OMG! Frye boots!!! & amazon Q

I just got home from work and randomly thought I'd check out those Frye Melissa boots I have been stalking on amazon for months......only to find they were on sale for 30% off but only 1 left in my size!!!!!

So of course I went ahead and bought them. The great thing is the money I have been putting aside for these boots more than covers the current cost without having to wait for my next paycheck which I was planning on doing in 4 days and buying them full-price. Woohoo!

Weirdly though now that I have bought them, looking back at amazon they still show as in stock (with 5 left), but back at full price. That sounds weird right?? Why would they only have 1 size 10 on sale, and everything else at full-price with 5 more size 10s suddenly in stock?

I couldn't get it shipped directly to me as they were only posting to US addresses, so it'll take a while before it gets to the forwarding service I use and then to me.

I know I shouldn't count my chickens until they are hatched but I'm just excited these FINALLY went on sale, and in my size and colour too. Wow!!!

xx tam

15 years ago

April

Veteran

Tam, I think the rapid price-changes are a common phenomenon with shoes from Amazon. It's almost like they say, "Hmm, someone wanted to buy these, maybe others do too so let's raise the price!"

Anyone know why this actually occurs?

P.S. Congratulations on getting your boots!

chewyspaghetti

I don't know why it happens, but I've seen it at other sites, too.

Also, Tam, I don't know if it would speed things up at all, but you should always feel free to ask if you need someone to receive and forward a package to you. I certainly wouldn't mind doing that.

yublocka

(website)

Aww April that is too nice of you! Next time I may just take you up on that offer, be warned.....especially if I end up caving for the Eric Michael boots as well!!!! As soon as I saw the 30% off and only 1 pair left I was so trigger happy I didn't even stop and think what I was doing though....had to order right that second or I thought I'd miss out!!!

I really don't understand how these sites are calculating their stock levels though....and who knows when to trust them then!!!

Maya

Don't you love it when that happens! I sure do.

marianna

Ooh I LOVE that feeling! Yay!

lynne

Congrats on your new Fryes. I like how Amazon lets you keep things in your cart, then tells you about the price changes when you log in.

Maya, I sure do!! Well hopefully I do, let's just hope these babies get here!!

Marianna, double yay from me!

Lynne I never knew Amazon did that. If I had I would have saved them in my cart aaaaages ago and saved lots of random online stalking like tonight. Argh!! Oh well now I know for next-time, thank you!!!!

Ok I'd better go to bed now......wonder if I'll end up dreaming about these Frye boots?

Theresa

oooh can't wait to see pics of them on you Tam!!

FWIW that denim dress I bought from maxshop... well, they have received my return, and its now listed in stock at just over half what I paid for it... so I'm sure they do odd things with prices on our Aussie sites too. (but they haven't changed the qty available at least!)

MNsara

Tam - the cart thing is great as their prices can dramatically change even during a single day!

Also, sometimes the stock from one certain vendor/supplier is what you are looking at for price and quantity. Then (especially if that vendor sells out) the item changes to a different vendor and their price.
It can sometimes look like a 'bait & switch" and has been known to upset my husband so be sure to click on "The complete pricing and availability chart" or on the other "New" ones offered.

Sparky

Congrats on your purchase! Just echoing MNSara ~ Amazon uses tons of different vendors for their merchandise, so that is part of the reason for pricing and inventory changes. When one vendor goes out of stock in a certain size & color, another vendor might get listed with different inventory and different stock. Apparently this can happen even when it is listed as "sold by Amazon.com" with their free shipping. The fact that Amazon owns Endless.com probably also comes into play with shoe pricing and availability.

There are a couple of websites out there that are supposed to track items in your Amazon wish list or in your cart (I forget which) and alert you to a price drop, so you don't have to keep checking yourself. I haven't used one though, but some people seem to feel it works well. If anyone is interested in these, I can dig up the info for you.

And thank you, Yublocka, for your post. I have also been stalking the Melissa Button boots since December or so, and your post made me check on prices and availability on a few sites. For anyone else who may be looking, Zappos has these boots on sale right now in the Natural Brush Off color for $217.51 and the Burgundy Brush Off color for $206.06.

Laura

Wow, Tam, a gift from the boot gods

Can't wait to see them on you!

Isabel

Ahhhh, great question !!! One that I happen to know the answer to - I am a bit of a finance/economics nerd and I read alot about business plans.

Amazon is wizard-like in how they track inventory ( so is Wal-Mart ). They charge by size, color and volume. The more popular sizes and colors are more expensive. If they get a lot of interest in a particular product that was on a promo price ( probably your boots ) they up the price, if there doesn't seem to be alot of interest, the lower the price. It is a fine balance between how much people are willing to pay and pricing - so now there are automatic computer programs for that tell business how much they should charge without losing the sale.

So, like the other ladies said, it is sometimes due to vendors and sometimes it is shear popularity and interest.

So interesting that this seems to be common practice. I wonder why? Obviously they must perceive there is benefit? Or is it simply due to multiple stockists (I had no idea that's how amazon worked, I really don't look there that often). Do they not think consumer confusion is a downside to it though?

Oh well, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that these work out - or else I'll be devastated after lusting after them all this time

Category