# Sometimes Amazon is Outrageously high **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 30, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303 "2025-06-30T14:35:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/1 "2025-06-30T14:35:16Z")
I briefly considered getting a case of Frosted Mini Wheats. Bulk purchase. Save Money. Right? $21.48 for 12 or $1.79 each plus tax I buy them regularly at Walmart for $1.00 plus tax. I like the convenience of a generous size cup and no cleanup. You better watch your wallet dealing with Amazon. > **[Amazon.com: Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Breakfast Cereal Cups, High Fiber...](https://www.amazon.com/Kelloggs-Frosted-Mini-Wheats-Breakfast-Original/dp/B0029JXA3O)** > > Product Description Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats is ingeniously crafted for breakfasts that matter. Made with simple, good ingredients, Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats is a delicious, fulfilling way to start your day and features 10 layers of... ---
**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:** [June 30, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/2 "2025-06-30T14:43:45Z")
Groceries at Amazon are often very expensive. Why? My thoughts: - Because groceries at grocery stores or Wal\*marts are darn near zero margin. Many items are negative margin when on sale. They just about can’t possibly be cheaper anywhere else. - Because the only people who would buy groceries at Amazon are looking for something they can’t get locally. e.g. some regional goody from a region they’re not in. Or isolated folks. In either case those are desperate buyers who’ll, on average, be willing to pay a premium to get their stuff at all. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/3 "2025-06-30T14:52:33Z")
I used to wonder how Amazon made money. They sold books at the same price as Barnes and Noble. But ate the shipping for prime members. Same thing with tv’s and computers. Amazon competes with Walmart and eats the shipping for Prime. Jeff Bezos is one of the richest men in the world. Obviously Amazon is profitable. Amazon recently opened a Warehouse in North Little Rock. 12 miles from my house. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/4 "2025-06-30T14:57:18Z")
Related thread: [Food items you buy online](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-items-you-buy-online/1001838). > [@aceplace57](#): > > Frosted Mini Wheats Just wanted to say that they’re _great_ for snacking on. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/5 "2025-06-30T15:00:36Z")
Raises hand, guilty. Mini wheats are great snacks. I bring them on car trips and trail hikes. I also like to soak them in milk for about 10 mins before eating my breakfast. The squares are like mini sponges in milk. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/6 "2025-06-30T15:23:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I used to wonder how Amazon made money. They sold books at the same price as Barnes and Noble. But ate the shipping for prime members. > > Same thing with tv’s and computers. Amazon competes with Walmart and eats the shipping for Prime. > > Jeff Bezos is one of the richest men in the world. Obviously Amazon is profitable. Amazon typically sells books at a discount (often 30% or more off); much steeper discounts than typically seen at retail booksellers because they make large volume purchase agreements with publishers and don’t have the overhead of large retail spaces in every city. They make money by trying to entice people to buy into their Kindle ‘ecosystem’ or purchase other items like home goods, toiletries, or electronics for the ‘free shipping’. “eat[ing] the shipping for Prime” is an inducement to buy more crap that people don’t need and wouldn’t want to lug home from a brick & mortar store. Amazon didn’t report a net profit for nearly the first two decades of operation because Bezos followed the policy of plowing revenue from - into other things like Kindle, Amazon Web Services, and monopolizing the manufacturer-to-consumer supply chain for many of their products. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/7 "2025-06-30T15:27:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I briefly considered getting a case of Frosted Mini Wheats. Bulk purchase. > Save Money. Right? > > $21.48 for 12 or $1.79 each plus tax > > I buy them regularly at Walmart for $1.00 plus tax. I like the convenience of a generous size cup and no cleanup. You’re _surprised_ that an easily available grocery item is expensive at Amazon? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/8 "2025-06-30T15:32:41Z")
I noticed Command Strips were at least a dollar or more expensive. Unfortunately it’s all about convivence. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/9 "2025-06-30T15:33:07Z")
Grocery items are _always_ much more expensive at Amazon. You’re paying for the convenience of not going to the store or getting something you can’t buy local. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/10 "2025-06-30T15:36:02Z")
I’ve bought stuff from Amazon that should be available locally but wasn’t for whatever reason, and yes, I paid extra for the privilege. Sometimes ordering from Amazon or elsewhere is easier than finding the thing in a big-box store like Walmart or Home Depot. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/11 "2025-06-30T15:48:50Z")
Walmart and Home Depot have free in-store pickup, usually ready in a few hours. It’s odd when you think about it. If you walked into the store with a list of stuff you wanted and asked them to go get it all for you, they’d say we can’t do that. But you can do the same thing online and they will bring it out and put it in your car while you wait. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/12 "2025-06-30T15:51:55Z")
