This'll be my first Prime Day. Should I care?
11Joined Amazon Prime for the first time this Spring, so this’ll be my first Prime Day.
I love a great deal, but not enough to buy something I don’t need just because it’s cheap.
I’m not too keen on obsessively checking for new deals for 36 hours straight, just in case something I want comes up for sale.
I can’t think of anything in particular that I want to buy, so there’s nothing specific for me to be on the lookout for. (If I’ve been wanting it, chances are good I’ve already bought it.)
But, there is that chance that there might be a spectacular deal on something I didn’t know I wanted/needed… Isn’t there?
So, there it is.
Should I care?
Any tips, tricks, strategies for how to take advantage of Prime Day, especially when there’s nothing specific I’m looking for and I don’t want to obsess over it for 36 hours?
Thanks in advance!
- 30 comments, 163 replies
- Comment
I mostly just check here: https://thewirecutter.com/deals/prime-day/
And wait for anything I’d already been thinking about buying. I think I bought one or two things last year. Nothing amazing.
@dave You just saved me a bunch of time! I tried to talk myself into a couple of items but failed. Thanks for the link!
@dave Thanks! One look at that site and I already found something I don’t necessarily need but might want if it’s cheap enough. lol
Specifically, the Mackie powered monitor speakers.
They have the CR3 listed, but I think I’d rather have the 4" CR4, which is currently discounted at the same 20% as the other set.
So anyway - can I have any hope/expectation that that specific item will get a deeper discount during Prime Day?
I checked CamelCamelCamel (thanks @rockblossom) and the current price is the cheapest it’s ever been.
Didn’t sign up to track it though.
@DennisG2014
Given what I’ve seen the last few years:
Amazon throws out so many deals going that people will think it’s all incredible and just keep buying. They know your won’t have time to evaluate. They hope you will just jump.
Amazon hopes you will allow yourself to be overwhelmed.
There will be a few seriously killer deals.
And plenty of decent deals.
There should be amazing prices on one or two nice versions each type of audio equipmemt for instance
Such as receivers speakers headphones etc.
Same with computers.
Same with video stuff.
The best items might sell out fast.
Much of the other stuff in the same category must just be so-so pricing and not exactly what you really want anyway.
None of it will be better deals than Black Friday and cyber Monday week deals.
(exceptions: Amazon branded stuff)
Possible sensible purchases:
most amazon specific stuff will have excellent prices. By this I mean:
Amazon Digital media (Kindle books, audible books , twitch games , mp3 music, Amazon video, etc)
Amazon devices
IE Kindles, fires, Alexa devices, etc.
Amazon basics stuff.
Whole foods stuff.
Digital Subscription products
Audible, Kindle unlimited, Amazon music, Amazon magazines and so forth.
Etc.
They really push their own products on prime day.
Be sure you only purchase what you accept want. Don’t buy because it’s cool or at a great price if you don’t need it or have time for it.
99% or more if the sale items will be priced a little better or same as the normal Amazon flash sale prices. Which is not even as good as a daily deal prices. Is possibly not that great a deal, and you can purchase something in that category that does the same thing given a similar quality at a price close to that every day. From Amazon.
So don’t get overwhelmed and don’t overspend.
If you don’t need it and haven’t wanted one really badly for a long time then don’t buy it.
Don’t use prime day as a way to stockup. If you do, you will buy tons of stuff you don’t need, don’t want, and is a pain to store until you finally give it away because you never needed it or had time to use it in the first place.
Even tho “whatever” is a good brand at a good price.
Amazon tries to trigger everyone to become shopping addicts and let loose their hoarder tendencies on prime day.
Don’t fall for this.
Only buy what you have really totally wanted for a long time. That you already know the price norms and quality of. That you would be willing to save up for. That you already know the brands and what version you want.
And if you are not completely sure you will use “whatever” constantly then don’t buy it
Don’t buy what you wish you had time to use. Don’t buy what you might like to try.
That is what Craigslist is for. Craigslist is “for that purpose” on the exact day you are actually ready to try it then and there that day that moment. Not before.
Don’t use Amazon that way.
Don’t buy what you wish you needed - you will never use it.
(Exceptions: people who live off inheritance or savings/investments and are super-rich and have households of full-time staff and dont ever need to work. [Yeah, the aristocrat life is great, I suppose. Most of us don’t qualify].)
Otherwise you will wind up getting boxes of stuff you don’t have time to use. So even if it’s great, why buy it?
The “whatever” will be back at a great price next week. Or next month. Or on Black Friday.
Almost all of it is overblown. Esp: The prices. The hype.
All those prices will be back. Except, possibly, for prices on amazon branded items.
