All purpose sales and sales rumors/anecdotes thread next gen+

[patsu]

I think this was true two years ago. I don't think it's true today. Like all online retailers Amazon had to convince buyers who had been "trained" to go to a store to buy goods to try online shopping. They did this by being very aggressive with pricing. This had the desired effect and now it is the brick and mortar stores who have had to get aggressive with pricing in order to overcome the advantages of the online shopping experience.

Amazon's pricing is now typically comparable to any other major retailer, especially now that its competitors will often price match.

Not quite. Amazon is funneling folks into their loyalty system.

People also won't forget about their "training" that easily. They have been used to cheaper price on Amazon for so long. They will continue that mentality. Some are already used to Amazon's loyalty system. Bottomline is amazon users are used to lower price. If you want to fight _on_ Amazon with similar products, you fight on price chiefly. If you want to fight _against_ Amazon, then it's better to have exclusive value or amazing brand power (e.g., Apple vs Amazon). Few people can match Amazon's price when push comes to shove.

Price matching form B&M stores just proves that those consumers are price sensitive. They want to grab as many customers as possible during the promo period for whatever reasons (e.g., holiday season, meeting quotas, etc.)

 

[Rangers]

Yeah. I think XBO - PS4 sales will be a bit closer for Dec. than Nov., but it's hard to tell. It could go either way, honestly.

What's going to be really interesting is to see how Jan. turns out. PS4 is likely to hold steady. But is XBO going to completely peter out? Or did Nov. and Dec. give it enough of a boost to keep interest higher for the non-holiday months?

Regards,
SB

Judging by Amazon XBO would win much bigger in December than November. Who knows if that will reflect reality though.

These deep discounts and software bundling really mean these systems hit the mainstream faster than ever. That's the advantage of lackluster GPU's.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Judging by Amazon XBO would win much bigger in December than November. Who knows if that will reflect reality though.

That's what I'm thinking. Although we all recognise that hypothetically an 18th placed PS4 could be selling very nearly as many units as a first placed XB1, I think in real terms we're going to be seeing XB1 well out in front. This is actually another good litmus test for Amazon rankings.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Not quite. Amazon is funneling folks into their loyalty system.

What loyalty system is this? I know Amazon varies operation region to region but I've been an Amazon UK customer since they only sold books and although I'm also a Prime subscriber I won't buy games from Amazon because they are among the most expensive places to buy here. In cost tiers there is the official RRP, there is Amazon then there is mostly everybody else. I mostly use shopto.net

Are Amazon in other countries really the cheapest place to buy? I guess that explains their lack of profit year on year.

 

[iroboto]

That's what I'm thinking. Although we all recognise that hypothetically an 18th placed PS4 could be selling very nearly as many units as a first placed XB1, I think in real terms we're going to be seeing XB1 well out in front. This is actually another good litmus test for Amazon rankings.

Something to keep of note here(for everyone else catching up) is that December Amazon and NPD will be incorporating that's extended Xbox BF deal into its numbers which were excluded from last month. (Which they won by 400K) It's what likely put it at position #1 to begin with considering its rocket start, but we have little to no way to know how well it's sold post cyber Monday since it can't only move down while PS4 has been steadily moving up. For those making predictions X1 started #1 in December and PS4 at 38 IIRC.

It will be a good litmus test to see how the final numbers turn out. I am in the camp of Xbox winning December judging by the ranking behaviours but I have no idea by how much.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So XB1 on Amazon started with a whole load of November sales that weren't included in November's rankings? That would explain the pretty bizarre catapulting of XB1 to its new top spot, but we also have hourly rates placing XB1 at the top position, so I'm not sure that's the half of it.

 

[iroboto]

So XB1 on Amazon started with a whole load of November sales that weren't included in November's rankings? That would explain the pretty bizarre catapulting of XB1 to its new top spot, but we also have hourly rates placing XB1 at the top position, so I'm not sure that's the half of it.

Cyber Monday was officially Dec 1st, and the XB1 bundle + game + Gift card or a second game continued from BF through to Cyber Monday. I don't think the BF PS4 deals were extended past BF or became different unlike Xbox.
Many of us just assumed the cyber Monday deals would just be factored into the NPD results (they normally would) but thanksgiving came too late this year so there is some spill over.

