Andrew O’Hehir of Salon.com reviews Vol. 16.
And speaking of DVD sets, a bunch of people alerted us today to an e-mail they got from Amazon today. It went a little something…like this.
Greetings from Amazon.com.
We are sorry to report that the following item is no longer available
from our supplier:Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XVII
However, we have learned that a substitute is available under a
different item number. You may link directly to the product details
page for the substitute item using the URL below:Substitute: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030ATZHQ
The unavailable item has been cancelled from your order. If you would
like to purchase the substitute item, please visit our web site to
place a new order.We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you for shopping
at Amazon.com.Sincerely,
Customer Service Department
Amazon.com
Now, here’s the kicker: the price at this new URL is not the previous $41.99 but $56.49. Yeesh.
What this means, we think, is that if you’ve already pre-ordered Vol. 17 using our URL, we’re not getting anything from that order.
Now, we totally understand if you are going to look to other retailers, but if you are sticking with Amazon, we would like to request that you use THIS LINK to reorder. Thanks.
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
I pre-ordered Vol. XVI via the Sat. News link to Amazon and received it with no problems. But when I viewed my Amazon Wish List yesterday, it was still there. What’s up with that? (Maybe I added it twice?) Is getting “Final Sacrifice” really worth this $14.50 added expense? Hopefully the list price will drop closer to the release date. Without this being a “limited edition” set, I see no reason to panic. Yet….
My confidence in “rights holders” is small and of no account, remember the Rhino days? When I got that email I thought uh-oh.
Hopefully no other scary emails.
I canceled my order, gonna re-order through the site. SOLIDARITY BROTHERS!!!!
I really hope this is just an error on Amazon’s part and not really the price demanded by Shout Factory for this set. Fan copies of The Final Sacrifice are very high quality. If the day comes when all retailers are calling for near $60 for this set, I’ll likely hold off on it until I can find it used on ebay.
What this sounds like to me, and I could be wrong, is a ploy by Amazon to skirt their pre-order price guarantee by changing the item number.
Addressing some of the suppositions made above here by other readers as well as related info:
1) Shout! Factory’s price hasn’t changed. The list price is still the same as before. What has changed is Amazon’s current price. That price will surely change as time goes on, especially after DeepDiscount lists this item too. That usually forces a price drop by Amazon to match what DeepDiscount is doing.
2) Amazon’s price guarantee is still in effect. If you order this MST3K DVD set now at $56.49 and Amazon drops the price before release you’ll then only be charged the lowest price they offer before release.
3) The squeaky wheel gets the oil. I was the person who first alerted Satellite News to the fact that this item was available on Amazon a couple weeks ago. Today I let Satellite News know they’d been “cheated” out of their cut on the orders on that item after it was “discontinued”. After I wrote to Satellite News this morning about this issue I also wrote a letter to Amazon expressing my concern over the huge difference in price between the orginal item number and the new one for MST3K Volume XVII.
Well, I’m more than a bit frustrated and irritated at the situation. I went ahead and preordered again, but am pretty dissapointed with Amazon that they don’t seem to give a rip about honoring the lower price. I’ll be patient, and hope it does drop some, but I’ll also keep my eye on DeepDiscount and other retailers to see if there’s a better deal out there. I pretty much only use Amazon for online stuff, and I must admit that this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of thing happen. However, the idea that they set up a pre-order for an item, then say the item is no longer available, but I can place a preorder for the EXACT SAME THING for a higher price is SLEAZY, and I don’t have a whole lot of patience for that kind of crap. I suppose I should really be posting this somewhere on Amazon, I’ll have to look for the proper spot. I also realize that in my haste, I forgot to use the Satellite News link. Sorry, Sampo, and thanks for letting me vent. Merry Christmas :evil:
I re-pre-ordered the set with the link from here. I’m sure the price will go down by the time this DVD set is released.
Amazon is the cheapest right now for DVD’s.Amazon.Com DVD Blow Out Sale (Many DVDs for $5).However I heard about AmazingWatcher.Com which is a free website that will “watch” items for you on Amazon and let you know when amazon has them in stock at regular retail price.
This is why i never preorder anything unless its a couple of days before it comes out.
I just put it on my wishlist and order it a couple of weeks before release. There’s pretty much NEVER a reason to preorder something months in advance. As for the price, I’m sure it will drop again before release. They NEVER sell for that much, not even the 20th Anniv Ed with Crow did!
