Amazon Prime Day: A Glorified Garage Sale?
In case you’re missing it: today is “Prime Day” on Amazon. As the online retailer’s home page declares, there are “more deals than Black Friday,” that is, if you’re a member of its $99 per year Amazon Prime club. The problem is: after weeks of hype, many think the sales event is more like a garage sale. Cue the backlash, which started faster than it takes to hit One-Click Checkout.
Here’s why. There are a handful (emphasis on word ‘handful’) of great deals, like the $49 Kindle and $24 Fire TV Stick. But they sell out in minutes–leaving customers shopping for Tupperware, trash bags, baby wipes and organic coconut oil. Instead of wasting time on those offers, shoppers turned to Twitter, where trending topics include such hashtags as #UnhappyPrimeDay, #GoBackToSleep and this instant classic, #CrappyPrimeDay.
If I wanted a garage sale I would go down the street… #PrimeDay
— Mike Ginn (@_akamike) July 15, 2015
#PrimeDay: Your one-day-only chance to buy the crap Amazon can’t unload the rest of the year.
— Undine (@HorribleSanity) July 15, 2015
What a disappointment #PrimeDay was, @amazon…all hype and no delivery.
— Katie Norris (@nardkat) July 15, 2015
Went to #PrimeDay hoping for an awesome tv, instead miss out on some Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant, now I have no tv and smell kinda funny
— Joedy Gilliland (@DaCop40) July 15, 2015
All I’ve learned from #PrimeDay is that @amazon has GROSSLY miscalculated my interest level in discount vacuums and cat toys.
— mah ree nah (@marinarachael) July 15, 2015
Raise your hand if you feel like you have been personally victimized by #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/EvFrCT3iZ3
— Casey Kelley (@policygal) July 15, 2015
NO WAY, @amazon! I’ve ALWAYS wanted an airplane seat belt extender! #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/RnVElyWUW3
— Bryce (@BPerryKC) July 15, 2015
When I die, I want whoever was responsible for #PrimeDay to lower me down into my grave so I can be let down one more time
— Liam Barry (@liam_barry_99) July 15, 2015
Now whenever something in my life goes wrong or I have a bad day, I’ll say I had a #primeday.
— Mia Taylor (@MiaTaylor) July 15, 2015
Don’t worry if you missed out on that 24-inch extra long-handled shoehorn that you wanted, because Amazon is releasing more so-called deals every ten minutes! Or you might want to head to a flea market instead.
Don’t get us wrong. We love Amazon and its Prime service (especially the online video streaming service). But this #AmazonFail (another trending hashtag) may just be a desperate attempt to empty the warehouses. While it may be a jungle out there, Amazon still declares victory, issuing this statement to AdWeek:
“Prime Day peak order rates have already surpassed 2014 Black Friday. Prime members have bought tens of thousands of Fire TV Sticks, 35,000 Lord of the Rings Blu-Ray sets, 28,000 Rubbermaid sets, and 4,000 Echos in 15 minutes. The Kate Spade purse was gone in less than a minute. The 1.2K of $999 TVs sold out in less than 10 minutes and there are thousands more deals coming. New deals start every ten minutes until late tonight.”
