Amazon Dash - What a Great Idea!

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Ricardodaforce

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I've just been reading that the above is being launched in the UK. Details here.

According to the BBC:

Here's how it works. There are Dash buttons for about 40 brands at launch, ranging from dishwasher tablets, to instant coffee to condoms. You buy the button - but get the cost off your first purchase. Then you set it up with the Amazon shopping app, choosing the exact product and your delivery preferences. From now on, when you run out of that product, pressing the wi-fi-connected button will simply trigger an order via the shopping app.

I think it's a great application of online shopping.
 
So, a single item is ordered, picked and hand delivered by a man in a van.

This will be good for the planet.
 
Clever idea in principle, but I can see a couple of problems. Kids love pushing buttons, so you're going to end up with things you don't need. Secondly, unless you regularly check the price on the Amazon site how will you know you're getting a decent deal?
 
Anything that makes it easier to buy stuff from Amazon is good for Amazon and if they can get you used to doing it without checking prices then all the better.
 
Don't often buy anything from Amazon, other than books, so I doubt if I'll be making much use of this.
 
I'll stick to ordering via my iPad. I really don't wish to have branded buttons all over my house.

I'm sure some people will love it. Just not me.
 
And the man with the van will turn up when you are not in and then take the goods back to the depot, mean time you end up nipping to ASDA to get more because you have run out
 
I prefer going out for our 2 weekly shopping.:):D
 
Ocado van brings me a months worth of stuff apart from fresh food, never use Amazon for supermarket type shopping.

Sounds like a gimmick for the sake of it to me
 
I'd far rather have a gadget in my kitchen with which I can scan anything that's run out from the packet and add it to some shopping list that all gets delivered at the same time. Individual item ordering seems really extravagant.
 
We've got one of those gadgets. Actually, we have to input the items we run out of (or are getting low on) manually using a pen that's attached to the piece of paper that's on the fridge, held there by a magnet.
 
Nod said:
We've got one of those gadgets. Actually, we have to input the items we run out of (or are getting low on) manually using a pen that's attached to the piece of paper that's on the fridge, held there by a magnet.
Click to expand...
I've got one of them too! Works very reliably.
 
I saw Amazon Dash this morning and thought "hang on - even 2 mins of thinking about that reveals it's a terrible product". Then I rubbed my eyes, checked the date and realised they actually had launched it.

So many questions.....

  1. What happens if a kid presses it 347 times?
  2. What if Amazon deliver stuff and you didn't order it - can you prove you didn't press the button?
  3. How do they actually work? (I'm interested - does it need to patch into my WiFi?)
  4. What stops my doorbell interfering with my neighbour's Dash? Every time the postie delivers some stuff to me my neighbour orders more Andrex.
  5. But mainly....who is paying for this? I bet it's the brands. Amazon ain't stupid. They don't care how bad their products are if they make money off both ends.
 
Im glad they don't have a cat food one as I reckon himself would order one and spend his spare time pressing it.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I saw Amazon Dash this morning and thought "hang on - even 2 mins of thinking about that reveals it's a terrible product". Then I rubbed my eyes, checked the date and realised they actually had launched it.

So many questions.....

  1. What happens if a kid presses it 347 times?
  2. What if Amazon deliver stuff and you didn't order it - can you prove you didn't press the button?
  3. How do they actually work? (I'm interested - does it need to patch into my WiFi?)
  4. What stops my doorbell interfering with my neighbour's Dash? Every time the postie delivers some stuff to me my neighbour orders more Andrex.
  5. But mainly....who is paying for this? I bet it's the brands. Amazon ain't stupid. They don't care how bad their products are if they make money off both ends.
Click to expand...
The answers were in the BBC report.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I saw Amazon Dash this morning and thought "hang on - even 2 mins of thinking about that reveals it's a terrible product". Then I rubbed my eyes, checked the date and realised they actually had launched it.

So many questions.....

  1. What happens if a kid presses it 347 times?
  2. What if Amazon deliver stuff and you didn't order it - can you prove you didn't press the button?
  3. How do they actually work? (I'm interested - does it need to patch into my WiFi?)
  4. What stops my doorbell interfering with my neighbour's Dash? Every time the postie delivers some stuff to me my neighbour orders more Andrex.
  5. But mainly....who is paying for this? I bet it's the brands. Amazon ain't stupid. They don't care how bad their products are if they make money off both ends.
Click to expand...

If only I'd linked to the article in the original post.
 
