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Prime Day Fail: Amazon’s Website is Broken For Many Customers

2430473078_3263106000_bAmazon has put the new basic Kindle ($50), the Paperwhite ($90), and even the Voyage ($150) on sale for Prime Day, but not everyone is enjoying the good fortune.

According to Reuters:

Amazon said on Tuesday it resolved a glitch that made it difficult for customers to add products to their shopping carts during "Prime Day", the online retailer’s largest shopping event ever.

The glitch, which affected Amazon’s U.S. and UK websites, sparked outrage on social media with the hashtags #PrimeDay and #PrimeDayFail trending in the United States. Amazon said in an email to Reuters that users were facing problems adding some "Lightning Deals" products to their cart and that the issue had been resolved.

Twitter user Prero Design (@PreroDesign), an industrial designer, said in a tweet, "#PrimeDay is giving me nothing but add-to-cart fails. Nice job @amazon. Another #PrimeDayFail." Carol Stout White (@beachingmom) tweeted, "My time is more valuable than hitting the add to my cart over and over again #PrimeDay is a #PrimeDayFail."

Have you had any trouble accessing Amazon?

I ask because I have evidence that Amazon is either fibbing or the problem has recurred. As I am writing this post I have found numerous tweets which report similar problems, and if you look at the #PrimeDayFail hashtag, you’ll see what I mean.

For example:

The one-day sale, which is only open to members of Amazon’s $99 per year Prime service, had been expected to generate up to $1 billion in sales. That would be more than double the amount during last year’s inaugural Prime Day sale, but with all the site problems that might not happen.

So are you having trouble?

And while we are on the topic, have you found any good deals?

image by trekkyandy

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Comments


DavidW July 12, 2016 um 12:55 pm

I didn’t have any problem adding anything to my cart. I guess Amazon resolved the glitch.

This sale looks WAY BETTER than last year. There is actually good things on sale and not just junk. I don’t think I’ll be buying anything though.


William Ockham July 12, 2016 um 3:12 pm

I bought a Kindle this morning and had repeated problems adding it to my cart, but eventually succeeded. Later I bought a gaming headset and had no problem at all. I have no idea if my experience is typical.

(Both were gifts, not that that matters)


Conrad July 12, 2016 um 5:03 pm

no problem – bought some shoes I was eyeing for some time and they had a very good price (~66 on 90 retail at DSW where I tried them though DSW did not have the color I wanted but Amazon did) plus a 30% off for the Prime Day so overall a great deal under 50 including tax (which amazon now charges in MI where I live), of which about 20 seemed to be specific for Prime day


DavidW July 12, 2016 um 8:58 pm

I bought the white basic kindle for $50. Unfortunately can’t grab a case because they all sold out! I also found Millenium dvd set for 20% off. I didn’t see it advertised, I just wanted to buy it to rewatch the series (not available for streaming) and it’s on prime day sale.


R Coots July 13, 2016 um 6:23 am

I stuck to the app on my phone, since I was working. No problems at all. Wasn’t too impressed with the selection of electronics available, but I got some truffle oil and a book on illustrations that looks cool. Had a lot more that I was watching for, but wound up not getting. The discounts on the stuff I was interested in weren’t big enough to overcome the screams for mercy that my bank account was making.


Darryl July 13, 2016 um 8:01 am

I had trouble adding a lightning deal to my cart using chromium browser but it worked fine with Firefox. Bought a Fire TV with Voice Remote, Fire Stick with Voice Remote and a 2 year KU subscription. Excellent sale. Well done Amazon!


Brian V July 13, 2016 um 4:37 pm

I am extremely outraged at the deception Amazon created using the "VISA30" code!!!! I received an email the day before stating that I could save $30.00 off of $150.00 by using "VISA30" coupon code. Sweet! When I was able to get online to do my shopping I spent over an hour making sure I met the criteria required, put things in my cart that could have waiting another month or so, applied the coupon code only to get the message "code has expired" WTF?!! After 15-min on chat with a rep I got a "sorry for that, we experienced a higher-than-expected usage of the code and ended it early" again WTF!?!?! What did you expect Amazon on Prime Day!!!!!! I spoke with the rep’s supervisor via chat as well and was told the same "sorry…" BS even after copy-n-pasting the verbiage in the email I received. On top of my already frustrated experience, the rep and the sup had the audacity to send the same scripted verbiage about enjoying the other great lightning deals on Prime Day. GGGRRRRRR!!! I asked to have that sup’s supervisor call me and explain why the coupon code isn’t working and what Amazon is going to do to make this right. That was 5:45pm EST yesterday and haven’t received a call yet. Way to go Amazon. I should have gone to Walmart.com where they offered deals along with free shipping. Total fail Amazon. Total fail.

Tom Semple July 15, 2016 um 1:36 pm

Ditto. Very disappointed. And an item I’d added to my shopping cart became 'unavailable' before I had finished shopping. Then I discovered the 'code expired' issue with the VISA30 promotion and gave up on the whole enterprise.


Don DeBon July 13, 2016 um 5:16 pm

I didn’t have any issues. I placed my order between 2-3pm EDT. Everything went into my cart as expected. However, I did notice that some items (particularly Amazon products such as fire tablets) had a 10 minute countdown timer. If you didn’t complete the order in that 10 minutes, the item was removed from the cart.

I suspect this is why people are having issues. They were hunting for deals, and items were removed from their cart while they did. Or if it was immediate (placing a item in the cart didn’t stay at all even after several tries), it might have been due to browser scripting being off or otherwise restricted. In the end it could be a error on Amazon’s part, but my bet is this you-have-to-buy-it-within-10-minutes-once-in-your-cart is the root cause. I know it surprised me to see that 10 minute countdown.


ben g July 14, 2016 um 12:48 pm

I couldn’t get the prime price for a Fire TV after multiple attempts. Got stuck on the "select quantity" screen that I’d never seen before. Then kept telling me that it was already in my cart, though when I went to checkout it notified me that my cart was empty.


Bruce Cansler July 15, 2016 um 10:56 am

I ordered a Fire Tablet at 1229 am and it was delivered at 1200 pm sharp. No problem with Amazon Prime Day. Actually outstanding customer service!


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