We're a list family. For Christmas, we send out long lists of things we might want or need. Everyone gets what they want and it lessens the returns. This year, I included a game on my list that retailed for $40 but was seen at the stores and on Amazon for around $30. However, when my parents went to buy the game from Amazon, it cost almost $80 with shipping because it had apparently sold out from the manufacturer. My parents didn't know what the original price was (because it isn't easy to find on Amazon's site) and thought that because there were electronic components to the game, that $80 was the right price. They actually were buying it from what I refer to as an Amazon scalper, someone who buys a bunch of something and then resells it for double the retail price when the something sells out in the stores.
It pisses me off that my parents were ripped off to this degree. How are they supposed to know what the right price is without asking me? Plus, it didn't even occur to them to ask me. To them electronic = expensive. They had no idea that buying from a third-party retailer on Amazon would mean the price would double. I understand how the third party retailers work because I use Amazon all the time, but they don't. Why isn't the original price more transparent on Amazon's part? Grrr. We're going to try to return the game so I can get some socks, but I'm crabby about the whole thing.
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