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Amazon to deactivate all Dash Buttons on August 31

MinusTydus

MinusTydus

The Fallen
Jul 28, 2018
8,198
- Alexa! Refund my $4.99.
- Sure. Playing "99 Luftballons" by Nena on Amazon Music.
- No! Wait. That's not what I...


If you're dying to test out the features of Amazon's Dash button, it's now or never. Amazon said Thursday it will turn off the capabilities of all its Dash buttons worldwide on Aug. 31.

This decision follows Amazon's move in February to stop selling new buttons. At the time, the company let folks with existing Dash buttons continue to order stuff with them, but an Amazon spokeswoman said usage "has significantly slowed" since then, resulting in the company pulling the plug completely on the program.

The Dash button, the ultimate single-use device, lets you buy an item on Amazon with one click. There was a Dash button for Tide detergent and one for Gillette razor blades and another for Sheeba cat food. Dozens were created, as brands quickly saw the buttons' value as a way of building customer loyalty and creating tiny ads in people's homes.

dashbuttons.png


Amazon has replaced the physical buttons with virtual Dash buttons on its website, which will continue to be available. The company said it's seen growth in other options, too, such as voice shopping through Alexa as well as Dash Replenishment Service, which allows appliances to automatically reorder items like printer ink when they're running low. Subscribe & Save is another popular option that should help fill the shopping void left for any longtime Dash button enthusiasts.
 

Deleted member 2254

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,467
I didn't own one, but they were on sale very recently, which is a bit slimy for something that will stop working only a couple weeks later.
 
MrKlaw

MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,059
I have two - one for razor blades and one for bin liners. Kinda pointless but handy for "oh we're nearly out" moments where you have the button by the bin so can hit it immediately

And they're usually sold with a discount on the first order equal to the price so most people get them for free

It would be nice if they could somehow open them up to devs or even turn them into user configurable Alexa triggers
 
BetterWorldz

BetterWorldz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
318
Took me a while to accept those weren't a hoax when they were first announced. Not their brightest idea.
 
Finale Fireworker

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,711
United States
I never had one of these but, if I'm being honest, I always thought they were kind of a cool "smart home" concept. Not enough to buy one, but I can't say I don't like the idea of realizing I'm nearly out of detergent and just pressing a button mounted on the inside of the cabinet to get more.

Strange they are deactivating though. I'd expect them to just discontinue them. How hard can it be to maintain the functionality?
 
whatsinaname

whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,061
BetterWorldz said:
Took me a while to accept those weren't a hoax when they were first announced. Not their brightest idea.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I don't know, seems like it could have been really good. They get money from brands. They get people locked into Prime. The brands get people soft-locked into their products. (If I go on the website or into a store, I might pick another brand if something catches my eye).

But I guess many people were already in the subscribe/save bucket.
 
Fritz

Fritz

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,719
I for one loved the concept and used one for razor blades up until now. But it's okay, I had such a guilty conscience buying anything from amazon at all.
 
Gaardus

Gaardus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,592
I had two of these things, both for Amazon gift cards. I used them exactly once each, because Amazon was offering incentives greater than the cost of the buttons.
 

Spine Crawler

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,228
Raccoon said:
they were conceptually very dumb
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they were wasteful but i cant imagine those things would have cost much to produce and the companies probably paid amazon to have the ads at home.
Gaardus said:
I had two of these things, both for Amazon gift cards. I used them exactly once each, because Amazon was offering incentives greater than the cost of the buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
you mean the respective companies selling shit through amazon
 

KoolAid

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,678
Afaik when you bought one you also got a $5 coupon on that product so they were Technically Free™
 

darkazcura

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,894
This actually was cool for paper towels and toilet paper for me, but I ended up not using it anymore because the prices became too high for those items relative to my local grocery store for the same exact brand. One of the few times Amazon's prices were that much higher for me.
 
