Black Friday 2019

[Catlady]

I had been considering a specific TV, hoping it would drop to my target price point. Alas, instead of dropping the price, Amazon RAISED it by some 20 bucks and is calling it a Black Friday deal. Say what?

I was sick of Black Friday before it ever started. Yesterday morning I did buy a new Christmas tree that was marked down 20 percent, and that is probably going to be the extent of my BF shopping unless there's a deal on gift cards. I've talked myself out of everything else.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon -- Alexa Voice Shopping -- exp 02 Dec @ 11:59 pm PT

• $4.99 -- Amazon Smart Plug -- must order on Echo device

Now that's hard to resist. Not sure where I need another smart plug, but I'm sure I'll think of something. For $5, nothing to lose.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey View Post
Amazon -- Alexa Voice Shopping -- exp 02 Dec @ 11:59 pm PT

$4.99 -- Amazon Smart Plug -- must order on Echo device

Originally Posted by CRussel

Now that's hard to resist. Not sure where I need another smart plug, but I'm sure I'll think of something. For $5, nothing to lose.

Thanks Monkey! Like CRussel I don't know where I will use it, but at 1/5 the normal price, and only $5.40 with tax, I couldn't resist! That is the first order I’ve placed with Alexa voice shopping. I like that she tells you that she placed the item in your cart to view online. That gives you a chance to review it before committing to it.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by issybird

This is example #248 of why I never get why people think Amazon's customer service is so good. I find it no better than any other at best, and frequently infuriating.

Long story short: When I tried to buy an Echo Dot under the trade-in program, I got the gift card amount applied to my total, but I did not get the 25% discount. A frustrating conversation with customer service which included my walking them through my invoice more than once, several instances of dead time, and being booted to someone higher up, eventually (35 minutes later!) to acknowledge that indeed, I had not gotten the discount I was entitled to. And, that they'd issue a promotional credit to my account for the difference.

That was way too big an investment of my time when Amazon's website wasn't up to handling Black Friday promotions. And while I got them to up the credit to $10, I never buy from Amazon any more. it'll get used eventually, but it's going to sit some time. Breakage goes to the business, alas.

CS is only as good as the people they hire and/or contract with to run it. I think the Amazon CS policies are typically pretty good, though perhaps not as generous as they used to be. I agree though that dealing with the human CS reps is a royal PITA, especially when there is a language or accent barrier. I frequently have to bump the CS calls up to a supervisor level. Don’t forget that CS reps are scripted. They have binders filled with scenarios and answers to give/do for same. First level CS reps are not necessarily that up on the various scenarios. So it is almost a given that we will have to bump it up to a supervisor to get the resolution we desire. Over all though, Amazon has always treated me fairly in the end, even if they annoyed me for a long while on the phone! Quite often they have not only righted whatever wrong occurred, but they have given me something extra (like store credit) for my inconvenience. Having said that, I must say that I’ve been a Prime Member for a decade and have spent a lot of money at Amazon, and that might be one of the reasons why I get treated well. Plus at 61 I’m old and wise enough to know how to hold my temper with them on the phone. Losing my temper never helped with CS reps, and usually made things much worse. So patience is the best recipe when dealing with CS reps. Always remember they are usually at the bottom of the pay scale and they are not the people who screwed up your order.

[HLS]

Kindle has a huge list of ebook daily deals for black Friday but not that impressive. Kobo has the same prices. I did pick up a few books

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by OtinG

CS is only as good as the people they hire and/or contract with to run it. I think the Amazon CS policies are typically pretty good, though perhaps not as generous as they used to be. I agree though that dealing with the human CS reps is a royal PITA, especially when there is a language or accent barrier. I frequently have to bump the CS calls up to a supervisor level. Don’t forget that CS reps are scripted. They have binders filled with scenarios and answers to give/do for same. First level CS reps are not necessarily that up on the various scenarios. So it is almost a given that we will have to bump it up to a supervisor to get the resolution we desire. Over all though, Amazon has always treated me fairly in the end, even if they annoyed me for a long while on the phone! Quite often they have not only righted whatever wrong occurred, but they have given me something extra (like store credit) for my inconvenience. Having said that, I must say that I’ve been a Prime Member for a decade and have spent a lot of money at Amazon, and that might be one of the reasons why I get treated well. Plus at 61 I’m old and wise enough to know how to hold my temper with them on the phone. Losing my temper never helped with CS reps, and usually made things much worse. So patience is the best recipe when dealing with CS reps. Always remember they are usually at the bottom of the pay scale and they are not the people who screwed up your order.

I did not know you as a customer could bump things to the supervisor level. I thought only they could do it.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I did not know you as a customer could bump things to the supervisor level. I thought only they could do it.

Of course you can, just demand it. You might have to be firm, but eventually they will transfer you to the next level. This is true of most companies and their CS, not just Amazon.

[conan50]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Hulu just raised my Live TV by $10 per month. Earlier this year they raised it by $5 per month, so no love for loyal customers. I’m switching to OTA and Philo for live TV, just keeping the Hulu on demand.

I love Philo! I've had it since launch. Great, dependable service. Love their free DVR/Save feature. Philo can keep the price low because no sports or news channels. Most of the large OTT cable-type packages have gone up in price, and a few have gone under. Free OTA network TV is great if you are close enough to receive it. Thankfully we are only 38 miles from the stations and signals are good.

[GA Russell]

Bombay Electronics sells region-free DVD and Blu-ray players.

Today: 15% off sitewide.

Code: FRIDAY15

Free Orei Diamond Bluetooth Speaker with order over $100.

https://www.bombayelectronics.com/

[tubemonkey]

Just a reminder. Prices for Cyber Monday are not generally better than Black Friday. So keep that in mind as the official Black Friday nears it's end later today or tomorrow.

[Atunah]

Thanks monkey for posting the smartplug deal. I need 3 more smart plugs and I much much prefer the amazon branded ones as wemo and kasa both give me problems. So at least I got one cheap. The amazon ones seem to be a bit higher than others. But oh its so worth it when you start hooking one up.

I guess it will bring the price down overall on the other 2 I still have to order on full price.

[Catlady]

I also got the $5 smart plug; it's worth it just to use for the Christmas lights. Thanks, Tubemonkey.

[Manabi]

If you're looking for deals on Samsung SSD drives, check prices on Amazon. Even though they're not listed on the storage deals page, many of their drives are marked down quite a bit. I picked up a 500gb 860 EVO drive for $58, it's normally in the $70 range.

[Fbone]

I'm showing Oasis now shipping Dec 24th. I guess the response was good.

[GA Russell]

I guess no $10 phones this year.

By far the item most advertised in my inbox this year has been televisions.