About Amazon's Pricing Models
Posted on 12/21/2014 in Music, Amazon, Business
In poking around the Internet on this lazy Sunday morning, I came upon a reference to The Sounds of Christmas and went off to Amazon.com in search of the record. The MP3 download is $5.99, however the actual CD with 2 day Prime shipping is only $3.99, and that includes having the MP3s instantly placed in your Amazon music library.
It should be obvious which option I chose. Then, on checkout I took advantage of the offer to get a $1 digital music coupon in exchange for "non-rush" shipping, making my net cost $2.99. So having the physical CD delivered and getting instant gratification with the MP3s is $3 cheaper than just buying the MP3 album.
This is an obscure jazz album that has a 2-3 week lead time on shipping. It's not the Frozen soundtrack as a loss leader. Also, I bought my first stuff from Amazon in early 1996. They have 18 years of history to know I only wanted the MP3s. So instead they offered me a special order physical CD and the MP3 for 50% less. That makes perfect sense.