Amazon Prime Day discounts aren’t as big as they look

Amazon Excellent in capitalism.Ubiquitous online retailers use everything Psychological tricks you can imagine (And maybe there are some that we can’t imagine) to maximize its profitsnd oThe most powerful tool in ne The company’s weapons control the price of products on sale, such as Prime Day.

In a broad sense, the whole operation is based on Persuade consumers to buy what they don’t need, And one of the specific methods they use is to manipulate prices over time to make them think they are saving more money than they really are. (check out This deeper diver to Amazon tactics For many. )

There’s a lot involved in how Amazon determines its price, Of course, inflation, supply and demand, etc.— But “making you think you’re doing a great deal” is a clear motive during a promotion like Prime Day.

How to spot fantastic discounts on Amazon Prime Day

In the chart above ( Keeper, An extension that compares Amazon prices over time) You can see the price volatility of Amazon’s 4th generation Echo Dot over the past few months.The current price of “Lightning Deal” seems to be as low as $ 19.99, but Amazon The price of the not-for-sale item has been raised to $ 49.99 from the $ 27.99 price charged in mid-June, so it is said to be “60% off.”So it looks like it’s actually 28% off, but it’s still Bargain, But it’s not “I don’t want this, but I have to buy it”-size May look like a bargain..

The same principle applies to non-Amazon products.think Bissell, 2747A PowerFresh Vac & Steam All-in-One Vacuum Cleaner It is currently listed on Amazon at an initial price of $ 129.99 for Prime Day. This is 30% off the list price of $ 185.39. Quite until you look a little closer.

MeIf you buy this vac in April, it costs $ 153.39, so buying it on Prime Day saves just over 15% instead of 30%...

How to check the price history of an item before purchasing it on Amazon

Prime Day deals are not posted until a specific time frame, so it is not possible to know in advance how much discount will be applied to a specific product. BIf you buy something on Prime Day, you can check the price history immediately before you buy.

Amazon is rather convinced that it wants to keep its price history secret, but since they are publicly available, People made Sites, apps and extensions that collect and allow price history Take your time to the comparison shop.I Keeper It’s a Chrome extension, but it’s not the only Amazon-specific free price history tracking option.others favorite Camel camel camel When Earn Basically the same thing is done with a slightly different bell and whistle.If you haven’t used it yet, you should use it before you believe in Amazon’s hype Advertised discount.