I don't think it's a grand Amazon conspiracy. These other guys just set up a storefront that has Amazon as the back end. If you click through to the product and buy it, the front end guy gets a cut. Honestly, I don't know how any of these people makes any money because I don't understand the incentive of going through them instead of just going to Amazon. It's not like they even hide the fact that you're buying from Amazon. Putting "-amazon" isn't effective (contrary to a posting I read). I don't know what to tell you except to get a list of reputable online tool merchants and just search their sites.
A brief list from my own experience and an archive search of rec.ww
formatting link
formatting link
- Canada
formatting link
- Used tools
formatting link
formatting link
formatting link
Anyone else please feel free to add other suggestions.
Just has something to do with meta tags. People stuff hidden things into their HTML to try to make it come to the top of search engines.
There's also some element of paying Google money too, probably.
Anyway, why do you say Amazon isn't a "real" company? I bought my JET mini lathe from them for $199.95, free shipping. Free shipping on an 80-pound hunk of cast iron is a damn good deal!
I thought it was pretty weird buying a machine from them too, until I compared prices. They had the lowest price on this item, plus I saved around $40 in shipping. Kind of a no-brainer. (No commercial interest, just happy with how the transaction went.)
The site lists rebates/coupons each with limitations, terms and conditions. "tk0410" apparently applied to toolking.com purchases. $10 off after spending $150+ is no big deal. Amazon.com had some great discounts including free s/h over the holidays.
There are many rebates / coupons for tools, and they are not automatically applied when making purchases. Buyers have to ferret out these savings and then apply them either at vendor sites or by meeting requirements and sending them to manufacturers.
Amazon is great for not telling buyers that there are additional coupons / savings to be had. It pays to be savvy.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.