I heard that Amazon said that Target was fat.

I went to two Targets (among other places) to buy a last gen Kindle keyboard. I finally gave up and ordered it in their parking lot directly from Amazon. I should have done that in the first place.

I love Amazon.

Grables'Daughter: I love Amazon.

Ditto. It has it all. Good prices, fast shipping, great selection, useful reviews. Target and everyone else out there is just sour grapes.

I feel for brick and mortars as far as the sales tax issue goes, but they need to complain to Congress to fix the law. It's not Amazon's problem.

FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

Wellon Dowd: While I understand the general sentiment on the part of the brick-and-mortars, do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?

Just in sales tax, for me that'd be a $16 savings to get it on Amazon for a Kindle Fire. Free shipping, so no extra cost there.

Not exactly a huge sum of money, but hey, that's a few lunches during the work week.

Wellon Dowd: While I understand the general sentiment on the part of the brick-and-mortars, do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?

Well, there's sales tax. Amazon doesn't charge sales tax when delivering to most states.

But the issue is less Kindle and more books, DVDs, furniture, house goods, etc., that both Amazon and Target sell.

Honestly, Target has a point about Amazon pulling a dick move on the showrooming.

Homer Nixon: Grables'Daughter: I love Amazon.

Ditto. It has it all. Good prices, fast shipping, great selection, useful reviews. Target and everyone else out there is just sour grapes.

I feel for brick and mortars as far as the sales tax issue goes, but they need to complain to Congress to fix the law. It's not Amazon's problem.

Target isn't complaining about Amazon's competition. They're complaining about Amazon being complete assholes with their showrooming promotion.

Fark It: FormlessOne: FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

Teh average consumer doesn't care about that though, just like they don't care about Amazon's appalling contracting practices, which allow temporary agencies to provide what amounts to modern-day slave labor without sullying their good name. Amazon is basically worse than Wal Mart when it comes to their effect on the economy and local businesses, and the way they treat their employees.

And worse when it comes to their manufacturers. Amazon's entire business model is based on cost shifting all their warehousing, shipping, and logistics from the retailer to the manufacturer.

/Overstock is worse. WalMart isn't bad, just strict. JC Penny is by far the worst.

FormlessOne: FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

So, I don't understand what it means by "any item scanned at a store."

Does that mean that if Target sold the exact same item, then Amazon would sell it for 5% less? Or does the item have to be scanned at the store somehow...

/sorry if stupid question

Homer Nixon: Grables'Daughter: I love Amazon.

Ditto. It has it all. Good prices, fast shipping, great selection, useful reviews. Target and everyone else out there is just sour grapes.

I feel for brick and mortars as far as the sales tax issue goes, but they need to complain to Congress to fix the law. It's not Amazon's problem.

actually, its a problem that Amazon's lobbying has helped to create and continue.

/but yes, keep biatching about large chain stores while buying from an evil online retailer

Grables'Daughter: FormlessOne: FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

So, I don't understand what it means by "any item scanned at a store."

Does that mean that if Target sold the exact same item, then Amazon would sell it for 5% less? Or does the item have to be scanned at the store somehow...

/sorry if stupid question

You take your iPhone or Android phone into Target, find an item (say Bounty paper towels) and scan the UPC code. The Amazon app will take you to the Amazon page with that item on it and if you buy it then you get 5% off the Amazon price (which likely is cheaper anyway).

: Wellon Dowd: ...do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?


Target is kicking out Amazon because Amazon promotes using UPC apps to directly price check the in-store item against the Amazon offering. That allows people to quickly and easily walk up to the HDTV rack, pick the one they like best, scan the UPC with their smartphone, and see if Amazon can beat the price, while including in home delivery and set-up, and a great return policy.

While I'll pay more by choice at a small business owned by locals.

When it comes to Mega-Corp Online vs MegaCorp Brick&Mortor, I have no sympathies and shop for the lowest price for equivalent items. The big B&M stores ARE becoming showrooms for Amazon cross-shopping.

I bought my wife's Kindle from Target. So, I am getting my kicks, from this article.

I hear the reason Target cut ties with Amazon is because they are opening mini apple stores in some locations.

I like both Target and Amazon.

