How often does Amazon change prices?
In the last 14 days, 44% of the 8,507 Amazon prices we watched throughout moved by at least $1 and 3%, and 8% did so 4 times or more. Counting every change down to a cent, 55% moved.
Often enough that last week’s price is no promise about this week’s, and much more on some shelves than others. The table below counts it shelf by shelf from our own readings; for one item, what matters is how long its current price has held.
Published · Text updated · Figures as of · BasketPrice editorial
What we count
A change is one of our readings of an Amazon price differing from the reading before it, for the same item in new condition. We read every price at least every 20 hours, so a change that came and went between two readings is not in the count: the figures are a floor, not an estimate.
Most changes are small. A repricing tool takes $19.99 to $19.97 and back, and when another seller wins the featured offer, the price shown can change with it. So a price counts as having moved only when it changed by at least a dollar and at least 3%, the line below which this site treats two prices as the same, and the table gives the count of any change beside it.
A product we started reading partway through the window is left out, so every row covers the same days and a new arrival cannot pass for a price that never moves.
A price that has held is not the same as a price that just appeared
A number that appeared this morning is a promotion, and promotions end. A number that has held for five weeks is the shelf price, and shelf prices do not fall by themselves — they fall when the retailer decides to clear stock.
Every product page here shows how long the current price has held at each retailer, for exactly this reason. It is the difference between a price you can wait out and one you cannot.
What the band tells you
The gap between the highest and lowest price we recorded for one item at one shop is the honest measure of what waiting is worth. Twenty-five percent means the same purchase costs materially different money depending on the week. Six percent means buy it when you need it.
Category pages here print that band from our own log, so you can see before you start whether patience pays in this aisle at all.
How often prices moved, shelf by shelf
| Shelf | Prices watched | Moved at least once | Moved 4+ times | Changed at all |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every shelf | 8,507 | 44% | 8% | 55% |
| Tool batteries | 46 | 78% | 45% | 93% |
| Vacuums | 167 | 64% | 8% | 72% |
| Projectors | 134 | 64% | 9% | 74% |
| Power stations | 64 | 64% | 9% | 65% |
| Monitors | 190 | 63% | 19% | 71% |
| Lighting | 207 | 59% | 8% | 66% |
| Furniture | 186 | 56% | 11% | 63% |
| Luggage | 55 | 56% | 3% | 69% |
| Home office | 203 | 55% | 10% | 59% |
| Charging & Storage | 151 | 55% | 5% | 61% |
| TVs | 159 | 55% | 7% | 62% |
| Printers | 138 | 55% | 8% | 66% |
| Networking | 65 | 53% | 27% | 58% |
| Smart Home | 224 | 52% | 10% | 61% |
| Car electronics | 435 | 51% | 9% | 60% |
| Fitness | 208 | 50% | 4% | 57% |
| Personal care | 311 | 49% | 7% | 59% |
| Air & climate | 166 | 48% | 10% | 52% |
| Headphones | 231 | 48% | 9% | 57% |
| Speakers | 293 | 46% | 7% | 55% |
| PC components | 206 | 46% | 13% | 67% |
| Bikes & scooters | 183 | 46% | 7% | 51% |
| Camping & hiking | 228 | 45% | 3% | 53% |
| Kitchen | 424 | 45% | 8% | 54% |
| Desktops | 93 | 44% | 7% | 50% |
| Gaming | 223 | 41% | 5% | 52% |
| Tools & garden | 395 | 41% | 9% | 49% |
| Coffee & espresso machines | 110 | 40% | 10% | 54% |
| Pets | 233 | 39% | 6% | 45% |
| Car care | 234 | 39% | 5% | 49% |
| Phones | 67 | 38% | 11% | 61% |
| Tablets | 137 | 37% | 6% | 54% |
| Grills & smokers | 149 | 36% | 2% | 51% |
| Drones | 61 | 36% | 6% | 45% |
| Hi-Fi & receivers | 208 | 35% | 8% | 43% |
| Cameras | 260 | 33% | 3% | 46% |
| Smartwatches | 170 | 33% | 4% | 49% |
| Laptops | 398 | 33% | 4% | 55% |
| 3D printers | 45 | 33% | 2% | 37% |
| Household | 256 | 32% | 13% | 53% |
| Baby | 194 | 26% | 3% | 32% |
| Camera lenses | 298 | 25% | 1% | 34% |
| LEGO | 302 | 22% | 4% | 44% |
Prices that changed in the last 30 days
Each of these moved down against what the same retailer was charging before — the events this guide is about, as they happened.
REVLON SmoothStay Coconut Oil Infused 1" Heated Styling Brush
$22.49Verified
Recorded low $22.49 on October 27, high $39.98.6 of 7 days to a verdict
Midea 8,500 BTU ASHRAE Portable Air Conditioner, Cools up to 150 Sq. Ft., Window Kit
$279.99Verified
Recorded low $199.99 on September 18, high $440.33.42 days on recordabout normal · 7% below median
Dream On Me Full Size Carson 3-in-1 Convertible Baby Crib, 3 Adjustable Height, Barnwood
$126.99Verified
Recorded low $120.99 on October 4, high $194.26.42 days on recordabout normal · 1% above median
Back to its usual price · after $194.26
Sceptre 34-inch Curved ultrawide WQHD Monitor (3440 × 1440), R1500, up to 180Hz/165Hz, 1ms
$189.97Verified
Recorded low $179.97 on October 6, high $287.97.46 days on recordabout normal · 4% below median
Rockvale Weight Bench, Foldable Weight Benches for Home Gym with 660 LBS
$53.45Verified
Recorded low $53.45 on September 18, high $72.88.42 days on recordabout normal
Back to its usual price · after $72.88
Sennheiser HD 599 Open-Back Wired Audiophile Headphones, Ivory
$189.95Verified
Recorded low $130.95 on October 6, high $239.95.46 days on recordabout normal
Back to its usual price · after $239.95
Questions people ask
- How often does Amazon change prices?
- In the last 14 days, 44% of the 8,507 Amazon prices we watched throughout moved by at least $1 and 3%, and 8% did so 4 times or more. Counting every change down to a cent, 55% moved. It depends on the shelf: from 78% in Tool batteries to 22% in LEGO.
- Is it worth waiting for a price to drop?
- It depends on the band, not on the calendar. Where an item swings 25% or more across 90 days, waiting is a strategy. Where it swings under 10%, the waiting costs more in attention than it saves in money.