Amazon....unreal!

[RitaE]

I just got Wait Listed on Tax Software of all things because I sat there for a couple of minutes contemplating whether HR Block would be okay or if I should just wait for a Turbo Tax deal sometime over the next couple of months.

I would assume I would be one of the very few around to get excited over deeply discounted Tax Software but what do you know, there are apparently many of me.

I did get to buy it eventually. Maybe everybody just throws it into their carts at the beginning and then they take a couple of minutes to think about it.

 

[lilsk8nmac]

gim·mick[gim-ik] noun
1. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.

2. a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal: An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.

What would you call it then?

I still stand by not calling it a gimmick because they arent being deceptive about it. Why dont you read some of the other posts that came after mine in this thread and see where the deception is. It's in the techies writing programs so they can score things before regular people.
There are also those of us that have faster internet service than others and know what we are doing. You don't have to be rude about it.

 

[mousehockey37]

gim·mick[gim-ik] noun
1. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.

2. a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal: An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.

What would you call it then?

Hello. I'm employed by said company. I think your posts are a gimmick.

As far as how amazon works their lightning deals, the items that are sold that way are bought and sold by amazon. This means that they deal directly with the manufacturer of the product as to how many they can release at a time. So if the manufacturer wants to release 10 or 10,000 it's their call and amazon follows suit. Amazon has been offering the tv's for $147 most of this week. This isn't rocket science, it's business.

As far as what others have said, it's also true. Your connection speed factors in, the massive amounts of people that are also waiting factors in as well. There are also those out there that are tech junkies that know how to set things up so that they can "auto-click" as soon as something comes available. Is it fair? No, but that's society today.

Will you see items that were lightning deals on sale once they run out of lightning deals, yes. Once again, I will say that the whole inventory of a said item will not be put up for a lightning deal, as well as other retailers who use amazon as fulfillment centers also will sell that same product.

If the 'deal of the day' is such a gimmick, how come kmart and walmart now have their own versions. Obviously, amazon has figured some things out and you just haven't had any luck with the site. It sucks for you, but once again, life isn't fair. Those people that waited at Walmart for iPads and other things and got the "one hour guarantee" thing, yeah, that's the in person version of getting put on the 'waitlist' on the amazon website. It's a version of a raincheck.

So, think about it this way, you missed the deal online and were offered a waitlist where they will notify you. At least you didn't go to the store, fight through crowds of people and walk out empty handed. You have/had the opportunity to purchase something and missed it, go to your next item and come back to the first one later.

One last little bit... If Amazon were to sell out of its entire inventory of an item in 1 sale, without knowing when they will get more, that's not good business, is it? So would you rather go forward missing a deal here or there and having another chance? Or would you rather see everything be gone and know that there's not another in existence?

Happy Shopping!

 

[disney4us2002]

I couldn't really care less if it's a gimmick or not but it is extremely frustrating to get the sold out after clicking as soon as the sale opens. I don't care if there are 100 or 100000 to sell; it sucks! Got burned by amazon last xmas so this year, I am not counting on any of their lightning deals. I still shop at amazon a lot but I find it insane that they are truly sold out after 9 seconds. I don't know how fast my internet speed is and I'm not a tech-savvy person to check but I have DSL so it's not like I have dial-up.

 

[wdwnomad]

I missed out on a tv deal yesterday but was able to snag the cake decorating kit. That was sold out too in a few seconds. I will keep trying.

 

[bumbershoot]

gim·mick [gim-ik] noun
1. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.

2. a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal: An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.

What would you call it then?

The problem, in the minds of those of us who don't see anything wrong with it, is that most people use that second definition. I, personally, think it's ingenious, so I'm with the first definition.

Dell did that last night. I was within 2 seconds past midnight and the laptops were gone. Although, they were quick to redirect me to a model $200 more. I think not! I'll shop elsewhere and won't bother with their site again.

Would you rather they NOT direct you to something else? Just say "sorry, no"? Would that make you less annoyed with Dell?

Most of the "what not to buy" articles say to stay far far away from the cheap laptops, unless you're giving them to someone you don't like, so maybe the limited inventory did you a favor?

One last little bit... If Amazon were to sell out of its entire inventory of an item in 1 sale, without knowing when they will get more, that's not good business, is it?

And that's what used to happen, before the more current inventory systems. I worked CS for amazon '99 through '02 (so sad to quit, so glad DH still works there!) and the system then was SO bad, SO slow, compared to how it is now. Now they can keep track, instantly, of every single purchase and update it immediately. So that no one will THINK they have something when that something doesn't exist. Of course, there can always be errors in the fulfillment center where they thought they had something but they didn't, but the computer itself keeps track of what it should have. It's so much better now.


I do wish they did things differently with differentiating one seller from the other. DH used to work in seller support and he's described how it works, but when I put on my "normal consumer" hat I get REALLY frustrated at how they show the different sellers. It really can look like they are being sneaky, when all it is is that there's a different seller with that different price, because the first seller ran out.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

Well, I'm sure that I am not alone when I say that overall, I LOVE Amazon.com, even if I only scored one "lightening deal", LOL ! I have purchased awesome deals from them for many years, and will continue to do so for as long as I get "free" shipping (am a Prime member") and they continue to NOT charge me sales tax on my purchases.

