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Welcome to the Community Forums at HiveWire 3D! Please note that the user name you choose for our forum will be displayed to the public. Our store was closed as January 4, 2021. You can find HiveWire 3D and Lisa's Botanicals products, as well as many of our Contributing Artists, at Renderosity. This thread lists where many are now selling their products. Renderosity is generously putting products which were purchased at HiveWire 3D and are now sold at their store into customer accounts by gifting them. This is not an overnight process so please be patient, if you have already emailed them about this. If you have NOT emailed them, please see the 2nd post in this thread for instructions on what you need to do
The Anchorage, Part 3
- Thread starter Lorraine
- Start date
Mythocentric
Extraordinary
Humm! I need a new pair of headphones so about 2 am (GMT) I popped onto Amazon to check the price of my favourite Audio-Technica ATH-M50 studio cans which were priced at £121 free delivery (rrp: £158). I've just been back to order them (9.30 am), after checking my bank balance, and they are now priced at £138.95 + delivery! Have I been gazumped or has inflation suddenly taken a turn for the worse? Either way, my money stayed in the bank! 
That's the one frustrating thing with amazon. Prices are always changing ... up and down.
Mythocentric
Extraordinary
Frustrating is the word Satira! I expect prices to vary in today's climate but a near £20 price hike in a matter of hours is a bit beyond the pale! If that actually happened with a high street store they'd soon find themselves trying to explain themselves to a court. It's not even as if the price has gone up on the cans because I checked with Audio-Technica and the rrp hasn't changed. Not to worry though. I've found a shop in Preston which sells them at £130.95 and daughter Emma is picking them up for me today on her way home from work. A few pounds more for me but £138.95 less in Amazons greedy pocket!
Was it possible that the first price you saw was a different seller than the last price?
Still, I don't get why prices are constantly changing just because it's a different seller (or not). Most things, I just wait until the price is more to my liking. But with cat litter and cat food that isn't exactly an option.
Still, I don't get why prices are constantly changing just because it's a different seller (or not). Most things, I just wait until the price is more to my liking. But with cat litter and cat food that isn't exactly an option.
The really strange thing with that is, I purchased my Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes from them last September, and then bought another pack, from the same vendor, at a lower price a couple/three weeks ago. The very same vendor, and it was a different price. I don't get that, especially since Zeiss is a large, well known company that creates camera lenses. You would think the manufacturer would have some say in the pricing, but then these are resellers, so they decide what they want to charge. ~shakes head~
Mythocentric
Extraordinary
Nope! Same seller Satira! Amazon! The interesting thing though was after my daughter picked up the cans from the shop in Preston (which hadn't changed price!) I checked the price at Amazon again and it had reverted to £121 but plus delivery including the information that they only had three sets left. Now I can understand a price change with new stock so I suspect, on this occasion, someone jumped the gun a bit early there. At the end of the day, I only paid a little more than I would have on Amazon with delivery added on and, I still saved £28 on the rrp!
If you want price-hiking try the sellers at eBay. They are a load of fun. For example, I have a signed, first edition, hardback copy of Terry Pratchett's novel Nation (which he signed for me at a bookshop in Manchester before he became Sir Terry) which is one of my most beloved possessions! Not that I'd ever sell it, but its actually worth somewhere around £400 today. You can still pick up unsigned copies on eBay with prices from around £200 to £1400! Go figure!
Terre
Renowned
That "jumped the gun" bit does sound like that may be what happened.
Now in a brick and mortar grocery store you don't really have much choice. When a vendor's invoice shows a new price whether it be up or down the simplest way to handle things is just to change the retail based on the new wholesale right then. It's simply not possible to keep track of which items came in at the old cost and which the new one. In the long run it balances out for both customer and store. In the short run when a big discount kicks in the customers end up getting some items for less than the store paid for them when they came in as there presence on the shelves predated the deal.
Meanwhile.... Having a fun/irritating time learning the new program so what happens? The printer in the office decides to start jamming and can barely print out normal jobs, forget the label jobs I need to do. Hopefully a tech will be by this morning to replace it.
Now in a brick and mortar grocery store you don't really have much choice. When a vendor's invoice shows a new price whether it be up or down the simplest way to handle things is just to change the retail based on the new wholesale right then. It's simply not possible to keep track of which items came in at the old cost and which the new one. In the long run it balances out for both customer and store. In the short run when a big discount kicks in the customers end up getting some items for less than the store paid for them when they came in as there presence on the shelves predated the deal.
