer offer 30 day price-match guarantee

TallGuyMe · 08-30-08, 01:21 PM

from someone over at CAG:

"Only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase."

dtcarson · 08-30-08, 01:26 PM

Just reading that. Don't like it. I'm going to copy and paste my own post (from there).
Sometimes (quite often) Amazon's prices are later beaten by--Amazon. There's very little that feels worse as a consumer than buying a product, then seeing it for less days after, from the same retailer.
This will definitely make me more wary of buying things at Amazon. I'd rather pay the tax and get it from Best Buy etc, knowing I could return/PM it within 30 days.
I've be very interesting in knowing how often people used this policy, and how much money Amazon "lost" by using it (and as a corollary, how much money they "made" on item sales within the first 24 hours of an item's price going up.)

GizmoDVD · 08-30-08, 01:35 PM

Looks like my days at Amazon are now over. I won't be renewing my Prime account again. Amazon prices change so damn often.

rkndkn · 08-30-08, 03:09 PM

Between this and the closing of accounts for "incidents", I don't know what's up with Amazon. Quite a few people at SD have had their accounts closed. Kind of makes me want to use up my credit just in case.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=908910

NoirFan · 08-30-08, 08:17 PM

I hope this doesn't mean their Pre-order Price Guarantee is next to go.

big whoppa · 08-30-08, 08:30 PM

That sucks. I've only used it once though but it was easy to get a credit for the price difference.

Xbox69 · 08-30-08, 09:08 PM

Never really used it myself. If I feel I got a good price to begin with, I'm ok. Not worth it to me just to save a couple of bucks, IMO.

dx23 · 08-30-08, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkndkn

Between this and the closing of accounts for "incidents", I don't know what's up with Amazon. Quite a few people at SD have had their accounts closed. Kind of makes me want to use up my credit just in case.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=908910

Amazon.com has also closed seller accounts like mine without even giving any explanation as to why even though I have perfect feedback. There is something weird in the changes in policy at Amazon. Another thing they changes that I recently became aware off is a policy that limits who sells top video games like Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto and the video game consoles.

Like ebay, Amazon is becoming less customer friendly. I don't know if it is the recession in the economy or just corporate idiocy, but companies like Amazon, Ebay and Borders are making drastic changes that aren't bringing new customers and actually are diving old ones away.

mcfly · 08-31-08, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xbox69

Never really used it myself. If I feel I got a good price to begin with, I'm ok. Not worth it to me just to save a couple of bucks, IMO.

Same here.

nemein · 08-31-08, 12:07 AM

I've used it several times, mainly because of their annoying habit of changing prices all the time. In fact w/ any $100+ item I get from them I usually end up putting it back in my cart and use the "save for later" feature to watch the price over the next few weeks. Guess I'm not too surprised they are getting rid of it. The next change I expect is the reward $ amount needed for a GC via their Visa card.

JckRbbitSlim · 08-31-08, 12:08 AM

Aww shucks, this news sucks, if it is indeed true. Nothing made me happier than being a cheap bastard and emailing Amazon for a credit of like (hmmm...let me see, my last one was

$3.23. I mean, even Best Buy still matches the price difference within thirty days and their policies completely suck. This is not enough to make me close my Prime account but it sure makes me feel less loving to Amazon. Thanks for the heads up, OP.

dtcarson · 08-31-08, 12:12 AM

The few times I've used it it's been easy, an email from the form, and credit back in a day or so. The least I've saved is 3.00, the most is 15.00. Definitely worth it, especially when I don't have to drive to a store (I wouldn't bother doing that with an item from a B&M for three bucks.) Definitely seems like Amazon is reducing their customer focus.

cardsfan111 · 08-31-08, 12:12 AM

I'm not a fan of this announcement. As others have mentioned, Amazon's prices jump around so much. Wonder what their return policy is like....if the price drop was big enough, could you contact them to return something and then re-order it?

stevevt · 08-31-08, 12:17 AM

While I'm disappointed in this policy change, I appreciate the heads up. I was going to wait a little while to make a big electronics purchase, but now I'll be placing the order tomorrow.

dtcarson · 08-31-08, 12:19 AM

If you do the return/rebuy thing too often, that might lead to the other apparently new/stricter policy of being banned, plus, unless it's defective or their screwup, you probably have to pay return shipping (and hope it gets there, in good condition and on time.)
It might not be that bad if Amazon wasn't so spastic with their price changes, not even counting "limited time offers" like DotD and Gold Box. I bought something Gold Box before last Christmas that was a great deal off the regular price, then a week after, the regular price was cheaper than my GB price.

