I’m a frequent shopper on Amazon.  And I regularly put things into my Amazon cart and let them sit there unpurchased for long periods of time.  But recently I’ve noticed that the prices on these items in my cart can fluctuate greatly from day to day.  I noticed it first when I was getting ready to buy camping cots.  I had done the research a long time ago and put the cots I wanted into my Amazon cart for purchase closer to the time when I would need them.  But as soon as the weather got warmer, the price on the cots shot up.  One of them by almost 50%.  So I waited.  And eventually the price came back down.  And I purchased before it could go back up again.

Last week I noticed it with my dream treadmill (because I’ve been searching for a treadmill for some time).  Good quality treadmills aren’t cheap.  And the one I’ve been eyeing sells for about $1,300.  Then one day last week, the price dropped by 10%–$130.  It stayed there for just a couple of days, and then returned to its former norm of $1,300.  I have to wonder if it will ever drop down again.

This weekend it was running shoes.  I’ve been thinking about getting a new pair of running shoes since I started running outside more in this warm weather we’ve been having.  I picked out several pair I liked and just left them in my Amazon cart, marked “save for later.”  My favorite of these shoes was $46 when I first put them in the cart.  Then on Saturday I noticed they dropped to $42.  Then Sunday they dropped to $40 (and I pulled the trigger and bought them, because that’s a GREAT price on good running shoes).

If you like to shop online, be aware that prices can fluctuate from day to day.  You may want to take your chances and wait to see if the price on your item drops.  There’s always the chance it may go up, of course.  But what goes up must come down.  Watch your saved items in your online cart and try to buy when the price is at its lowest.