Mega Amazon error meant photographers got $13k of kit for under $100 on Prime Day

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Did you pick up a bargain this Amazon Prime Day? If so, you probably didn't find a better deal than these lucky photographers who saved tens of thousands of dollars on camera gear due to a pricing error.

We tried our hardest to bring you the best Prime Day deals this year (and you'll still find the cheapest prices on our roundup of the best cameras), but even we couldn't compete with this Amazon blunder that saw the reduced price on a range of different products appearing as $94.50, rather than the intended discount price. 

For snappers looking to take their photography skills to the next level, this was a once in a blue moon opportunity to grab expensive equipment for next to nothing.

The pricing error was first noticed on a Sony Alpha a6000 and 16-50mm lens bundle, which had been accidentally reduced to $94.50 instead of $550. This miraculous deal was soon shared on Slickdeals, where it unsurprisingly hit the front page.

Not everyone was able to see the hugely reduced price, but those that could were able to add a mega bargain to their baskets. It's important to add that this wasn't an error being pulled through by third-party sites, these orders were being processed and shipped by Amazon itself.

Slickdeals member 'Steeve' confirmed that his order had been shipped

The discount price of $94.50 was soon being spotted on other products and bundles. One lucky shopper was able to pick up a Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS, which usually retails for $13,000, for less than $100. Now that's what we call a discount. They even registered their disbelief with the comment: "LOL waiting for the cancellation but that's like 99.3% off."

And while it's reasonable to expect that Amazon would cancel orders that are obviously too heavily discounted due to an error, Slickdeals member 'Steeve' shared confirmation that the photography gear had been handed over to UPS and would indeed be shipped at the unbelievably cheap price (see above).

The forum thread over on Slickdeals is filled with hundreds of comments where photographers celebrate that they managed to nab a discount camera. Meanwhile others commiserate that they missed out.

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