Amazon launches $10-and-under section with free shipping for all
Fancy a bag of confetti, some metallic- blue disco leggings, cheap jewelry, a T-shirt with a picture of a pineapple on it, or a no-logo ball cap?
Amazon will now ship you these products — and many more— for free, and charge you $10 or less per item.
The online- shopping behemoth has quietly launched a new shopping section featuring only goods with amaximum$10 cost, and no added expense for shipping, even for non-members of Amazon Prime.
On Jan. 17, the products on offer tended mostly toward the maximum end of pricing — for example a Nalgene water bottle for $9 or a ball cap with “faux suede” bill for $10 — although a colorful “Watermelon Coin Bag Purse Wallet” could be had for only $3.
Amazon didn’t officially announce the new shopping venue other thanmentioning it briefly in its iOS App Store update text, according to TechCrunch, which spotted the latest Amazon offering.
The company on Jan. 18 said in a statement to this news organization that the new section was “our newest means of delighting customers who love a great value” and helped custom-
ers “explore the breadth of low-priced products available on Amazon.”
The new discount shopping is available on iOS and Android devices, and on the web.
The plethora of cheap items sent for free will help Amazon compete against discount shopping apps such as Wish, TechCrunch reported.
Delivery timing for the free “standard” shipping varies significantly from item to item, with Amazon promising time frames from days to weeks.
Categories of goods include men’s and women’s clothing and accessories, electronics, home goods, gifts and watches. Watches for $10 or less? Indeed — a mere $8 will get you a keychain from which dangles a surprised- looking little owl, whose wings open to reveal a timepiece with advertised Japanese quartz movement. Spend a dollar more and you can count the days — or weeks — till your “PAIDU”- brand watch arrives, bearing a logo that could look like it says “PRADA” to someone who’s accidentally just smeared the $7-a-tin “Badger Balm” skin goop from the “gifts” section all over their eyeballs. Google is eyeing 6million to 8 million square feet of offices next to and near Diridon Station and the SAP Center, where office towers could accommodate 15,000 to 20,000 Google employees in what’s been described as a transit- oriented community.
“There will be restaurants, hotels, entertainment, offices, retail, housing, all the things you need for a vibrant urban center,” themayor told this news organization.
Experts believe the new hotel would be developed amid a relatively strong lodging sector in Santa Clara County.
Four hotels opened in Santa Clara County during 2017, including three in San Jose. The San Jose hotels together added about 400 rooms, including the 210-room AC Hotel and the 44-room Hotel Clariana, both downtown, and the 145-room Homewood Suites San Jose North. In addition, Residence Inn Cupertino opened in 2017, adding 180 rooms.
“The hotel market in Silicon Valley is still on a growth trajectory,” Patel said. “Revenue per available room has shown some deceleration, but it’s still an upward trend.”