Amazon Prime Day is an exciting day for Prime members. They look forward to great deals and discounts on items that are usually more expensive. But as users are discovering, these so-called deals appear to be manufactured by Amazon.
Many accuse the brand of increasing its prices a few days before the biannual sale and lowering it to the original price, presenting it as a “good deal”.
TikTok user Katelyn Montalban (@kb.montalbano) took to her account to explain why she wouldn’t order during Amazon Prime Day in a trending video.
Amazon Prime Day is a shopping event with deals exclusively for Prime members from July 16, 2024 at midnight PST to July 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST.
In her video, Montalban says she had about 25 items in her cart before Amazon Prime Day. She claims she took a screenshot of her items and their prices and when she checked this morning, there was something wrong.
“When I arrived this morning, I noticed that all they did was increase the price, then keep it at its original price and tell me it was on sale,” she said.
She then tells Amazon to “do better.”
Black Friday is here again
This isn’t the first time Amazon has come under scrutiny for its deals. Last Black Friday, the corporate giant was also criticized for raising its prices.
A TV was 36% off on Amazon last Black Friday.
“This 56-inch TV is supposed to be 36% off,” says TikTok user Sam Thibault (@samthibault04). During the Black Friday sale, it was listed for $289.99, down from $449. “While it was technically $449, it wasn’t always $449,” says Thibault.
This resulted in a class action lawsuit filed in 2023 against Amazon, citing this specific issue.
The plaintiffs in Kinney et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., et al.. argue that “Amazon.com displays a false price that has not been used consistently and then applies discounts on that price instead,” which the lawsuit claims violates FTC guidelines.
The proposed class action included any Amazon customer who purchased a discounted product priced at $500 or more when the original listed price had not been used for at least six months in the previous year.
The lead plaintiff, Ben Kinney, claimed that he purchased an LG TV on Amazon for $1,496.99, which was discounted from $2,499.99 to 40% off. After the purchase, the TV’s price increased to $2,199, and the complaint states “$700 off.”
The TV was normally sold on Amazon for $1,500 and the price went up to $2,000 for about a month, he claimed, as the plaintiff later discovered.
However, the case was closed without further action in February 2024.
How Amazon Prices Products
According to Amazon’s website, third-party sellers set their prices. Amazon also offers tools to help them offer competitive and low prices.
For other products, Amazon says it compares prices with physical and online competitors.
Amazon’s pricing model “revolves around offering the most competitive prices to buyers.” Amazon’s prices do not remain constant and can change multiple times per day.
Lower prices can build brand loyalty and retention. But raising prices and then offering big discounts gradually drives customers away.
Negative online reaction to Amazon Prime Day deals
@kb.montalbano Amazon Prime, I am disappointed. Don’t do a same day sale if all you are going to do is raise the original price and “cut” it back to its original price. So disappointing. This is not a good deal #amazonprime #primedealsgonebad #amazonscams ♬ original sound – Katelyn B. Montalban
Montalban’s comments in the video agreed that these deceptive deals had happened before.
One user commented: “Amazon is a mess! My cart went up $7!”
Another TikToker said: “I did this too! Some items were even more expensive today than yesterday.”
Another user provided specific details. “Yes! I had a spiral notebook on the site and it was normally $8. Today it was marked up to $14, then “discounted” to $8.”
Another TikTok creator, Martha Rosey (@martharoseyy), made a similar video about her Amazon shopping cart. In her clip, she wrote, “Tell me why I made an entire Amazon shopping cart for $400 only to have it cost $540 on Prime Day.”
The comments on his video were very similar to those of Montalban.
“The great thing about Prime Day is that all the other stores have REAL sales to compete,” wrote one user.
Another added: “I made a cart of 300 and it went down to 296 on Prime Day. I didn’t buy anything.”
One TikTok user wrote a suggestion: “But keep it in your cart. Last year I waited a week after Prime Day and there were a few items on sale.”
@martharoseyy I just raised all the prices and said everything was “on sale” #amazonprimeday ♬ original sound – Elijah Ybarra
Prices soar on Amazon Prime Day
People have been calling out Amazon’s Prime Day deals. X (formerly known as Twitter) user Kristian Marie (@GoofyKriss__) claimed that Prime Day was a scam, after showing screenshots of the prices of the projector she waited to buy until Prime Day.
In the post she says: “Yesterday the REGULAR price was $89.99 WITH a 40% off coupon (total would have been $54)… Now magically the “list price” is $116 and it’s $69 on “sale.”
Prime Day is a scam!
I was going to buy this projector… but I wanted to wait until Prime Day!
Yesterday the REGULAR price was $89.99 WITH a 40% coupon (total would have been $54)….
Now, magically, the “list price” is $116 and its “Sale” price is $69.
Very disappointed 😞 #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/mhY4ihVJAt
– Kristian Marie (@GoofyKriss__) July 16, 2024
How to Check Amazon Item Price History
Sites like Keepa and camelcamelcamel.com are two places customers can go to check prices on Amazon products.
Originally priced at $159.99, the Ninja Air Fryer is now priced at $89.99 for the sale event, a 44% discount. Checking the price history on Keepa, we see that the exact Ninja Air Fryer was originally priced at $89.99.
Amazon Prime users are threatening to cancel their Prime memberships after these Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day price discrepancies.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amazon for comment on Marie’s screenshots. Amazon has not yet responded. We reached out to Montalban via email.
The internet is a mess, but we’re going to break it down for you in a daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet delivered straight to your inbox.