Removes Hoverboards from site
Amazon removes 97% of hoverboards from their website over safety related reasoning. Amazon sent a letter to manufacturers saying they should:
Provide documentation demonstrating that all hoverboards you list are compliant with applicable safety standards.
Amazon UK recalls boards
Amazon UK sends letters to customers recalling Segways after at least ten incidents of hoverboard-related fires and explosions across nine states due to faulty battery plugs. Owners are urged to take the scooters to certified disposal locations, and will receive a full refund for the purchase.
Bans sale of Apple, Google video-streaming devices
In an e-mail to its marketplace sellers, Amazon says it will stop selling the Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast since those devices don’t “interact well” with Prime Video. No new listings for the products will be allowed and posting of existing inventory will be removed Oct. 29. Roku Inc.’s set-top device, Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation, which work with Amazon’s video service, aren’t affected.
‘Prime Day’ celebrates 20 years
To celebrate 20 years since its website opened, on July 15, Amazon will have a massive sale involving one of its most successful businesses — Amazon Prime. Prime Day, will feature thousands of deals for Amazon Prime members — more deals than on popular shopping day Black Friday. Deals will be introduced throughout the day beginning at midnight, sometimes as often as every 10 minutes. Prime Day will also feature a photo contest to pair with Prime Photo, a relatively new photo-storage service. Customers can submit photos of how Prime saves them time for the chance to win a $10,000 gift card. Amazon also commissioned artists across the world to showcase #PrimeLiving. The Company may make Prime Day into an annual evnt.
Drone delivery patent
According to a patent that the company submitted in September 2014, Amazon’s delivery drones will be able to update their routes in real time by tracking the location of the recipient by pulling data from their smartphone, as well as talking to each other about weather and traffic conditions. Winning patent approval does not mean that the final product will be exactly as described or that it will become reality.
Dash button
The Company announces the Dash Button, for Amazon Prime customers, who can place the device on the wall and tap to automatically order or re-order more than a dozen products such as Tide detergent, Bounty paper towels, and Clorox wipes. The buttons are available to Prime customers immediately for free. Due to the timing of the launch, the company insists the product is not an April Fools’ joke:
Indeed it is real
Tests delivery drones
With its team of roboticists, software engineers, aeronautics experts, and remote sensing experts, Amazon is testing delivery drones at a secret site in Canada. Amazon plans to fly autonomous drones ten miles or longer at 50mph while carrying payloads that weigh up to 5lbs. Amazon wants to offer customers a delivery-by-drone service, called Prime Air, that will deliver packages within thirty minutes after an order is placed.
We think that this new technology will provide huge benefits for our customers, who we think will love it, and for society more broadly.
Opens first store
Amazon opens its first brick-and-mortar store on the campus of Purdue University. The store allows students to pick up items they order via Amazon Student when it is convenient for them. Paul Ryder, vice president of media and student programs at Amazon:
[It is] a convenient and secure spot for them to pick up their stuff at hours that work with their schedules.
Raises shipping price to $0.01
After France bans free shipping of books, Amazon raises it shipping price from free to $0.01 Euros, which is one penny. In an FAQ for their shoppers, Amazon explains:
We are unfortunately no longer allowed to offer free deliveries for book orders. We have therefore fixed delivery costs at one centime per order containing books and dispatched by Amazon to systematically guarantee the lowest price for your book orders.
Requests FAA drone permission
Amazon is asking the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to use Amazon Prime Air drones to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less. The aircraft can travel over 50 miles per hour and carry loads of up to 5 pounds. The Company says, about 86 percent of Amazon’s deliveries are 5 pounds or less. The FAA allows hobbyists and model aircraft makers to fly drones, but commercial use is mostly banned. Amazon is asking for an exemption so it can test its drones only over Amazon’s private property, away from airports or areas with aviation activity —and not in densely populated areas or near military bases.
We believe customers will love it, and we are committed to making Prime Air available to customers worldwide as soon as we are permitted to do so.
Denies FTC request
Amazon resists a request by the Federal Trade Commission to require a password for in-app purchases using their application store. They say they are willing to go to court over this issue. A FTC spokesperson says:
The commission is focused on ensuring that companies comply with the fundamental principle that consumers should not be made to pay for something they did not authorize.
However, Amazon claims in a letter to the FTC that they refund applications purchased accidentally:
When customers told us their kids had made purchases they didn’t want, we refunded those purchases.
$60m Kozmo.com investment
Amazon invests sixty million dollars in Kozmo.com. The investment will allow Amazon to ship products such as books and compact discs in one hour to residents living in select cities, such as New York and San Francisco. Joe Galli, president and chief operating officer of Amazon reports:
Kozmo.com has developed a strong track record for meeting a unique customer need, and this agreement provides us a one-hour delivery option for the types of products that customers may want immediately.