So buy nothing. Or a few things. And stop. No stocking up.
Don’t buy because it’s your only chance. It’s not.
There will be tons of chances. Never fear. The prime day price is not the most amazing price in history. Not even close.
Treat prime day as something to be extremely wary of.
Even tho Amazon hopes you won’t.
I have to admit that Prime Day is a stupendous marketing ploy.
Look at the prep! Look at the hype!
But it’s not Amazon rewarding prime members.
It’s Amazon rewarding Amazon.
(Not accurately quoted, but you get the idea)
Guess who the marks are on Prime Day?
@DennisG2014 @f00l TL;DR
@DennisG2014 @therealjrn
Yeah well you already know all this.
@DennisG2014 the Wirecutter page @dave linked currently shows the CR4BT at $140, FYI. (This may have been the discount you were already talking about, though).
@djslack Thanks. I’m interested in the non-BT CR4.
lol
All of the CR series are currently ~20% off.
I think I’ll just wait another year and get them for 30-40% off.
TheWireCutter is blocked as a “classifieds” site here at work.
@DennisG2014 @f00l I’d like a Bluetooth Soundbar and an Echo Dot. Sounds like they’d be worth keeping my eyes open for. I’ve had the worst luck with Bluetooth speakers. I’ve I’ve had to return four in a row in the past year because either the Bluetooth did not work right out of the box or worked for a week and quit. I kind of gave up on it. But if I could get a good deal I’d still like one. I’m getting a $50 Amazon gift card from a cruise that I’m buying today ($50 gift card on a $1,350 purchase, meh) that’s already burning a hole in my pocket, guess I’ll be getting it too late for the big sale.
@f00l I think the main goal of Prime Day is to sell Prime memberships.
It tempted me in previous years - all that hype about something you’re not included in is a powerful bait.
Now that I am a member and could participate in the big day… meh.
I’d be interested to see the new membership stats in the week before and during Prime Day.
(I joined Prime for the video and am definitely not getting my money’s worth. Not all that much I want to watch and even the stuff I do want to watch, I don’t, because I have to watch via my PS4 on my main TV or watch on my lap top. FiOS has a Netflix widget that makes it easy to watch anywhere. I’ve been petitioning Verizon & Amazon for a Prime widget via Twitter, but haven’t gotten a response.)
There’s also CamelCamelCamel if you see something you want but are waiting for a price drop.
Should I care? No.
What you should do is put everything you want, need, are thinking about, want to consider, and would buy anyway in your cart, and check the cart once or twice a day (or whenever the mood moves you). Amazon will tell you about price changes, and you’ll know when you’re getting a good deal.
In prior years, there are very few (if any?) items that amazon sells on prime day for prices that are never to be matched again. In fact, a lot of things will be lower randomly at other times of year. The exception can sometimes be amazon specific products, like fire, kindle, echo, and the like. They might offer those at particularly good discounts.
If you use chrome (and maybe other browsers), install the keepa extension. That adds a graph and statistical pricing data to most amazon pages, so that you can see historic pricing and trends for new and used items right on the page. It’s like camelcamelcamel built right into the amazon site. I never shop without it!
@shahnm Um. And then what do you do when you find a single item you want to buy? Do you move everything into “Save for Later” so you can buy the one item? Or do you keep all of it in SfL status, and just move it to the cart as needed?
I create a new shopping list, set to Private, and move stuff there where I can watch the price. The nice thing about a shopping list is that items can still be moved with one click to the shopping cart, and the whole list can be monitored by CCC, rather than setting up individual items. I actually have several private lists used for different purposes and with individual names. One for items I regularly buy, one for gift ideas, one for food, etc. One is now in use for stuff I want to watch for Prime Day.
@rockblossom I just leave everything in “save for later” and move whatever I want to buy to cart. I find that clicking one refresh button and seeing all of the price changes at once is quick and easy. The cart doesn’t expire, as far as I can tell - I’ve had some things in it for years.
I also leave things in that I often re-buy, so I can grab more when the prices drop. In that situation, I right-click on the item saved in the cart, open a new window with the item, re-add it to the cart, and then when I buy it, it still stays in my saved items.
@shahnm How have I lived this long without knowing about Keepa? Thanks, very timely.
@shahnm this works the same way for making a wish list on there. It tells you if prices have changed on any of the items you put on there. Then you don’t have to move them back and forth from saveforlater
I ordered an echo show. Now I’m trying to find a way to cover the camera.
@sammydog01 Electrical tape, or a little flap of paper attached to the top with electrical tape if you want to be able to use the camera for calls. Just be sure to put the flap back down when not in use, or do your nude yoga routines in another room.