Meanwhile.... Having a fun/irritating time learning the new program so what happens? The printer in the office decides to start jamming and can barely print out normal jobs, forget the label jobs I need to do. Hopefully a tech will be by this morning to replace it.
Mythocentric
Extraordinary
I don't know about the US Miss B, but in the UK and Europe manufacturers are required to set an rrp (recommended retail price) which retail sellers aren't allowed to exceed. However most manufacturers also have a factor price index where the greater the quantity a retailer buys at wholesale the lower the unit price becomes which allows the retailer to set his own profit margin. An example would be, for instance, when I bought my Fender Stratocaster I paid £790 for it at Promenade Music here in Morecambe. At a smaller music shop in Preston the same guitar was priced at £950. The recommended retail price in the UK was, at the time £1075.
StudioMartillo
Engaged
Since folks liked my story in Becoming Nomads, should I tell another about the time?
OK..
The main character is Trent.
He was a local but not an academy student.
Trent was a minor and lived alone, he had lost his parents but no one ever talked about it.
Long black veil.
Another key character is Alohna.
Alohna got her start in life as a teenage prostitute and rose the the rank of major drug dealer.
Source of narcotics for all the street dealers, so we all knew she was connected.
There came a time when a new guy appeared in town and was living with Alohna.
This character, name of Cyrus, was a real tough type, looked like he worked out every day.
We all figured he was mafia muscle or something of that sort.
Well the next thing you know Cyrus was hired by the city police dept. and everyone was sayin'
'Oh there is something very very wrong here.'
And then one day a group of students and Trent were sittin' at a table in the park smokin' a reefer and along comes Cyrus.
All the students were sayin' 'Well, time to get home, got homework to do, see ya' later'
But Trent just sat there and took a big hit and as Cyrus walked up he flicked the reefer
in the creek and blew a big cloud of smoke in Cyrus' face.
Cyrus didn't like that. He said, 'You're under arrest for possession of marijuana'
Nobody saw Trent for a while and when he didn't show up for band practice,
I knew right away because his band rented rehearsal space in the back room of our store.
Trent never did that kind of thing so the next day I went over to the Tire Shop where he worked to see what the story was.
Asked his boss, 'Where's Trent?'
The boss says 'In jail'
OH NO!
One of my good friends was Jackie, daughter of a city court Judge, so I asked her to find out why Trent was in jail.
When she did, she told me, and her best friend Sharon, daughter of the Sheriff, and we all went to the jail to visit.
When we heard the story we were furious.
Trent couldn't do anything to help himself and with no near gaurdian he was in a bad spot.
But we knew they had no evidence, and we knew that the whole thing really stunk, and everybody loved Trent so we decide to take action.
We worked out this plan.
Get a reefer and go to the park, same time same place, and sit there smokin' 'till Cyrus comes struttin' his bad stuff.
One of us, I was chosen, would have a little baggy of some garden herb, like Oregano, in a pocket, to really provoke ole' Cyrus, and
get us all arrested.
It worked.
And when we got into booking we wouldn't tell our real names, but names out of pop tunes so it was perfectly clear we were lying.
Meanwhile, Cyrus turned in his evidence and let us all know we were in big trouble and not tellin' who our parents were wasn't gonna' help one bit.
But when it got late, and Sharon wasn't home, her dad started calling her friends and found out Jackie wasn't home either.
Then he got real worried and called the hospital, then the city police.
They said 'Well, we got a group of kids in here but they won't tell us who they are.'
The Sheriff went real quick to the city jail and saw just what he expected to and told Cyrus
'I'm takin' these girls into my custody, see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.'
And then the evidence tech came in an was laughing at Cyrus but wouldn't say anything.
Then alas, I had to tell who I was and my father came to get me.
He was very angry and threatening to kick me out but I told him
'This was something we had to do.
Trent is in jail and he's innocent and we had to help him out.
And we're innocent too and you'll see very soon just what happens.'
So of course Jackie had to explain to her father, and that was all it took.
Next day Trent was out of jail and Cyrus was nowhere to be seen,
and was never heard from again.
OK..
The main character is Trent.
He was a local but not an academy student.