 

[sissy_ib]

Most of the "what not to buy" articles say to stay far far away from the cheap laptops, unless you're giving them to someone you don't like, so maybe the limited inventory did you a favor?

This is my thought, without reading any reviews. I bought a cheep laptop in an emergency situation and it lasted a little less than a year and a half. I was not too upset because it was so cheap but still. Not something I would do again unless I had to.

 

[luvmy3]

I couldn't really care less if it's a gimmick or not but it is extremely frustrating to get the sold out after clicking as soon as the sale opens. I don't care if there are 100 or 100000 to sell; it sucks! Got burned by amazon last xmas so this year, I am not counting on any of their lightning deals. I still shop at amazon a lot but I find it insane that they are truly sold out after 9 seconds. I don't know how fast my internet speed is and I'm not a tech-savvy person to check but I have DSL so it's not like I have dial-up.

You have DSL(or Fios, or 4G, etc, etc) and so do the other 10000 people trying to get the deal too. Its just luck, sometimes its with you, and sometimes it isn't. I got pretty lucky yesterday, only missed one video game. Today OTOH just wasn't my day.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I still stand by not calling it a gimmick because they arent being deceptive about it. Why dont you read some of the other posts that came after mine in this thread and see where the deception is. It's in the techies writing programs so they can score things before regular people.
There are also those of us that have faster internet service than others and know what we are doing. You don't have to be rude about it.

I don't see where I was being rude. I don't think people understand what a gimmick is. And a post defining what one is isn't.
I don't shop at Amazon and I find better bargains on days other than Black Friday. I also have a degree in retail management and have a pretty good understanding of how marketing and promotion work.
A gimmick is not the same as deception.
Yes, it is a marketing gimmick to advertise an item for an incredible price and to only have a handful of said item. And no, Amazon is not the only one to do this. Either online or in a brick and mortar store. And it's been done for years.
People flock to a store or web site and either they get their item or not. The merchant is hoping that now they are there, they'll spend more money.

 

[MaleficentRN]

The problem, in the minds of those of us who don't see anything wrong with it, is that most people use that second definition. I, personally, think it's ingenious, so I'm with the first definition.
.

Thank you! My point exactly! I don't understand why people are getting defensive. It's a legitimate practice.

 

[lilsk8nmac]

I don't see where I was being rude. I don't think people understand what a gimmick is. And a post defining what one is isn't.
I don't shop at Amazon and I find better bargains on days other than Black Friday. I also have a degree in retail management and have a pretty good understanding of how marketing and promotion work.
A gimmick is not the same as deception.
Yes, it is a marketing gimmick to advertise an item for an incredible price and to only have a handful of said item. And no, Amazon is not the only one to do this. Either online or in a brick and mortar store. And it's been done for years.
People flock to a store or web site and either they get their item or not. The merchant is hoping that now they are there, they'll spend more money.

The rudeness came when you had to go and define it like we are all stupid on this board. And you just backed that up by having to throw a "degree" around. Which last time I checked a University didn't offer a degree in something like that. So more than likely you went to an online or trade school for that.
Secondly, if we want to throw degrees around I have a double BA from a well known University. Big flippin' deal, like anyone cares what we have degrees in.
At one time I did have to work retail management since there wasn't anything in my degree at the time, and I didn't have to have a specific "degree" in retail anything like you claim to. So yes, many people get offended when you go and play cut and paste with the dictionary after quoting their post.

Not everyone that posts online are idiots. And perhaps, just perhaps some of them are actually more intelligent than others, but don't feel like insulting those others with it or shoving it in peoples faces. Just a thought.

Online shopping, along with shopping in stores can basically be the same thing this time of year. You either get the item or you don't. That's life.

 

[Burnedout]

Gimmicks aren't evil. They work. I paid far more attention to their site yesterday than I should have. Yes, door busters are gimmicks too it isn't a big deal.

 

[Allison]

Gimmicks aren't evil. They work. I paid far more attention to their site yesterday than I should have. Yes, door busters are gimmicks too it isn't a big deal.

I agree. I am not sure why people think using the word gimmick means people think it is some terrible deceptive thing. It is a common practice.

 

[tjevans]

Which last time I checked a University didn't offer a degree in something like that.

Considering every university has their own degrees, you would have to check all of them. For example, there are degrees in theme park management. I think retail management would be much more common than that.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[tjevans]

The rudeness came when you had to go and define it like we are all stupid on this board. And you just backed that up by having to throw a "degree" around. Which last time I checked a University didn't offer a degree in something like that. So more than likely you went to an online or trade school for that.
Secondly, if we want to throw degrees around I have a double BA from a well known University. Big flippin' deal, like anyone cares what we have degrees in.
At one time I did have to work retail management since there wasn't anything in my degree at the time, and I didn't have to have a specific "degree" in retail anything like you claim to. So yes, many people get offended when you go and play cut and paste with the dictionary after quoting their post.