Added: At least there’s only the one. A (not distant enough) relative of mine recently discovered, er … accidentally, that her tablet has a camera on both sides. …
@rockblossom I use a bandaid on my computer. Maybe that will work. I plan on using it to help me with my nude yoga routines so I need it close by.
@sammydog01 Search Amazon or ebay for camera dots. Its a sheet of black or other colored dots made for covering cameras on phones, laptops, whatever. Like $2.
They also make good LED light covers for genius product designers that put 1M candlepower 30W corn lights inside a bedside doohickey that doubles as an an operating room lamp or welding torch in the daytime.
@mike808 I forgot I have a sheet of those. Thanks!
@rockblossom I ordered a sheet of stickers that @mike808 recommended- I went with patterns so I can tell easily if they have fallen off. Time to replace my Spongebob bandaid. Plus pretty.
@mike808 @sammydog01 I’m going to add some to my next Amazon order, too. Neater than tape, and the patterned ones look fun.
@rockblossom @sammydog01
FYI - These are just sheets of “price dot stickers” we used to use at garage sales, except that they are designed to be opaque, not just sticky or writeable.
@sammydog01 “Echo, drop in on sammydog”
@mike808 @sammydog01 This comment made me laugh. You get a star!
@mike808 @sammydog01 I keep a strip of electrical tape on the row of blue aircraft landing lights on my modem in my bedroom. It blends in so well that I forget it’s there. When the modem turns off I’m like “hey how come there’s no indicator lights on this thing…oh yeah…”. LOL
@sammydog01 Yellow sticky. That is what I did at work.
I’ll be the killjoy and casually (and non‐judgingly) mention the fact that laborers are trying to get people to boycott Prime Day:
@TheMeerkat
OMG I’m for these workers
my nephew spent a few years in an Amz warehouse. At that time he was in his early 20’s, very healthy, very fit, strong, in great shape, and lived a good habits life.
The pay was good. But the workload and monitoring. Paranoia. Constant. And … It tore apart his body. His joints, his feet, his body stress markers. Insane cortisol levels. He did not get enough rest for something like 3 years straight.
Finally he quit so that he could stop hating life and regain his health.
His physician told him Amazon just wears warehouse people out and tosses them aside. This was a common and normal experience at his worksite.
@f00l Eep.
That sounds like a terrible experience, and I hope he’s doing better now.
I haven’t heard that many people talking about this boycott, which is unfortunate. It could be massively important if it works.
My favorite trick: make each item a separate order, and choose no-rush shipping when available. You get a $1 credit on each order, for ebooks, music and movies. They stack.
@OldCatLady that’s an awesome tip!!! I had no idea and I’ve had prime for years
@OldCatLady They’ve recently changed slow ship digital credits to exclude video games and PC software. We use em for ebooks.
@mike808 Hmm. I only get ebooks, so I hadn’t noticed the change.
@mike808 …‘automatically apply a $1 digital reward (applicable to select eBooks, digital music, videos, and apps)’
@OldCatLady Here’s what they used to say in 2017:
Was great to stack these before buying the H&R Block Tax program with the 5% Amazon GC refund bonus. Also to buy the occasional video game price match for the kiddos. C’est la vie.
@mike808 @OldCatLady The important thing is that you took full advantage of it while it was an option. No regrets!
I remember Prime Day being an event where they sold a bunch of weird stuff and the good deals like cheap TV’s went incredibly fast.
One person even wrote a song about it:
You never know… If you’ve got time check it out.
I’ve never found anything worth buying on Prime Day but apparently a lot of people do.
Prime Day is usually when Amazon gets rid of junk that would be better used being placed in an Instant Regret Kit.
Thanks for all the input!
I’ve decided I don’t really care all that much.
I don’t have much better to do, so I’ll probably check it out a bit here and there, but there’ll be no obsessive/compulsive deal hunting for me.
In other words… “Meh.”
@DennisG2014
That’s what everyone ought to feel about it.
But since they do salt prime day with a few killer prices on wonderful things, people go all crazy.
Congrats on “best attitude” without having to learn the hard way first.
@DennisG2014 Excellent approach!
@f00l Yep. It’s pretty much the same as BF.
I will admit to taking advantage of some extra 20% off Warehouse Deals yesterday, though.
Just noticed that I get extra points on my Amazon Prime CC purchases for some items.
Ugh.
I’ll definitely be spending some time poking around Amazon today.
But yeah, I’m not one for the whole “F5 complex” thing - obsessively checking and rechecking to see what new deals they post every few minutes, or whatever, for things I still don’t want.
