Amazon will rip you off if you don't watch them

I had a standing 'Subscribe and Save' item that I skipped for $11.48.

For those of you who don't know you get a discount by having Amazon automatically ship you various consumables. It's an easy sale for them, so PRESUMABLY you get a volume discount for that reason and it all goes in one box, saving on shipping. Further, it's NOT Prime shipping for Prime customers, so it's even less money they have to spend.

To get 15% off you must order 5 items in a month. So I'm a very regular customer.

I needed it so I just went to make a regular one time order of it.

It was only $9.39 and PRIME too! That's almost 20% difference in pricing.

I even chatted them and was looking RIGHT AT my next Subscribe and Save order when they tried to make excuses about pricing data, and even said at one point it would be $9.39 next time. Looking at my order, it wasn't.

The only difference I could see was who was fulfilling it.

Amazon was happily fulfilling it for more, with slower shipping, vs. a third party 'on demand' shipper with faster shipping.

They offered to manually adjust it if I called them back next month. PASS.

#ripoff, Amazon! You've got massive computing resources. Use them for good, not for evil.

#rant

Transcript:


09:59 AM PST Amazon: Hello, my name is Meghna. I'll be happy to help you.
09:59 AM PST Robert Bullock: Nice. It's $2 cheaper just to order it with Prime!!!
10:00 AM PST Robert Bullock: It's 9.39 but I've been paying about $2 more every month.
10:00 AM PST Amazon: You are referring for the order #xxxxx ? 
10:01 AM PST Robert Bullock: My subscribe and save vs the latest order.
10:01 AM PST Amazon: Let me check
10:02 AM PST Amazon: I've check the order details (#xxxxx) and see that the order total is $9.39.
10:03 AM PST Robert Bullock: Now look at what I've been paying on S&S
10:03 AM PST Amazon: But your previously order for subscribe and save for the same item was more than $10.00
10:03 AM PST Robert Bullock: EXACTLY.
10:04 AM PST Robert Bullock: Why am I paying more with my supposed 'discount' of 15%?!
You've been charging me more for months when I could just order it for less!
10:04 AM PST Amazon: I would like to inform you that our prices regularly change (we constantly receive new data from our suppliers) and the price you saw was the lowest price we were able to offer at the time.

10:05 AM PST Amazon: Because the marketplace is constantly changing and we strive to offer the lowest price, you'll see some fluctuations in our prices over time.
10:05 AM PST Robert Bullock: So why it is STILL $11.48 for my NEXT order!
10:06 AM PST Robert Bullock: You would charge me $2.00 MORE with my 'discount' of 15% if I hadn't skipped an order and made a single bottle order!
10:07 AM PST Amazon: I've check the details of the item and now the price of the same item is $9.39. 
10:08 AM PST Robert Bullock: I'm looking at my S&S for Dec. 9 and it says $11.48
10:08 AM PST Amazon: Allow me a moment please
10:11 AM PST Amazon: Thank you for being online. 
10:12 AM PST Amazon: I've try to check the details, but we didn't find any thing that we will charge you $11.48 for your next subscribe and save order. 
10:13 AM PST Amazon: In this case, as an one time exception we'll honor you a initial price on your Dec subscribe and save order. 
10:13 AM PST Robert Bullock: How much credit?
10:13 AM PST Amazon: Please write us back again on December, so that we can honor you a price $9.39 for the item " XZXZXZZ ". 
10:14 AM PST Robert Bullock: I'll just cancel it.
Cancelled.
10:14 AM PST Amazon: However, I've also forwarded this issue along with your comments to our concerned department so that they'll look into this. 
10:15 AM PST Robert Bullock: Bye
10:16 AM PST Amazon: Yes, I've check that you cancelled your item from subscribe and save. 
In this case, If you wish, you can place the order for the same item on December and we'll honor you a same price $9.39. 
10:16 AM PST Robert Bullock: Pass.
Going on my blog.
10:17 AM PST Robert Bullock: Bye

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