# Strange Amazon Book Pricing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505 "2013-09-10T16:09:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/1 "2013-09-10T16:09:41Z")
I was looking for a book on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) this morning and did a simple search that brought back the following [results](http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0762779675/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1378828953&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Montana+Icons+by+Burt+Gildart&condition=used). I started at the top going down and noticed that this book, which new costs $16.95, sold used anywhere from $9.08 to $189.14. I assumed that the $189.14 price was probably a typo, but then I noticed it for $141.03 and $54.99 also, all from different sellers. So why would someone pay $189 for a used book that you could easily buy for $16.95 new? This book is neither rare nor hard to find. Why would a seller waste their time trying to sell a book at 11 times it’s list price? I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/2 "2013-09-10T16:15:52Z")
I’ve understood that there are “Amazon Pricing Bots” which can be set to automatically adjust the price to “x% higher than the highest price for the same item” (say if your book is in particularly good condition and you think you deserve a premium). If two such bots are present for a particular item, hilarity ensues. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/3 "2013-09-10T16:26:18Z")
Similar threads: [Amazon Selling Question- Crazy Prices](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=672988&highlight=amazon+book+pricing) [Weird book pricing](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=637799&highlight=amazon+book+pricing) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/4 "2013-09-10T16:29:29Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > I’ve understood that there are “Amazon Pricing Bots” which can be set to automatically adjust the price to “x% higher than the highest price for the same item” (say if your book is in particularly good condition and you think you deserve a premium). If two such bots are present for a particular item, hilarity ensues. How does this make sense under any circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/5 "2013-09-10T16:32:24Z")
Random example. [Dreamworks Animation Award-Winning Family Fun Pack](http://www.amazon.com/Dreamworks-Animation-Award-Winning-Family-Chicken/dp/B0000CABEZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1378830674&sr=1-1&keywords=shrek) DVD 1 used 4,999.99 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/6 "2013-09-10T16:55:08Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How does this make sense under any circumstances? Caveat Emptor. We purchased the first two seasons of Game of Thrones a while back. We bought the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital version. So when I received an email to pre-order GoT Season Three, I checked into it. Amazon’s email directed me to the same Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital combo package @ $104.99. (Yeah, a limited edition. So what.) Digging around I found the same thing with a $44.99 price point when it becomes available next February. I found the same thing again @ $54.99. I took the middle one. Amazon does robo-pricing, often price-matching items from other retailers on a daily, even hourly basis. And sometimes the price is just off the charts. Since third-party sellers also use Amazon they are often in competition with each other. If there is something for sale on Amazon I really want I use [http://camelcamelcamel.com/](http://camelcamelcamel.com/) ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/7 "2013-09-10T17:27:26Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How does this make sense under any circumstances? If you have a “mint condition \” and think people will pay a premium over the usual price for your one, but don’t really know what the “usual price” is. If there’s only one bot you’re telling it, “find the usual price, and sell for a small premium”, which is a reasonable selling strategy. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/8 "2013-09-10T18:44:02Z")
I’ve also heard that sellers will put in a jacked price rather than take a listing offline. It’s easier and better for SEO etc. if your listing stays up and active, even if the item price is absurd. I do like finding copies of my books on Amazon, eBay, ABE etc. for about 10X cover price. Lovely egoboo. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/9 "2013-09-10T19:37:45Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Random example. > [Dreamworks Animation Award-Winning Family Fun Pack](http://www.amazon.com/Dreamworks-Animation-Award-Winning-Family-Chicken/dp/B0000CABEZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1378830674&sr=1-1&keywords=shrek) DVD > 1 used 4,999.99 Well, sure, you could buy the same five movies separately for a total of thirty-six dollars. But then you wouldn’t have the case to keep them all in. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/10 "2013-09-11T00:03:33Z")
Here’s another similar thread: [Why does this used paperback mystery novel cost $700?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575311&highlight=paperback) ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/11 "2013-09-11T03:18:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Well, sure, you could buy the same five movies separately for a total of thirty-six dollars. But then you wouldn’t have the case to keep them all in. There is also the possibility that this seller lists hundreds if not thousands of titles. Every single book has to be listed individually and after listing 100 or more books in a few hours, its not difficult to imagine that the seller accidentally put the price at $4999. instead of $49.99. Amazon does not have any sort of automatic notification system that tells a seller that they have listed a book at a absurd price. After listing book after book, a seller could easily stop giving enough attention to what price they have listed a particular book at. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-amazon-book-pricing/668505/12 "2013-09-11T03:33:20Z")
If you’re looking for used books, I heartily recommend [bookfinder.com](http://bookfinder.com). It checks a whole bunch of used book sites (including the big ones like ABE, Amazon, Alibris, TextbookX, Powell’s, and so forth) and returns the results sorted by price, including shipping. There are pricing oddities within any given vendor’s sandbox, but once you spread out your search to cover all of them, things settle out a bit unless it’s a truly rare item. When we were in the used book business, [bookfinder.com](http://bookfinder.com) was always my first stop.