# Amazon Bait-and-Switch like tactics **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846 "2026-03-28T20:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/41 "2026-03-30T21:07:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Imagine you put items A & B in your cart to buy for sure, and items C and D in your cart to think about and maybe buy later. Then you wander off for a day or two and come back because you really want to buy item E. But you haven’t decided yet about C&D. What now? I unclick the little check square for A-D and place my order. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/42 "2026-03-30T21:16:08Z")
I put stuff in my cart that I’m going to need at some point soonish so I don’t forget about it later and wait until I have a few things and order it all at once ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/43 "2026-03-30T21:25:10Z")
It’s a great electronic shopping list built right in. Way better than doom scrolling 20 other sites. Actually some online outlets won’t tell you the price til you put it in your cart. Boy I get rid of them fast. Now that’s a bait switch I won’t tolerate. You know soon we’ll have to be “members” or “subscribers” of any company we want to patronize. For a fee. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/44 "2026-03-30T21:43:48Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Imagine you put items A & B in your cart to buy for sure, and items C and D in your cart to think about and maybe buy later. Then you wander off for a day or two and come back because you really want to buy item E. But you haven’t decided yet about C&D. What now? > > You need to either decide right then buy (or not) C & D, or you have to delete them from your cart, then buy A & B & E, then either put them back in your cart to think about, or save them in a list or favorite or whatever to remember to still think about. > > Seems to me you’d do as well to just use the list or save for later feature for its designed purpose in the first place when you find C & D and use the cart for its designed purpose in the first place to buy A & B when you find them, and later buy E when you find it. > > You’re in effect tying your shoelaces together each time you sit down. No harm you say: “After all I’m sitting and I can untie them before I walk again.” True, you can. OTOH you’re creating a booby trap where the intended victim is you. What’s the upside to that? You are making this way too complicated. I simply uncheck what I don’t want and finish the checkout process. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/45 "2026-03-30T22:25:28Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I put stuff in my cart that I’m going to need at some point soonish so I don’t forget about it later and wait until I have a few things and order it all at once It’s also useful for those of that don’t pay for Prime. You need $35 worth of stuff to get free shipping. We probably do one Amazon order per month and sometimes it takes a month worth of stuff to hit $35, depending on our needs. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/46 "2026-03-30T22:53:28Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Are you in a rural location? When you track the shipment does it have to go through a lot of hops to get to you?. I agree that location is important, and it might help explain the discrepancy the OP is seeing. I don’t always have items shipped to the same location; I have a number of different addresses I ship to, because often I have items that I buy as gifts to send to family and friends. In one case, I was ordering something, and it was going to be same day delivery, but then I realized it was shipping to my dad (probably because I sent something to him in my previous purchase) and when I switched it to my own address, it became a 2 day delivery. It’s not necessarily “urban=good, rural=bad” though. I live in a pretty urban area right outside of Seattle. My dad lives in Arizona, Phoenix is the closest major city to him but it’s not _that_ close. He’s more rural than I am, by far, but just for that particular item it happened to be faster. Maybe a distribution center near him had the item, but not one near me. It’s hard to tell. And for some items it works the other way around. It’s just a matter of chance. Usually, items get to me very quickly because I’m in a great location, but not every time. So I think that has a lot to do with it. When you are browsing for items, it will give you a _possible_ delivery date. That item might be delivery for tomorrow if you order in the next few hours for **somebody** , but unfortunately not for you. And Amazon doesn’t really have any way to know that for certain until you specify the delivery address during checkout. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/47 "2026-03-30T23:00:56Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > You are making this way too complicated. I simply uncheck what I don’t want and finish the checkout process. Thanks to you and several other folks I now know about the checkout page checkbox I never noticed. Which totally changes my attitude towards Amazon-specific cart management. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/48 "2026-03-30T23:07:14Z")
There have been good deals on groceries lately, with no delivery fees. Now they’ve suddenly attached the condition of “free delivery if order is over $100” (or $25, depending on where it’s coming from). So I guess I’m done ordering food items from them. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/49 "2026-03-30T23:16:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So I guess I’m done ordering food items from them. I buy a lot of things from Amazon, but generally not food. It’s too much of a pain. It really only makes financial sense if you are doing your entire grocery list with them, but I’m not comfortable buying all of my groceries sight unseen. If anything, I’d be buying a few items I can’t find locally, but then shipping is a pain. If I do buy food, it would be something like canned nuts, because those are treated like any other nonperishable item by the site, and doesn’t have the hassle of most food items (which are separately sold by “Amazon Fresh”). ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/50 "2026-03-30T23:48:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Amazon-specific cart management. Now there’s a phrase you don’t hear every day, Chauncey. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/51 "2026-03-31T00:21:41Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It really only makes financial sense if you are doing your entire grocery list with them, but I’m not comfortable buying all of my groceries sight unseen. I do it every once in awhile for stuff that’s not meat or produce or could leak or is frozen. Saves schlepping bulky stuff up elevators/stairs. So a recent order (just over the $100 free delivery limit) included stuff like gallon jugs of distilled water, white and apple cider vinegar, large cans of San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, 8 pack rolls of paper towels, etc. Meanwhile the meaty/producey/leaky/melty stuff mostly gets shopped for in person. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/52 "2026-03-31T00:42:10Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I do it every once in awhile for stuff that’s not meat or produce or could leak or is frozen. Saves schlepping bulky stuff up elevators/stairs. So a recent order (just over the $100 free delivery limit) included stuff like gallon jugs of distilled water, white and apple cider vinegar, large cans of San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, 8 pack rolls of paper towels, etc. > > Meanwhile the meaty/producey/leaky/melty stuff mostly gets shopped for in person. That seems like a pretty sensible way to go about it, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/53 "2026-03-31T12:46:24Z")
The only complaint I had about their delivery is that they refused to bring it to my apartment, leaving it with the front desk who, for unknown reasons, refused to call me to let me know it was there. So I just tracked it closely online. Anything perishable was in an insulated paper bag which also contained a frozen and unopened bottle of water to keep things chilled. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846/54 "2026-03-31T14:24:32Z")
Anything I’ve ordered that’s perishable has had a Uline frozen pillow thing. I love those and reuse them in my insulin bag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-bait-and-switch-like-tactics/1028846.md?page=2)