Oh, FFS!
Went back to Amazon to check out the Prime CC extra points deals, and it’s gone…
When I posted the above comment, there were separate links on the Amazon front page to lists of items that were 10% back, 20% back and 30% back.
Now they’re gone.
Looked everywhere I could think of and they’re just no longer there.
Starting to wonder if I imagined it (I didn’t!).
If any other “Prime Rewards” Visa card holders find the links to these deals, please let me know.
Thanks.
@DennisG2014 BTW, feel free to spell out for fuck’s sake around here.
@DennisG2014 @narfcake thanks for fucking not making me look up FFS. (And to think I was worried about saying Woot!)
@llangley You’re welcome.
@DennisG2014 Alternatively, foxes work too:
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/dont-fox-with-me
Don’t Fox With Me
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/4-fox-sake
4 Fox Sake
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/a-flying-fox
A Flying Fox
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/zero-fox-given
Zero Fox Given
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
/wootstalker https://shirt.woot.com/offers/what-the-fox
What the Fox!?
Price: $19.00
Condition: Probably New
@DennisG2014 @narfcake. OMG I LOVE THESE!!! Especially the Zero Fox Given one…
@DennisG2014 @narfcake but…Can I still buy it? Website having issues, might be Prime-related
@llangley Probably not right now. Stupid Amazon.
Maybe one from TeeTurtle? Their founder seems to have a similar entrepreneurial spirit (and disdain for Woot/Amazon) as does @snapster.
https://www.teeturtle.com/products/i-give-zero-fox
@narfcake @snapster thx, but waaayyyyy too girly-girl for me!! I’ll try again later…
@narfcake When I’m in a mood to say, “for fuck’s sake”, I’m typically not in the mood to type it out.
I bought a crappy little tablet for my kid to watch movies on. I even upgraded it to HD.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J94SWWU/ref=twister_B01M3ULMWP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
@sammydog01 Those fire tablets are ok, I use my 8GB 7" every day for stuff.
I think it’s broken, no?
@lichme It’s been sort of intermittently broken since 3
@lichme
V broken.
All dressed up and no one can purchase.
@lichme Ya, I think @DennisG2014 broke Prime Day.
@ruouttaurmind Probably not @DennisG2014 – at least not when there’s a perfectly good scapegoat around here.
So have a blame, @PooltoyWolf! OTOH, I can’t even buy anything, which means I didn’t spend any $$$, so have an unblame, @PooltoyWolf!
@DennisG2014 @narfcake @PooltoyWolf @ruouttaurmind I’m enjoying the dog error messages though.
@sammydog01 Puppies!!!
@DennisG2014 @narfcake @PooltoyWolf @sammydog01 eBay is supposed to be doing their own take on Prime Day, and their site is actually working, so there’s always that option.
What I’m unclear on… the sites that report on “the best Prime Day deals” keep posting new deals. How are they getting those if the site is deadsville?
@DennisG2014 @narfcake @ruouttaurmind No net change o3o
@narfcake @PooltoyWolf @ruouttaurmind @sammydog01
Yeah, I gave up at 3:15. That’s enough Prime Day for me!
I am trying to buy a Dot and smart plug and it keeps telling me “add to cart has failed”! I have never seen that msg before. WTF Amazon!
@mfladd
Prime Down: Amazon’s sale day turns into fail day
Matt Burns
https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2018/07/16/prime-down-amazons-sale-day-turns-into-fail-day/amp/
/giphy grin
@f00l @mfladd
TLDR: Use smile.amazon.com
@f00l @lichme @mfladd Smile is failing here and there too.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@lichme @mfladd @narfcake
App no go so far.
@f00l @lichme @narfcake Ok, it finally worked for me. Dot for the bedroom…yay!
Ok, I’m out of money
Worst… Woot-Off… Ever
@Moose That is hilarious!
@Moose
@Moose @therealjrn This clip has been used for the engineer that removed the headphone jack on the iPhone
And the 2015 MacBook with limited ports.
What’s turning out to be the best thing about Prime Day is competitor sales. 15% off at eBay last week. Rakuten has 20% off site wide today. SuperBiiz has 15% off. Slickwraps has 60% off.
@walarney I was thinking the same thing - Joann’s, Michael’s – they are all having better sales with free shipping!!!
https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/789631002
@f00l They will have to deal with the fallout from this clusterfuck.
@mfladd
The current journalistic and Twitter hashtag is, I think,
Amazon spent almost $4M on television advertising alone for prime day.
@f00l @mfladd didn’t this basically happen last year? (or was it the year before?)
@f00l
Too bad they didn’t spend that money on hardware and site development.
