Amazon to end refunds if prices drop after purchase

Amazon will no longer give refunds to customers if the price of an item drops after a purchase and the customer notifies customer service. However, it appeared that Amazon stopped providing refunds in such cases earlier this month, except for TV sets, according to price-tracking companies and customer postings on Reddit.

According to commentators, the move might have something to do with the rise of startups that tracked prices for Amazon customers and automatically request requested refunds when appropriate. This was first pointed out by a Santa Monica-based startup called Earny which is supported by the startup incubator Science, to Recode.

Earny checks the email inbox for digital receipts, and then continuously monitors the price on a retailer's website to see if it dropped.

Amazon spokeswoman Julie Law said the policy was always limited to televisions and that any customer who had received refunds on other products got it as an "exception," Recode reported. However, those exceptions were earlier given out freely, and now they are not.

According to commentators it was also clear that startup like Earny and Paribus, which require users to hand over their Amazon account credentials, were on Amazon's radar.

"We take customer security very seriously and want to remind them not to share their Amazon account credentials with anyone," Law said.

Meanwhile, Macworld, points out that Amazon's price change policy had changed several times over the years, and at one time the company allowed price refunds for 30 days after a purchase, which later changed to just 7 days as prices on Amazon change often.

Commentators point out that the move was surprising even though Amazon was looking to limit its price change handouts. This policy, however, had been a huge incentive for folks choosing Amazon as their go-to online commerce platform.