For all of the perks that customers of Amazon’s Prime service receive — free two-day shipping on thousands of items, access to on-demand TV and movies, photo storage, music-streaming library, and free audio books — none include physical services. But a new report claims that Amazon may change that with the launch of a Prime-related cleaning service. [More]
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Guy Makes Alexa Speak Through A Robotic Singing Fish Just Because He Can
By 11.4.16
Sure, you can have Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa speak to you through an Echo, but why not have it respond to commands from the mouth of a wall-mounted singing fish? [More]
More Amazon Drivers Accuse Company Of Not Paying Required Overtime Wages
By 11.2.16
As Amazon shifts more of its logistics workload away from traditional parcel services like FedEx and UPS and toward contractors who deliver orders in Amazon’s name, the e-commerce giant continues to face legal challenges over the way those contracted workers are being treated. The latest example comes out of Illinois, where former delivery drivers are accusing Amazon of not paying them required overtime wages. [More]
Amazon Now Charging Both Prime And Non-Prime Prices At Physical Bookstores
By 11.2.16
For years, Amazon has offered slightly different pricing for products depending on whether or not a customer was a member of the company’s $99/year Prime service. Now, it appears those price discrepancies have migrated to the company’s physical bookstores as the company works to bulk up its Prime subscriptions. [More]
Feds Shut Down Telemarketing Scam That Pitched Money-Making Schemes & Bogus Grants
By 10.28.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
As wonderful as it might sound, odds are that no one is trying to call you to give you free money, and anyone who dangles a get-rich-quick scheme in front of you should be quickly ignored. Yet federal regulators say telemarketers tricked seniors and veterans out of their money with these sorts of scams.
[More]
Amazon Contractor Agrees To Pay Drivers $100K In Phantom Lunch Breaks
By 10.28.16
What if your employer deducted lunch breaks from your time sheet, but you weren’t allowed to actually take any time for lunch? That’s what New York’s attorney general says happened to employees of Cornucopia Logistics, a contractor that handles deliveries for Amazon and for its grocery delivery service in New York City. The company has settled with the state, and will pay affected workers and former workers $100,000 in back wages for the practice. [More]
Report: Amazon To Eventually Open As Many As 2,000 Grocery Stores
By 10.27.16
Earlier this month, all-powerful “sources familiar with the matter” claimed that Amazon was on the verge of opening bricks-and-mortar convenience stores and offering curbside pickup. Now, a new report indicates that the e-tailer plans to start small, opening 20 physical grocery stores over the next two years, but ultimately expects to have thousands of stores nationwide. [More]
Lawsuit Against Amazon Claims Exploding Hoverboard Destroyed Family’s Home
By 10.27.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
For most people, so-called hoverboards were just a fad, one many didn’t think much about after a serious of fiery incidents involving the electric scooters prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall half a million of the devices over safety concerns. But it was more than a trendy fad to be forgotten for others, like one Tennessee family that’s claiming a scooter sold by Amazon was responsible for destroying their home. [More]
You Can Now Control Amazon’s Alexa With A Fire Tablet
By 10.26.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Last month, Amazon announced that sometime this fall or winter it would put its Echo-connected speaker digital assistant, Alexa, on mobile devices — as long as they were made by, you know, Amazon. That time has come, with Alexa officially making its debut on the Amazon Fire tablet this week. [More]
Apple: 90% Of “Apple” Power Accessories Sold On Amazon Are Fake
By 10.19.16 — Updated: 10.20.16
For years, Amazon and Apple have fought their own battles when it comes to counterfeit products: third-party retailers selling lookalike Apple accessories and companies hawking fake name-brand products on the e-commerce site. Now, the two issues have come together, with a lawsuit claiming that 90% of the supposed Apple power accessories listed on the site are fake. [More]
Amazon Patents Pocket-Sized, Voice-Controlled Drones
By 10.19.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
There you are, driving up and down rows of cars, looking for the right parking spot. What if you could release a tiny drone into the air, and tell it to help out with the search? That’s the kind of future Amazon is looking toward with a new patent for voice-controlled drones that can fit in your pocket. [More]
Amazon Prime Members Can Share Their Photo Storage With Others
By 10.18.16
In yet another step in Amazon’s seemingly endless attempts to bulk up its $99/year Prime membership features, the e-commerce giant will now let members share their unlimited photo storage space with up to five friends or family members. [More]
Always Pay Attention To Who The Actual Seller Of Your Amazon Item Is
By 10.17.16 — Updated: 10.18.16
When you shop on Amazon, it pays off to pay attention to who you’re actually buying from. As we’ve discussed before, buying an item on Amazon.com doesn’t mean that you’re buying it from Amazon, even if it’s shipped to you from one of Amazon’s warehouses. The seller is another person or company who sent their stuff to Amazon’s warehouse. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can have some unintended effects. Like depriving you of piano lessons. [More]
Amazon Joining Spotify, Apple With New Music-Streaming Service
By 10.12.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
As it was predicted, so it has come to pass: after rumors heated up last week that Amazon was close to launching a music-streaming service to rival Spotify and Apple, the company announced today that its on-demand offering Music Unlimited is ready for the masses. [More]
Luxury Conglomerate LVMH Is Definitely Not Selling Through Amazon
By 10.11.16
LVMH is a luxury conglomerate named after only two of its brands, Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton. Other brands it owns that you might have heard of are Dom Pérignon, Dior, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, and Sephora. Yet while you can find its products in most department stores, you will not find them being sold officially at the Everything Store: LVMH will definitely not be selling its products on Amazon. [More]
Cheap Prime, On-Campus Kiosks Meant To Get College Students Hooked On Amazon
By 10.11.16
How do you get newly minted adults hooked on your service for life? If you’re Amazon, the secret is to provide them with everything that they need at a discount, and deliver it as quickly as possible. The combination of discounted Prime service and easy on-campus pickup is meant to hook college students on Prime during their formative years, and it’s turning out to be very effective. [More]
Amazon Reportedly Opening Convenience Stores & Dedicated Curbside Pickup Sites
By 10.11.16
Days after Amazon announced it would slash the price of its Fresh grocery subscription service, the company is reportedly jumping into the food delivery business with both feet, working on plans to open bricks-and-mortar convenience stores, and offering curbside pickup for Fresh orders.
Amazon Flex Drivers Are Kind Of Freaking Customers Out
By 10.7.16
Amazon Flex is the e-commerce behemoth’s new service meant to help meet its delivery demand without depending on the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx. Flex drivers originally only made deliveries for same-day local orders through the Prime Now app, but recently the company let drivers deliver regular Amazon packages too. As Flex expands to more cities, it’s kind of freaking customers out. [More]
