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How to make sure you get Amazon's lowest price

WikiBuy, Honey search for lower prices
Posted at 12:39 PM, Mar 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-19 13:47:00-04

With Amazon dominating shopping these days, many online shoppers assume the retailer is showing us the best price when we search for an item.

That may not always be the case, studies have shown. But now there's a way to find out for sure.

Does Amazon really show best price?

If you perform an Amazon search -- say for a baby stroller -- the site shows you a list of sellers, starting with the lowest price, you assume.

But a 2016 investigation by the non-profit news group Pro Publica claimed the site favors products sold directly by Amazon, followed "Fulfilled by Amazon" sellers.

Pro Publica analyzed 250 products, and claimed that 75 percent of the time, Amazon or "Fulfilled by Amazon" products showed up first, even if other sellers were cheaper.

If you don't take the time to search, you may miss the lower price -- which may have you saying, "Doesn't that stink."

But there's now a simple solution to make sure you don't overpay, by downloading a plug-in known as a browser extension. These make your web browser do more things than they normally do, and they are perfectly safe to use.

Extensions check prices for you

Several browser extensions will automatically check for the lowest price when you search on Amazon.

Download either WikiBuy or Honey and they will make sure you get the lowest price when you look up something to purchase. If the price that pops up is higher than elsewhere, it will direct you to the cheaper vendor.

So a reminder: When shopping Amazon, don't assume that first listing is the best listing with the lowest price.

That way, you don't waste your money.

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