FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

mr0x: Grables'Daughter: That's actually a very good point.

If it brings people INTO their store, then that's a good thing.

I think Target wants to figure out if you're pregnant.
So, that's why there is no point selling kindles.

Grables' Daughter is prego?

RickyWilliams'sBong: redpanda2: The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

Maybe I'm missing something -- and admittedly I couldn't care less about the whole open-vs-closed debate -- but isn't that kind of the point of open-source software? That you can take the code and make of it what you want to fit your needs?

Is the purpose of the "take a penny leave a penny" bowl to always take pennies and never leave them?

ihatedumbpeople: how much is a kindle at Target? How much is a Kindle at Amazon? (i'm pretty sure they were the same price when target carried them...$199)

Seriously..if you're already in the store checking the thing out, why are you going to go home, order it, wait a few days for it to arrive to save "maybe" $5, if anything? Granted, Amazon (and really their business partners) carry a lot of stuff a store can't carry, but unless the web company is selling it MUCH cheaper than the brick and mortar, why not just buy it on the spot? seems silly.

Sales tax is 8.75% in NY. That's more margin than Amazon makes on the product to begin with. So yes, it is a huge amount, even if it comes to $17.42.

You're just bad at economics.

Playinodds: redpanda2: The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

Thats not dickish. Android is open source. You're SUPPOSED to be able to do things like that. You can put android on any device you want and not ask google for permission or give them a cut of anything.

Its a feature, not a bug.

There is a difference between open source and piracy. You just have to be intelligent enough to understand it.

Grables'Daughter: meanmutton: Grables'Daughter: FormlessOne: FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

So, I don't understand what it means by "any item scanned at a store."

Does that mean that if Target sold the exact same item, then Amazon would sell it for 5% less? Or does the item have to be scanned at the store somehow...

/sorry if stupid question

You take your iPhone or Android phone into Target, find an item (say Bounty paper towels) and scan the UPC code. The Amazon app will take you to the Amazon page with that item on it and if you buy it then you get 5% off the Amazon price (which likely is cheaper anyway).

Okay, all's fair in love and war and business I guess, but Target is a vendor of Amazon's product.

So that was an amazingly low, crappy, horrible, lousy, shiatty thing to do.

Except it is none of those things. If you buy direct from the distributor, it should ALWAYS be cheaper than the retailer. The retailer has to make magin to stay in business.

Amazon manages to make the margin of both a retailer and distributor by being slightly cheaper than retailers. All this means is they got rid of the "retailer" portion of their margin.


Business 101, a course that 85% of Americans would fail miserably.

BHShaman: : Wellon Dowd: ...do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?


Target is kicking out Amazon because Amazon promotes using UPC apps to directly price check the in-store item against the Amazon offering. That allows people to quickly and easily walk up to the HDTV rack, pick the one they like best, scan the UPC with their smartphone, and see if Amazon can beat the price, while including in home delivery and set-up, and a great return policy.

While I'll pay more by choice at a small business owned by locals.

When it comes to Mega-Corp Online vs MegaCorp Brick&Mortor, I have no sympathies and shop for the lowest price for equivalent items. The big B&M stores ARE becoming showrooms for Amazon cross-shopping.

Best Buy matches prices from Amazon, with no waiting for the product to ship. By far the best solution.

Target is a big pussy liberal company anyway.

I have been doing this since I got a smart-phone, though I don't care if I get something from Amazon or not. If I walk into a store to buy something over $50, I will always check online and other local retailers for better prices. If I can save enough money to make it worth my time to wait or go to a different store than I will, otherwise I buy the item then.

This is simply called "doing your research" before making a purchase, and technology makes it easier.

Wellon Dowd: While I understand the general sentiment on the part of the brick-and-mortars, do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?

Well, there's sales tax. Amazon doesn't charge sales tax when delivering to most states.

But the issue is less Kindle and more books, DVDs, furniture, house goods, etc., that both Amazon and Target sell.

Honestly, Target has a point about Amazon pulling a dick move on the showrooming.