Amazon's weird pricing strategy on clothing

[Pink Jazz]

I bought two IZOD Interlock Polos in Fairy Tale (the second one to have as an extra), and each time after I ordered, for that specific color only, Amazon dropped the price by $5. This is a newly released product, so I don't think there have been many buyers for this product yet.

It seems that counterintuitively, Amazon gives the lowest prices to the best selling colors. I noticed that with the Advantage Polo, the five basic colors (Real Red, Blue Revival, Peacoat, White, and Black) almost always sell at a discount, and I expect those colors to be the strongest sellers since those colors are available year-round and have the most reviews on Amazon.

So, why would Amazon give the lowest prices to the best selling colors? Is this why Amazon is so successful?

 

[lxskllr]

Might just be you, and they're trying to get you to buy more stuff. Amazon customizes prices to the individual. I don't understand the variables. That's above my pay grade.

 

[snoopy7548]

I have no idea, maybe something to do with supply and demand, but I just want to say that your obsession with the color pink is inspiring.

 

[Pink Jazz]

I have no idea, maybe something to do with supply and demand, but I just want to say that your obsession with the color pink is inspiring.

By traditional supply and demand logic, it would be the slow selling colors that would be discounted. However, it seems like it is the best sellers that are discounted, and it's not just the pink that are discounted. The five basic colors for the Advantage Polo usually sell for less money than most of the seasonal colors, and these are probably the best selling colors since they are retained year-round and have the most reviews on Amazon. The Interlock Polo was just released and after my two purchases of it in Fairy Tale, the price was dropped by $10.

 

[rh71]

Amazon customizes prices to the individual. I don't understand the variables.

I've heard this in the past, but then how would a site like camelcamelcamel be able to capture pricing history as accurately as it does? It would show the same price there for everyone.

As for price drops, that's why I'm glad I have credit card price protection for 60 days.

 

[Pink Jazz]

As far as I know, Amazon has not used personalized pricing since 2000 (they came under fire for it for it being discriminatory, favoring new customers over existing ones).

I actually read somewhere that Amazon applies a similar pricing logic to books, giving significant discounts off list price to bestseller books, while providing no discounts for niche books. It was a report comparing Amazon's book pricing strategy to Apple's music pricing strategy, where Apple takes the complete opposite approach by pricing hit songs at a premium and obscure songs at a discount.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I find Amazon's clothing prices to be overall laughable. I'll stick to retailers that have experience there... Target, Kohls, Brooks Brothers, etc....

 

[Hugo Drax]

Volume? If you sell 3 of Turd brown shirts a year, you will have to sell at a higher price since they probably do not stock and need to place an order for it. The popular colors sell by the boat load so they probably buy large quantities and sell at smaller markups since they make it up in volume.

 

[pete6032]

Turd brown is my favorite color

 

[Lizalba]

It is a mystery that no one knows, but it is still good for the consumer.

Regards