Amazon has an amazing selection of a whole lot of categories, and seriously amazing values. Targets are consistently well-stocked, decently priced and conveniently located.

I'll probably get the Target buffalo-chicken wrap for lunch today... loaded with blue-cheesy goodness!

I do the same with Best Buy -- go there, check out the goods, and then buy from Amazon. Amazon usually has a cheaper price, no sales tax, and free delivery -- tough nuts, BBY.

meanmutton: Grables'Daughter: FormlessOne: FTA: ...ran a promotion last year offering shoppers 5% off any item scanned at a store.

Bravo, Target!

Seriously, the idea that Amazon inked a deal with Target, to have Target sell an Amazon product, and then deliberately undercut Target with the apparent idea of using Target as a showroom for Amazon products, is appalling.

I honestly hope other retailers follow suit.

So, I don't understand what it means by "any item scanned at a store."

Does that mean that if Target sold the exact same item, then Amazon would sell it for 5% less? Or does the item have to be scanned at the store somehow...

/sorry if stupid question

You take your iPhone or Android phone into Target, find an item (say Bounty paper towels) and scan the UPC code. The Amazon app will take you to the Amazon page with that item on it and if you buy it then you get 5% off the Amazon price (which likely is cheaper anyway).

Okay, all's fair in love and war and business I guess, but Target is a vendor of Amazon's product.

So that was an amazingly low, crappy, horrible, lousy, shiatty thing to do.

The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

I have been doing this since I got a smart-phone, though I don't care if I get something from Amazon or not. If I walk into a store to buy something over $50, I will always check online and other local retailers for better prices. If I can save enough money to make it worth my time to wait or go to a different store than I will, otherwise I buy the item then.

This is simply called "doing your research" before making a purchase, and technology makes it easier.

BTW - You do not need Amazon's scanner app to do this, there are other apps; "Barcode Scanner" and "Google Shopper" that will check all online retailers and any local stores that list their products on the web.

redpanda2: The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

Thats not dickish. Android is open source. You're SUPPOSED to be able to do things like that. You can put android on any device you want and not ask google for permission or give them a cut of anything.

Its a feature, not a bug.

Carth: I hear the reason Target cut ties with Amazon is because they are opening mini apple stores in some locations.

This. The whole showrooming faux-outrage is a front

Wellon Dowd: While I understand the general sentiment on the part of the brick-and-mortars, do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?

It's more of a comparison to other e-readers to find out which one you like, Kindle, Sony e-reader, Nook, Pocket edge, etc.

When you get to that amount in sales tax, most people don't mind waiting a day or two to save $10-$15.

how much is a kindle at Target? How much is a Kindle at Amazon? (i'm pretty sure they were the same price when target carried them...$199)

Seriously..if you're already in the store checking the thing out, why are you going to go home, order it, wait a few days for it to arrive to save "maybe" $5, if anything? Granted, Amazon (and really their business partners) carry a lot of stuff a store can't carry, but unless the web company is selling it MUCH cheaper than the brick and mortar, why not just buy it on the spot? seems silly.

Submitted with a better headline yesterday: "Kindle Fired"

/not Total Fark I guess
//I'm bitter

Looks like someone at target in charge of their it strategy is a retard.... after what happened between toys r us and amazon, why would any major retailer have anything to do with them.

Carth: I hear the reason Target cut ties with Amazon is because they are opening mini apple stores in some locations.

Well, the article spins that as they're expanding Apple selections because Amazon is being a dick

Wellon Dowd: While I understand the general sentiment on the part of the brick-and-mortars, do people really need to "test drive" a Kindle before owning one? And is it that much cheaper to get it from Amazon after you are already in the Target?

Why wouldn't you want to try it out, either to simply see if you like it or compare it to another device?. If you're going to plunk down the cash on an e-reader of any sort it makes sense to validate you have no problem actually reading with it.

As for the price, if you go with Amazon you'll be paying zero sales tax in most places and you'll get it delivered for free. The Fire is $199 so not paying 7% tax on it would probably be worth it for most people.

