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Reinstate the price match guarantee
DIY Amazon price match guarantee
I just bought a TV antenna from Amazon. (The Winegard MS-2002: amplified, omni-directional HD. I highly recommend it for over-the-air HD/digital TV.) It showed up last week, and I promptly installed it on my roof. Yesterday I happened to see see that the very same antenna — for which I paid $80.28 — was now selling for $58.99 + tax on Amazon. That's a difference of $16.42; a 20% discount.
So I thought I'd just invoke the Amazon Price Guarantee and get a refund for the difference. However, I couldn't find a link to it on their site. The reason why? They stopped doing this on Sept 1, 2008.
So I did what any consumer who has a strong sense of justice and is slightly crazy would do. I ordered a new one and returned the original.
Shipping the original back is free, and the shipping on the new one is free, too. It'll be a bit of hassle on my part. But I hope that by doing this — and by blogging about it — Amazon realizes how short-sighted it was for them to drop the price guarantee. Granted, most people who would have used the price match guarantee aren't going to be as extreme as me and do the return + re-buy gambit. But for the few of us that do, Amazon is losing money on the transaction by paying for an additional 2 shippings of the product. And that's my lever with them. Make it less economical for them to allow return and re-buy than to simply refund the difference.
So here's my call to action. If you run into a case where Amazon drops the price within the return window, do what I did. Buy a new one and return the old one. And then tell Amazon about it here on Get Satisfaction.
I just bought a TV antenna from Amazon. (The Winegard MS-2002: amplified, omni-directional HD. I highly recommend it for over-the-air HD/digital TV.) It showed up last week, and I promptly installed it on my roof. Yesterday I happened to see see that the very same antenna — for which I paid $80.28 — was now selling for $58.99 + tax on Amazon. That's a difference of $16.42; a 20% discount.
So I thought I'd just invoke the Amazon Price Guarantee and get a refund for the difference. However, I couldn't find a link to it on their site. The reason why? They stopped doing this on Sept 1, 2008.
So I did what any consumer who has a strong sense of justice and is slightly crazy would do. I ordered a new one and returned the original.
Shipping the original back is free, and the shipping on the new one is free, too. It'll be a bit of hassle on my part. But I hope that by doing this — and by blogging about it — Amazon realizes how short-sighted it was for them to drop the price guarantee. Granted, most people who would have used the price match guarantee aren't going to be as extreme as me and do the return + re-buy gambit. But for the few of us that do, Amazon is losing money on the transaction by paying for an additional 2 shippings of the product. And that's my lever with them. Make it less economical for them to allow return and re-buy than to simply refund the difference.
So here's my call to action. If you run into a case where Amazon drops the price within the return window, do what I did. Buy a new one and return the old one. And then tell Amazon about it here on Get Satisfaction.
I’m annoyed
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Inappropriate?That... is awesome.
Amazon's prices fluctuate like crazy. Ever check out www.camelcamelcamel.com?
Alex
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This solves the problem
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I've been looking for that exact type of service for a while now. Thanks Alex! -
Inappropriate?I don't have a answer for you just have the same story. Only I found the product I bought for 100.00 cheaper. When I called them to see if they would price match they said no and that since I was returning the item and the reason for the return was not their fault I would be charged the shipping fee. I really am not too happy about that but what can I do.
I’m frustrated
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Inappropriate?I remember when Amazon used to price match, etc, on the spot. It seems like ever since they moved their Call Center overseas was when they stopped having good customer relations. Those reps go exactly by the book and don't care about anything else. I'm definitely losing faith in Amazon.
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Inappropriate?I always make sure to check out http://creditrabbit.com to make sure the price hasn't dropped significantly before I purchase anything from Amazon.
I’m frustrated
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Inappropriate?You might also try WishRadar at http://wishradar.com/.
You can put things on your wish list, and then set the price that you're willing to pay. As soon as the price reaches that point they notify you. It works best for things you want but don't need right away, since you may have to wait quite a while before the price drops to where you need it to.
I’m a little teapot
