What's the real deal with ''See price in cart'' in Amazon?

[AD Chaos]

Hey people

I'm curious as to know what does it REALLY mean when they show this on the site..

Price: See price in cart


I got a guitar from them last year with the price hidden, and it came with a not-so-small dent..
Not sure if it's just a coincidence, but the price was lowered like a hundred bucks (for a few days) from the regular price.. item was listed as ''New'', though.

Now I'm shopping again, and again I'm seeing something (8ohm attenuator) with 80 bucks discount over the 16 and 4 models -and the price is hidden.
I'm not very comfortable with this situation, plus the fact that they're always offering used merchandise along with the new, and changing prices so much sometimes..

Should I be looking elsewhere for shopping? Do you have experiences with the site?

Much obliged

 

[nosgulstic]

You shouldn't be worried, some companies do this just to offer products for less.

Why don't we show the price?

Retailers like Amazon have the legal right to set their own prices independently, but some manufacturers place restrictions on how those prices may be communicated. Because our price on this item is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price," the manufacturer does not allow us to show you our price until you take further action, such as placing the item in your shopping cart, or in some cases, proceeding to the final checkout stage. The steps required depend on the details of the manufacturer's minimum advertised price policy. Taking these steps allows Amazon to show you our price consistent with our goal of always offering you the lowest possible prices on the widest selection of products.

This won't require you to purchase the product. You can easily remove it from your cart if you decide not to buy it.

We realize that this is an inconvenience and are regularly working to educate manufacturers on how their policies impact our customers. We welcome your comments and suggestions in our forum on this topic.

 

[AD Chaos]

Of course I have read their explanation on the matter, I just don't buy it so much.. Most times I've seen a discount like that, they have no more than a couple of units left (if at all). So right there I'm thinking it must be B-stock..

 

[egan.]

You don't "buy" MAP? I assure you that MAP is indeed real and that amazon is far more likely than "Bob's House of Electronics" to get caught violating it. My experience as an Amazon shopper have been spectacular including free return shipping on items. One thing to watch for is to try to buy directly from Amazon and not from other dealers through their site. It's not that these other dealers are bad it's just that it's another party in the sales chain.

 

[AD Chaos]

Not sure what you mean by MAP, but I buy through a third-person. I cannot return items.

 

[egan.]

Minimum Advertised Price. Manufacturers set them all the time and there is nothing sketchy about it. Again, I've never had any issues dealing directly with Amazon in ten years of ordering stuff regularly.
If you have gotten yourself into a situation where you can't return stuff then you are eliminating the primary solution to mail order problems.

 

[Ze4th0x]

dude, Amazon is the best. I've gotten shit from bad vendors a couple of times and Amazon shipped it back for free and gave me a $25 gift card one time.