Why are PhotoDroneGuy products more expensive on Amazon?

If you have come across PhotoDroneGuy products on Amazon, you may have noticed that the price is sometimes higher than it is on our own website. It is a fair question, especially when you are looking at exactly the same product.

So, why does it cost more on Amazon?

The simple answer is that Amazon gives us access to a much larger audience, but that access comes with costs. We absorb some of those costs ourselves, but we cannot absorb all of them without making the business unsustainable. The result is that our Amazon prices are sometimes higher than the prices you will find when buying directly from us.There is nothing more complicated going on behind the scenes.

The same product, whichever way you buy

Let’s clear up the most important point first.

If you see a PhotoDroneGuy product on Amazon and the same product on our website, it is the same product.

We don’t make a cheaper version for Amazon. The design is the same, the quality is the same, and the standards we work to are the same.

Whether you buy one of our shirts, accessories or another product through Amazon or directly from PhotoDroneGuy, it has come from the same brand and has been designed with the same attention to detail.

The only real difference is where you are buying it.

Why sell on Amazon at all?

If our own website can offer better prices, you might reasonably ask why we bother selling on Amazon.

The answer is reach: Amazon has an enormous customer base. Millions of people use it every day to search for and buy products, including people who may never have come across PhotoDroneGuy otherwise.

For a small, specialist brand, that exposure is valuable.

Someone might be looking for a gift for a drone pilot, searching for drone-related clothing, or simply browsing Amazon for something that catches their eye. Being there gives us a chance to introduce PhotoDroneGuy to people who would otherwise never find us. It also gives customers another way to buy from us.

Some people prefer buying everything through Amazon. They already have an account, they know how the platform works, and they may have other reasons for choosing it over an independent online store: we understand that.

The trade-off is that selling through Amazon costs us more.

Amazon’s reach comes at a cost

When you buy something directly from our website, you are buying from us.

When you buy it through Amazon, there are additional costs associated with selling through that marketplace. These can include marketplace fees and, depending on how an order is handled, other costs related to fulfilment, storage and services provided by Amazon.

We don’t simply pass every one of those costs on to customer: we absorb a portion of them because we want our products to remain reasonably priced on Amazon and because being available there is valuable to us as a business.

But there is a limit to how much we can absorb: at some point, the additional cost has to be reflected in the selling price. That is why an item can be more expensive on Amazon even though it is exactly the same item we sell through our own store.

So, is buying directly cheaper?

In many cases, yes: our own website is generally where you will find the best direct price for PhotoDroneGuy products.

That makes sense when you consider that there is no marketplace between you and us. We have more control over the sale and don’t have the same Amazon-related costs to account for.

So if you find something you like on Amazon, it is always worth checking PhotoDroneGuy.com before placing your order: you may find the exact same product for less.

What about quality?

The price difference has nothing to do with product quality.

We care about the products we put our name on, regardless of where they are sold: our designs are created for people who are genuinely interested in drones and the culture around them. We want our products to look good, feel good and stand up to normal use. Selling a product on Amazon doesn’t change any of that.

The Amazon version isn’t a budget version.

• It isn’t made with cheaper materials.
• It isn’t an older design that we are trying to clear out.
• If it is the same PhotoDroneGuy product, it is the same PhotoDroneGuy product.

What about customer service?

There can be a difference in the practical process depending on where you place your order.

• If you buy directly from PhotoDroneGuy, your order comes through our own store and we deal with you directly.
• If you buy through Amazon, your order is placed through Amazon and some parts of the purchasing, delivery and returns process are handled through Amazon’s systems.

That is simply the nature of buying through a marketplace: it doesn’t mean that Amazon customers matter any less to us. In fact, Amazon is an important way for new people to discover our brand, and we want those customers to have a good experience too.

What about customer service?

There isn’t a right or wrong answer.

If you like the convenience of Amazon and would rather buy there, that’s absolutely fine. We are there because we want to make PhotoDroneGuy products available to Amazon customers.

If you are more interested in getting the best direct price, check our own store first.

Either way, you are buying the same product: the difference is the sales channel, not the quality.

A quick summary

If you have been wondering why a PhotoDroneGuy product costs more on Amazon, it comes down to one thing: the cost of selling through Amazon.

Amazon gives us access to a huge customer base that we simply cannot reach as easily through our own website. That is valuable, but it comes with additional fees and costs.

We absorb as much of that difference as we can, but some of it has to be reflected in our Amazon pricing.

So, if you see a PhotoDroneGuy product on Amazon for more than it costs on our website, you are not getting a different product. You are getting the same design and the same quality through a different sales channel.

And if you want the best direct price, you know where to look: browse the PhotoDroneGuy.com store

Thanks for supporting PhotoDroneGuy, whichever way you choose to shop with us.