Al_Tahoe · 08-31-08, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xbox69

Never really used it myself. If I feel I got a good price to begin with, I'm ok. Not worth it to me just to save a couple of bucks, IMO.

Me too. I bought The Maltese Falcon 3-Disc for $11.99 just before they lowered the price to $9.99. While the cheap-ass bastard in me was a little disappointed I didn't get the absolute best price - I felt I got a good deal, and it wasn't worth the hassle for a couple of bucks.

foxdvd · 08-31-08, 11:06 PM

Wow this sucks. I am a big fan of amazon, but when it comes to older video games, the ones between 6 months and a year, I will no longer buy from amazon if they are not WAY cheaper. The price of these games will fall fast and hard with little notice. Dark Sector dropped almost 6 times in 30 days, a total of about 30 bucks.

bunkaroo · 09-02-08, 03:33 PM

Just saw this notice on the price guarantees I submitted for the Eraser and Outbreak Blu-Ray's.

So basically under the new policy I would have been punished for pre-ordering. I had my pre-orders in at 19.95. If I had placed my pre-orders after the 9/1 deadline, they can ship to me at 19.95 and then drop the price the next day and I'm screwed. There goes the incentive to pre-order from them, and possibly order from them at all.

This will definitely limit my blind buys from them - I'll just get those locally where I can still get price guarantees. I also won't be renewing my Prime when it's up.

fumanstan · 09-02-08, 04:42 PM

I don't think i've ever noticed if a price ended up dropping a few bucks later, so it doesn't really bother me too much. That and I don't think I order anything major that could drop a lot shortly after.

stingermck · 09-04-08, 08:28 AM

Well Amazon just sent me 4 emails, from 4 Blu-rays I bought this week, saying the prices changed, and refunded me $18.50. Eraser, Under Siege 2, Every Which Way But Loose , Gauntlet.

I'm pretty sure I ordered over the weekend though, but hey I'll take it as my last one.

rfduncan · 09-04-08, 11:10 AM

Well looking on the bright side of this change (though I agree losing it stinks), perhaps Amazon will make prices for things lower more quickly if they don't have to worry about the financial repercussions of having to refund customers from 30 days past. I'm sure they track that sort of thing to a degree.

blokhed · 09-04-08, 12:11 PM

Lame, Amazon. You changed the price nearly daily on the 40" TV I bought, and I ended up getting over $100 back in the following 30 days. I bought it with confidence knowing that you would honor any price drops in the next 30 days. Now I will be a lot more wary in my purchases.

gimmepilotwings · 09-04-08, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blokhed

Lame, Amazon. You changed the price nearly daily on the 40" TV I bought, and I ended up getting over $100 back in the following 30 days. I bought it with confidence knowing that you would honor any price drops in the next 30 days. Now I will be a lot more wary in my purchases.

Agreed. Last month I got 2 items, and $14 in credit back between the two.

uteotw · 09-05-08, 09:50 AM

THIS BLOWS.

I have used this feature MANY times and saved hundreds of dollars, and I can't believe they're dumping it, considering the ridiculous rate at which many of their items change prices significantly. I got over $300 back after I bought my HDTV, $25 on a Zune--and that's how it SHOULD be if they're going to constantly be changing prices.

At minimum they should stop doing that (so dramatically); but really they should keep it, since you can get an adjustment at any brick/mortar store like Target or Best Buy. VERY BAD.............

BlackCapTen · 09-05-08, 05:18 PM

Very disappointing to hear. The post order price guarantee is a primary reason I do a ton of shopping with Amazon, even if items are a little more expensive than other online stores (knowing I can easily get a refund for a potential price drop).

My standard practice for a long time was to place an order and then re-add the item(s) to my cart and periodically refresh my cart in following days/weeks to take note of price changes. I've gotten 100s of dollars in refunds from price drops this year alone, and it takes no time at all as I have a simple letter in notepad and I just plug in the numbers/data for the price drops as needed.

As GizmoDVD, I will most likely not renew my prime subscription at the end of the year.

I will still shop with Amazon, certainly not as much as I usually do (especially with the pricey items).

08-30-08, 01:21 PM	#1
TallGuyMe DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,218	Amazon will no longer offer 30 day price-match guarantee from someone over at CAG: "Only orders placed before September 1, 2008 are eligible for a price difference refund under the Post-Order Price Guarantee policy. As of September 1, 2008 we are no longer offering discounts if prices change on our website after you make a purchase."

