I was laying in bed the other night doing some shopping on Amazon via my smartphone when I encountered a price that was SO good that I sat bolt upright. Yes, I may have a problem. I noticed a REALLY good deal on a new coffee maker directly on the Amazon homepage featured as a “Deal of the Day”. What happened next was quite surprising. Here’s how it all went down…

A Screaming Deal on a Coffee Maker

What would you think if you stumbled upon the Gourmia Pour Over coffee maker pictured above on the Amazon homepage?

Would you think the Amazon price was actually $17.99?

For obvious reasons, I definitely did. But then when I clicked on the coffee maker it took me to the product page with a price of $149.99.

I was like, what? They should honor the lower price, this is false advertising.

So I crawled out of bed and started investigating.

See Also: Stores That’ll Give You the Lower Price If Item is Stocked in Wrong Spot

It Was Late…So I Hit Up Amazon Live Chat

Seeing that it was almost midnight I went on my laptop and started a Live Chat with Amazon.

In retrospect, I should have called Amazon as live chat operators have ZERO authority to give me the lower price.

I politely explained the situation and even sent the operator a screenshot of the coffee maker with the $17.99 price tag.

The first operator I chatted with said the $17.99 was simply a reference to “some items in the coffee category being priced as low as $17.99”.

I called BS and asked for his supervisor.

The next 2 chat operators told me basically the same thing and neither one admitted to any mistake by Amazon.

They also stated that they had no authority to change the price from $149.99 to $17.99.

The “Wrong” Price Quickly Disappeared

While I’m chatting with Amazon guess what happened?

Yep, the powers-that-be removed the “Deal of the Day” coffee maker at $17.99 and replaced it with another item.

They clearly realized their mistake but were not about to admit it OR give me the lower advertised price.

What Does the Law State About This Situation?

Is a company obligated to sell a product for their lower advertised price, even when it’s an honest mistake?

I took this question to the Internet and discovered some interesting information.

From the San Francisco chronicle, “In general, there’s no law that requires companies to honor an advertised price if that price is wrong. But don’t expect customers to be happy about it.”

In other words, if it’s a simple mistake it is NOT false advertising.

This makes sense as a pricing error could be disastrous for a small business struggling to get by.

But I know for a fact that many big box stores and websites will give you the lower price if the price difference is not enormous.

Ask the Reader: What say you, should Amazon have given me the lower price?

Have you ever spotted a price, either online or in-store, that was clearly wrong? Did the store or website give you the lower price? Let me know in the comments.

By Kyle James

After signing-up for a free Amazon Business account and test driving it for a couple weeks, I can definitely say it’s legit. The savings it provides via quantity discounts and “business only” pricing can save your business or organization a bunch of money over the course of a year. Here’s a full breakdown of how it all works.

Quantity Discounts

From office supplies to warehouse items, quantity discounts via Amazon Business can save you significant money.

These quantity discounts aren’t available to regular Prime members and make for a great reason to sign your business up for free.

Quick Price Comparisons

Amazon Business also lets you perform quick price comparisons so you can shop smart.

Quickly scan offers from multiple sellers on a single page and determine the best values for your company.

See Also: Amazon Return Policy: We Make Sense of a Complicated Policy

Business Only Pricing

In addition to quantity discounts, you’ll also gain access to Business Only pricing.

Let’s look at an example of this in action.

In the image above, the utility wagon has an Amazon Business price of $89.99.

I pulled up the same wagon on my smartphone and logged into our non-Business account.

Much to my surprise the identical product was priced at $106.99. See screenshot below.

That’s a savings of $17 for using Amazon Business, not too shabby.

You’ll find business only pricing in office supplies, electronics, computers, break-room supplies, and even industrial & scientific supplies.

So if you’re not buying in bulk, you’ll still get special pricing on millions of items across Amazon.

Convenient Delivery Options

Amazon Business let’s you pick how and when you want your order delivered.

Big order? No problem as Amazon will even deliver on a pallet to your receiving dock.

Speaking of convenient delivery, Amazon Business also offers Prime Business Shipping which has 4 categories:

1- Essentials: $179/year – Free 2-day shipping for up to 3 separate users.

