Prime Day Deals on Amazon Might Not Be as Generous as Promised
Amazon is a master of capitalist techniques. This well-known online retailer pulls out all the psychological tricks in its arsenal (some that may not even be conceivable) to maximize its profits. One of the most potent weapons in its arsenal is manipulating product prices during promotional events like Prime Day. The next Prime Day is planned for mid-July.
In a broader sense, the whole Prime Day event is centered on convincing buyers to purchase items that are unnecessary. One of the specific strategies used to achieve this goal is manipulating prices over time, making you believe you're saving more money than you actually are. (If you're interested in learning more about Amazon's methods, check out this in-depth analysis.)
Numerous factors impact how Amazon determines its prices, including inflation, supply and demand, and so on. However, "making you think you're getting an unbelievable bargain" is a clear motivation during promotional events like Prime Day. While this strategy is not unique to Amazon, the company's success shows that it excels at it.
If you're trying to buy something that is worth the cost you pay for it, you have a powerful tool at your fingertips, made possible by the internet – the ability to easily check the price history of a product.
How to Check Price History on Amazon
In the figure above (courtesy of Keepa, a Chrome extension that compares Amazon prices over time), you can see the fluctuating price of an Amazon Fire TV Stick over the last year. While Amazon claims the list price for the item is $39.99, as shown, it's "on sale" more often than not, which pushes the traditional understanding of what a "list price" and a "sale" are.
Amazon frequently offers the item for a lower price, making it foolish to buy it at the list price. However, the Prime Day price of $24.99 isn't the best deal either. The lowest price for the Fire Stick TV occurred around Christmas: You could have purchased one for $19.99 for almost the entire month of November.
Credit: Stephen Johnson/Keepa
A similar pattern applies to products not made by Amazon. Generally, the prices of third-party products tend to be less volatile than those of Amazon products. Consider the Bissell 2747A PowerFresh Vac & Steam All-in-One Vacuum. Bissell advertised a discount of 30% off during Prime Day 2023, bringing the price down to $129.99. It seems like a great deal, but only when you look closer.
If you had purchased the Bissell vacuum in April, it would have cost you $153.39. This means the supposed 30% discount is actually only a 15% one. If you happened to purchase the vacuum between May 1 and May 3 or May 10 and May 13, 2024, you would have paid $289.99, a whopping $136.60 more than the lowest price.
How to Check a Product's Price History Before You Buy from Amazon
Since Prime Day deals are not disclosed in advance, you can't predict in advance how much of a discount you will get on a given product. However, if you're buying something on Prime Day, you can check its price history instantly before making your purchase.
Though Amazon presumably prefers to keep its pricing history a secret, it's accessible due to the public nature of the information. People have created websites, apps, and extensions that collect pricing history and allow you to compare prices over time. I use the Keepa extension for Chrome because I like how it displays the price history of items right on every Amazon page I visit, but many other simple-to-use, free Amazon-specific price history tracking tools are available. Studies have shown that consumers who use these tools before believing the hype surrounding Amazon's advertised discounts save more money in the long run. (For more information on price comparison tools, check out our roundup.)
If you want to understand Amazon's pricing structure thoroughly, check out this exploration of their pricing strategy.
Credit: Keepa
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Despite Amazon's Prime Day deals being advertised as generous, they might not always live up to expectations. You may think you're saving more money than you actually are due to the manipulated product prices during these promotional events.
The key to understanding if Amazon Prime sales are good for you is to closely examine the product's price history. By checking the price variations over time, you can determine if the deal you're getting is worth the money.
