# Amazon "Add On" Items **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325 "2017-02-20T16:37:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/1 "2017-02-20T16:37:38Z")
Amazon is so peculiar sometimes. So I need some stick-on letters to ID a mailbox. There they are, 2 inches, gold on black $2.44… add-on item. No big deal, I add a sheet with more, smaller numbers and letters and a little car-electronics widget. We’re up to $15. I go to checkout. They won’t ship the $2 sheet of stuff because I’m not up to $25. So I sigh, figure the 1-inch ones will do, and delete the 2-inch ones… and they’re happy to ship me the one sheet and the gizmo for $12. I understand the point of the Add-On items, mostly, but it seems like their system could be intelligent enough to see that it costs nothing to add one more sheet of vinyl cuts to the order… oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/2 "2017-02-20T16:48:00Z")
They may have contracts with the “add-on” manufacturers that preclude what you are talking about. I agree it seems like it doesn’t make sense, but considering that Amazon probably loses sales to people who really don’t want 9 of an add-on, and the program could be more flexible, there must be a legal or contractual reason it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/3 "2017-02-20T16:55:45Z")
I don’t know what the reason is, but the whole add-on thing irritates the daylights out of me. Usually, the add-on item is exactly what I need, but I wind up settling for something that isn’t quite what I wanted because I don’t want my $2 “bargain” to wind up costing me $25. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/4 "2017-02-20T17:11:21Z")
Sometimes, not always, there are other sellers who will sell you the add on item all by itself. Usually, the price is higher, but occasionally it is lower. Click on the “New (nn) from $x.xx” link to check. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/5 "2017-02-20T19:50:04Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Sometimes, not always, there are other sellers who will sell you the add on item all by itself. Usually, the price is higher, but occasionally it is lower. Click on the “New (nn) from $x.xx” link to check. Yeah, I kind of wish I had the option to pay the shipping for the add-on items and keep the Amazon delivery competence. I mean, I’d rather pay an extra $5-6 and get them in 2 days than have to dream up $25 worth of stuff and get free shipping. Of course, I’m sure that’s why they do that… ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/6 "2017-02-20T21:09:15Z")
There’s a way around it. > **[Rather-Be-Shopping | Shopping Hacks, Secret Menus, and Coupons](https://www.rather-be-shopping.com/)** > > Rather-Be-Shopping helps you save money with coupons, shopping hacks, secret menus, return policy hacks, and cool job opportunites. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/7 "2017-02-20T21:14:59Z")
I’m a little confused. How is an “add-on” item different from any item that’s inexpensive? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/8 "2017-02-20T21:29:40Z")
Prime members used to be able to click on any item stocked by Amazon and get it 1-click ordered and shipped free, even something like a $2 hairbrush. I would imagine Amazon paid at least 50 cents or a dollar shipping on that $2 hairbrush, so they may have been losing money or close to it by the time they purchase, stock, and ship it. So now they have changed a lot of cheap items to be “Add On” items, and you have to have a certain amount in your order before they will ship them. I understand why they had to do it, but it’s very annoying after you got spoiled with the convenience of the old way. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/9 "2017-02-20T22:57:13Z")
I really don’t know what’s going on with the “add-on” thing. Just the other day I saw two _very_ similar items. The non-add-on one was cheaper than the add-on one. Okaaay. Of course, almost all of the time the add-on item gets shipped separately from the rest of the order. That’s some nice shipping work there, Lou. I got an add-on item the other day in the same package as the other items. _That_ is surprising. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/10 "2017-02-21T00:28:14Z")
I had the urge to hear BOC’s _“Fire OF Unknown Origin”_ the other day and looked it up on Amazon. The MP3 version of the album was $7.99, but the CD–with auto-rip–was $4.99 as an add-on item. Well, hell, I had a couple of items on my wish list that brought the order up to $25, so I went that route. So I got the physical CD AND the MP3 download for less than the price of the download itself. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/11 "2017-02-21T01:38:26Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I’m a little confused. How is an “add-on” item different from any item that’s inexpensive? It has to do whether they can ship it cost-effectively under the Prime program. Some $2.00 items can be shipped for 50 cents. Others can’t. So Add-Ons are usually small, inexpensive items at a good price IF they can piggyback on profitable shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/12 "2017-02-21T01:40:31Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I had the urge to hear BOC’s _“Fire OF Unknown Origin”_ the other day and looked it up on Amazon. The MP3 version of the album was $7.99, but the CD–with auto-rip–was $4.99 as an add-on item. Yep. I was insanely pleased to find out that Alan Parsons had remastered _Turn of a Friendly Card_ a few years ago - fabulous album, but one of the worst CDs ever released in the early days - and it was $7.99 MP3, or $5.99 Prime with instant MP3 access. So I filed the unopened CD for someday after having already reveled in the wonderful sound. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/13 "2017-02-21T14:19:44Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It has to do whether they can ship it cost-effectively under the Prime program. Some $2.00 items can be shipped for 50 cents. Others can’t. So Add-Ons are usually small, inexpensive items at a good price IF they can piggyback on profitable shipping. But, as I have found, the piggybacking isn’t all that common. It usually comes in a separate box. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/14 "2017-02-21T20:00:54Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But, as I have found, the piggybacking isn’t all that common. It usually comes in a separate box. But the extra profit they make on selling you $23 (or more) of additional stuff that you weren’t originally planning on buying makes up for the extra postage on the $2 item. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/15 "2017-02-22T21:43:08Z")
Eh. Just fill your cart with stuff you’re going to need anyway, like paper towels or whatever. I mean, I’m with you, add-on stuff used to piss me off too, until I realized I could just buy my dog’s food off Amazon. (Especially since it’s much cheaper than what I was paying at the grocery store.) ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/16 "2017-02-23T05:16:02Z")
I make a wish list of stocking stuffers or Birthday type gifts. I use them to fill up my cart and keep them in my closet. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/17 "2017-02-23T16:01:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But, as I have found, the piggybacking isn’t all that common. It usually comes in a separate box. That’s probably it. It does seem that a lot of AO items come separately. > [@Lowdown](#): > > Eh. Just fill your cart with stuff you’re going to need anyway… That’s what we usually do. Living a bit out in the boonies, we probably spend as much on Amazon as in any local store. Virtually anything we can wait two days for is available, and it’s rare that I can’t fill up a card to enable even trivial add-on items. My OP was just puzzlement at how some of the quirks of the process work. PS - we get dog food from Chewy. Especially for quality brands, they’re very price-competitive, shipping is free and I have gotten my orders in less than one full day more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/18 "2017-02-26T16:49:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > But, as I have found, the piggybacking isn’t all that common. It usually comes in a separate box. Confirmation. I bought two rolls of screening material (supposed to be pet-proof; let’s watch the Dane puppy in action…) Prime, and two rolls of spline add-on. Two separate shipments. Add-on items seem to be very small things that can be shipped in a plastic bag or poly mailer using the USPS/UPS channel, and thus have to have controlled shipping costs. I think that almost makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/19 "2017-02-27T00:16:41Z")
Then there are things that should be add-ons. I bought some laminating sheets for $6.84 including tax with free Prime two-day shipping. I bought them at 8:00 last night and figured they’d come in an envelope in the mail tomorrow. No, they got here about 1:00 this afternoon, Sunday, in a box with air pillows delivered by a USPS truck. Sometimes I don’t know how they make money. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-add-on-items/780325/20 "2017-02-27T18:44:05Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Sometimes I don’t know how they make money. In cloud services. Their retail arm is basically advertising for their other services.