I've been pressing it all day but no beer has come :(

pressbeer.jpg
 
They're a wifi connected device (connected to your home wifi) which you program to order a specific item when you first set it up. When you press it, the order is put through and the light turns green.

If you press it multiple times, it waits for the first item to be recorded as delivered to you before processing the next. You get a notification that the order has been made and can cancel any rogue orders before they're processed.

I was reading up on hacking them yesterday to use as a wifi counter for anything by intercepting their wifi connection but that's not really what Amazon want you to use them for :0)
 
2) See above (if an order is made, it's registered to your account the same as via the website)

3) See my post above

4) Doorbells don't generally run via wifi frequency and the Dash is an IoT device with a unique MAC address so the order can only be placed by that device. Also, the Dash unit only powers on when you physically press the button so it's not sitting listening for a connection.

5) Amazon Prime customers. The unit is £4.99 which probably gives Amazon a bit of profit on the hardware already. After that, the brands will be paying a premium to Amazon to have in-home advertising and direct purchasing links.
 
As above, we plan ahead eg check what might be needed before heading out to do our weekly shop. Reduces the need to urgently pop out. We also make a note of when things run out (but aren't needed immediately) to be added to a shopping list.

Given that we have several supermarkets and a couple of corner shops, unless Amazon can deliver those things within 15 mins, if it's urgent enough, I'd just pop out and grab some more.
 
I use Amazon quite a lot and I think if Amazon think this is a good idea then I'm sure it will be brilliant - for Amazon.

My main concerns have been mentioned above but it also seems like a backward step to me.

At present I have PC on which I can order a huge range of items. If I'm too idle to get off by backside and go upstairs to the PC I can order things via the tablet while in front of the TV, in the kitchen or even outside (within a reasonable range).

With Amazon Dash I'd be limited to a small range of items (with none of the info about prices/deals etc) and even if Amazon extend it to other items the range will still be small.

Additionally, I don't want lots of these electronic tags hanging around the house.

Dave
 
Tringa said:
Additionally, I don't want lots of these electronic tags hanging around the house.
Click to expand...

Exactly that. Not only does it looks like an environmental disaster (battery + wifi + plastic junk to do a one shot purchase) I don't want my house littered with adverts that cost me a fiver every time I bump into them. Being able to scan a barcode with my phone and order something directly is lazy enough for me :D

stevelmx5 said:
5) Amazon Prime customers. The unit is £4.99 which probably gives Amazon a bit of profit on the hardware already. After that, the brands will be paying a premium to Amazon to have in-home advertising and direct purchasing links.
Click to expand...

I think the brands will be paying more thanPrime Customers at first ;) I don't know much about these things, but a fiver seems awfully cheap for basically a WiFi doorbell delivered from China to my door. Especially when I get that refunded.
 
Seems pointless. It's a less elegant solution than those already available (barcode scanner shopping apps).
 
JonathanRyan said:
I don't know much about these things, but a fiver seems awfully cheap for basically a WiFi doorbell delivered from China to my door. Especially when I get that refunded.
Click to expand...

I would be amazed if the production cost for one of these was anything above 25 cents US, if that.

I tinker a lot making things, and electronic components, even preprogrammed ones, cost nothing in China, a fraction of what you might think.
 
Last edited:
It's a solution to a non existent problem
 
No noone specifically said "problem" if you want to be so pedantic. I meant it more as "~Amazon have come up with an unneccessary solution, to a problem they think exists, but it doesn't.
 
One way this could work is if when you pressed the device it sent a reminder to your Amazon account. When you next logged into your account you would then see a list of the items you have tagged. You could then choose whether to order them or not.

This is not as easy as "one click orders and buys the item" but it would give you the chance to see the price before buying. However, I don't think Amazon would like this very much.

I'm surprised supermarkets haven't developed an app with good voice recognition. You tap the app on your phone, say the names of the items you want and they get put into your basket. The next time you go to the supermarket site the items are already in the basket for you to buy, or not.

Dave

BTW if this does not exist already I claim ownership of the idea.
 
But they have apps with barcode scanners and 'suggested orders' based on prior orders.
Both of which seem better suited to the task than a button for every item in the cupboard.
 
I've already got so many devices. Yes we use amazon a lot and I've got a prime account. But I can't see this making anything significantly easier for me. If we think of something we need I just grab my phone and use the amazon app to order it and have it next day delivered.
 
also.. if I were to go around a house with all these buttons everwhere, the temptation to press them all would be too great...
 
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