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.
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
Dash 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 here. WATCH Dash in action.
Get 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:
Contact Wal-Mart customer care at 1-800-966-6546 before you make your purchase online
Drag yourself into the store and show the cashier the sales price on Amazon’s website
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.
I 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