A Note About Pricing From the Founders at Wyze - 5/6/21

Wyze News
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When it happened, they raised the price of the product a bit and additionally at the same time raised it more to include shipping, so that shipping wasn’t an unexpected added cost (people were complaining).

The price went from $19.99 to $30+ with a small discount if you were a Cam+ subscriber. A portion of the 30+ price included shipping. They explained it in detail.

Now, a few months later they are adding shipping on top of a price that was said to include shipping.

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When they reverted back to shipping-included-at-checkout, they did roll back the prices to the May 18th price-increase level, as far as I know. We did a few comparisons of then/now pricing here: Free Shipping isn't Really Free - #18 by themdg. That said, further up in that thread is a link to some info from wyze about doing some. A:B testing, so not everyone was seeing the changes all at once.

Bottom line for me…for what I see in my experience at the moment…I see prices that aren’t bundled with shipping, and that are very close to the original prices I’ve been paying over the years.

If you’re really seeing a camera that was $20 that increased to $30 with bundled shipping, and is now $30 with shipping added at checking (with no explanation), that sounds problematic for sure.

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I see a camera that’s easily valued, far greater than the price currently (or previously) listed.
Been buying these cams since 1st released. The feature/benefit list, easily competes with other
well known cams, that sell for well over $100 (several close to $200)

POINT: If spending $10-$15-$20 extra is an issue……….there’s numerous alternatives other than Wyze.

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Yes, I’m aware there are hundreds of alternatives, many in the same price range as Wyze is now.

I’ve been on board since the beginning also. I have a lot of Wyze Cams. Nothing much against the Wyze Camera. It was the super low price that differentiated Wyze. It obviously was not a sustainable price point.

MY point is that they raised the price, and the new price included shipping. They were very transparent about it all. They promoted a feeling of partnership with their customers.

But now, a few months later, they are again adding a shipping cost onto a price that had shipping included. There was no transparency, no explanation. Just the quiet addition of, “+shipping”. This goes against the partnership thing.

I’m just pointing out the facts of pricing in the last 5 months.

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So you released an new Pan cam v2 , and now shipping isn’t included. Glad you say one thing and do another

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You’re right that they did add shipping as it’s own line item again, but they also removed the additional (included) shipping cost from the base price. That’s what I’m seeing, at least…

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Screenshot 2021-09-23 165909
Screenshot 2021-09-23 1659092147×770 76.9 KB

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Hey @UserCustomerGwen, any update on why this is no longer the case again?

Going forward, shipping charges will be included with product prices on wyze.com and we will offer “free shipping.”

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Does this thread answer your question?

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Not in the slightest.

  1. Why did they start yet an entirely new thread I’d have to go hunt do (let alone know it exist in the first place) instead of just update the post here?
  2. That post says that only a few people would see the change back, it seems to be changed back for a lot more than that.
  3. It says the test was suppose to last a few weekends and that post is from May. It’s been well over a few weekends since then.
  4. Why are they bothering with tests? Just make it a togglable setting. If I want to see the pricing on the website with shipping included, then let me toggle a setting to view it that way. It’s obvious that enough people complained about this for them to make the change in the first place and it’s clear they can make the website appear differently for different users, so just give us the option.
  5. Doesn’t explain at all why some users above are claiming to see the product price increase along with shipping now no longer being included in the price.
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My thought is this, they simply need the money. I expect nearly every new feature or add on or improvement to be behind a paywall. I mean even their paywall has a paywall: first Cam Plus then Cam Plus Pro? When will we see Premium Cam Plus Pro v2.0!

I think the selling of products at such discounted prices has proven unprofitable and unsustainable. Wyze, like many tech companies, wants subscriptions for that ongoing revenue. The ironic thing is that what drove me to Wyze in the first place, was the cheap prices and no real need for ongoing monthly fees/costs.

Now it’s: you want to view your cameras on Windows, you gotta subscribe, you want multiuser geofencing on rules, you gotta subscribe, you want dark mode in the app, you gotta subscribe. I made a few of those up but we’ll see what the future holds.

Obviously the pandemic has affected the company and I’m not ragging on them, I have lots of wyze products and most work really well and I’ve had very few problems. It just to bad to see things develop as they have over the past few years. Plenty of missteps and self inflicted harm. Hopefully they can turn things around and get back what gave them their start.