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Walmart beats Amazon in mindshare on "Prime day"

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-wallops-amazon-on-“prime-day”-153951428.html

That’s the question many Amazon (AMZN) customers seem to be asking as they browse the retail site during a shopping extravaganza Amazon has hyped as bigger than Black Friday. Prime Day, as Amazon calls it, is supposed to be a mid-summer opportunity to get killer prices on some of the year’s hottest products. But many shoppers are logging on to find underwhelming deals on oddball offerings such as beer coolies, nose vents, shoehorns and cat-training aids.

Given Amazon’s heft, some retail analysts have speculated that the online dealfest could reshape the whole retail landscape. Instead, Prime Day seems to be shaping up as a flop, as social media posts such as those posted below suggest.

Since Walmart (WMT), Amazon’s biggest competitor, vowed to match Amazon’s deals with “rollback” specials of its own, Yahoo Finance decided to quickly rank each retailer in 4 categories, to determine which wins the first annual Prime Day slugfest. In our estimation, Walmart walloped Amazon, by a score of 14 to 8 (with 20 being the highest possible score). Here's our grading system:

Relevance. Walmart offered a lot of mainstream products typical families can use, while Amazon offered a strange collection of miscellania that could have come from some gigantic leftover bin. Among Walmart’s top rollback specials, for instance, were paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, mattresses, sheets, a stroller, a crib, TVs, smartphones, printers and a lot of women’s clothing. You know, stuff people use every day.

Amazon listed everyday items too, but it took longer to find them. When we spot-checked its top listings, for example, we found useful gadgets such as a router and digital camera, plus lots of smartphone cases and charging cables. But the same check also offered a baffling array of bottom-shelf items, such as a thermal laminator, a turmeric curcumin dietary supplement, anti-callus gloves, a rifle scope and many other specialty products. Amazon offered thousands of “lightning” deals that came and went during the day, so shoppers logging on at different times would see different offerings. In general, however, offbeat items seemed to outnumber everyday products. (But "Fifty Shades of Grey" fans are in luck: the unrated Blu-ray and DVD could be yours for $13.99.)

Price. Savvy online shoppers won’t be surprised to hear that while both sites offered good deals, both also overstated the savings. Walmart, for instance, offered a 55-inch RCA HDTV for $399.99, claiming that was half off the regular price of $799.99. But Amazon offers the same TV for $495.78 (which is not a Prime Day lightning deal). And Amazon offered a Black & Decker dust buster for $47.99, claiming that represented a savings of $78.01 off the regular list price of $126. But Home Depot sells the same product for $74.99.


http://www.eonline.com/news/676642/...ly-a-mediocre-yard-sale-and-people-are-pissed

Plastic Popsicle molds? Clorox Disinfecting Wipes? Adult gummy vitamins? Letter laminating pouches?!

These Amazon Prime deals are insaaaane, you guys! Go buy 'em before they're all gone! But get in line behind us because we want first dibs on that black knee strap!

Oh, wait…

[Sad trombone noise]

Amazon's Prime Day was supposed to be have "more deals than Black Friday," exclusive only to Prime members. It had been hyped for weeks and Amazon devotees were chomping at the bit for this glorious day to arrive. And then it did! It finally did!

And…it sucked. #primedayfail

READ: This cat wore a crop top purchased from Amazon to show how insanely small it was for humans

Sure, some of these deals are pretty sweet. Samsung TV, Bose headphones and Amazon Fire TV bundles at a huge discount is for sure a steal, but for the most part, people found Amazon's Prime Day to be a big, fat letdown.

Trying to find deals on #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/5k2JGXxrm5

— Tim Cielinski (@TimCielinski) July 15, 2015
More disappointed in #PrimeDay than I am in Trump's attempt to make it look like he has hair.

