I’ve been reading with some curiosity/amusement some of the threads on Reddit and other blogs castigating Amazon for Prime Day deals that weren’t deals—at least to the posters’ minds. Even the Washington Post, ironically owned by Jeff Bezos, got into the act.
What amuses me is that here in 2025, people don’t actually know how retail operates and are getting their knickers in a bunch over prices allegedly raised so they could be dropped. I want to say to people, have you never been shopping? Do you not understand the concept of dynamic pricing? Do you not understand that the online pricing can vary in moments? Did you not read Amazon’s own description of the event?
As someone who tracks toy prices regularly through the year—and especially in Q4—it’s possible to watch online prices change overnight and sometimes during the day. This is a feature, not a bug and allows merchants to be responsive to changing market conditions and maximize profit opportunities with more flexibility than bricks-and-mortar can accomplish. By the way, that’s their business. Specifically, complaints about toys being more expensive on Prime Days than they were earlier in the year may have to do with the impact of tariffs, inventory levels, or any of the other issue that may influence pricing. It could still be a deal, but that’s not necessarily the point.
Here’s why I think Prime Days are a brilliant idea. First and foremost, they create a shopping event. The level of publicity the company accomplishes is off-the-charts. Think about how your local news or morning shows tout Amazon deals. Think of all the publications that promote that they have found the “best” deals. What other retailer gets so much play or has so effectivley created a cultural event? Plus, they basically force other retailers to match their prices, or go below or match them with events of their own.
Moreover, the event is designed to make shopping fun. That’s not easy to do in an online setting. However, Amazon drives consumers to the site to spend time clicking about and looking for deals. What the complainers are not realizing is that Amazon has effectively leveraged shopping as entertainment in the online world—whether or not people buy something. That’s a pretty signficant acheivement.
Think of how many times you may have gone to a mall to pass time. Or, perhaps you go to the mall to get something specific, but you spend an hour browsing around and seeing what’s new or might catch your eye…and perhaps purchase something additional. That entertainment quotient is what drove the boom in malls starting in the 1970s, and even as more shopping has moved online, people still want the fun. Even complaining is part of the experience, I suppose—a form of entertainment in itself. I’m only half kidding.
No matter where you shop, you can probably always find a better price, a steeper discount, if price is your dominant criterion. However, as I mentioned, that’s not entirely the point.
Plus, as my father always said, “If you don’t want it, don’t buy it.” Along that line, I love reading comments from people who buy things they say they don’t need and then resent that the merchant “made” them do it because the sale was so good. The rationale that you’re losing money if you don’t buy something on sale is part of the psychology of retail, even if it is patently ridiculous.
Folks can knock themselves out complaining, but what Amazon has done, or attempted to do, is to build community around Prime membership. That, to me, is the real success of Prime days.
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