There's also the benefit of returning shiat to Amazon that you dont' like/doesn't work frankly being easier than doing so at any brick and mortar store. No questions asked, no lines, no jagoff behind the counter trying to convince you not to return it, push a service plan, etc. I discovered my first Fire had a dead pixel about 3 weeks after I bought it. I called Amazon and they shipped me a new one that same morning which showed up the next day. I simply had to throw the bad one in the shipping box the new one came in and send it back to them in 30 days. No charge. I took up less of my time than it would have taken me to even drive to a Target or Best Buy.

Or, Target can just put their Kindles on endless sale for less than Amazon to encourage people to buy them in the store rather than online. Or if they can't do that, offer some kind of bundle with an extra charger and a case with an in-store purchase.

So what if people only test drive the Kindle in your store and never buy it. It's Target. You know they are going to buy some toothpaste, underwear, and yogurt while they are there.

mosquitoman: So what if people only test drive the Kindle in your store and never buy it. It's Target. You know they are going to buy some toothpaste, underwear, and yogurt while they are there.

That's actually a very good point.

If it brings people INTO their store, then that's a good thing.

redpanda2: The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

Maybe I'm missing something -- and admittedly I couldn't care less about the whole open-vs-closed debate -- but isn't that kind of the point of open-source software? That you can take the code and make of it what you want to fit your needs?

Grables'Daughter: That's actually a very good point.

If it brings people INTO their store, then that's a good thing.

I think Target wants to figure out if you're pregnant.
So, that's why there is no point selling kindles.

RickyWilliams'sBong: Maybe I'm missing something -- and admittedly I couldn't care less about the whole open-vs-closed debate -- but isn't that kind of the point of open-source software? That you can take the code and make of it what you want to fit your needs?

But, the caveat of open source is that you have to release the source code of all the changes you made.

So, google could put it back in there and release an alternative.

mr0x: Grables'Daughter: That's actually a very good point.

If it brings people INTO their store, then that's a good thing.

I think Target wants to figure out if you're pregnant.
So, that's why there is no point selling kindles.

See, that's why I don't shop there - they INSIST that I take a pregnancy test when I walk through the front door.

Grables'Daughter: See, that's why I don't shop there - they INSIST that I take a pregnancy test when I walk through the front door.

It's for market research. Otherwise they won't be able to effectively tell who is pregnant without a two to three month record of purchases.

Plus your local Target's GM is a piss fetishist who is keeping your negative tests. NTTAWWT.

knightofargh: Grables'Daughter: See, that's why I don't shop there - they INSIST that I take a pregnancy test when I walk through the front door.

It's for market research. Otherwise they won't be able to effectively tell who is pregnant without a two to three month record of purchases.

Plus your local Target's GM is a piss fetishist who is keeping your negative tests. NTTAWWT.

I KNEW IT!

: )

Target does store returns for items purchased online, but they're crap at getting them back into the online system. Thus the items wind up on the clearance rack where I can pick them up and ship them to an Amazon warehouse and make a profit.

bhcompy: Carth: I hear the reason Target cut ties with Amazon is because they are opening mini apple stores in some locations.

Well, the article spins that as they're expanding Apple selections because Amazon is being a dick

Yea, who knows. I'm sure Apple and Amazon aren't great friends right now with the DOJ investigation.

mosquitoman: So what if people only test drive the Kindle in your store and never buy it. It's Target. You know they are going to buy some toothpaste, underwear, and yogurt while they are there.

The issue wasn't them testing out the Kindle and buying it online. The issue was Amazon financially rewarding people for coming into Target to scan their weekly household purchases and then setting up a subscription on Amazon to get those things delivered to their house for less.

RickyWilliams'sBong: redpanda2: The amazon barcode scanner app isn't the only dickish thing Amazon is doing to other companies. They also use Android as the base for the Kindle Fire without letting Google Play (the app store, etc) onto the device so Google can make money off the OS they invested in OR contributing to the Android Open Source Project. And they require apps in the Amazon app store to match or undercut Google Play.

Maybe I'm missing something -- and admittedly I couldn't care less about the whole open-vs-closed debate -- but isn't that kind of the point of open-source software? That you can take the code and make of it what you want to fit your needs?

If "what you want to fit your needs" is done in a way to restrict innovation and competition, it kind of defeats the ideology.