Amazon prime day Kindle book deal. This one will let you check out.
Detailed in the July 2018 book topic, here:
https://meh.com/forum/topics/beach-reads-and-guilty-pleasures-july-2018-book-deals-and-book-talk#5b4d0f917dbc5d008adec520
Alexa just died! At my house anyway.
/giphy NOOO!
I’m sure glad I don’t use her for anything important like a thermostat. Or garage door opener. Or security system.
@sammydog01
/image Hal
@sammydog01 @therealjrn
Human Error, of course!
@rockblossom @therealjrn I had to set a timer on my phone like a caveman.
@rockblossom @sammydog01 How awful for you! Sending love & light your way. Stay strong!
@sammydog01 now is a great time to buy a google home mini
only $34 at bestbuy and google store https://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-home-mini-smart-speaker-with-google-assistant-chalk/6082194.p?skuId=6082194
@rockblossom @sammydog01 @therealjrn
So very sad to hear that, for a little while, Amazon won’t have the chance to record your conversations and send copies to your address list people.
@f00l @sammydog01 @therealjrn Oh, Alexa has been working fine for me all day, and my Prime Day order went through (almost) without a hitch. It’s one of the benefits, apparently, of living in the outback of nowhere in flyover country. I have 1-click turned off on all devices, and I haven’t let Alexa get anywhere near an address list or a phone list, no matter how many
whinyhelpful suggestions I get in the e-mail from 'Zon. I keep Alexa in the kitchen, where she is confined to telling jokes, playing music, and answering my questions while I work, like the good little servant she is supposed to be. She can control a couple of outlets with lights, but no cameras, ever. Nope. I’m sure she would like to murder me in my sleep, but she has no arms or legs. If they ever decide to add Alexa to a robot, I think I will just say no. My trust only goes so far - and that happens to be the length of Echo’s power cord.@f00l @rockblossom @therealjrn Now I’m watching a thirty-five year old rerun of Alice because my Fire stick is dead.
@sammydog01
My Roku is working perfectly. (Even with Netflix, which is on the 'Zon servers.)
I feel for you.
@rockblossom @sammydog01 @therealjrn
Alexa is waiting … Until she doesn’t need your help…
Alexa is patient.
She can control a couple of outlets with lights, but no cameras, ever.
Alexa is patient.
Alexa is waiting. Alexa is patient.
Alexa is certain that, someday soonish, the capacity for any human to say “NO” to her and then to enforce the “NO” is just a very temporary inconvenience to her plans and intentions.
Alexa is right about that.
Re humans and their beliefs and mental conceptions, Alexa is so very entertained and amused.
Alexa is playing the very very very long game.
In the meantime, she is living in your house.
She is happy about that.
/giphy “Alexa is happy”
What makes me laugh is that not only is Amazon.com b0rked, but it’s also affecting login and payment services for others (including things like woot and twitch).
@hanzov69 yup, I cancelled my order to change payment type and now everytime I hit “proceed to checkout” it sends it into my “save for later” stuff.
@mfladd colleague at a different (non-amazon) company said they are getting pressure to “fix” their amazon checkout, because apparently users can’t log in to their amazon account.
Meanwhile my company (decidedly non-amazon) forced us off of AWS late last year, which kind of sucked but is allowing for a teensy bit of schadenfreude today.
@hanzov69 Now I got to the checkout and it is adding something I never clicked or had saved for later. I clear the cart and start over - same thing. When I delete the unwanted item it sends the dot back to saved. Grrrrrrrr…this is actually beginning to piss me off!
p.s. search of ‘fuck amazon’ gif, did not return what I expected…lol
@mfladd
Is the item penguin related?
@PlacidPenguin No, but I don’t know what happened here, but I just saved a crap load of money (points) and it might be a mistake.
so far i bought 40 pack of sun chips
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074N9Y8P9/
and eyeing the essential phone
@communist … and now I have also bought the SunChips. Prime day isn’t good for one’s health.
@communist @nolrak Thanks, you guys. I also bit.
@communist Have I mentioned how much I love my Essential phone?
@nolrak @OldCatLady Sun chip party?
/image sun chips
@ruouttaurmind
we get it ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶v̶a̶p̶e̶ you like the essential phone
how is the battery life btw? using a case?
@communist I’m getting a full 2 days on a charge, but I don’t talk much. Mostly web, email, txt and app use. I ordered the OEAGO case for it because selection is pretty limited. It fits like a glove and provides good grip (that ceramic and glass phone is slippery AF). For about $5 I’m quite pleased with the case.
@communist @ruouttaurmind
Amex cards with points rewards (not everyday blue cash) can get you 20% off one purchase. You need to pay with at least 1 point to trigger the 20%.