This would explain Amazon's ranking since they are only looking at calendar month. I think this is the case with NPD. I'm looking into their reporting ranges but I can't seem to find it.

Edit: NPD reporting range was 11.02.2014 to 11.29.2014 when they won by 400K.

Decembers NPD for XB1 should include the sales from Sunday (11/30) and Monday (12/1).

Amazon rankings boosted by the Monday (12/1).

 

[mrcorbo]

Not quite. Amazon is funneling folks into their loyalty system. People also won't forget about their "training" that easily. They have been used to cheaper price on Amazon for so long. They will continue that mentality. Some are already used to Amazon's loyalty system. Bottomline is amazon users are used to lower price. If you want to fight _on_ Amazon with similar products, you fight on price chiefly. If you want to fight _against_ Amazon, then it's better to have exclusive value or amazing brand power (e.g., Apple vs Amazon).

But it's not a static pool of customers. Amazon's customer base has been consistently growing and therefore the influence of that initial batch of bargain-hunters on the overall behavior of the customer base is being diluted over time as that customer base broadens to include different classes of consumer.

Few people can match Amazon's price when push comes to shove.

Most of the major retailers with an online presence can and do match Amazon's pricing and many smaller online retailers often beat their pricing.

Price matching form B&M stores just proves that those consumers are price sensitive. They want to grab as many customers as possible during the promo period for whatever reasons (e.g., holiday season, meeting quotas, etc.)

Price-matching isn't being done just as a promotion. It is a standing policy at Best Buy, at least.

 

[mrcorbo]

What loyalty system is this? I know Amazon varies operation region to region but I've been an Amazon UK customer since they only sold books and although I'm also a Prime subscriber I won't buy games from Amazon because they are among the most expensive places to buy here. In cost tiers there is the official RRP, there is Amazon then there is mostly everybody else. I mostly use shopto.net

Are Amazon in other countries really the cheapest place to buy? I guess that explains their lack of profit year on year.

Your observations in the UK match mine in the US. I think Patsu is just wrong. Their lack of profit over the years has often been due to them pouring a lot of the money they make back into the company.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

In cost tiers there is the official RRP, there is Amazon then there is mostly everybody else. I mostly use shopto.net

Whenever I compare prices, ShopTo tends to be be higher than Amazon more than the other way round. Just plugging in some front-page (ShopTo) games into Amazon:

Captain Toad, Wii U : ShopTo = £29.86, Amazon = £28
Watch Dogs PS4 : ShopTo = £22.85, Amazon = £17.49
Lego Batman 360 : ShopTo = £28.85, Amazon = £22
Battlefield 4 X1 : ShopTo = £21.85, Amazon = £23.99

One would have to compare a lot more prices, but by-and-large Amazon does very well. Considering their size and buying power, that's to be expected. Certainly I'd never have a go-to store and would shop around as you never quite know who's offering the best price!

 

[dobwal]

I am trying to follow the discussion but I don't understand why whether or not Amazon is a value based retailer matters. Doesn't a good 80-90% of console market consists of value shoppers?

 

[London Geezer]

I don't agree on the Amazon being more expensive talk. I literally just bought Shadow of Mordor for £20, Metro Redux for £17 (madness! Two full games!) and Wolfenstein for around £20. Great deals to me.
With them it really depends on the day and availability.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Whenever I compare prices, ShopTo tends to be be higher than Amazon more than the other way round.

I don't agree on the Amazon being more expensive talk. I literally just bought Shadow of Mordor for £20, Metro Redux for £17 (madness! Two full games!) and Wolfenstein for around £20. Great deals to me. With them it really depends on the day and availability.

Amazon currently have a great sale on games but these prices aren't the norm. At launch games are typically £5-10 under the UK RRP, Shopto are typically £10-15 below RRP and Tesco and Asda are typically around £15-30 under RRP, often selling £59.99 games for £29.99 or £34.99.

I've never seen Amazon cheaper than Shopto for the launch games that I've bought.

