Understanding MercadoLibre

There are 17 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 2,293 times. The latest Post (March 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM) was by UK Man.

    Yesterday I bought a clothes hanger (tender) on ML because it had a huge discount (40%) and was listed at 19.109 pesos with 2 items left in stock.

    This was around noon and the ad said that there was same day free delivery if paying within 2 hours. Well, as life had it, I was unable to get up for a hour or so (read= Serafina was sleeping on my lap), then I went to the PagoFácil to pay. After less than a hour the seller cancelled my purchase with the reason "item out of stock" and the money was credited on my MercadoPago account shortly thereafter. When I clicked on the ad, it was still for sale, just for 32.000 pesos and with 48 units left in stock.

    I thought it was a case of too good to be true. Later on, I was still browsing on ML and the same ad popped up, again at 19.109 pesos. So I went, again, to the PagoFácil to pay. It was 6 PM and the purchase this time was not cancelled. I received a notification saying that it would delivered the next day (i.e. today) between 12 and 21.

    I don't understand what happened. Perhaps the seller cancelled because it was too late to dispatch it on the same day? Was it because it was raining? I am not sure because it is too big to deliver on a bike, anyway. Any insight is appreciated.


    Quote from serafina

    I don't understand what happened. Perhaps the seller cancelled because it was too late

    Report it using the help feature then down to talk to person option. It will be chat or only email in the off-hours. Complain and they might force the seller to do something, or at least give you a generic ML coupon for future purchase.

    My missus uses ML a lot. I'm pretty sure something similar happened to her once or twice judging by the amount of cursing she done when it happened. She now tends to stick to buying from sellers she's dealt with in the past and knows can be trusted.

    I used to look and buy the odd thing now and again using her account but haven't for a couple of years.

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    The good lady bought a few packs of triple-ply toilet paper

    They sent the double-ply - version.

    She complained - got her cash back - and they told her to keep what they sent.

    I didn't even know you could get triple ply. The missus buys Elite from the mayorista when they have it....lots piled up in the garage the now. Won't last long with her though. ^^

    Quote from UK Man

    I didn't even know you could get triple ply. The missus buys Elite from the mayorista when they have it....lots piled up in the garage the now. Won't last long with her though. ^^

    Sensitive bums here in this house...

    We are ex Eliters here but have now gone Unbranded triple ply.

    Quote from Rice

    That’s a very customer-oriented way of doing business that is rare here. A company to continue buying from.

    There is a price point in ML where it doesnt interest the supplier to receive the merchandise back - still trying to find the exct point though...

    Edited once, last by GlasgowJohn: Merged a post created by GlasgowJohn into this post. (November 2, 2023 at 1:27 PM).

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    We are ex Eliters here but have now gone Unbranded triple ply

    I went and checked the brand in the bathroom and I was wrong. It's not Elite it's Elegante. Doesn't say how many ply it is but each roll is 120 metres long. I didn't have any problems using it earlier.

    I was looking for something else on ML and my eye caught on a kettle with a digital display. I have been dying for one for years, but it was never available here in Argentina. My brother in law had a Black and Decker one, and said he had bought it at Carrefour a few years back.

    When we were furnishing our STR, I was eager to swap my old Bosch kettle (which we had since our time in Italy) for a modern one with temperature control and a digital display. However, it was impossible to find, and quite bulky to fit in my already packed suitcase, so we bought a Philips with an adjustable knob from 0 to 100 and mate-temp in the middle for our STR. We still use the old Bosch.

    In another post I had tracked that kettle price:

    [May 2023]...Philips Kettle for 18.590 ARS (40 USD) on Mercadolibre... - [Feb 2024] 52k or 45 USD

    It was the sleekest design back then.

    Pava Eléctrica Philips Hd9368/90 Selector De Temp Para Mate Color Negro


    Now (Feb 2026) look at how many designs there are in the Kettle section! And all for the same price (40-45 USD)!! Mine seems a relic from the 90s, in comparison.

    This just to say that imports are showing up in every day purchases, at last!

    I am very well aware that a nicer kettle is not a life-changing improvement. But we are not franciscan monks and I don't buy the K's prose of a life of suffering and a distraught population which has to defend itself from the perils of capitalism. I don't really understand how Argentinians could fell for it, and then go visit Spain or Italy and never wonder why quality of life is better there.

    It's on the news that ML is testing "dynamic pricing", just like airlines are doing and have been doing for years.

    The more you are interested in a product and the higher-income you are profiled, the higher the price you are shown. After a public post online showing that the same item was offered at a different price (20% more) at the same time to different ML users, ML confirmed they are "testing on small group of randomly selected users" this function, in order to promote higher revenues.

    If this was happening a physical store, it would be called "te vieron la cara" (they got you squared)


    El economista Ariel Setton expone

    I’ve wondered if Amazon is also using dynamic pricing. I purchased an item for $7. Liked it and went back the next week to buy another, and found the price was $14. Several weeks later, I price checked again. $24.99.

    I am not sure about Amazon, but when I am visiting my mother in Italy, I am a heavy user.
    It seems to me that the website shows first the best seller that matches reliability and lower price. So, you don’t necessarily see the cheapest option. For example, they may push up those sellers who are part of Amazon prime, which doesn’t necessarily means the cheapest one. In my experience with big platform, they tend to favor flexibility over price.
    I. e., being part of Amazon Prime may involve providing “free” returns (they are not free to the seller, but they are to the customer); or having a flexible cancellation police on Airbnb means your property is shown first.

    It seems that on Amazon the final price to the customer is a combination of seller’s status, location of the item (Amazon’s center means quicker dispatch). I experienced this when buying a SSD last summer. One day the price was X, as soon as I bought it, it was LESS. Why? Probably the first choice (which i assumed to be cheapest) was simply the higher ranked on algorithm of reliability-location-shipping cost to Amazon.

    Oddly enough, I was able to return the most expensive item and buy it again for the lower price. However, my green conscience got the best of me and I chatted to customer service pointing out that while I understood how the system worked, was it really eco friendly to return the item currently in my possession (for free to me, the customer) to simply purchase it again from Amazon for a lower price (and a further shipping)?


    They somehow smelled a troublesome purchaser and issued a refund in the form of credit.