The Hiveking

The Hiveking

Member
Oct 27, 2017
709
I feel like if you have a button that summons boxed mac and cheese your life has taken a wrong turn somewhere
 
Nif

Nif

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,716
People were buying them to go into their smart home setup. Push a button and lights come on or something. I'd been meaning to get some. Guess I'm too late.
 

Deleted member 18021

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,000
I can understand and get the appeal of having something like this for laundry detergent, but who needs a dedicated button in their house to order macaroni and cheese?
 
swift-darius

swift-darius

Member
May 10, 2018
943
people in future decades will look back and wtf at these. I already do today. shrines of consumption in your very own home
 
SwampBastard

SwampBastard

The Fallen
Nov 1, 2017
11,037
I never really understood the point of these things. And they always made me think of this old Onion article.

5vWQh04.png
 
MrKlaw

MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,059
Euler.L. said:
So we returned to light switches.
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light switches never went away. I have a bunch of hue lights but still have light switches. Otherwise what - everyone in the house has to have their phone with them when they go into a dark room? (we also have alexa now but still). Switches are convenient for everyone, with automation in the background
 
dc3k

dc3k

Member
Feb 10, 2018
692
not america
I have one for toilet paper. I kept it in the cupboard so when someone grabbed the last roll they would hit it. Convenient enough for me and they were free after the first order.
 
djplaeskool

djplaeskool

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,749
D'oh. Have one for a particular type of trash bags. Super convenient, and as mentioned, basically free.
 

Deleted member 6582

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,789
It should be noted that they weren't a failure, it just wasn't especially long-lived. It was basically an experiment to see if it would work and from what we can tell they did and people bought lots of them and placed a lot of orders. A fair amount of that was novelty that wore off while the convince factor was shifted to other places like voice shopping.
 
Transistor

Transistor

Hollowly Brittle
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,158
Washington, D.C.
I have six dash buttons. They are actually a really good concept. They come with an adhesive strip so you can attach it to something. For example, when I'm doing laundry, if I notice I'm low on soap, I can hit the button right then and not have to think about it again. The convenience of them is amazing, especially when you're running around cleaning the house and it might slip your mind to add it to your shopping list.

Sucks that they're going away

LL_Decitrig said:
Is there a Dash button for contraceptives?
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Yes. We stopped using that one when I got snipped.
 
Ambient80

Ambient80

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,620
I liked the digital ones, actually. They're on my home page on amazon and I used them for ordering dog and cat food, litter, and trash bags when I was nearly out. Came in the main next day usually so I didn't have to bother with a trip to the store.

Was indeed rather wasteful, tho, I'll admit. Not only the buttons themselves, but the boxes and such for shipping it.
 

Deleted member 2172

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,577
Aw damn. I used one for toilet paper.
I kinda enjoyed sitting on the toilet, realizing I am down to my last roll and pressing that button only for a box of 45 rolls to arrive at my door the next day. A shame.
 
RetroMG

RetroMG

Community Resettler
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,728
I always thought about getting a couple of these for things like laundry soap and stuff, but to be honest, i was always a little worried I'd end up accidentally hitting the button a bunch of times, or my kid would get ahold of it.
 
Soda

Soda

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,869
Dunedin, New Zealand
The last thing I want is product placement in my home. Never was interested in these, but I will say that I'm quite surprised that they are not being used much. Seemed like the kinda thing people would like.
 
Rellodex

Rellodex

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,164
These were always ridiculous.

But ridiculous in the same way that things like virtual assistants and home automation are ridiculous....so I imaged they were sort of here to stay.
 
evrythngwastakn

evrythngwastakn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,537
Gonna take a leap and say these can't be recycled in any way, so just more plastic and electronic waste for a useless marketing stunt?
 
MikeOfAllTrades

MikeOfAllTrades

Member
Oct 27, 2017
376
I can't buy a single thing from Amazon without going to camelcamelcamel and cross shopping with other sites. Prices are variable, and I'd be paranoid that clicking this button is giving me some terrible deal.
 
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