Trent was a minor and lived alone, he had lost his parents but no one ever talked about it.
Long black veil.
Another key character is Alohna.
Alohna got her start in life as a teenage prostitute and rose the the rank of major drug dealer.
Source of narcotics for all the street dealers, so we all knew she was connected.
There came a time when a new guy appeared in town and was living with Alohna.
This character, name of Cyrus, was a real tough type, looked like he worked out every day.
We all figured he was mafia muscle or something of that sort.
Well the next thing you know Cyrus was hired by the city police dept. and everyone was sayin'
'Oh there is something very very wrong here.'
And then one day a group of students and Trent were sittin' at a table in the park smokin' a reefer and along comes Cyrus.
All the students were sayin' 'Well, time to get home, got homework to do, see ya' later'
But Trent just sat there and took a big hit and as Cyrus walked up he flicked the reefer
in the creek and blew a big cloud of smoke in Cyrus' face.
Cyrus didn't like that. He said, 'You're under arrest for possession of marijuana'
Nobody saw Trent for a while and when he didn't show up for band practice,
I knew right away because his band rented rehearsal space in the back room of our store.
Trent never did that kind of thing so the next day I went over to the Tire Shop where he worked to see what the story was.
Asked his boss, 'Where's Trent?'
The boss says 'In jail'
OH NO!
One of my good friends was Jackie, daughter of a city court Judge, so I asked her to find out why Trent was in jail.
When she did, she told me, and her best friend Sharon, daughter of the Sheriff, and we all went to the jail to visit.
When we heard the story we were furious.
Trent couldn't do anything to help himself and with no near gaurdian he was in a bad spot.
But we knew they had no evidence, and we knew that the whole thing really stunk, and everybody loved Trent so we decide to take action.
We worked out this plan.
Get a reefer and go to the park, same time same place, and sit there smokin' 'till Cyrus comes struttin' his bad stuff.
One of us, I was chosen, would have a little baggy of some garden herb, like Oregano, in a pocket, to really provoke ole' Cyrus, and
get us all arrested.
It worked.
And when we got into booking we wouldn't tell our real names, but names out of pop tunes so it was perfectly clear we were lying.
Meanwhile, Cyrus turned in his evidence and let us all know we were in big trouble and not tellin' who our parents were wasn't gonna' help one bit.
But when it got late, and Sharon wasn't home, her dad started calling her friends and found out Jackie wasn't home either.
Then he got real worried and called the hospital, then the city police.
They said 'Well, we got a group of kids in here but they won't tell us who they are.'
The Sheriff went real quick to the city jail and saw just what he expected to and told Cyrus
'I'm takin' these girls into my custody, see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.'
And then the evidence tech came in an was laughing at Cyrus but wouldn't say anything.
Then alas, I had to tell who I was and my father came to get me.
He was very angry and threatening to kick me out but I told him
'This was something we had to do.
Trent is in jail and he's innocent and we had to help him out.
And we're innocent too and you'll see very soon just what happens.'
So of course Jackie had to explain to her father, and that was all it took.
Next day Trent was out of jail and Cyrus was nowhere to be seen,
and was never heard from again.
This is pretty much the same here if you're purchasing something in a brick and mortar store. Amazon, however, isn't selling the Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes I purchased themselves, they are being sold by a reseller. Amazon is just a site where you can go and access the reseller's products. There are Amazon resellers who own their own stores, but aren't necessarily located in any large city, and Amazon gives them an opportunity to reach more buyers, so the products are "sold by" the reseller, but are "available through" Amazon. I have no idea what, if anything, Amazon gains monetarily by this arrangement, so they may receive some percentage or fee for making the products available through their website.
Dragonsegg
Eager
For the US there is the Amazon price tracker, Amazon price history charts, price watches, and price drop alerts. website that tracks prices on Amazon. You can see if you are getting ripped off and I think set alarms when the price of something you wants reaches your goal.
If you use Chrome, you can get the Honey extension which does the same thing for Amazon, as well as many other online stores. It also will search for and apply coupon codes at checkout.
I use it both for Amazon and Fresh Direct.
I use it both for Amazon and Fresh Direct.
AlphinaNovaStar
Energetic
Movie theatre candy is over priced. Unless I got ripped off by using a five dollar coupon for one bag of candy at the theatre.
