[Ouderkirk]

As much as I detest Jeff Bezos...he built a better mousetrap.

The brick an mortar store sales people don’t have the ability to negotiate prices.

I can negotiate with Amazon. I look at an item, and a few days later it’s a few bucks less, and maybe a week or so later it’s a few more less, until it reaches a point where I am willing to buy.

I go into a a Sears, or Lowes, Home Depot etc, and the retail price today is posted. Either pay it or don’t. IF the price is too high they never investigate what it’s going to take to close the deal. That is the model they are missing.

Most places in the world, prices on virtually everything are negotiable.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Good points which I never thought about. But I’ve done the same thing you mention, browse online for something, and decide not to buy. But then I get an email later, asking if I’m still interested, and here’s the price now.

Maybe my experience was on Ebay, not Amazon; I’ve bought a number of items from each site. But your point is well taken.

[headstamp 2]

Home Defect and Louie’s are a different model so to speak because they also supply the trades. They’ll need to maintain a brick and mortar presence.

[DouglasKC]

I can negotiate with Amazon. I look at an item, and a few days later it’s a few bucks less, and maybe a week or so later it’s a few more less, until it reaches a point where I am willing to buy.

I think this is a little known fact. I picked out a nice little netbook on Amazon that was a good deal. Stuck it in my cart and was going to wait a couple of days to purchase it. When I went to buy it the price had gone up 35 bucks. Deleted it from my cart. Didn't go on Amazon for a couple of days and then went back. Price had gone down. I got it.

[minnesota_bound]

#6 Before going to Amazon, delete your cookies and make sure you are not logged in to Amazon. You will see a lower price. Also use a different pc (work or phone or tablet not on your ISP). If they notice you are looking at an item they will raise the price. May not be much but times that by the millions of sales they get. It adds up.

[Hot Tabasco]

The brick an mortar store sales people don’t have the ability to negotiate prices.

Most of my general purchases are the top of the line in sporting goods. While there are several sporting goods outlets near me (Dicks, Dunhams) they carry the low end items in softball bats and softball gloves and most of that stuff is for kids.

The gloves and composite bats I use can only be obtained thru sport specific outlets on the internet.

[Hot Tabasco]

As a side note, I stopped in to an Army surplus store on Saturday and purchased a shirt. This was my second time and they had already rented out the storefront next door to accommodate their recent expansion.

When I congratulated the owner about this she said that they are preparing to expand to internet sales........That should be huge for them.