Amazon Discontinues Free-Shipping Tactic

Amazon.com Inc., the largest Internet retailer, has abandoned a free-shipping promotion, ending its most recent test of the relationship between freight charges and online buying.

Prices on most books, videos, DVDs and compact discs stayed the same during the promotion, which started June 20, to see if customers preferred no separate shipping charges when buying two or more items, said Bill Curry, spokesman for the Seattle-based company. Some prices went up but now have been lowered. Amazon.com is evaluating the information collected during the test, Curry said.

Amazon.com closed unchanged at $15.27 on Nasdaq.