08-30-08, 01:26 PM	#2
dtcarson DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Triangle, NC, USA Posts: 6,691	Just reading that. Don't like it. I'm going to copy and paste my own post (from there). Sometimes (quite often) Amazon's prices are later beaten by--Amazon. There's very little that feels worse as a consumer than buying a product, then seeing it for less days after, from the same retailer. This will definitely make me more wary of buying things at Amazon. I'd rather pay the tax and get it from Best Buy etc, knowing I could return/PM it within 30 days. I've be very interesting in knowing how often people used this policy, and how much money Amazon "lost" by using it (and as a corollary, how much money they "made" on item sales within the first 24 hours of an item's price going up.) __________________ Books I've read this year Books I've read last year Books I've read 2006 My dvds 360 Gamertag: dtcarson I don't blog, but my 360 does.

08-30-08, 01:35 PM	#3
GizmoDVD DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Southern CA Posts: 15,417	Looks like my days at Amazon are now over. I won't be renewing my Prime account again. Amazon prices change so damn often. __________________ HD DVD = LG 200 (4), HD-A1, HD-XA1, HD-A2 / 301 Discs Blu-Ray = LG 200 (4), Sony S550 / 148 Discs

08-30-08, 08:17 PM	#5
NoirFan DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 4,027	I hope this doesn't mean their Pre-order Price Guarantee is next to go. __________________ "That's life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you." Watch Edgar G. Ulmer's B-Movie Noir Classic Detour Films

08-30-08, 08:30 PM	#6
big whoppa DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2000 Location: Under Golden Gate Bridge Posts: 7,982	That sucks. I've only used it once though but it was easy to get a credit for the price difference. __________________ "I Choked Linda Lovelace" - on Joe Dirt's T-Shirt

08-30-08, 03:09 PM	#4
rkndkn DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Hawaii, USA Posts: 2,987	Between this and the closing of accounts for "incidents", I don't know what's up with Amazon. Quite a few people at SD have had their accounts closed. Kind of makes me want to use up my credit just in case. http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=908910

08-30-08, 09:08 PM	#7
Xbox69 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 1,277	Never really used it myself. If I feel I got a good price to begin with, I'm ok. Not worth it to me just to save a couple of bucks, IMO.

08-31-08, 12:07 AM	#10
nemein Moderator Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: 1bit away from total disaster Posts: 31,728	I've used it several times, mainly because of their annoying habit of changing prices all the time. In fact w/ any $100+ item I get from them I usually end up putting it back in my cart and use the "save for later" feature to watch the price over the next few weeks. Guess I'm not too surprised they are getting rid of it. The next change I expect is the reward $ amount needed for a GC via their Visa card. __________________ "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." -- Norman Thomas, Socialist Party of America "Do the right thing even if it means dying like a dog when no one's there to see you do it." - Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale

08-31-08, 12:08 AM	#11
JckRbbitSlim Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: A Stop At Willoughby Posts: 115	Aww shucks, this news sucks, if it is indeed true. Nothing made me happier than being a cheap bastard and emailing Amazon for a credit of like (hmmm...let me see, my last one was $3.23. I mean, even Best Buy still matches the price difference within thirty days and their policies completely suck. This is not enough to make me close my Prime account but it sure makes me feel less loving to Amazon. Thanks for the heads up, OP.

08-31-08, 12:12 AM	#12
dtcarson DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Triangle, NC, USA Posts: 6,691	The few times I've used it it's been easy, an email from the form, and credit back in a day or so. The least I've saved is 3.00, the most is 15.00. Definitely worth it, especially when I don't have to drive to a store (I wouldn't bother doing that with an item from a B&M for three bucks.) Definitely seems like Amazon is reducing their customer focus. __________________ Books I've read this year Books I've read last year Books I've read 2006 My dvds 360 Gamertag: dtcarson I don't blog, but my 360 does.

08-31-08, 12:12 AM	#13
cardsfan111 DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,571	I'm not a fan of this announcement. As others have mentioned, Amazon's prices jump around so much. Wonder what their return policy is like....if the price drop was big enough, could you contact them to return something and then re-order it?

08-31-08, 12:17 AM	#14
stevevt DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Vermont Posts: 8,957	While I'm disappointed in this policy change, I appreciate the heads up. I was going to wait a little while to make a big electronics purchase, but now I'll be placing the order tomorrow.