Not everyone that posts online are idiots. And perhaps, just perhaps some of them are actually more intelligent than others, but don't feel like insulting those others with it or shoving it in peoples faces. Just a thought.

Online shopping, along with shopping in stores can basically be the same thing this time of year. You either get the item or you don't. That's life.

I didn't find anything rude. I would say the common use of the term "gimmick," is for something underhanded, especially when used in a marketing context. All the PP was doing was pointing out that the primary definition is otherwise.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[MaleficentRN]

The rudeness came when you had to go and define it like we are all stupid on this board. And you just backed that up by having to throw a "degree" around. Which last time I checked a University didn't offer a degree in something like that. So more than likely you went to an online or trade school for that.
Secondly, if we want to throw degrees around I have a double BA from a well known University. Big flippin' deal, like anyone cares what we have degrees in.
At one time I did have to work retail management since there wasn't anything in my degree at the time, and I didn't have to have a specific "degree" in retail anything like you claim to. So yes, many people get offended when you go and play cut and paste with the dictionary after quoting their post.

Not everyone that posts online are idiots. And perhaps, just perhaps some of them are actually more intelligent than others, but don't feel like insulting those others with it or shoving it in peoples faces. Just a thought.

Online shopping, along with shopping in stores can basically be the same thing this time of year. You either get the item or you don't. That's life.

I am at a loss to why you are so defensive. I never called anyone the names you mentioned or thought anyone so. Some people may be confused by the definition and think it something bad. I thought since you worked for Amazon you had a different perspective into their marketing practice and am still confused why you don't think they were using a frequetly practiced marketing gimmick and why you think it is bad to call it that.
I mentioned my education because that is where I got my information from. If someone had different information I would have been glad to hear it.
I don't have to back up my credentials to you. Think what you want to think. Since this is getting so personal I am stepping away.

 

[npmommie]

I sat and waited for the countdown on an Ipod touch..hit the select options key picked the choices and hit add to cart...before my computer could load it, GONE! ... less than 9 seconds into the deal. Oh well, I just have no clue what I could have done to be any faster.

Same experience with a TV at exact same time you tried. It is clearly a gimmick by Amazon (as it went immediately to "waitlist full"). Yet, the item I was waiting for is still available from Amazon (not a 3rd party) at the regular price. Amazon playing the old false advertising game.

me too, I tried for the TV but didn't even get on the wait list!

gim·mick [gim-ik] noun
1. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.

2. a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal: An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.

What would you call it then?

I call it a gimmick. I know they all do it. it didn't bother me as much though since when I missed the deal I was sitting on my couch in my jammies watching the final Icarly episode with my kids. I didn't have to go outside in the cold and wait in a line for hours on end

What was the TV deal? Dh will probably kill me for getting another TV, but I really want one for the sunroom off of the kitchen so I can watch the news in there while cooking.

it was a 32 in lcd hdtv for $97. the same TV was ony $147 all week. still a good deal

I still stand by not calling it a gimmick because they arent being deceptive about it. Why dont you read some of the other posts that came after mine in this thread and see where the deception is. It's in the techies writing programs so they can score things before regular people.
There are also those of us that have faster internet service than others and know what we are doing. You don't have to be rude about it.

I have fast internet and know what I am doing and I still didn't get the deal

Well, I'm sure that I am not alone when I say that overall, I LOVE Amazon.com, even if I only scored one "lightening deal", LOL ! I have purchased awesome deals from them for many years, and will continue to do so for as long as I get "free" shipping (am a Prime member") and they continue to NOT charge me sales tax on my purchases.

this for me too.
I love amazon and stuff like this would never turn me against them. I get deals from them all the time.
they also have a very buyer friendly return policy.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I have only tried for one lightening deal - NCAA Football '13 for DH. I managed to get it 20 minutes after it appeared.

I have watched how quickly things go on the lightening deals too. I almost make a game of guessing which item on the page will go first, LOL.

There is a lot of demand for electronics every year. Like someone else said, it is no different than Walmart or Best Buy having only a few of the "hot" item. And there is a lot more demand being that there is only one "Amazon.com" compared to hundreds of Best Buys/Walmarts.

Win some, lose some. Just don't count on always winning and you won't be disappointed.

 

[disney4us2002]

I am at a loss to why you are so defensive. I never called anyone the names you mentioned or thought anyone so. Some people may be confused by the definition and think it something bad. I thought since you worked for Amazon you had a different perspective into their marketing practice and am still confused why you don't think they were using a frequetly practiced marketing gimmick and why you think it is bad to call it that.
I mentioned my education because that is where I got my information from. If someone had different information I would have been glad to hear it.
I don't have to back up my credentials to you. Think what you want to think. Since this is getting so personal I am stepping away.

Not that you particularly care, , but I didn't find your comments rude or belittling at all. I did find the amazon worker's post to be defensive and rude however. Eh, to each their own....