# Not Kijiji, Amazon, but same level of WTF?



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Pedal Effect Korg Miku Stomp : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio


Pedal Effect Korg Miku Stomp : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio



www.amazon.ca





So, I pay $1585 for a stomp box, and you're charging me another $5 to ship?


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Amazon.ca really needs to clean up its act. It's getting more cluttered with adds by crappy sellers at stupid prices all the time. Also watch delivery times. 30 to 90 days? No thanks.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Well it’s a cool pedal (pretty much useless but.....) for $100.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Seen the other way, someone spending almost $1600 for a pedal is griping about a $5 shipping fee.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Diablo said:


> Seen the other way, someone spending almost $1600 for a pedal is griping about a $5 shipping fee.
> View attachment 324872



The $5 shipping fee is just a laugh.

The real joke is asking $1500 for an effects pedal that you will NEVER use at a gig.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

I guess when you have a sucker lined up to pay that much for a pedal, you may as well fleece him for another $5.50 and treat yourself to a Big Mac.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Milkman said:


> The $5 shipping fee is just a laugh.
> 
> The real joke is asking $1500 for an effects pedal that you will NEVER use at a gig.


You're very seriously underestimating what people will spend on stuff just to have it.

Klon immediately springs to mind


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Not surprised at all. That happens actually quite often in amazon. You have to know what you are buying. I just checked Reverb and I can get one for $600 with free shipping.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

I've seen Bic pens listed at $1000.00. They're obviously hoping someone won't pay attention. The other problem with Amazon is you don't know where the item is coming from. You can guess after you've gone through the trouble of checking out and finding out it's 60 to 90 days. You can then bet it's China.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> You're very seriously underestimating what people will spend on stuff just to have it.
> 
> Klon immediately springs to mind



Yes, that one is _almost_ as crazy, but this is a gimick, something most of us would monkey with for a few days and then put on a shelf. The case where a person would actually use the Miku would I think be exceedingly rare.

I get that the value of something is what someone is willing to pay.

At least the Klons do end up on pedalboards on stages.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

1SweetRide said:


> I've seen Bic pens listed at $1000.00. They're obviously hoping someone won't pay attention. The other problem with Amazon is you don't know where the item is coming from. You can guess after you've gone through the trouble of checking out and finding out it's 60 to 90 days. You can then bet it's China.



I was shopping Amazon for masks, something a little nicer than what I have been using. There are plenty available but most of them have a delivery estimation of October or beyond.

Who the fuck is going to wait three months for a mask in the middle of a pandemic?


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Milkman said:


> I was shopping Amazon for masks, something a little nicer than what I have been using. There are plenty available but most of them have a delivery estimation of October or beyond.
> 
> Who the fuck is going to wait three months for a mask in the middle of a pandemic?


That's because those ones are coming from china. Do you have Amazon Prime?


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## Eyeban Ezz (Jan 19, 2018)

The last Miku that sold in Toronto was $400 firm, no box. It didn't last long either. 2-3 weeks maximum before somebody got it. It was posted on 2 different groups + Marketplace. 

It's an expensive pedal and very hard to find without importing from overseas pirates.


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## guitar-gord (Nov 21, 2010)

These unscrupulous sellers (e.g., Bic pens for $1,000) are going after people with dementia. I have seen loved ones I know fall for similar scams. I agree with the post above that said Amazon needs to clean up its act. They need to police for and remove these sellers.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

It isn't sellers listing those prices, it is Amazon's algorithm.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

colchar said:


> It isn't sellers listing those prices, it is Amazon's algorithm.


Amazon doesn’t make up prices. They are set by the vendor.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

1SweetRide said:


> Amazon doesn’t make up prices. They are set by the vendor.



Their algorithms do. This has been discussed here a few times.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

colchar said:


> Their algorithms do. This has been discussed here a few times.


I don‘t know what you mean. If I offer a product on Amazon for $20.00, Amazon can change the price to $200.00?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I was thinking the crazy listings are placeholders.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

It's been like this since they started selling anything but books. Why get worked up? Go to the next site and get a 1000% discount.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

1SweetRide said:


> I don‘t know what you mean. If I offer a product on Amazon for $20.00, Amazon can change the price to $200.00?







__





Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies






www.michaeleisen.org





"_As I amusedly watched the price rise every day, I learned that Amazon retailers are increasingly using algorithmic pricing (something Amazon itself does on a large scale), with a number of companies offering pricing algorithms/services to retailers. Both profnath and bordeebook were clearly using automatic pricing – employing algorithms that didn’t have a built-in sanity check on the prices they produced._"


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I don’t see anybody getting “worked up”.

Just having a couple of chuckles.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

colchar said:


> __
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Good lord. This is stupid.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

1SweetRide said:


> I don‘t know what you mean. If I offer a product on Amazon for $20.00, Amazon can change the price to $200.00?