I got that 20th Anniversary ed. with Crow from Amazon over a month after it came out for the standard $41.00 price. This is a pretty lame move on their part, especially if Shout Factory’s price is the same. (Unless Rowsdower demanded a large fee for an interview, in which case the new price is worth every penny!)
I completely agree with # 6’s comments
It will go down no matter what price you pre-order it. The fact that you pre-ordered it means you will get it. Amazon’s lowest price guarantees they will lower it to what other online retailers’ lowest price is.
Its happened to me at least a dozen or so times. Just because you order it for 60.00 doesn’t mean that’s what you will spend on it that much I know. It could be 41.00 by the time its all said and done.
Pre-ordering means its mine mine mine :mrgreen:
Did anybody notice that if you follow the link it says that there’s an interview with Bruce Mitchell as one of the special features? Had that been announced yet? I can only imagine what that hockey goon looks like these days. He was in pretty rough shape the first time we saw him…
As I said before, write a letter to Amazon customer service, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. ;)
Re-pre-ordered via SN. Not overly concerned as there is plenty of time to change the order if a lower price becomes available.
I order through Amazon alot and have been getting a lot of refunds and “price adjustments” from them. Seems they’ve gotten in the habit lately of not knowing their actual prices until it comes time to ship the items. I just re-ordered using the Satellite News link and fully expect that I’ll be seeing another “price adjustment” e-mail from them shortly after it ships…
What I meant by my earlier post was, while it is very possible and maybe even likely that the price could come back down to $41.99 by the time they start filling orders, IF it does not, by changing the item number and canceling orders made at the $41.99 price, they won’t have to honor THAT price for the orders already placed. However, I agree that if one were to order now when it is listed at $56.49 and the price drops before the item is shipped, Amazon will honor the lower price. It just may not be as low as $41.99.
This is the first time Amazon has pulled this kind of a stunt as far as I know. If they do it again, I’ll stop giving them my business altogether. BTW, Buy.com is offering it at $44 and some change for preorder.
@ Kalbot#18:
I wholeheartedly agree with you, this did at least give the appearance of trying to get out of selling it at the larger discount and as I mentioned in earlier posts here I wrote to Amazon expressing my concern about that, politely but somewhat bluntly too. Their actions here may not have had underhanded motives, but the appearance is there nonetheless.
Again, I will suggest that people write to customer service expressing their concern over it. I feel better for having done so. ;)
I complained to Amazon and they offered a $5 credit to my account but had no reason why they changed the price.
Mr.(B)ob – thanks for the encouragement. I typically don’t bother with customer service; it often just seems like a waste of energy and time. However, I took your advice, and wrote a concise explanation of the situation as I saw it, expressed my displeasure with Amazon over it, and let them know that I was considering canceling my order. I got a prompt response, and while they didn’t really explain the reasoning behind the switch, they did lower the price on my order back to the original pre-order price. I honestly was shocked, and pleasantly surprised .
Has there been an “OFFICIAL Announcement” from Shout! about what the titles are and the release date?
So far, it’s OTHER sources (i.e. not official) that have said what titles are on it and when the release date is.
At deepdiscount.com ( I don’t work for them ) they have volume XVII for pre-order at $41.50. Amazon at $56.49, no thanks!!!
March is a long ways away. It’s 53.99 right now, and for my money that’s fine for 101 and Rowsdower. Not to mention my all time most quoted riff…”I’ve got to simplify my masturbation ritual.”
Anyone burned by this willing to write to The Consumerist? They’re usually pretty interested in things like this…especially if it happens en masse.
Well, since I was busy and missed the Pre-Sale and Vol. 17 notices the first time around, I’m almost glad to see this development. If the past is any teacher at all, it has taught me to pre-order ALL of my MST3K DVDs, because heaven knows what wonkyness can develop in the near future. I used the provided link to Amazon, hoping their price guarantee kicks in when it ships and shaves $10 or so off the final price (that happens a lot with them).
This is just a lazy way for Amazon to back out of their low price guarantee for pre-orders. They want to charge more for everyone, not just for orders after they changed the price.
Normally, I pre-order through Amazon, using the link on Satellite News, but it looks like Barnes & Noble’s Member price is going to be only $43.19. I think I’ll buy from them, and use the money I save to buy a T-shirt from Satellite News’ store instead….