Not a prime deal: Is Amazon burying the best price?

DigitalTrends was able to recreate what ProPublica found, both on individual product pages and through search — and for a variety of products. While Amazon was able to catch this particular one, and at least fix it for us Prime members or those who meet its free shipping minimum purchase, for a time it was even more expensive for us, too.

But like we said, this happened on several products we saw. ProPublica itself followed over 250 products across several weeks by the publication, and 75 percent of the time suggested products that were either from Amazon or shippers partnering with Amazon. The promotion occurred in cases even where that particular product was clearly more expensive.

Even in search functions supposed to give “price plus shipping,” 80 percent of the time Amazon-linked products got better billing. In this case though, Prime or free-shipping-eligible customers were seeing the correct ranking.

More worrisome is Amazon’s response to the matter. In a statement to ProPublica, spokesperson Erik Fairleigh claimed that the product listing methods used account for more factors than just price, saying “vast selection; world-class customer service; and fast, free delivery are critically important.” But at no place does Amazon make it clear in its search results that other factors are in play.

This means you need to check those prices carefully the next time you shop at Amazon — and make sure you’re seeing the best deal. On average, the difference is substantial: an average of $7.88 among those 250 products followed, generally a 20 percent premium, ProPublica says.