Amazon uses algorithms so they can provide the cheapest price for the product. Most vendors do too. That's why the prices fluctuate constantly. The trick is to get it at the right time when the price is lowest. Most times the difference in prices are minimal but there are also times when a product will sell twice as much. I buy regularly in Amazon, but I just don't go in and buy things. Usually I would check other sites if I find the price questionable. And I have Amazon Prime so I only pick the ones that give me the free shipping.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Chito said:


> Amazon uses algorithms so they can provide the cheapest price for the product. Most vendors do too. That's why the prices fluctuate constantly. The trick is to get it at the right time when the price is lowest. Most times the difference in prices are minimal but there are also times when a product will sell twice as much. I buy regularly in Amazon, but I just don't go in and buy things. Usually I would check other sites if I find the price questionable. And I have Amazon Prime so I only pick the ones that give me the free shipping.


This seems so strange that Amazon can randomly change my prices. I’ve got Prime too. Seems worth it.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

1SweetRide said:


> This seems so strange that Amazon can randomly change my prices. I’ve got Prime too. Seems worth it.


I've had prime for 4 years now I think. Saved me a ton of cash. If I'm buying something, the first ones I check are the ones that has Prime shipping. Most times you won't see ridiculous prices on items with Prime shipping.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Chito said:


> I've had prime for 4 years now I think. Saved me a ton of cash. If I'm buying something, the first ones I check are the ones that has Prime shipping. Most times you won't see ridiculous prices on items with Prime shipping.


Yeah and don’t forget that it includes some pretty good entertainment such as Jack Ryan, The Man in the High Castle and their music isn’t half bad either.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

colchar said:


> It isn't sellers listing those prices, it is Amazon's algorithm.


Nope. As @Lincoln has said above Amazon on both sides of the border, but markedly more in Canada, is nearly trashed with third-party sellers hoping to attract careless buyers and make 100% to 400% or more selling them something. Amazon has NOTHING to do (to its great discredit IMO) with their pricing. The pedal in the OP is sold by a third-party seller, not Amazon.

That said, there are plenty of instances in which Amazon.ca itself is the price-gouger, charging 50%-90% more for products compared to their price on Amazon.com. Again to the company's discredit.

Amazon is wearing thin for me, and I've been a horrifyingly-good customer; horrifying at how much I've spent with them. I'm currently waiting for my late and very last order from a third-party seller on Amazon.ca - they've disappointed me on service more than half the time. Henceforth if it isn't at least _shipped_ by Amazon I don't buy it, and I've started hunting around locally before buying from Amazon when I can. Lost its shine, especially in the past year.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

boyscout said:


> Nope. As @Lincoln has said above Amazon on both sides of the border, but markedly more in Canada, is nearly trashed with third-party sellers hoping to attract careless buyers and make 100% to 400% or more selling them something. Amazon has NOTHING to do (to its great discredit IMO) with their pricing. The pedal in the OP is sold by a third-party seller, not Amazon.



Read the link that I provided. There are algorithms used (from third party companies) that set pricing. Amazon also uses them.




> That said, there are plenty of instances in which Amazon.ca itself is the price-gouger, charging 50%-90% more for products compared to their price on Amazon.com.



I particularly love it when they charge Canadians more for an e-book as if it somehow costs them more for us to download it.





> Amazon is wearing thin for me, and I've been a horrifyingly-good customer; horrifying at how much I've spent with them. I'm currently waiting for my late and very last order from a third-party seller on Amazon.ca - they've disappointed me on service more than half the time. Henceforth if it isn't at least _shipped_ by Amazon I don't buy it, and I've started hunting around locally before buying from Amazon when I can. Lost its shine, especially in the past year.



I am getting to be the same way.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Competition Bureau investigating Amazon.ca for abuse of market dominance


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

laristotle said:


> Competition Bureau investigating Amazon.ca for abuse of market dominance


This won't get resolved any time soon.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

1SweetRide said:


> This won't get resolved any time soon.


Probably true, but OTOH...









German watchdog launches Amazon investigation: report


Germany's anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazon's relationship with third-party traders selling on its site, its head was quoted as saying on Sunday.




www.reuters.com





If customers and sellers continue raising the pressure on Amazon to clean up its act, especially by enlisting their governments, the company may choose to respond before it's legislated to do so.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

boyscout said:


> Probably true, but OTOH...
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Not if it will impact profits. They'll hold out and resist to the bitter end.


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## boyscout (Feb 14, 2009)

1SweetRide said:


> Not if it will impact profits. They'll hold out and resist to the bitter end.


That's the very possibility I was suggesting. If customers are pissed and spur their governments to consider regulations, Amazon managers may want to get out ahead of regulation by moderating their behavior. It may cost them less to do that than to hold out until regulations cost them more.

Just maybe. Or maybe some lobbying and well-placed financial support will get governments to back off. For the first time ever.


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