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scstraus t1_iw6tdfs wrote

Reply to comment by VitaminPb in Alexa-Powered Side Table Mixes Drinks on Command by shakhawat0410

I think they expected it to lead to an increase of sales on Amazon, but it only led to people buying a bunch of subsidized voice assistants for cheap.

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wbruce098 t1_iw77esc wrote

Maybe we are in the minority, but a lot of people I know have smart home stuff and an Echo Dot is one of the most affordable ways to control them. And Amazon sells a LOT of smart home stuff. If Amazon is going to profit off Alexa, that’s where, not in sales or ads from the device.

Tbh, I see zero advantage to ever buying anything with Alexa. That function is a useless novelty to me and can actually be problematic if you have kids. But these things are so incredibly useful otherwise.

Edit: I mean, I could always use the clunkier Google thing or the pricey HomePod or just my phone I guess, but then Amazon gets even less money from me and loses out on a major market opportunity.

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scstraus t1_iw97o04 wrote

Exactly how I use them. But I don't this is how Amazon wants us to use them ;-).

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haahaahaa t1_iwm3mg6 wrote

The problem with buying anything with alexa is Amazon's pricing model. The cat food I buy goes up and down by a couple dollars a case consistently and thats from Amazon direct. If they're sold out the sky is the limit to how much it will cost. Everything that I could reasonably imagine someone use a home assistant to order is like that. It was significantly worse during covid for obvious reasons.

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wbruce098 t1_iwofybn wrote

Makes sense. And a lot of people like me like to at least pretend we are comparison shopping. Basically impossible to do on a smart speaker. It’s just not a good model.

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