You remember the feeling. Maybe it’s been a while, but you know what it’s like to walk into a climate-controlled space (that often smells good, too), find a nice item on a shelf, hold it in your hands, hand a clerk a few bucks, and walk out the door with that new thing in a bag. We don’t do that enough any more, and…
Amazon may have sold millions of Echoes and other devices equipped with its voice-controlled Alexa smart assistant partially in the hopes that it could nudge users into letting an upbeat voice convince them to buy more crap. But it doesn’t appear to be working, according to a report in the Information on Monday.
My own personal Amazon Prime day is in two weeks. It’s not the day that Amazon puts a lot of random crap on sale. (That’s in approximately three weeks.) My day is when Amazon will charge me $120 for another year of membership. That’s $20 more than what the company charged me last year and $40 more than what I paid…
Until now, purchasing some too-good-to-be-true cheap clothes or a weird smartphone case through a Facebook ad usually ends in disappointment, with no way to provide feedback about your new dress shirt that makes you look like a store brand anime character. While Facebook can’t stop you from buying a t-shirt with a few…
Not so long ago, being able to click a button and have the goods of your choice delivered to your front door in a day (or less) would’ve seemed like some kind of black magic—but as convenient as online shopping is, it does come with its own set of frustrations and problems. Here’s how to fix the most common ones.
Everyone has a Prime account now, don’t they? It’s become almost an afterthought—a utility bill paid once a year (or once a month) in return for fast delivery, a Netflix clone, a Kindle lending library, and some other bits and pieces. But is Prime such a no-brainer? Maybe you’re tired of paying the richest man in the…
It’s Black Friday, and the internet is chock-full of deals. Deals for days! (As long as that day is today, Black Friday.) Some deals are good! A Kindle is A-F-F-O-R-D-A-B-L-E. Other deals, however, aren’t very appealing. Deals like these...
Need some hand-knitted gloves in a jiffy? If you’re a New Yorker, you might be in luck. This fall, Etsy is going to be pilot testing same-day and next-day delivery services in certain parts of New York City.
The ARPANET didn’t make its first host-to-host connection until 1969. But long before anyone was online, communications companies were trying to figure out how to make interactive home shopping a reality. This short 1961 film from Bell Systems (now AT&T) showcases the futuristic tech that they were imagining—including…
Beneath Etsy’s glitter-soaked, hand-stitched paisley exterior lies some of the weirdest, darkest wares the internet can offer. And in one of thee seedy offshoots, you will find some of the world’s biggest pop culture icons in the form of amateur, taxidermied mice. And people fucking love ‘em.
You can buy almost anything online. There are lots of normal options, like shoes or groceries. But you can also order a ton of whacky shit, like a life-size statue of obese Arnold Schwarzenegger or a TaskRabbit to come stand motionless and unblinking in your kitchen while you dance around them to the music of…
Last week, we asked you to hunt down some of the most absurd, least helpful, and (consequently) absolutely wonderful product reviews that Amazon has to offer. And we are proud to say that you, dear readers, delivered in droves.
Looks like Twitter's plan for an in-tweet "Buy" button is moving forward: Re/code says mobile payment company Stripe is signing up businesses interested in Twitter sales. [Re/code]
What with Amazon and Google Shopping Express winning the world's laziest misanthropes' affections, other companies are left doing everything they can to stay in the fight. In Best Buy's case, that means offering free shipping on major appliances—and (apparently) praying that folks don't realize the $30 required cord…
Target's not alone in its credit card hacking woes: this week, high-end retailer Neiman Marcus acknowledged that credit and debit cards used in its brick-and-mortar stores have been compromised. Shopping sure seems dangerous lately.
Services like Seamless, Grub Hub, and Eat 24 are lifesavers when you're hungry and don't feel like cooking, but they only serve prepared fare. So what do you do when you want to make your own meal but can't bother going to the supermarket yourself? Place your order with one of these helpful online grocers and get your…
If you live in a big city without a car, it's probably easier to just do all your shopping on Amazon. If you drive everywhere and have a Costco membership, it might make sense to do all your shopping there. If you drive sometimes but like getting packages, maybe you combine the best of both worlds? Whatever it is you…
This colorful tiny shirt that will impress a lot of cool tenth graders came for me in the mail today, and I had totally forgotten about it until now. Surprise! Am I alone here, or does anyone else order random things online and erase them from your memory until they arrive?
Go outside? Are you kidding me? Have you seen what goes on out there? You're way better off staying in the safety and comfort of your own home. And thanks to the power of the Internet, you too can enjoy the best of what the outside world has offer without having to wade through all of its undesirable byproducts.
There have been countless invite-only sites for booze, fashion and other esoteric desirables for a long time. Before today Grand St. was an invite-only destination for heavily curated but quirkier gadgets, and starting today the site is open to everyone.
