Amazon’s New Coins – the latest E-currency?
Today I received an email from Amazon telling me they had given me 500 free “Coins” as a ‘thank you’ for being a Kindle Fire owner. (A $5 value!)
Useful when you spend your time in the land of Elves..?
That was new to me.. I had never heard of “Amazon Coins”.. Is this the next Bitcoin?
So, I read the blurb.
“What is Amazon Coins?
Amazon Coins is a new way to buy and enjoy Kindle Fire apps, games, and in-app items for less. Save up to 10% on apps and games by purchasing Amazon Coins.“
Ah. “Buy”.
Why purchase Coins? (Besides “saving up to 10%”)
“Where can I spend Coins?
You can spend Amazon Coins on your Kindle Fire or on Amazon.com. Explore great Kindle Fire apps and games on the Amazon Appstore for Android.”
(To see the Amazon product page, click here.)
Oh, how super-neato keen.
I can’t wait to buy a whole huge stockpile of Amazon Pennies!!! Um, I meant “Coins”.
Is it just me, or is this just giftcards for timewaster games for kids (the overwhelming majority of Android “apps”)?
Yippee yahoo.
While I guess I am pleased with a free $5 giftcard ( now I can buy Angry Birds Star Wars Edition!!! ) … I still have to wonder whose idea was this, anyway? Did they go to college to learn to come up with ideas marketing strategies like this? ( I kinda suspect this will sail about as far as the Titanic did.. but has the advantage of costing a lot more. )
.. I mean.. nobody pays for apps any more. Right? (Everything on the Internet is free.. right? Just “download it”?) Could this be a way to artificially boost “sales” and “clicks” statistics? Nah. But Amazon just “sold” one more Angry Birds Star Wars Edition…
Right?
(Actually, I wouldn’t be caught with an Angry Birds. I’m not 9.)
Today’s quote: “Things are never so bad they can’t be made worse.” ~ From The African Queen
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
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Tech - for Everyone 
Amazon Coins! Now they too are in the Monkey Business! Monkey See Monkey Do.
The Coins will eventually apply to all products purchased through Amazon.
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Gaia,
Well.. if they could be used all over Amazon.com, and actually given like giftcards, they might make more sense….
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Hi Paul,
Like usual. Amazon Coins are not available at your location.
From the comments……
Also keep in mind that when you use Amazon coins, you now have another payment method to keep track of, one that–unlike a credit card payment–must be funded up front.
Finally, I urge you to review the 1000-word Terms and Conditions statement before “investing” in Amazon coins. Here are some of the highlights (or lowlights, depending upon your point of view):
–“All purchases of Coins are final. We do not accept returns of Purchased Coins except where required by law.” (I love it when a company won’t do something unless they get served with a subpoena.)
–“Coins cannot be resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash or applied to any other account, except to the extent required by law.” (Good luck getting anything for unused Amazon coins, folks.)
–“We may change, suspend or discontinue the Program, or any part of it, at any time without notice.” (Isn’t it interesting that they don’t say anything about giving back your money if they kill the program? It’s probably related to the clause above.)
–“We may make available to you software for your use in connection with the Program.” (I’d tell you what that means, but I don’t have time to read the separate 3,437-word Software Terms and Conditions statement.)
–“For communications concerning this Agreement, please write to Amazon, Attn: Legal Department, P.O. Box 81226, Seattle, WA, 98108-1226.” (Got any questions about the program terms? I’m sure the legal team will get right on it once your letter arrives in the mail.)
I can see a lot of reasons for Amazon to deploy a payment system like this. I just wish I could see any compelling reasons for customers to use it.
Think I will just watch from the sidelines…
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delenn13,
Since nobody reads anything longer than two sentences.. and nobody thinks very hard about anything (thinking hurts).. it wouldn’t surprise me terribly if Amazon Coins becomes as popular as the Hula Hoop and Pet Rock were in their day.
But were I to place a wager.. I’d say it simply fades away (unnoticed) in less than 6 months.
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Paul,
You can still buy a hula hoop at “The Dollar Store”.
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delenn13,
… oddly appropriate …
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ROFL..Happy, Happy, Happy!
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delenn13,
Perhaps it is the fact that I see dozens and dozens of these spam comments a day, or perhaps it’s because of my lowering opinion of species Human, but I’m fidning it harder and harder to laugh at these… But that one is a particularly good example.
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Paul,
Speaking of breeding on another page……He just sounds so desperate. And if a person were to “click his link”(that was the part that made me laugh), then they must be desperate too.
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delenn13,
Well.. I think there has always been members of the Lonely Hearts Clubs.. (even before the intertubes) and I think there has always been folks unafraid to look foolish.. (even before the intertubes) and who am I to judge?
But seriously now – we are becoming a “shut in” society. And it’s my understanding that many of the old-fashioned ways of meeting people no longer exist. (Today we have websites like matchdotcom as a substitute.) So I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are more “desperate” people out there than there used to be (or.. used to appear to be). People sit in front of the Big screen TV, or the Xbox, or the computer.. and wonder why they’re lonely. On the ‘net, we only think we’re connected/”social”, when surfing really is quite solitary.
… sorry. That wasn’t your point. I got off tangent. You’re right: if they click his link, there’s something not right about them, IMHO, and maybe it’s “desperation”.
(In the meantime.. only two people have clicked on the cyberstalking on LinkedIn article I posted…)
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