New Lawsuit Against Amazon: 'Subscribe and Save' Program Can Actually Cost You More (msn.com)
(Monday June 01, 2026 @03:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the subscribe-and-bait-and-switch dept.)
- Reference: 0183517682
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/01/0453207/new-lawsuit-against-amazon-subscribe-and-save-program-can-actually-cost-you-more
- Source link: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/amazon-lured-customers-into-enrolling-in-subscribe-save-then-quietly-jacked-up-the-prices-lawsuit-alleges/ar-AA24gSSv
Amazon's "Subscribe & Save" program — for recurring purchasees — has triggered a new lawsuit, [1]reports Oregon Live .
"The lawsuit contends that after luring in customers with 'artificially low prices,' the world's biggest online retailer jacked up the prices in the months after their first shipments arrived."
> In some cases, the lawsuit claims that customers were paying more for the exact same items through the Subscribe & Save program than they would be if they bought the items from other sellers on the site. That was true even when the up to 15% discount that [2]the subscription program offers was calculated into the final purchase price, according to the suit. The Seattle law firm that filed the May 15 lawsuit says that Amazon's business practices amount to "deceptive," "misleading" and "bait and switch tactics." The firm is seeking class-action status in U.S. District Court for western Washington, a move that could potentially draw tens of millions of Amazon customers from across the U.S. into the litigation...
>
> [The suit says the plaintiffs' first order of espresso coffee grounds was $16.60.] When their order auto-renewed a few months later, the price had gone up to $17.04. A few months later, it rose to $21.25. Then in October 2024, the price increased to $28.69 — about $12 more than the Hermans had paid at the beginning of their subscription, according to the lawsuit. [The discount can be as little as 5% or up to 15%, Amazon told Oregon Live in a statement, noting customers do receive an email showing "applicable savings" before the orders ship. But...] The suit says Amazon gave the Hermans little notice to cancel the order or to shop around because it notified them of the latest price increase in an email at 8:54 p.m. — the same night it processed their order and charged them.
>
> The suit says if the Hermans had been given the time to shop around for a better price, they would have found that another Amazon seller was charging $25.90 — or $2.79 less — for the identical item. Amazon's " [3]Subscribe & Save Terms & Conditions" page tells customers that it "may change the price for a Subscribe & Save subscription at any time for any reason...."
>
> The analytical group Consumer Intelligence Research Partners says about [4]25% of U.S. Amazon customers are enrolled in the Subscribe & Save program.
Oregon Live got Amazon's response, which suggested their program saves customers time and money "through convenient, flexible, and recurring deliveries". (So when customers saw "Subscribe and Save", they were perhaps supposed to intuit the word save referred in part to... time-saving?)
The plaintiffs' lawyer argues instead that "When you sign up for something that is called 'Subscribe & Save,' you'd expect that you're saving by subscribing. But that's not actually what's happening in many cases."
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/amazon-lured-customers-into-enrolling-in-subscribe-save-then-quietly-jacked-up-the-prices-lawsuit-alleges/ar-AA24gSSv
[2] https://amzn.to/4vkUrOS
[3] https://amzn.to/3RwYQ2D
[4] https://cirpamazon.substack.com/p/new-years-resolution-subscribe-and
"The lawsuit contends that after luring in customers with 'artificially low prices,' the world's biggest online retailer jacked up the prices in the months after their first shipments arrived."
> In some cases, the lawsuit claims that customers were paying more for the exact same items through the Subscribe & Save program than they would be if they bought the items from other sellers on the site. That was true even when the up to 15% discount that [2]the subscription program offers was calculated into the final purchase price, according to the suit. The Seattle law firm that filed the May 15 lawsuit says that Amazon's business practices amount to "deceptive," "misleading" and "bait and switch tactics." The firm is seeking class-action status in U.S. District Court for western Washington, a move that could potentially draw tens of millions of Amazon customers from across the U.S. into the litigation...
>
> [The suit says the plaintiffs' first order of espresso coffee grounds was $16.60.] When their order auto-renewed a few months later, the price had gone up to $17.04. A few months later, it rose to $21.25. Then in October 2024, the price increased to $28.69 — about $12 more than the Hermans had paid at the beginning of their subscription, according to the lawsuit. [The discount can be as little as 5% or up to 15%, Amazon told Oregon Live in a statement, noting customers do receive an email showing "applicable savings" before the orders ship. But...] The suit says Amazon gave the Hermans little notice to cancel the order or to shop around because it notified them of the latest price increase in an email at 8:54 p.m. — the same night it processed their order and charged them.
>
> The suit says if the Hermans had been given the time to shop around for a better price, they would have found that another Amazon seller was charging $25.90 — or $2.79 less — for the identical item. Amazon's " [3]Subscribe & Save Terms & Conditions" page tells customers that it "may change the price for a Subscribe & Save subscription at any time for any reason...."
>
> The analytical group Consumer Intelligence Research Partners says about [4]25% of U.S. Amazon customers are enrolled in the Subscribe & Save program.
Oregon Live got Amazon's response, which suggested their program saves customers time and money "through convenient, flexible, and recurring deliveries". (So when customers saw "Subscribe and Save", they were perhaps supposed to intuit the word save referred in part to... time-saving?)
The plaintiffs' lawyer argues instead that "When you sign up for something that is called 'Subscribe & Save,' you'd expect that you're saving by subscribing. But that's not actually what's happening in many cases."
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/amazon-lured-customers-into-enrolling-in-subscribe-save-then-quietly-jacked-up-the-prices-lawsuit-alleges/ar-AA24gSSv
[2] https://amzn.to/4vkUrOS
[3] https://amzn.to/3RwYQ2D
[4] https://cirpamazon.substack.com/p/new-years-resolution-subscribe-and
Edge Cases (Score:2)
by phantomfive ( 622387 )
This is what happens when you don't consider all the edge cases.
The edge cases break the law.
"Scheduled automaitc re-orderiat spot market rate" (Score:3)
by madbrain ( 11432 )
Is what this service actually is, and should be called. Not subscription.
I always cancel my S&S after delivery (Score:2)
by rklrkl ( 554527 )
There's a very high likelihood (Amazon shenanigans or not - there is inflation to think about!) that a later delivery will have a higher price than the first delivery - plus it's also likely there was a discount on the original price (which may be different or non-existent for second or later deliveries) and you used S&S to get a second discount.
What I do is set the next delivery after the initial one to be 6 months (so I have plenty of time to remember to cancel), get the first S&S delivery and the
Re: (Score:2)
Not really. I left Prime about 3 years ago, IIRC. I still get free deliveries almost always. How do I do it?
I shop for the item with advertised free delivery, and I don't choose the get it delivered in X hours option. You might say waiting 2 days for a free delivery is super bad inconvenient, but the reality is that most of the stuff I buy from uncle Jeff sits on a shelf until I get around to looking at it, sometimes for weeks or months.
I don't care if the delivery is a few hours or weeks early. I actuall