Amazon has today added a new Make An Offer option to its site, which allows customers to negotiate prices with sellers. But it’s not an auction; these discussions are done in private, and you’ll only ever pay less than the asking price (unless you do something really dumb).
At first the option will be available on 150,000 items in Amazon’s collectibles and fine art section. You’ll be able to submit a price you’d be willing to pay to the seller, who will then agree, decline or meet you somewhere in the middle.
So, essentially, Amazon is introducing the ability to barter online. It’s unclear how widely the scheme will roll out, and it’s likely that this is one of Amazon’s small-scale trials to judge how well it could work across a wider choice of its retail sections. But who knows, one day you might be haggling over that HDMI lead that you think seems a smidgen overpriced. [Make An Offer via Reuters]