As tire dealers all over the country work to adapt to the pressures of online tire sales, the looming question about Amazon.com Inc. in the market is price. John Healy and his team took a look at that, too. They compiled a list of 53 tires based on Consumer Reports’ rankings of the top performance all-season tires, all-season light truck tires, and all-season SUV tires.
Then, they compared those tire prices across four online platforms: Amazon, TireRack, TireBuyer and Monro.
Sometimes, the prices were fairly even. The Michelin Defender LTX M/S, in size 265/65R17, was sold for $204.99 from three retailers, while Monro listed it for $215.99. Other times, there was a noticeable spread. The Hankook Dynapro HT in size 265/65R17 ranged from $125.94 (Amazon), $142.95 (TireBuyer), $154.99 (Monro) to $162.79 (TireRack.)
Here’s a look at the average prices across the three tire categories for each retailer.
| Performance all-season tires: 215/55R17 | All-season light truck tires: 265/65R17 | All-season SUV tires: 225/65R17 | |
| Amazon | $124.03 | $150.00 | $129.14 |
| TireRack | $135.41 | $174.13 | $129.90 |
| TireBuyer | $117.30 | $155.56 | $129.63 |
| Monro | $147.49 | $193.79 | $138.32 |
