Consumer Alert: Looking for summer deals? Don’t forget Amazon’s Outlet

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Parents, this is the time we’re all preparing for summer camps.  A reminder from your consumer investigator to check the often-overlooked Amazon Outlet when shopping for gear.  Yes, Amazon has an online outlet store.   My middle son wants hiking boots for camp.  So I’ve been looking for deals.  And I found some Merrell Men’s Moab hiking boots on sale Monday afternoon in Amazon’s Outlet store for $65.60.  That’s 60 percent off.  Note the price will change according to the number of products in stock.

But not every outlet deal is the best deal.  So check a site called camelcamelcamel that gives you the price history of Amazon products. Just copy and paste the url and voila!  I see the high price is $155 and the low price is just over $100.  That means the current outlet price is $35 less than the lowest price ever listed.  If you’re buying online anyway, it pays to check the Amazon Outlet.    

But I’m reticent about spending $65 for boots for a growing child.  So I did a broader search on Google Shopping and found the hiking boots for $43.87 on Zappos.  It just goes to show that you can save a bundle by letting your fingers do the shopping.