11 Costly Mistakes to Avoid While Shopping on Amazon

How to steer clear of lackluster sales, subpar products and other pitfalls

Matt Swenson,

AARP

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Published April 21, 2026

a boxing glove springs out of an open amazon box

Matt Chase

Key takeaways:

Amazon listings are often ads, so top search results don’t guarantee quality.
Online shopping events like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday don’t always offer the lowest prices.
Reading production descriptions and customer reviews closely can help you avoid scams and low-quality items.

Melissa Corbin, a 54-year-old freelance writer in Clarksville, Tennessee, landed a plum assignment last year to cover the Italian Michelin Awards in Parma, Italy. To dress the part, she turned to the world’s largest online retailer: Amazon.

Sure enough, Corbin found an appealing cocktail dress at an affordable price. However, when the outfit arrived about a month after she placed the order, the gown was a far cry from the photos in the listing.

“I swear it looked like a tube of sheer polyester yuck,” Corbin says.

To make matters worse, the Amazon vendor that sold the dress reneged on its guaranteed satisfaction policy. Instead, it offered Corbin only a 10 percent refund and suggested she regift the dress to reduce the carbon footprint of mailing it back to China.

Fortunately, having paid with a credit card, she got her money back by disputing the charge with her card issuer.

Corbin, who attended the event in a dress she later bought in person at a department store, was the victim of a bait-and-switch, a common online shopping ruse. Her experience is a cautionary tale for older consumers and provides valuable lessons for other Amazon shoppers.

“The trade-off for all that convenience is that most of the listings you see on Amazon these days are ads,” says Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Consumers’ Checkbook, a watchdog publication targeting questionable retail practices. “You can’t trust it to show you the best thing, the highest-rated thing or what most people are actually happy with.”

That means it’s up to consumers to protect themselves while shopping on Amazon. And older adults make up a large share of the retail juggernaut’s customer base, with Gen Xers and boomers representing 31 percent and 33 percent of its shoppers, according to consumer research firm Numerator.

Here are 11 slip-ups Amazon shoppers should avoid.

Shopping without a plan

Consumers of a certain age may remember what it was like staying up late, eyes glued to the Home Shopping Network or QVC, making impulse purchases. These days, Amazon shoppers might spend countless hours browsing the site’s catalog of more than 600 million products.

That kind of near-endless scrolling can lead people to overspend, says Jeff Hancock, a professor of communication at Stanford University and founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab, which studies how psychological and social dynamics affect consumer behavior. “If people are feeling anxious or worried, that consumer scroll can make them more vulnerable to buying things they later regret,” he says.

The fix: Create a shopping list and stick to it, just like you would at the grocery store. “Try to avoid turning a purchase into a shopping spree,” says Brasler.

Scrolling while hungry

Jeff Galak, an associate professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University, says the adage “Don’t shop on an empty stomach” applies not only to groceries but also to online merchandise. “There’s plenty of research on the impact of low blood sugar,” he says. “It diminishes your ability to perform higher cognitive functions like determining the value of something.”

In other words, “If you’re hungry, you make bad choices,” Galak says.

The fix: That $800 espresso machine or $400 toaster oven on Amazon? It might look less tempting if you have a snack before you start shopping.

Feeling pressure to buy

One way Amazon persuades customers to place orders is by displaying that an item is low in stock or a sale is about to end, says Consumer Reports deals editor Samantha Gordon. While the status might be true, it doesn’t mean shoppers need to rush into a decision, she says.

“More often than not, inventory gets replenished and sales get extended,” says Gordon. “Retailers like to create a sense of urgency to get people to buy right away, but everything goes on sale all the time. So if you don’t need something right away, don’t rush to buy until you’re ready.”

The fix: Slow down. Rather than making a hasty purchase, consider adding the item to your cart, stepping away for a few hours, and then reassessing whether you truly need it.

Getting caught up in FOMO

Online shopping events like Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are designed to attract consumers and drive demand. These sales events can stir a sense of FOMO, or fear of missing out, but they don’t always offer the lowest prices.