2- Small: $499/year – Free 2-day shipping for up to 10 separate users.

3- Medium: $1,299/year – Free 2-day shipping for up to 100 separate users.

4- Enterprise: $10,099/year – Free 2-day shipping for 100+ users.

Are you a small business and can’t afford one of the options above? If so, ignore the paid options above and sign-up for Amazon Business and get free 3-5 day delivery on orders of $25 or more.

Easily Track Business Spending

Time is money and the analytics that Amazon provides is gonna save your company a bunch of both.

Specifically, you’ll have access to dynamic charts and graphs that clearly spells out all spending.

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You can even create custom reports to fit your specific needs.

Ask the Reader: Have you test drove Amazon Business yet? If so, how is it going to save your business money and time? Let me know in the comments below, thanks.

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Mike Mozart.

There are many clever ways to save money when shopping at Costco and I have detailed them on this blog in the past. But I’ve never really talked about the Costco website and some of the nuances within their online shopping portal. Costco has invested a lot of resources in their online presence in recent months and it may be time to price compare their website before making a significant purchase on Amazon. Here are 6 ways the Costco online shopping experience differs from walking into their warehouse with your Costco membership card in-hand.

Anyone Can Shop the Costco Online Website

While a Costco membership is required to enter their warehouse, anyone can shop the Costco website.

The only caveat is that non-members will be hit with a 5% surcharge during the online checkout process.

But the Costco online price is still often cheaper than Amazon making it worth paying the extra 5%.

Bottom line: I recommend price comparing and doing the math to see if shopping the Costco website (without a membership) makes sense for you.

See Also: Costco Gas Prices: Insider Tips To Save BIG at the Pump

Online Inventory Differs from the Warehouse

If you visit your local Costco, and see an item that you might want to purchase, be aware that if you go home and try to purchase it from the Costco website it may not be available.

This comes down to the fact that every Costco warehouse has slightly different inventory.

Sure they’ll all have the same toilet paper and dog food, but the seasonal items that you often find in the center aisles of the warehouse typically differ.

Bottom line: If you see an item in the warehouse that you can’t live without, go ahead and purchase it and don’t count on the Costco website having it.

Online Prices Can Be Higher than Warehouse

This one will come as a bit of surprise to many of you.

If both the Costco website and warehouse stock the same product, it’s often going to be more expensive online.

This price discrepancy typically comes down to the extra shipping and handling costs associated with online purchases.

This seems to be especially true if the item is seasonal in nature.

See Also: No Costco Membership? Here Are 8 Things You Can Still Do at Costco

Costco Offers More Products Online

To be specific, 10,000 online items compared to 4,000 items in the Costco warehouse, according to Bloomberg.

This makes sense as Costco warehouses are limited by their 4 walls while their online distribution centers are quite vast.

Even though the selection may be better online, Costco still prefers you to walk into their warehouse as they know you’ll spend more money in the long run.

“Costco Grocery” is Only Available Online

Costco currently offers a home-delivery service for grocery items appropriately called Costco Grocery.

The only way to sign-up and start getting deliveries is via their online portal.

They currently have 2 delivery options:

• Same Day Delivery: Requires a minimum order of $35 and is available in most metropolitan areas. Expect to pay more for items than you would at their warehouse. With this option you can get fresh produce and perishable household items delivered. You must be present for delivery.
• 2-Day Delivery: This option requires at least a $75 spend to qualify for free delivery. You can only select non-perishable items and household supplies.

Costco Grocery has been quite successful in recent months and is worth a look for the convenience factor alone.

See Also: The Costco Return Policy: 7 Ways To Make It Work For You

Be Aware of “Member Only Items” on Costco.com

To try and entice consumers to join Costco they offer some items on their website to “Members Only”.

They call them “Member Only Items” and they actually hide the item’s price from non-members.

You’ll see these items most commonly in these departments: Electronics, appliances, and computers.

Ask the Reader: What has been your experience with Costco online shopping? Do you find their website easy to use and the pricing to be competitive?

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Mike Mozart.