Amazon Dash AIBU to be very cautious of this brave new world?

[beluga425]

So, say your button pressing 5 yo has an extended visit to the loo. Next day 5000 loo rolls appear.

I could see it working in our house for printer ink. I always forget to order it and if I could just press a button when collecting my half printed sheet of paper rather than thinking "I must order new ink".

My HP printer already does that by itself.

Or it would if I let it.

My only issue would be the fact I like to choose the cheapest items, Amazon's prices constantly fluctuate, I don't want to be paying £5 extra for a box of toilet rolls when the same amount/brand is cheaper in a different colour.

I agree.
I'm rather disorganised. The two things I tend to run out of are washing and dishwasher detergent. I have very little storage space and only keep spares if I notice I'm close to running out. Having the button on the washing machine and next to the dishwasher would be great. But this point about pricing is a major sticking point for me.

I think where this has the edge over Prime is that you don't have to spend £20 to get what you want-and you can order as you need it.
I suppose you could use it just for emergencies and still shop around when you remember to.

I do like the OPs analogy though about the five year old on the loo playing with the button- I suppose they will have to have a stop check in place for scenarios like that.

I do like the OPs analogy though about the five year old on the loo playing with the button- I suppose they will have to have a stop check in place for scenarios like that

If the system is at all ready for production, it should have some basic sanity checks in place to ensure obvious snafus are caught at source.

They could probably learn from the HMRC. After all, no one has ever received an obviously ludicrous demand for hundreds of millions of pounds tax have they ?

Seems so inefficient to order one thing at a time.

If they did Twinnings I might be onto it, but I prefer to pick up 2 for 1 offers etc. Can see it being handy for condoms haven't looked into it but if you wanted to change the type of finish tablets or from aerial liquid to powder how easy would it be?

Like purplefox I don't want to have to buy X brand because it's what Amazon deliver. So I won't be using it.

Have I got this right in that it's a separate button you get? The beauty of smart phones is they are so flexible so if it could be a "dash" section in your phone (buttons added to a folder) then I'd understand but I don't get random physical buttons. It feels to me that they want to capture the impulse purchase using technology that doesn't allow you to view the price before ordering.

I use Amazon a lot but I always check elsewhere for relative price and convenience (even toilet rolls, Waitrose ones currently on offer with additional 20% off via their "pick your own offer" scheme are my choice of the moment). The thought of single deliveries flying around (literally when their drones are in action) of frequently requires household goods does seem like an environmental disaster.

Off to visualise a brave new world where I reach out to find the kids have used up the loo roll but a quick bang on the Amazon buttons brings a drone festooned with an economy multipack of bog rolls scratching at the bathroom window.

While I think this appears clunky on the surface, I can see how this will evolve into a great idea. I've ordered a fairy non bio and an Andrex button - two brands I always buy. I'm not so concerned about price - I don't check the price on these products in the supermarket for example. I would have liked a pampers button too. I think it's interesting which brands have decided this is worth investing in at the moment. From a brand perspective this is fascinating as, assuming the idea takes off, it close to guarantees brand loyalty if you can get a button into a consumers house. There's some marketing strategists working hard on that I would bet

Usually I'm like "ho hum, this will take 50 years to come to Germany" but I see we're getting it too!
It's all just P&G products, isn't it?

What I'd actually need is buttons like this, but I press it and it adds it to a shopping list on my laptop that I can print off and take down the supermarket. That would be really helpful.

Quote from the article

But hold on a minute.

Are we so lazy now that we are happy to have one pack of soap powder make its way from Amazon's fulfilment centre down busy city streets to our door, with all the environmental impact that entails, rather than heading to the shops and getting everything in one go?

Shouldn't we have the weekly shop delivered to us by a British supermarket?

Are we happy to tie ourselves to big brands whose buttons we will push, or whose appliances will buy their perhaps pricey supplies on our behalf?

• Hopefully not.
• Yes, or go there yourself, or shop locally and choose things for yourself that suit your needs and your budget.
• No. The only brand I am happy to tie myself to currently is Heinz baked beans.

Amazon loyalty what Amazon Prime is all about. You might have joined to watch Clarkson at al discuss cars but once you've paid the subscription you're more likely to select Prime products above those of another seller.

When I first had Dd1 I was very ill afterwards. Couldn't leave the house alone. This would have been a godsend then. It would also be good if you have a sick child you can't take out.

I am also thinking for elderly parents with memory issues starting it could have a use too.

However now that I have three different school runs past at least four shops I can't see it being for me.

The list includes Nerf and Play-doh. They don't strike me as items I panic about running short on.

I am also thinking for elderly parents with memory issues starting it could have a use too.

We are going to see an awful lot of innovations (e.g. Dash) which seem pointless, frivolous or clunky at the moment.

We need to bear in mind that we are part of the technically-savvy generation who will not give up our iShiney in place of a bus pass.

There will be a lot of subtle development which will encompass assistive technology and compensate for poor eyesight, co-ordination, and (as suggested) memory.

It's where the smart money is going ...

My HP printer already does that by itself. Or it would if I let it.

And this is why I will not be giving the little fecker the run of my credit card.

HP actually make their money on the inks, which is why they sell the printers so cheap (or used to, haven't checked recently). Mine's forever trying to hold me ransom for unnecessary inks - low, out of date, etc. It's best effort was refusing to SCAN because cyan was low.

See now if the local chinese did these pre-loaded with your regular order... that would be genius!

I agree that it's a clunky start to something that will eventually be very useful or second nature to use (like smart phones). What worries me is tht we' re gradually losing simple life skills. I' m a lazy cook because I know I can buy something on busy days so won't go hungry. If computers start knowing when I' m low on groceries I' ll eventually lose the ability to plan ahead, budget etc.

My teenage son has already pointed out that he doesn' t need to 'know' things like my generation did e.g. months of the year, where towns are, plant names, etc as they are used to having instant access to information so don' t bother needlessly memorising 'unnecessary' facts.

Which is fine so longer as the computers work. Or people need to use initiative.

My opinion, I accept change is inevitable and often for the better. Would definitely not have wanted to live more than a century ago.

until people need to use initiative.

What worries me is tht we' re gradually losing simple life skills.

That ship sailed centuries ago. No one reading this thread (me included) would last beyond a few weeks if the balloon really went up.

Quite aside from the work required to make the tools in the first place, ploughing, sowing, tending harvesting and storing wheat would defeat 95% of us.

And it's discarding useless knowledge and replacing it with relevant knowledge which has driven the industrial and post-industrial revolution.

My teenage son has already pointed out that he doesn' t need to 'know' things like my generation did e.g. months of the year, where towns are, plant names,

No disrespect, but what has your generation done with that knowledge that's so great ?

Lurking, not claiming any moral superiority. I like the modern world and how it gives us more/different opportunities. It's interesting how things change. I'm also a worrier and am aware of my own lack of basic skills.

I'm also a worrier and am aware of my own lack of basic skills.

I'm sure you could board the right train, use your phone, and get a taxi

I went to an museum dedicated to the German and soviet occupations when I was in Latvia. The things people held in the gulag managed to make from first principles with rudimentary tools was mind blowing. Someone had made a violin, someone else had made themself a blouse including weaving the material. Unbelievable, I'd last 2 minutes.

I was really sceptical when Apple released smart phones and waffled on about who pointless apps sounded. Am now a complete saddo glued to my phone who undertakes whole conversations purely by text.