— Jonathan Zeigler (@themisterjon) July 15, 2015
Okay, @Amazon is now selling blank CDs and chef hats. #PrimeDay has officially reached Garage Sale status. Woof. pic.twitter.com/Lb0CdTzVCe

— Joe Scannell (@Joe_Scannell) July 15, 2015
I started the day at 3am hoping for a 40" TV and a chromebook. After 14 hrs, I have some granny panties and dog treats. FAIL #PrimeDay

— Angela N. Taylor (@LadyVixen) July 15, 2015
I think this sums up @amazon #PrimeDay pretty well. pic.twitter.com/8zGQxQGznm

— John Peters III (@neverdefinedby) July 15, 2015
We never meant to hurt you. We never meant to make you cry, but today, we're cleaning out our closet. #PrimeDay #primedayfail

— Sara Waldschmidt (@mohawkvelma) July 15, 2015
Congratulations @amazon! Thanks to #PrimeDay, The Phantom Menace is no longer the most disappointing thing in my lifetime.

— Robert Zimmerman (@robzimm) July 15, 2015
Popsicle molds 56% off...what I always dreamed about! #PrimeDayFail #PrimeDay pic.twitter.com/7EnGxsiHh9

— Lexy (@LexyTownsend) July 15, 2015
#PrimeDay has been a bigger letdown than Tony Romo in the playoffs

— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) July 15, 2015
INCREDIBLE DEALS ON #PRIMEDAY 1 shoe: $19.23 19 bugs: $2.81 half eaten book: $8.66 drum that is actually a can: $34.72 child's tooth: $0.23

— Rich Lowtax Kyanka (@lowtax) July 15, 2015
Jesus Christ, @Amazon. This #PrimeDay bundle looks like a Child Kidnapper Starter Kit pic.twitter.com/l4NMBA5uEu

— Will (@Raininqq) July 15, 2015
#PrimeDay has been like getting excited for your birthday, and then finding out you were never born and you'll never have a birthday at all.

— Ian Luther (@igluther) July 15, 2015
So basically @amazon just had a really mediocre garage sale. #PrimeDay

— Wyatt Larkin (@wyattlarkin) July 15, 2015
This 55 Gallon barrel of lube for $1,361 might be the best #PrimeDay deal yet pic.twitter.com/rp39uSTdkM

— Justin Kruger (@UbiJustin) July 15, 2015
It seems #PrimeDay evokes that feeling when the dirty family on your block has a garage sale. You know the one.

— Alexander Sliwinski (@Sliwinski) July 15, 2015
Pretty much how it's been on #PrimeDay #PrimeDayFail pic.twitter.com/n0QSXldKIm

— Bryan Beal (@bryanrbeal) 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.

— Simon Zhou (@simonzhow) July 15, 2015
 

Mik2121

Member
Yeah... dunno how the Amazon deals were in UK or US, but in Japan they were terrible. Best gaming deal was a 4000 yen discount on PS4, after that some small discounts on terribly minor Vita games or random old stuff.

Then again we don't even have Black Friday here so I guess it's.. better than nothing?
 

DemiMatt

Member
US Deals were underwhelming, I think the best deal I saw was the Vita for 150, but then again it needed to be lower for an impulse buy.
 
I briefly browsed the Walmart site for rollbacks and I saw "deals" of like $1-$5 off the previous price billed as part of their rollback special.
 

Rookje

Member
But the same check also offered a baffling array of bottom-shelf items, such as a thermal laminator, a turmeric curcumin dietary supplement, anti-callus gloves, a rifle scope and many other specialty products.

IXbDcOX.jpg
 

woolley

Member
Yeah... dunno how the Amazon deals were in UK or US, but in Japan they were terrible. Best gaming deal was a 4000 yen discount on PS4, after that some small discounts on terribly minor Vita games or random old stuff.

Then again we don't even have Black Friday here so I guess it's.. better than nothing?
Didn't Japan have 50% off MacBooks? That alone would make the whole sale worth it.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
Yeah... dunno how the Amazon deals were in UK or US, but in Japan they were terrible. Best gaming deal was a 4000 yen discount on PS4, after that some small discounts on terribly minor Vita games or random old stuff.

Then again we don't even have Black Friday here so I guess it's.. better than nothing?
Not really, the best deal was this but it lasted for a whole 2 minutes, lol.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
I guess Amazon wasn't primed to live up to people hype.

I don't think people realise that the sales was a gimmick and the real draw was to get people to sign up for Amazon prime or at least use their free trial period, so they still win.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
The biggest problem with the US version was things selling out in seconds. Most of the deals though were hot garbage.
 