The fix: Instead of jumping on a holiday sale, regularly check prices before you buy something so you know whether you’re getting a truly good deal, Gordon suggests. Also, consider setting a price alert with an online tool like CamelCamelCamel, Droplist, or Keepa to receive an email or text message when the price of a product drops.

Buying into superlative labels

Products labeled “Best Seller,” “Overall Pick” or “Amazon’s Choice” can be enticing, but they’re not necessarily indicative of a deal or a high-quality item. Brasler says vendors on Amazon can purchase these badges to get their products more clicks.

Those little labels, he says, are “engineered to get us comfortable about making a decision and pulling the trigger.”

The fix: Don’t believe the hype, Hancock says. Decide for yourself whether an item is really something you want to purchase.

Not reading product descriptions closely

You can find clues about an item’s quality by reading its product description. Typos or poorly worded descriptions could be signs of a scam or a knockoff.

The fix: Read the full product description, watching out for egregious spelling or grammatical errors. (But don’t assume their absence means a clean bill of retail health — AI can help dodgy sellers smooth out their copy.)

Amy Nofziger, AARP’s senior director of fraud victim support, offers another tip: Look up unfamiliar vendors before buying from them on Amazon. “Criminals don’t care about your loss — they just want to get your money,” she says.

Assuming the first search result is the best product

Don’t just buy the first product you see. “You’re unlikely to scroll very far, and Amazon knows this,” Brasler says. Often, the top search results are not the lowest-priced, highest-rated or best-quality items but rather paid ads. Amazon also frequently promotes products from its in-house brands.

The fix: Keep an eye out for the words “Featured from Amazon brands” and “Sponsored” — they appear in small, gray font above a product’s bolded brand name. In a recent search on Amazon for a fleece jacket, the first four product results were either Amazon brands or sponsored ads.

Trusting star ratings

A four- or five-star review may look promising, but it’s worth digging deeper into a product’s ratings. “A four-and-a-half-star product can still mean a lot of people were dissatisfied,” says Brasler.

The fix: Brasler suggests reading some of the one-star reviews and asking yourself whether the customers are complaining about things you care about (for example, an office chair that takes a while to assemble may not bother you). Also, be cautious of glowing or generic-sounding reviews, which could be generated by AI.

Assuming “frequently bought together” means compatibility

Product listings on Amazon have a section titled “Customers also bought these featured items.” These products could entice you to buy things you don’t need. “Retailers know that once you’ve relented and decided to buy one item, you’re more likely to keep buying other stuff,” says Brasler, citing examples like an air pump to go with a basketball or a protective case for a tablet.

The fix: If you decide you’re interested in purchasing a suggested product, review its listing to ensure it’s compatible with the item you’re buying. “Amazon sometimes pushes TV stands, chargers, etc., that won’t work with the related product,” Brasler cautions.

Overlooking used products

Some of the best deals you can find on Amazon are in the resale section, which features pre-owned, used and open-box products — everything from electronics to power tools to fitness equipment to auto parts. “While there are certainly risks to buying used, it can be a great strategy in particular for low-stakes categories like books, small kitchen appliances or certain electronics where the functional risk is minimal compared to the significant savings,” says Galak.

The fix: See what the resale section has to offer, but pay attention to the item’s condition. Amazon assigns one of four grades to used items: “Like New,” “Very Good,” “Good” or “Acceptable.” The grade is highlighted in bold in a box on the right rail that says “Save with Used.”

Letting your Amazon Prime subscription auto-renew without scrutiny

Amazon Prime memberships include perks such as fast shipping, access to exclusive shopping deals, and a library of streaming movies, shows and music. But the membership, which costs $139 per year, automatically renews. That’s not ideal for someone who isn’t taking advantage of membership benefits.

The fix: Do an annual audit before your membership’s auto-renewal date to determine if the subscription is still worth it. Depending on your shopping habits, you may be better off switching to a competitor’s membership, such as Walmart Plus.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Matt Swenson is a freelance writer in Atlanta. He has covered the hospitality and travel industries for the past decade.