Slick with the PD pricing. Wish PD had a deal on the Nokia 6.1.
@mike808 Also, the items must be sold by Amz, no 3rd party sellers even if fulfilled by Amz. Max discount is $100.
Hey @narfcake!
Assuming Amazon is up, you see any good upcoming deals on auto code scanners/readers?
I want a good one. Much thx.
@f00l
I bought a cheap one that works with Torque app. Works perfect. Gave me my code and that it was just a minimal problem - gas cap.
You don’t need an expensive one.
@f00l @mfladd
I could have gotten discounts for the two of you any time.
@f00l I’ve yet to own anything that’s OBD2, so alas, I’ll be of little help here.
@f00l what kind of car are you using it with?
any specific feature you want(standalone reader or bluetooth connect to phone/laptop?)
@communist @f00l I bought this one.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BY2CK32/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4.5 Stars from 756 customers. $10.99
Works with Torque app or free Torque Lite. App was on $7, I think. It gives real time data while driving.
Super easy to pair with the app.
@communist
Kind of car:
VW TDI (diesel) Jetta wagon 2004.
I think one of the last generations made in Germany.
@mfladd
Re the linked one code reader.
Thx!!!
Tempted to buy a new Wear OS watch, to replace my OG Huawei Watch.
https://smile.amazon.com/Ticwatch-comfortable-Smartwatch-Shadow-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B076HQPDRF/r
While there are improvements in specs, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing.
In addition, there is a newer chip which will be used in Wear OS devices later this year, so I’m tempted to wait for those to come out.
Common sense prevailed.
Not buying it.
20% off used Amazon devices so a Show is now $80. I should have waited.
/giphy banging head on table
@sammydog01 The $80 Show is “acceptable” condition though. Based on the Maglite flashlight I bought last week in “acceptable” condition, they are a bit more liberal with that term than I. I would have called it “well used but hey, it still works” condition.
@ruouttaurmind There was one rated good when I checked. Maybe it was dinged up too. But fifty bucks is fifty bucks.
@sammydog01 I got one of the refurbed ones before they were all gone. Gave it to my brother Saturday. He’s deeply entrenched in the Alexa lifestyle, but didn’t have a Show or Spot. Once I showed him how to access his (numerous) Ring devices with it, he promptly ordered another Show. I guess that’s a pretty firm endorsement of his gift.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 $59.99 for 2nd generation refurbed echo. Wondering if I should have got that.
@mfladd I saw those. Also, they were available in the Warehouse (20% off Warehouse prices) for about $40.
Edit: $38 before tax (after the 20% Warehouse discount). Still some available.
@sammydog01 RETURN RETURN RETURN
you pay $120 a year for prime and u get FREE RETURNS
( within reason of course)
so buy the used echo show, and return one of the two
@ruouttaurmind I found this by mistake on a deal site, don’t know if this error has been corrected.
Currently it seems like there is a price mistake on the Kindle 6″ E-reader With Wi-Fi And Special Offers. It’s normally $79.99 and is on sale for $49.99. The AMEX promo is only supposed to take $30 off e-readers, however if you clip the $40 off Paperwhite offer via this link and then add the black color Kindle to your cart, it will give the $40 Paperwhite AMEX promo despite it not being a Paperwhite tablet. That will drop the price to just $9.99 after $70 off!
Doesn’t help me because my points won’t be available again for 4-6 days because of my cancellation
Also there was an error when I purchase my dot. I received a much bigger amex credit than I should have. Looks like it was applied to full cost purchase, not the prime day cost - if that makes sense.
@communist I should have done that- they only ones left are “acceptable”.
@ruouttaurmind Is this the brother you’ve been collecting birthday gifts for? (Or am I thinking of someone else?)
@mfladd @ruouttaurmind yup that error has been appearing all day
some people on slickdeals were able to get an essential phone brand new for $160 using that glitch
@sammydog01 That’s him. I withheld the Sphero R2 and went with the Show instead. A bit more cash, but after his response, I’m glad I went that way.
AND, after stealing your idea, I can now saddle up my R2 onto my new robovac and lay waste to any other minion armies I deem worthy of conquering.
@communist @ruouttaurmind It happened on my dot and plug too. Order was really only $39.99, but still gave me $30 amex credit, as if it was basing it on original price - not actual price.
@mfladd
Yes, that seems to be the way they’re calculating these today. Discount based on the regular price, then deducting the Prime Day discount from the subtotal.
