Amazon gives non-Prime members free shipping at $35 or more of eligible items. Instead of simply letting users get the product with free shipping, they’ve added a discount that prices it exactly one cent below the $35 limit, while only subsidizing the price with $3.38, which is about half of what they’ll then charge you for shipping.

    • @riodoro1English
      15•9 days ago

      Or just avoid buying from megacorpos directly.

        • @WogiEnglish
          11•9 days ago

          Or even common ones that aren’t the biggest sellers.

          It’s getting increasingly hard to find things locally, and frequently I’m left ordering things online after going to 3 different stores in town trying to find something specific. More than once it’s been a replacement or a refill of something I bought locally a few years ago.

          It’s not a matter of “oh well Menards has the screws the right size but they’re Phillips drive.” It’s “this size is only available online, if you order from us it’ll take 6 days or more. Might still be Phillips idk.” And Amazon can get me what I need tomorrow.

          • @[email protected]English
            6•9 days ago

            Sometimes the local prices are insane too.

            I needed a new infrared thermometer the other day; cheapest one I could find locally that wasn’t a kids medical forehead thermometer with a tiny temperature range: $56 before tax.

            Amazon shipped one for $25 incl tax+shipping.

            I’m broke af atm. That makes a huge difference. I feel dirty even opening the app/site; but that price difference is absurd.

        • @rockSlayerEnglish
          2•9 days ago

          Avoid doesn’t mean “totally abstain”, it means do your best to stay away.