There were a few gaming related items that were ok deals at best. But overall the sale was terrible. I didn't spend a cent. I did however buy Best Buy gift cards from Ebay at a 15% discount after my designer giftcards fell through. So there's that at least.
 
The $10 amazon credit from buying a amazon gift card multipack isn't bad I guess

Everything else was fairly underwhelming

Ebay's gift card deal was the most interesting deal I saw today
 

smurfx

get some go again
only thing i wanted to buy was some senneheiser headphones but the deal bugged out and nobody was able to buy them.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
I'm not a Prime member- not paying $100 to get a $10 bargain.

I have not even used my free trial and Amazon really really wants me to use it.

Sorry Amazon but I just don't see the value in it and never will despite you removing free shipping on orders under £20, which I guess was a recent thing as it used to be orders under £10.
 
It was a huge disappointment.

It was a warehouse clearance sale.

They just knew that advertising it as a Warehouse Clearance Sale wasn't going to get everyone super-hyped.

I mean, people still would have gotten hyped: The largest Warehouse in America is having a Clearance Sale! still rings bells for deal-hunters. But invoking the name of Black Friday is a completely different kettle of moderately priced fish-shaped pot-holders.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
It was a warehouse clearance sale.

They just knew that advertising it as a Warehouse Clearance Sale wasn't going to get everyone super-hyped.

I mean, people still would have gotten hyped: The largest Warehouse in America is having a Clearance Sale! still rings bells for deal-hunters. But invoking the name of Black Friday is a completely different kettle of moderately priced fish-shaped pot-holders.

Exactly, plus they made the sale exclusive to Prime and just used Prime Day to promote Prime and get people to sign up.

Getting people to sign up for Prime was Amazon real goal, the sale was just added bonus.
 
Exactly, plus they made the sale exclusive to Prime and just used Prime Day to promote Prime and get people to sign up.

Getting people to sign up for Prime was Amazon real goal, the sale was just added bonus.

Yeah but most have lost a bit of faith and people will ship elsewhere to get a better deal knowing Amazon wasn't true to their word
 
Prime day was a shitty ploy by Amazon to get a shitton of people to sign up for a new Prime account and bank on those who will forget to cancel the re-subscription.

They had no intention of actually making a good sale. They know perfectly well the amount of people who will be likely to participate on the sale (as an approximation of Prime members, etc.), and they still chose to stock their best deals with a few dozen quantities for literally millions of potential buyers, and made no effort to give people a spitting chance at getting the items. The rest of the shit was laughable. Beef Jerky advertised as a "Lightning Deal" cements the fact that they didn't have shit.

The juxtaposition of all the hype (there were COMMERCIALS on TV for this) and the reality of what the deal actually was is one of the saddest things of the year, and this is the same year that has Donald Trump running for president. Such a blatantly transparent effort to boost Prime membership, that was literally the one and only purpose of today.
 
I will say this it looked like the wal mart near me was having clearance prices on some items today. Grabbed zoe hd for $5 so they got more from me than amazon did.
 

Amentallica

Unconfirmed Member
Prime day was a shitty ploy by Amazon to get a shitton of people to sign up for a new Prime account and bank on those who will forget to cancel the re-subscription.

They had no intention of actually making a good sale. They know perfectly well the amount of people who will be likely to participate on the sale (as an approximation of Prime members, etc.), and they still chose to stock their best deals with a few dozen quantities for literally millions of potential buyers, and made no effort to give people a spitting chance at getting the items. The rest of the shit was laughable. Beef Jerky advertised as a "Lightning Deal" cements the fact that they didn't have shit.

The juxtaposition of all the hype (there were COMMERCIALS on TV for this) and the reality of what the deal actually was is one of the saddest things of the year, and this is the same year that has Donald Trump running for president. Such a blatantly transparent effort to boost Prime membership, that was literally the one and only purpose of today.

Man, reading this made me laugh way too much. It's damn true, that's why.
 

FroJay

Banned
I was hyped and then I wasn't....because there was nothing I was interested in that was drastically reduced in price. Normally Amazon is solid but......yeah.
 
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