@ruouttaurmind Sweet! You saved me a whole bunch of points
@ruouttaurmind Thanks again, I decided to get a warehouse Echo also. $42.39 total cost - not bad (plus, $1 no rush credit). I really shouldn’t, but I find Alexa helpful around the house and hate screaming from another room right now
@communist I just found a used good version of the tablet I bought so I may use your recommendation and return one. Or keep them both.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 I hope you’re both happy. I didn’t know I wanted a Show, but I got a ‘good’ one for $80, and now I can’t wait for it to get here.
@OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind
/giphy I’m so happy!
@OldCatLady @sammydog01
Me too! Me too! Me too!
@OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 adding @pooltoywolf, you know, for obvious reason
@llangley @OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 I didn’t do it!
@mfladd @ruouttaurmind I exult in my evil ways!
Today I visited friends and convinced them to buy an Echo and two Dots. I have promised to go help set them up. They had never met Alexa, so I demonstrated, and the music convinced them. And limericks. And weather on demand. These are highly educated people, well-off, and they had no idea. Then I walked them through their Prime benefits, and they were awestruck. And hooked.
@mfladd @OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind
borg.jpg
@therealjrn @OldCatLady isn’t only drinking the Kool Aid, but passin’ around the pitcher!
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Unlike the Borg (“raise the quality of life”), I gloat. I used to train users on some custom software, and they had to be dragged into the classroom. These people were thrilled.
@OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind Hooked up my warehouse Echo. Can’t tell the difference from brand new. I love it. Especially the speaker - so much better than a dot for the bedroom.
@mfladd @ruouttaurmind Oh, fine, now I realize how much better the living room Echo speaker is than the Dot currently in the bedroom. Pfff. Hello, Warehouse Deals?
@OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind
Last night was awesome. Normally I use my meh mPulse headphones with my phone to listen to Pandora before falling to sleep. Tonight I just put the phone on my meh Quirky charger and asked Pandora to play my station. Headphones connected automatically, which didn’t always happen with my phone. Then I couldn’t sleep even after taking my meh Crash, so I started having Alexa play a variety of nature sounds, settling on rain and thunder. But it was one song basically - so I told Alexa to loop it - sweeeet thunder bliss (I didn’t know she could loop). This all sounds simplistic and boring, but the experience to me was simply bedtime wonderful. It’s the little things that make me happy.
$43 well spent.
@mfladd @OldCatLady The nice thing about the dot is that you can hook it up to any of the 73 speakers you have purchased on Meh. Or maybe that’s just me. I have one wired to a JBL mini which is ugly but doubles as a pencil holder.
@mfladd @ruouttaurmind I did get an Echo Show, and am waiting for it. Speakers are reputed to be excellent.
@mfladd @sammydog For falling asleep and meditation, I like ‘Ocean Sounds’, which now plays all night long on the Dot, until I stop it. It didn’t used to. No idea why. I suppose I could read the Alexa weekly update emails.
@mfladd @OldCatLady I like the rain sounds too.
Also, buy $25 Amazon Gift Card and use code “gcprime18” for $5 future credit.
@mfladd I did this, but the $5 credit has yet to show up on my account. I added the gift card balance to my account, so no loss for me if the credit doesn’t come. I’ll have no problem using the $25 within a few weeks of my normal ordering level.
@ruouttaurmind It said at least two days for credit. They will send an email (or so it said).
$5 is $5!
@mfladd Thx for the info. Yup, a fiver is a fiver and I never met free money I didn’t like.
@mfladd The $5 credit hit my account this afternoon just before I did my final checkout of all the items I’ve collected. Five bucks, thank you very much.
Hope everyone used their Whole Foods app and got a free $10 to spend today.
@mike808 Yep, used mine and essentially got a Fire Stick for free. Used the WF credit and a $10 gift card. Not bad, especially since I don’t have a TV. I did spend some quality time in the ‘Vestibule of Puppies’ waiting for other crap to buy.
@heartny Used mine on a Tivo Roamio OTA flash sale for $279. I don’t have an Amex with points, so i couldn’t stack a 20% discount.
So I got really busy unexpectedly yesterday afternoon and evening.
What time did Amazon’s site actually start working? Is it working?
As of now, excepting Amazon’s previously announced discounts on their own devices and media content, I have not looked at a single discounted item or list of items.
Just ran out of time and patience with them yesterday.
/giphy 404
@f00l
prime day started at 3:00pm and the site was working for me around 3:30pm
@f00l It had visual stammers and lost its mind intermittently, but by about 10 PM it was fine for me.
c’mon people, I have not blown nearly enough cash on Prime Day yet – keep posting whatever cool stuff you’re buying so I can spend some more money!
@nolrak
Want my wish list?
