Watch out for Amazon Pirates

@akalinus (40352)
United States
May 9, 2021 1:09pm CST
First, I want to say that the majority of people who sell on Amazon are ethical and honest in their dealings. I have noticed that there is a new class of sellers. I call them pirates. The first time I noticed was when a book I wanted to read was $180. The next time was someone selling a book my friend wrote. I bought his book on Amazon for around $15. Then someone advertised the same book as a rare collector edition for $2500. It was new and not rare and could be had for a much lower price. I have noticed other things on Amazon at a much higher price than the going rate. Have you seen any Amazon pirates trying to get your money? What did you think? Did you buy anything?
13 people like this
15 responses
@LadyDuck (455034)
• Switzerland
10 May 21
No, I buy from Amazon Italy or Amazon France and I have never seen anything like that.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (455034)
• Switzerland
12 May 21
@akalinus Before buying I check if it is "sold and delivered by Amazon" if not, I do not buy.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
13 May 21
@LadyDuck I have gotten out-of-print books from other bookstores through Prime. I got all the ones I ordered that way.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
11 May 21
I never used to see stuff like this. It is only recently that I noticed what is going on.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 May 21
It is not uncommon for me to see those inflated prices as well. I always shake my head and hope that most (if not all) will pass those by and use more reputable sellers on amazon.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I always wondered why Amazon allows this or if they did not know.
2 people like this
• United States
9 May 21
@akalinus I feel as if they probably do know, and wonder why they allow it as well.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
@ScribbledAdNauseum The only reason I stay with them is that I have Prime and can send gifts to friends and family without me having to get the stuff and find a way to mail it. I do earn gift cards for things I do online.
1 person likes this
@Shivram59 (31262)
• India
10 May 21
@akalinus No,I have never come across pirates on Amazon, but around 7 months back I had ordered a book that never arrived.My several reminders went unheeded and 10 days back I got my money back.I rarely buy books online.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
11 May 21
That is the worst when you want to read a book and it does not arrive.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
13 May 21
@Shivram59 I hope you can get the book you want.
1 person likes this
@Shivram59 (31262)
• India
12 May 21
@akalinus I have asked my friends who are book sellers to get me a copy.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
9 May 21
I rarely buy anything on Amazon.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I earn Amazon gift cards online. I notice that everything is expensive there.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
@CarolDM I have to get away from it because the prices are just too high.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203478)
• Nashville, Tennessee
9 May 21
@akalinus I choose other alternatives if possible.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (24349)
• Lichfield, England
10 May 21
I would never buy anything for that price - unless it was worth it, like a violin, but then you'd have to check the age and quality of the violin. (Just so you know, Andre Rieu bought his violin for $3,000,000. It is a genuine Stradivarius, hence the price!) Most of the things I buy on Amazon are £30 or less, only occasionally a little higher. But since November last year I haven't actually paid anything for things on Amazon, I've got them free with Amazon gift cards I got for doing surveys online.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
13 May 21
@sharonelton I like the idea that everything I send is what I earned online.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
11 May 21
Yes, I get the gift cards from Swagbucks and Bing and only use those to buy Amazon things. I have sent gifts to my best friend and my family.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (24349)
• Lichfield, England
12 May 21
@akalinus That is a good thing to do.
1 person likes this
• India
9 May 21
Of course, after the concept of drop shipping, everybody is selling something or the other at their own price in their own sense. They are selling the same things at a different rate based on what they got that for. Amazon has become a most reachable and suitable platform for everybody to sell products. And they are doing exactly that without a price check.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I wonder if people actually buy things at those greatly inflated prices.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
@Prabhatsingh Sometimes, that is true. Lately, a lot of people are just trying to get as much as they can for stuff.
1 person likes this
• India
9 May 21
@akalinus Sometimes they are tricked by the prices. Sometimes people think ohh that's higher in price that must be of better quality, and get thugd.
@kareng (53440)
• United States
9 May 21
Yes, I have seen them as well. Ebay also has its share of pirates!
1 person likes this
@kareng (53440)
• United States
9 May 21
@akalinus Scams are everywhere. I've been selling there for years and never had a problem. The only scam I would say that involved me was a customer that said item received broken. It had insurance on it and all she had to do was file the claim with the post office to get her money back. She kept saying it was my fault which it wasn't and Ebay stood behind me on that.
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I don't use eBay. I have heard stories of people getting scammed on there.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (110778)
• El Paso, Texas
9 May 21
They've always been there which is why one should go through the whole list of the same kind of item before making a purchase. The same is true about Walmart.com. Sadly, it's up to the buyer to beware of these pirates.
@RebeccasFarm (84408)
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
9 May 21
I have been shocked by some prices on Amazon ..astounding. Yes rip offs.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
Yep, I have noticed it more and more. But some of the stuff is the same price or more in the stores. I need some things and don't know what to do. I think inflation is getting to us. It is so hard to choose what to buy.
1 person likes this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
9 May 21
There is no way I would pay that kind of money, I am on my guards all the time,
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I don't mind paying a fair price for something but I don't want to pay outrageous amounts for things I need or want.
@dgobucks226 (34202)
22 May 21
I haven't noticed that big a difference but it makes sense some will try to take advantage. It's always a good idea to check multiple sellers when buying a product which I do. I also try to avoid using a credit card and only redeem gift card credit on Amazon.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
24 May 21
Yes, it pays to check offers. I use gift cards only that I work online to get.
1 person likes this
• Nairobi, Kenya
9 May 21
Wow! That is called scam
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
That is a scam to pay so much for a book that sells at a normal price. There is a lot of other stuff that should be less expensive too.
1 person likes this
• Nairobi, Kenya
10 May 21
@akalinus Wow. Those people must be desperate for money
@Scrapper88 (5958)
• United States
9 May 21
I do not buy very many things on Amazon. The last thing I bought was around a year and a half ago.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
I think a lot of people do the same as you do. It seems like that from the other answers.
@MarieCoyle (27195)
9 May 21
I check reviews before I make a purchase on Amazon. I have never been ripped off there, and have not had trouble with any deliveries or delays. I know what the prices of most of the items I purchase should be, and shop accordingly. For me to use Amazon saves money in the long run of not running from store to store, it comes to my door, if I am buying a gift I just send it directly from Amazon. I use it a lot.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
11 May 21
@MarieCoyle Yes, it is. Like I need to read it right now.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40352)
• United States
9 May 21
Once, they sent my purchase to my friend's house by mistake. I wondered why I didn't get it and went online to track it. It said it was in my friend's mailbox. I called her at 10 pm at night and told her to go to her mailbox. She thought I was crazy but ended up staying up all night to read the book. I could not get the book right away and had to wait to order a copy for me.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (27195)
9 May 21
It's hard to wait to read a book when you've been looking forward to it.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (56277)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 May 21
No. I try to buy as much in-store as possible. I have always been more of an in-person shopper. I'll order a few things on Amazon, but if the price feels to high I won't buy it.