Amazon As A Supplier

[GLCarlson]

Amazon may not be your first thought for machine tool supplies, but it has become a very worthwhile spot to find practically everything; I regularly check them for things like carbide inserts and other consumables, as well as for fixtures and tooling. Most major companies have a presence -sometimes covert- at Amazon (and Ebay as well). There are rarely minimum orders, shipping can be free, brand coverage is wide, and service is excellent.

A number of companies (Small Parts is one) seem to have moved to a strategy where they service big accounts only, and force small or occasional purchases through Amazon.

A growing problem at Amazon is pricing. Always check prices by cross comparison to Ebay, the online catalog at the supplier directly, and with your local supplier. And be aware that Amazon (or its affiliates) may be using pricing based on algorithms that are not your friend.

I just encountered such as case. Needing a SCLCR2 boring bar that I could modify, I checked the usual suspects as an alternative to making one. The price range was $30-100, but Amazon had one by HHIP for $17. Never heard of that brand, but don't need Dorian and can't make one for that price, so ordered. They had two in stock. Somehow I not only ordered it, but also put the item in my saved list. Next login, I was stunned to see that it was now $63! Intrigued, I reconfirmed- my purchase price was 17, today it's 63. Same exact unit.

There's no substitute for a local knowledgeable supplier. Even if prices are higher, the advice that comes with a purchase is worth it. If you must use an internet supplier, check Amazon...but remember the risks.

Post-hoc comment added: Amazon is right touchy about pointing out the 4 fold price increase in their reviews, too. Wouldn't let me post that. Haven't tried a workaround ("great value for the $16 price..."). Regardless- buyer beware of Amazon pricing, but it's a right handy source if used intelligently.

 

[4GSR]

I too have my company set up using Amazon for buying. I don't use them that much, but when I do, I generally buy several items at one time to take advantage of my Amazon Prime on shipping. I have notice pricing may start out low on an item and a month later it will jump up to a higher amount. Have no clue why they do that. But it' nice when you need something in a hurry and cannot get it locally, I'll place the order and generally have it in two days, but no more than three days. i can't get that kind of service out of Houston on a good day! And Houston is just up the road from me.

 

[MagicSmoker]

...
I just encountered such as case. Needing a SCLCR2 boring bar that I could modify, I checked the usual suspects as an alternative to making one. The price range was $30-100, but Amazon had one by HHIP for $17. Never heard of that brand, but don't need Dorian and can't make one for that price, so ordered. They had two in stock. Somehow I not only ordered it, but also put the item in my saved list. Next login, I was stunned to see that it was now $63! Intrigued, I reconfirmed- my purchase price was 17, today it's 63. Same exact unit.
...

It's not just you - I bought a top-shelf Sandvik Coromant spiral flute tap for $8.16; today it is $32.02. Tomorrow; who knows?!

 

[Dan_S]

I have notice pricing may start out low on an item and a month later it will jump up to a higher amount. Have no clue why they do that.

Amazon has an automated pricing engine (software), that they use on stuff that they sell, and they have tools for people who sell through them that lets them problematically change the price of what they are selling based on what market rates are.

From what I've read, the algorithm Amazon uses, takes a bunch of factors into account such as:

1. what they pay/paid the manufacture per unit/item
2. what it costs to store and advertise the item
3. How much profit they have made (if any) on the current batch they ordered from the manufacture.
4. The rate the item is selling.
5. other miscellaneous stuff others don't completely know for sure

Example:
lets say they purchased 1000 micrometers for $25 each, they want to make a $25 profit per micrometer, MSRP is $100, and they want to sell them all within 50 days. Day one they list them at $75, telling people they are 25% off. As long as they are averaging 20 units a day, the price will stay at $75, and they will happily collect $50 in profit. If sales go down they will drop the price to try and entice people into purchasing. Some times the price will drop way down, even to the point they take a loss on a unit/item or two, but as long as the average profit & sales per day is on target, that's all they care about.

For example back in 2104, I picked up a union butterflied end mill for $15, MSRP was $130. As soon as I placed my order and refreshed the page the price was back up to like $60 something.

So most likely I got lucky because no one had purchased that model in a while. I've had similar luck with taps, insets, drills, even material.

 

[RJSakowski]

Amazon is a good go-to source when comparison shopping. They usually have multiple vendors for a product and I use it often for a reality check when buying goods locally.

That said, there search engine is not very smart. Using an alternative description will often bring up a new list of vendors. Case in point: last night, I was shopping for replacement knives for my Ryobi power hand planer. Entering "Ryobi planer knives" yielded a single hit for $12 for a 2 pk. Entering "Ryobi planer blades" had four more hits with an option of $40 for a 10 pk. Entering the part number yielded zero results, even though the part number was part of the description of each offering.

One problem that I have found with Amazon is their specification details. When I look for specs, I usually come back with shipping container size or color of item.

 

[intjonmiller]

RJ, that's exactly the frustration I have. I bought some toggle clamps once that didn't have the size listed, but figured that most any typical size would work fine for what I needed. They were like 2" long (tip of the arm to tip of the handle). I did end up finding a good use for them, but they were not what I was expecting.

Dan, I've seen the controls for that stuff, at least to a smaller extent, when I've sold things on Amazon. As an individual I'm sure the controls are more limited than when serious distributors get involved. But it's also interesting to watch the changes over time. I frequently use my shopping cart to keep track of items I'm considering, moving the ones I'm not ordering right now down to the "save for later" section. As a result I typically have around 100 items in the "saved for later" list. But Amazon reports price changes to me for the full list every time I view my cart. Most price changes are just a few pennies one way or the other. They'll bounce up and down from one day to the next, but some will make big changes for a while, then later revert. I've been watching those behaviors for a couple years now. Fascinating math and pre-programmed logic behind the scenes.

 

[Dan_S]

I frequently use my shopping cart to keep track of items I'm considering, moving the ones I'm not ordering right now down to the "save for later" section. As a result I typically have around 100 items in the "saved for later" list.

Several websites exist that track individual items for you, some will even email/text you etc if the price drops bellow a certain amount.

this website will show you the pricing history of individual itmes.
http://camelcamelcamel.com/
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Mitutoyo-192-151-Height-Resolution-Accuracy/product/B003UATACG

 

[intjonmiller]

That's awesome. I hadn't seen that before. I just use the list for keeping track of stuff in a more convenient way than adding to a wishlist, and watching the prices change was just a fascinating side-effect. I've only used it for purchasing decisions a few times. This is clearly more effective there! Thanks!