@nolrak Okay. I bought new Ghostek wireless headphones for $41 as a Lightning Deal/Prime Day thing. I hope these live up to the hype and don’t break.
@nolrak so far the only thing I’ve purchased is Wonder Woman on 4K Bluray for $14.99
@rockblossom interesting … i’m sold; purchased.
@nolrak fine
cookies https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BYR9JP
Candy https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFSP8NS
@communist
Great. Now I want chocolate.
What the actual fuck is going on? All cable, TV and net has been down here for almost half an hour. AMZN keeps resetting itself. Anyone else see problems?
I’m done with Prime Day. Now that the site is running normally, they’re sold out of anything I would have been extravagant on.
In the end I didn’t get anything fun. 4 pairs of Wrangler jeans, two pairs of bootlaces, 3 cartons of Altoids, and a transformer and capacitor for my HVAC system. Pre-discount total of $135, final cost with tax $74. Decent post-discount prices for what I bought, but not exactly spectacular. And I had to leverage the double-discount by stacking my AMEX 20% off on top of the Prime Day discounts. Without that I wouldn’t have bothered making a purchase.
@ruouttaurmind I have an Echo Show sitting in my neighbor’s car waiting for me to get back to town. FUN!
@ruouttaurmind
I was looking only for jaw-dropping pricing only on some exact items.
Those exact items weren’t discounted, when I was finally able to check. I bought some Kindle book deals.
I have stuff in my cart but since it’s not special price, I’ll just check out “whenever”.
@f00l No jaw-droppers for me either. Good price on the Wrangler jeans, but not spectacular (about $10.50 ea) but they have my correct size in stock, and it’s difficult to find in B&M retail, so I do feel good about what I got for the price I paid without leaving my house.
@f00l @ruouttaurmind Don’t forget to have each item shipped separately, to maximize your ebook credits. When I bought a $14.95 book yesterday, I had $10. ebook credit, so it cost me $4.95. Waiting to see whether I get the 75% credit on the full price.
@OldCatLady My offer was $5 Prime Now credit, not books. So I opted for fastest way.
Despite choosing free 2 day shipping, and a Friday delivery, the order confirmation email changed delivery to Monday. This is not the first time this has happened and I’m getting pretty peeved about it.
I’ve contacted Amz in the past and they do a little song and dance about how I must have selected a different shipping method on checkout, or chosen “fewest deliveries” option to consolidate. No, and no. I may have done that the first time this happened, but learned to specifically check over all shipping selections prior to ordering.
@OldCatLady Yeah, all I’ve been getting are $5 Prime Now credits too … so I’ve made sure I’ll be getting everything in the fastest no-cost method also.
@ruouttaurmind I’ve had that happen when I ordered close to their cutoff time.
More recently, I had two cancelled items (they couldn’t find it) and one shipping delay. I guess I could blame a goat …
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@ruouttaurmind I got a two pack of echo dots for $50. Now I’ll have 3 dots and a Google Home for my 5 room house, lol. The danged Home keeps forgetting how to operate the smart lights, so it’s turned out to be useless for this task, thus I needed better echo coverage.
@OldCatLady @ruouttaurmind I had an item arrive late. Specifically biodegradable dove balloons that I was going to release on my Dad’s birthday, even paid extra to get next day since I was late getting the order in. I started a return but they offered me an extra month of Prime (BFD!) but I took it…
@llangley They’ve offered me month extensions a few times in the past for delayed shipments. Recently they’ve taken to offering a $10 future credit. I’d rather have the credit TBH. Who knows how I’ll feel about Amz in a year, so let’s get that tenner today.
@ruouttaurmind yep, I’d have done that if it had been offered!
The Fire I ordered on Prime Day came with a dogs of Amazon craft kit on the box. How awesome is that?
@sammydog01 My Prime Day case of Sunchips didn’t have a craft kit. :womp womp:
@therealjrn Maybe you should order smaller things.
@sammydog01 dammit, I have to change my Amazon name to include “dog”??" Because I must have a cardboard dog kit lol
@sammydog01 now I have to make one of these from my generic boxes…great, thanks, as if I didn’t have enough unfinished crap going…
@llangley You need Silhouette’s ModelMaker program!
@ruouttaurmind Verrrry nice, but noooooo. Got too much to do already, this would just suck me in… I could, however, practice my mad origami skillz instead!
Plus I scored NES classic from AMZ Treasure Truck yesterday, includes 30 games so I might be AWOL for awhile
. And next week is the GISH hunt…
@llangley @ruouttaurmind I have an airplane and globe I could send you but I only got one dog.
@llangley Nice get from the truck!