 

[mrcorbo]

Whenever I compare prices, ShopTo tends to be be higher than Amazon more than the other way round. Just plugging in some front-page (ShopTo) games into Amazon:

Captain Toad, Wii U : ShopTo = £29.86, Amazon = £28
Watch Dogs PS4 : ShopTo = £22.85, Amazon = £17.49
Lego Batman 360 : ShopTo = £28.85, Amazon = £22
Battlefield 4 X1 : ShopTo = £21.85, Amazon = £23.99

One would have to compare a lot more prices, but by-and-large Amazon does very well. Considering their size and buying power, that's to be expected. Certainly I'd never have a go-to store and would shop around as you never quite know who's offering the best price!

I don't agree on the Amazon being more expensive talk. I literally just bought Shadow of Mordor for £20, Metro Redux for £17 (madness! Two full games!) and Wolfenstein for around £20. Great deals to me.
With them it really depends on the day and availability.

There was a point when Amazon were almost always the cheapest. This is now less often the case. I would classify their pricing as generally competitive.

My point is that they are now more representative of the overall market than they were in the past and I don't think it's correct to dismiss their sales rankings as skewed relative to the market at large. I am still not totally comfortable with trying to draw conclusions about the entire market based on data from a single retailer, but there has been a pretty strong correlation of late between these Amazon sales rankings and what sales actually ended up being at the end of each sales period.

Amazon sales rankings may not be telling us everything, but they sure seem to be able to tell us something.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Amazon currently have a great sale on games but these prices aren't the norm. At launch games are typically £5-10 under the UK RRP, Shopto are typically £10-15 below RRP and Tesco and Asda are typically around £15-30 under RRP, often selling £59.99 games for £29.99 or £34.99.

I've never seen Amazon cheaper than Shopto for the launch games that I've bought.

That might well be true because I never buy games at launch!

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Are Amazon in other countries really the cheapest place to buy? I guess that explains their lack of profit year on year.

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. They are more often equal price or only slightly cheaper (less than 1%) than most major online shops. Buy.com, Newegg.com, Bestbuy.com, etc. And it isn't uncommon for Amazon in the US to be more expensive than other major online shops or cheaper. Basically Amazon is the same as any other online shop at the moment, other than the convenience they offer shoppers. They were the first to have 1 button shopping, for example. Prime is a huge draw to some people I know as well.

Regards,
SB

 

[Silent_Buddha]

And while I'm here, the weekend update for Amazon December rankings.

01 - XBO: AC (unchanged)
18 - PS4 (unchanged)
90 - PS4: Destiny (down 1 spot)

PS4: Destiny might just hang on and stay on the chart for December.

2 PSN gift cards in the top 20 now (11 and 12 compared to just 17 for midweek). Last minute shopping? People buying PSN cards with money from Christmas?

9 Microsoft (-1), 5 Nintendo (unchanged), 6 Sony (+1) titles in the Top 20. Highest Sony product at 11 is a 20 USD PSN gift card.

Not expecting any major changes for mid-week or end of month update at this point.

Can't wait to see how January plays out.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Can't wait to see how January plays out.

Up to the end of November, we all knew how it was going down. PS4 owns the year. MS could win November with major discounting but then PS4 would return, maybe with a fairly even December. That XB1 has sat at the number one spot all month is ridonkulous! It doesn't fit any of the prior patterns. So now the tea leaves are all messed up and anything could happen in the US.

 

[chris1515]

Up to the end of November, we all knew how it was going down. PS4 owns the year. MS could win November with major discounting but then PS4 would return, maybe with a fairly even December. That XB1 has sat at the number one spot all month is ridonkulous! It doesn't fit any of the prior patterns. So now the tea leaves are all messed up and anything could happen in the US.

Before talking about January we need to wait if the 349 dollars price is only temporary and they will go back to 399 dollars. I don't believe it I think the standard bundle will stay at 349 dollars (Xbox One and one controller without a game...).

 

[fehu]

Platform N. America Europe Japan Global

255,642 - 312,857 - 65,419 - 781,557

202,033 - 171,446 - 161,963 - 576,678

320,727 - 152,358 - 833 - 546,189

114,147 - 61,708 - 28,819 - 220,529

91,955 - 23,574 - 223 - 132,413

31,400 - 54,688 - 7,443 - 120,620

11,095 - 20,012 - 23,888 - 64,600

8,337 - 7,607 - 204 - 17,853

VGChartz 13 dec