Amazon Dash

Amazon is amazing. If you don’t have a Prime membership (2-day shipping, music, movies) you are missing out!!! The online retailer is not launching a new product call Amazon dash. To keep this very simple, brands like Tide, Glad and others are making little wi-fi enabled “buttons” that you place around your home in the typical places you use these products. When you see that you’re running low you simply tap the button and an order is placed for that product for you (in the exact configuration you initially setup) and of course there’s  built-in interaction with the Amazon app on your smart phone.

Each Dash button will run you $4.99. Here’s what the buttons look like.

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From the picture above, I use ALL of those brands except for Bounty (I’ma Viva paper towel kind of girl). For the brands that you are absolutely in love with and WILL NOT CHANGE NO MATTER what I can see this being useful. At the moment the Dash buttons are very limited but I’m sure with time, more retailers will sign on.

I asked Amazon what would happen if a child, or a pet, or a fully grown human being were to press a Dash Button multiple times. It turns out Dash Buttons only respond to the “first press” until your order has shipped and arrived. The Verge

db_how_it_worksDash is a great alternative for people who may not be comfortable with the Amazon Subscribe & Save feature (though I’m sticking with that). There’s also Amazon’s Echo, the wifi enabled “Google search” type of advice that I told you about HERE. You can see what Amazon is doing is making it easier for you to buy things because yes, that’s it’s business model and how it makes money. The easier it is for you to order, the ore money they make, hence all the innovation they are introducing.

If you’re a fan of these retailers, you can check out all the dash buttons hereWATCH Dash in action.

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Black Friday in July

jtz6iw9r5fksj4kr0eluGet ready to shop until you drop on July 15th! Last week, Amazon announced plans to hold Amazon Prime Day. “Prime members can shop exclusive deals from electronics, toys, video games, movies, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items and more.” Amazon’s Prime membership costs $99/year but has lots of benefits, described here and they even offer a free 30-day  trial for the service in case you want to “try before you buy”. I’ve told you before about the benefits of automating purchases of mundane items like toilet paper, laundry detergent, deodorant etc. to simplify your life (see Amazon Subscribe & Save). Now is as good a time as any to get in on the action! Think of this day as Black Friday in July (it also includes free shipping), mainly because Wal-Mart is also joining the party and is introducing thousands of exclusive discounts for online purchases on the very same day.

So here’s a tip if you’re not into Amazon… take FULL advantage of Wal-Marts price match policy ANY DAY of the year, including on Amazon Prime Day. The policy can be found on the retailer’s website, guarantee here. You have a few options:

  1. Contact Wal-Mart customer care at 1-800-966-6546 before you make your purchase online
  2. Drag yourself into the store and show the cashier the sales price on Amazon’s website
  3. Purchase your item in-store, or online as normal, then use Wal-Mart’s Savings Catcher app and wait for the price to be matched (Savings Catcher). If you are buying a large item it’s always a good idea to take screen shots (item #, price) to have proof, just in case this process fails.

Screen Shot 2015-07-14 at 6.50.17 PMI play this price matching card ALL THE TIME and literally just got $50 refunded to me this morning from Anthropologie and J. Crew because of a little diligence (see also Price Match). This is the reason I typically buy things I want, even if they are not on sale. More likely than not, the item will go on sale – no need to wait until then as your size/color may not be available. I also ALWAYS setup price alerts on the Shop Style app (iOS,  Android) at ALL stores offering the exact same item so that I don’t have to keep checking each website to see if the price has changed. If you do not have this app, GET IT NOW!!!

Happy shopping! (video below)

Here are a few of the other items Amazon is teasing:

  • Fire TV Stick $15 off
  • Kindle, $30 off
  • Fire HD 7, $60 off
  • Fire HD 7 Kids Edition, $60 off
  • 40-inch 1080p LED TV, $115
  • A “brand-name 32-inch Smart HDTV” for under $200
  • 50-inch 4K TV bundle, under $1000
  • Bose headphones at the lowest price ever on Amazon
  • Over 50% off two Nikon COOLPIX cameras
  • “Highly rated” binoculars, under $120
  • Two security camera-kits, $279.99
  • K’NEX 2-in-1 Ferris Wheel Building Set (Amazon Exclusive), $35.99
  • K’NEX Crossfire Chaos Roller Coaster Building Set (Amazon Exclusive), $23.99
  • Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Optimus Prime Figure (Amazon Exclusive), $9.99
  • iRobot Roomba Pet Vacuum Cleaning Robot, under $300
  • Husqvarna mower, under $300
  • 40 lightning deals on DVDs up to 75% off
  • Up to 50% off any of the Harry Potter books
  • Save more than 70% on the Divergent Series Complete Box Set of books
  • Save up to 70% on select kitchen products from top brands like Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Foodsaver and Thermos
  • Save up to 50% on select tools for the DIY auto enthusiast
  • Connected Car and Scan Tool products starting at 60% off
  • Road-trip-ready automotive products starting at 50% off
  • Save more than 50% on Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
  • 30 percent off some clothing, shoes, jewelry, and watches
  • 60 percent off Amazon Elements Baby Wipes with code ELEMENTS60
  • Free luxury beauty sample box with $50 purchase of luxury beauty products, with promo code LUXSAMPLES
  • Buy an Amazon.com Gift Card multipack, get $10 in Amazon.com promotional credit
  • 25% bonus Amazon Coins when you buy 5,000 or 10,000 Amazon Coins