I’ve used in-store pickup. Once I needed a wall clock but couldn’t find it in Target so I went home and ordered it for in-store pickup. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/13 "2025-06-30T15:52:01Z")
Depends on the definiition of “grocery.” A lot of non-refrigerated items I use are cheaper at Amazon, as well as some specialty items, as noted above. If it’s not too much more expensive to buy locally, I’ll do that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/14 "2025-06-30T15:52:09Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > It’s odd when you think about it. If you walked into the store with a list of stuff you wanted and asked them to go get it all for you, they’d say we can’t do that. But you can do the same thing online and they will bring it out and put it in your car while you wait. All hail the gig economy! Down with livable minimum wage and benefits for workers. Bring back the serfdom and _noblesse oblige_! Stranger ---
**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:** [June 30, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/15 "2025-06-30T16:12:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Grocery items are _always_ much more expensive at Amazon. That’s not correct. The closest grocery store to me has significant markup on food. I can usually get a larger quantity for less money by getting some things on Amazon. Or I could go to the local Aldi, which is a disgusting shithole. I have to bite the bullet on most grocery store foods because Amazon wants to charge a delivery fee for anything from their Whole Foods marketplace. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/16 "2025-06-30T16:15:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Sometimes ordering from Amazon or elsewhere is easier than finding the thing in a big-box store like Walmart or Home Depot. > [@zimaane](#): > > It’s odd when you think about it. If you walked into the store with a list of stuff you wanted and asked them to go get it all for you, they’d say we can’t do that. But you can do the same thing online and they will bring it out and put it in your car while you wait. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Once I needed a wall clock but couldn’t find it in Target so I went home and ordered it for in-store pickup. I try to support local shopping when I can, and use Amazon when I can’t. But … I have largely switched to making my local big-box purchases via online order then pickup rather than in-person shopping. Why? Because their websites often say they have things that aren’t actually in stock. If I drive over to to buy it myself on the basis the website assured me they have it, I’m disappointed about half the time. If instead I order it for pickup, they won’t tell me it’s ready until they found it. Whether at that store, another store, or a regional warehouse. I spend the exact same time pecking at a website and the exact same time driving to and fro, but I spend zero time in fruitless search on their wildly disheveled shelves with horribly inaccurate stock-keeping. Win win for me. And for local commerce. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/17 "2025-06-30T17:47:35Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I noticed Command Strips were at least a dollar or more expensive. Unfortunately it’s all about convivence. What’s unfortunate about that? Time is valuable. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/18 "2025-06-30T18:04:01Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Grocery items are _always_ much more expensive at Amazon. You’re paying for the convenience of not going to the store or getting something you can’t buy local. I work for a grocery store chain, and this is definitely not true. Sometimes they are more expensive and sometimes they are less expensive. Re: free shipping. I am not a prime member, but my wife is. When I look at an item on Amazon, I send her the link via text. I also send her a screenshot showing the price. More than half the time the price will be different (higher) for her. Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a lot higher. A three pack of shortbread cookies imported from Scotland showed as $28.99 in my Amazon app, but was $49.99 on hers. Vitamin D supplements were 11.99 for me and 13.99 for her. A wireless mouse was $24.99 (shown with a 17% discount) was $29.99 for her. This is just anecdotal. I don’t know how their pricing algorithm works. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/19 "2025-06-30T18:17:41Z")
Also, if I order something and it’s not available they will let me know and I can switch it to something else or drop it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303/20 "2025-06-30T18:55:44Z")
To join the chorus, absolutely not true. When it comes to groceries, I’m a notorious price shopper, and there’s four regional groceries plus Aldi I shop at. I will often price check stuff that is, say, more than $7 that I don’t need immediately, and I will sometimes find it cheaper on Amazon. For example, I see Bumble Bee sardines locally at $1.79/can. Amazon has them 12 for $14, and I don’t even have to step foot out my door. Now, I do see another store locally happens to have them on sale now for a buck each, so it’s a good thing I checked because it’s time to stock up. But normally it’s $1.79, which is why that item I’ve been ordering on Amazon. I’ve also found certain hot sauces cheaper (and easier to find) as well as some of the pricier olive oils I like. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-amazon-is-outrageously-high/1020303.md?page=2)