08-31-08, 12:19 AM	#15
dtcarson DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Triangle, NC, USA Posts: 6,691	If you do the return/rebuy thing too often, that might lead to the other apparently new/stricter policy of being banned, plus, unless it's defective or their screwup, you probably have to pay return shipping (and hope it gets there, in good condition and on time.) It might not be that bad if Amazon wasn't so spastic with their price changes, not even counting "limited time offers" like DotD and Gold Box. I bought something Gold Box before last Christmas that was a great deal off the regular price, then a week after, the regular price was cheaper than my GB price. __________________ Books I've read this year Books I've read last year Books I've read 2006 My dvds 360 Gamertag: dtcarson I don't blog, but my 360 does.

08-31-08, 11:06 PM	#17
foxdvd DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 2,708	Wow this sucks. I am a big fan of amazon, but when it comes to older video games, the ones between 6 months and a year, I will no longer buy from amazon if they are not WAY cheaper. The price of these games will fall fast and hard with little notice. Dark Sector dropped almost 6 times in 30 days, a total of about 30 bucks.

09-02-08, 03:33 PM	#18
bunkaroo DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 5,539	Just saw this notice on the price guarantees I submitted for the Eraser and Outbreak Blu-Ray's. So basically under the new policy I would have been punished for pre-ordering. I had my pre-orders in at 19.95. If I had placed my pre-orders after the 9/1 deadline, they can ship to me at 19.95 and then drop the price the next day and I'm screwed. There goes the incentive to pre-order from them, and possibly order from them at all. This will definitely limit my blind buys from them - I'll just get those locally where I can still get price guarantees. I also won't be renewing my Prime when it's up. __________________ My DVD, Blu-Ray and HD DVD Collection @ DVD Profiler PSN: bunkaroo 360: TheBunkaroo

09-02-08, 04:42 PM	#19
fumanstan DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 16,944	I don't think i've ever noticed if a price ended up dropping a few bucks later, so it doesn't really bother me too much. That and I don't think I order anything major that could drop a lot shortly after. __________________ DVDAF XBox Live: Fu Man Stan

09-04-08, 08:28 AM	#20
stingermck DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 2,913	Well Amazon just sent me 4 emails, from 4 Blu-rays I bought this week, saying the prices changed, and refunded me $18.50. Eraser, Under Siege 2, Every Which Way But Loose , Gauntlet. I'm pretty sure I ordered over the weekend though, but hey I'll take it as my last one. __________________ I Support Blu-Ray Disc because WB made me

09-04-08, 11:10 AM	#21
rfduncan DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 7,278	Well looking on the bright side of this change (though I agree losing it stinks), perhaps Amazon will make prices for things lower more quickly if they don't have to worry about the financial repercussions of having to refund customers from 30 days past. I'm sure they track that sort of thing to a degree. __________________ Hi, Super Nintendo Chalmers! - Ralph Wiggum A Grilled Charlie has peanut butter last! Peanut butter outside, chocolate inside! Butter inside, cheese outside! - Charlie Kelly

09-04-08, 12:11 PM	#22
blokhed Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: CA (Carlsbad or La Mirada) Posts: 189	Lame, Amazon. You changed the price nearly daily on the 40" TV I bought, and I ended up getting over $100 back in the following 30 days. I bought it with confidence knowing that you would honor any price drops in the next 30 days. Now I will be a lot more wary in my purchases.

09-05-08, 09:50 AM	#24
uteotw DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,724	THIS BLOWS. I have used this feature MANY times and saved hundreds of dollars, and I can't believe they're dumping it, considering the ridiculous rate at which many of their items change prices significantly. I got over $300 back after I bought my HDTV, $25 on a Zune--and that's how it SHOULD be if they're going to constantly be changing prices. At minimum they should stop doing that (so dramatically); but really they should keep it, since you can get an adjustment at any brick/mortar store like Target or Best Buy. VERY BAD............. __________________ I want you to hit me as hard as you can. My Gamertag: PraySilence

09-05-08, 05:18 PM	#25
BlackCapTen DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Pataskala, OH Posts: 1,120	Very disappointing to hear. The post order price guarantee is a primary reason I do a ton of shopping with Amazon, even if items are a little more expensive than other online stores (knowing I can easily get a refund for a potential price drop). My standard practice for a long time was to place an order and then re-add the item(s) to my cart and periodically refresh my cart in following days/weeks to take note of price changes. I've gotten 100s of dollars in refunds from price drops this year alone, and it takes no time at all as I have a simple letter in notepad and I just plug in the numbers/data for the price drops as needed. As GizmoDVD, I will most likely not renew my prime subscription at the end of the year. I will still shop with Amazon, certainly not as much as I usually do (especially with the pricey items). __________________ Wacky.