This past July 6, I celebrated my 45th birthday. Funny: I remember thinking how old people were when they hit 40. My children and staff keep me young.
Another amazing birthday is Amazon’s 20th. Mazel Tov!
Black Friday in the summer? Say it is so!
To celebrate its 20th birthday, Amazon is introducing Prime Day, a “global shopping event” that the retail giant says will offer more deals than Black Friday. The deals will become available at midnight ET on July 15, but will only be available to Amazon Prime customers. Amazon says new deals will be introduced as often as every 10 minutes, and will come from every product category, from clothing to electronics.
As anyone who has read my columns or met me knows, I am a huge fan of Amazon Prime. Though I feel some consumers are using Amazon Prime as a rental service. They will purchase items, use them, then say they are defective. Yes, it’s allowed, but you need to decide if that’s ethical and the right thing to do. It’s a snowball effect. You purchase an item, use it and return it. Then that manufacturer has to take a loss and that could mean they will increase their product price.
According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, Prime customers spend more than double the average amount than standard Amazon customers in a year—$1,500, compared to non-members, who spend $625. But to get access to Prime Day, you won’t necessarily have to pay up for a Prime subscription—you can sign up for a free 30-day Prime membership prior to July 15 and still get access to the offers.
Whatever makes clients stronger, I am a fan of. When we give quotes for hardware, we expect any client can go on Amazon and compare prices. Prime has been something sensational. Any item that says “Prime” is pretty much guaranteed for delivery. Any issues with the item? It can be returned.
Amazon Prime delivers Sunday via the USPS. Amazon announced that there will be a same-day service available is certain markets. Imagine that order today get it today. I can’t imagine that’s going to be good for Best Buy or Micro Center.
I shudder to think my grandchildren will have never gone to a real store. All the jobs that will go away and the loss of real people giving real service. Though the laziness factor is there.
Just some Amazon details. Amazon will sell its product direct and ship it prime. Many Amazon sellers are called third-party resellers. These are sellers who have product and want to take advantage of the Amazon market. Read the details on the returns. The third-party sellers will have stricter return policies. Those same sellers are more concerned about complaints than Amazon is. Amazon is well known to drop sellers who get complaints.
Black Friday in the summer, woo hoo!
Shneur Garb is the CEO of The Garb I.T. Consulting Group in Teaneck. Questions can be sent to [email protected].
By Shneur Garb
