Amazon Prime Day: Lots of deals, few steals

Lack of ‘ doorbusters’ leaves some shoppers less than wowed

LOS ANGELES Christmas in July didn’t exactly happen Tuesday.

Amazon’s Prime Day produced lots of deals, and plenty of hype ( the top trending hashtag on Twitter for much of the day was # AmazonPrimeDay), but many of the offers were in the $ 5 to $ 10 off category. Few amounted to the equivalent of Black Friday “doorbusters,” meaning bargains priced so aggressively customers were ready to bust through the virtual door to get one.

The sale, aimed at customers who spring for the $ 99 yearly Prime membership of expedited shipping, online video and music, listed 100,000 products on sale during a 30- hour sale that started Monday night.

But “if you take out Amazon products, most deals weren’t as rich as we expected,” says Gene Alvarez, vice president, research, for Gartner, Inc.

Amazon offered 10% off CDs, $ 1 off a bag of Tostitos chips and 21% off Bath Bombs ( normally priced, $ 12.79) — meaning this bubble bath alternative could be yours for a savings of $ 2.69.

“Is it me,” Twitter member @ miss_ malan posted in a tweet, “or are the deals not worth it?”

Alvarez says there are deals, “but you have to hunt and peck for them.”

For instance, Amazon offered its Amazon Echo speaker for $ 90 ( regularly $ 179), an Amazon Fire 7 tablet for $ 30 ($ 20 off) and an Xbox One video game system bundle for $ 240 ( normally $ 399). Amazon’s Echo Dot, normally $ 50, was cut to $ 35.

Priceblink, a price comparison site, found that 40% of the deals were Amazon exclusives, meaning they were for Amazon- only products, while 20% were deals available cheaper elsewhere and that for the remaining 40%, Amazon indeed had the lowest price, by an average of 18%.

Still, just as with last year’s Prime Day, analysts were expecting a blowout, easily topping the $ 500 million to $ 600 million of sales customers made on Amazon Prime Day 2016.

Amazon itself said the home, tech and food products were the most shopped and that the company sold more than twice as many Echo devices than last year’s Prime Day. The company had no comment on the perceived lack of deals.

Amazon’s first try at Prime Day in 2015 was panned by some because too many deals seemed instead to be merchants clearing out unsold inventory, with Twitter, as it did in 2017, calling out garage- sale like goods such as shoe horns and granny panties.

In the garage sale category, a 55- inch Element 4K TV sounds great — $ 399, down from $ 650, but it’s poorly reviewed, with just a 3.3- star rating out of five. A Sony 55- inch 4K TV also seemed like a steal — $ 100 off at $ 499, but it’s last year’s model.

One new wrinkle found on this year’s Prime Day: the ad- supported smartphone. Off- brand smartphones were plentiful, and discounted, if you’re willing to watch some ads before you swipe to unlock.

The Alcatel Idol 5S was $ 100 off at $ 199, but it comes at a price. Your lock screen is controlled by Amazon, where you’ll see “offers and ads, including personalized deals and recommendations,” before you can use it. Presumably to keep you shopping until next year’s Prime Day.

Priceblink, a price comparison site, found that 40% of the deals were Amazon exclusives, meaning they were for Amazononly products.

AMAZON A screenshot of Amazon Prime Day fashion deals, said to be 40% to 50% off.