Starting from 10 years ago, I have been used to buy books from Amazon. I knew they had much lower prices than those in book stores. And starting from 2 or 3 years ago, I have been used to search everything at Amazon. I even downloaded a Amazon app for my iPhone. Every time I shopped at the stores, especially those big items, I will use the app to scan the bar code to compare the price from Amazon. Half of the time I will end up buying from Amazon, but the other half time, Amazon does not have the best prices, especially if you live in state of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, or Washington where you will be charged state sales tax. The worse part is that Amazon is forced to close many warehouses in many states in order to avoid sales tax, which makes its shipping much slower than it used to be.
Any way, let me tell what products you should not buy from Amazon. When you search the product from Google or Bing, the first result popped out is very likely from Amazon. But that doesn’t mean they have best price. Here is my experiences that you should not buy from Amazon.
Books
Many book stores offer lower prices than Amazon, because everybody is watching the prices at Amazon. For example, the popular paperback Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) is $50.85 at Amazon, while it is $45.05 at Alibris, $47.42 at Overstock.com, $48 at TextbookX.com, $50.42 at Booksamillion.com and $50.69 at Walmart.com. See what I mean? If you are OK with second hand books, try Half.com then.
Bedding and Bath
Everybody knows Linene N Things and Bed and Bath Store. But really there is no point to shop at these two stores, because their prices are always the highest according to my experiences. Overstock.com is the one I will shop for my bedding needs whether it is bath tower, bathrobe, or pillow case. Don’t forget to use the coupon here. There are a few 5% or 7% off coupons for your entire order.
Toys
Talking about toys, I have been very disappointed with Amazon lately. Now the only reason I shop for toys at Amazon is that they have some very hard to find toys. I have noticed that Toys at Walmart, K-Mart, Target are already the lowest prices. If they are on sale, you can be assured that you won’t find better deals at Amazon. See the above Beyblade IR Spin Galaxy Pegasus? It is the most beloved toys by boys these days. It is $53.55 at Amazon, but it is only $34.96 at Walmart, $34.99 at K-Mart, $42.83 at Buy.com.
Fitness Equipment
Fitness equipment are expensive. Even if you did a price search at Goolge, you won’t be able to find the best price, because not every merchant will list their products at Google. You should try different price search engines every time you shop. For example, this Diamondback Fitness 510Sr Recumbent Exercise Bike is $799 at Amazon, same price as many other sports retailer, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Big Fitness. But at Mercantila.com or Zoostores.com, you only pay for $678.03 for the exact same item!
Computers & Electronics
If you could find the TV model you need at Walmart, Costco, or Sams Club, don’t hesitate, you have already found the lowest price. Otherwise try to find your favorite TV at TigerDirect.com or B&H Photo Video, they usually have lower prices than other stores. For example, this Samsung UN55D7000 55-Inch 3D TV is $1829.88 at Amazon. But guess what? You can get it for $1,599.00 at B&H Photo Video!
Before I end this post, I have to make myself clear that I still love Amazon, actually half of my online orders are from Amazon. I buy batteries, iPad cases, cables, Casio watches, printer papers, small office items, shoes, vitamins and hundreds of other items from Amazon. What I am trying to say is that you should do price comparison before you order from Amazon.
