Amazon Sold Camera Gear Worth $13,000 USD for Less Than $100 USD

Amazon has dealt with pricing errors before, but not like this one. With such a sizeable inventory, a mistake or two somewhere down the line is bound to happen. But this time, the e-commerce giant has suffered from perhaps the biggest pricing mistake it has ever made.

During Amazon Prime Day — an annual event where the website offers large discounts for hundreds of its items — members of a savings site called Slickdeals discovered a pricing error by Amazon that rendered a lot of expensive camera gear to be sold at less than $100 USD. The mistake was first noticed by a member who managed to buy a Sony a6000 mirrorless camera and lens bundle normally priced at $550 USD for just $94.48 USD. The deal was posted on Slickdeals, and soon the forum’s members realized that the bundle wasn’t the only item going for that price: an array of other camera gear also displayed a fixed price of $94.48. At it’s worst (or best, if you’re the consumer) Slickdeals member AyoItsPat revealed that he managed to buy a $13,000 USD lens for the same $94.48, marking a 99.3 percent discount.

Of course, with a pricing error that huge, many were skeptical as to whether Amazon would ship out the products or honor the sale. Many believed the online retailer would cancel the orders and amend the pricing back to a normal rate. However, another member confirmed that Amazon did indeed honor its sales, writing: “WOW they actually delivered the lenses! I ordered 5 of the “Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras” lenses for just $500! That’s $65,000 worth of lenses! Can’t believe Amazon actually delivered!”

Amazon has yet to make a statement regarding the incident, but for now the company is seemingly willing to honor the sales and embrace its pricing mistake, at least for products that are still in stock.

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