# Who is Amazon trying to kid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803 "2010-04-03T03:37:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [April 3, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/1 "2010-04-03T03:37:33Z")
I don’t have the right network but I’m thinking about checking out the series _Spartacus: Blood and Sand_. So I went to Amazon to see if they had any information on when it’s coming out on DVD. Now, I knew it hadn’t been released yet. And I saw they don’t have a release date for it. No problem. But according to Amazon “What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?” 77% of the customers bought a copy of _Spartacus: Blood and Sand_. Which must have been difficult for them what with it not having been released yet. And under “Frequently Bought Together” I’m told that a lot of people have been buying an unreleased copy of _Avatar_ along with their unreleased copy of _Spartacus_. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/2 "2010-04-03T03:44:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But according to Amazon “What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?” 77% of the customers bought a copy of _Spartacus: Blood and Sand_. Which must have been difficult for them what with it not having been released yet. Um, there’s a “pre-order” button right there. What’s the big deal if they count preorders as purchases? ---
**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:** [April 3, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/3 "2010-04-03T04:17:28Z")
> [@](#): > > What’s the big deal if they count preorders as purchases? Being as you’re giving them no money and they’re giving you no product and there isn’t even a promise on when the product might be available and either party can cancel the “sale” at any time, I’d say it’s a pretty nebulous form of transaction. It’s the equivalent of me going to a Ferrari dealership and telling a salesman I’m going to buy a new Ferrari when the 2011 models come out and he agrees to sell me one if I show up on that day with the money. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/4 "2010-04-03T04:19:34Z")
But you’re giving them your credit card info for a pre-buy, aren’t you? You’re pretty committed to it at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/5 "2010-04-03T04:22:02Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > But you’re giving them your credit card info for a pre-buy, aren’t you? You’re pretty committed to it at that point. You can cancel the transaction at any time before the item ships. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/6 "2010-04-03T04:26:57Z")
You can cancel an order before it ships even when it’s not pre ordered, though. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/7 "2010-04-03T12:19:38Z")
And you can return it after it has been delivered! So they shouldn’t count it as sold until 90 days after delivery! ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/8 "2010-04-03T14:49:57Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > And you can return it after it has been delivered! So they shouldn’t count it as sold until 90 days after delivery! They’re not claiming it was ‘sold’, they’re claiming it was ‘bought’. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/9 "2010-04-05T14:27:14Z")
There are plenty of legitimate beefs about Amazon. I don’t count this as one of them. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/10 "2010-04-05T14:44:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > …It’s the equivalent of me going to a Ferrari dealership and telling a salesman I’m going to buy a new Ferrari when the 2011 models come out and he agrees to sell me one if I show up on that day with the money. You’ve just described the business practices of every car dealership on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/11 "2010-04-05T14:47:48Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You’ve just described the business practices of every car dealership on the planet. I think his point (sorry if you didn’t miss it and I’m explaining what you already know) is that the “transaction” described doesn’t constitute any kind of sale. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/12 "2010-04-05T15:05:06Z")
I got it. 'Twas a mere jest. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/13 "2010-04-05T15:25:32Z")
At a guess, no-one. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bb73d2/32.png) [@Evil\_Jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Jon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-amazon-trying-to-kid/534803/14 "2010-04-05T15:25:52Z")
Just an FYI, _Sparticus: Blood & Sand_ is on Netflix on demand.