Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Thursday November 29 2018, @04:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the another-brick-in-the-wall dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Parents putting together baby registries on Amazon have begun to notice a pesky problem, one that has resulted in parents receiving items they neither listed nor wanted. The online retailer has been placing sponsored products in baby registries, the Wall Street Journal reports, but because the ads look so similar to other registry items, people are purchasing them, unaware that the items weren't added to the registry by parents. Like added items, the sponsored products include an image, rating, price and a "0 of 1 Purchased" tag. The only thing that distinguishes them is a small, gray "Sponsored" label situated just above the item name.

[...] One new dad told the Wall Street Journal that he only realized Amazon had placed sponsored products in his baby registry when the Aveeno bath-time set arrived at his home. He said the ads were "blatantly trying to trick you." "Worst part is a friend spent money on something we didn't want. And Amazon profited," he added. While users can remove these ads from their registries, Amazon reportedly told advertisers that around 60 percent were left in place.

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/28/amazon-inserting-sponsored-products-baby-registries/


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by bob_super on Thursday November 29 2018, @05:18PM (5 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday November 29 2018, @05:18PM (#767796)

    When you "buy" a gift on a registry in France, you reserve the gift, but it's not really "bought" until the parents/newlyweds review the list afterwards, check what's not been taken, and potentially reassign the money towards things they need (or big items). It helps so you don't get 7 forks, 9 plates, but 12 champagne flutes, for example, and you can put big items that no single person would buy (expensive stroller or dishwasher). You also schedule get the presents all delivered later, at home, when the dust settles.
    I always thought that was a better way to manage the gifts, and as a bonus that stupid Amazon trick would not work at all there.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Informative=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:11PM (4 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:11PM (#767895)

    At that point, why not just stick a $20 in the card and skip the middleman? Oh yeah, cashless society means profitable middlemen, etc.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:20PM (2 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:20PM (#767908)

      Yeah, it's essentially that, but with the appearance of having chosen a gift out of the registry.

      I haven't looked at trends, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that later marriages and modern consumption patterns are badly hurting the whole wedding registry industry. Baby shower registries probably have some future...

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:35PM (1 child)

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:35PM (#767921)

        later marriages

        I resemble that remark, I recall relatives asking if I wanted a toaster for a wedding gift because boomers and depression era folks all got married at 18 with nothing but the clothes on their backs, but my bride and I both being over 25 we already had three toasters between us, so ...

        consumption patterns

        That's where its at, we got several bottles of really nice booze and ironically we don't even drink very much, we enjoyed those for a long time. I suspect between consumption patterns and income inequality increases, baby shower gifts are gonna tend toward stuff like coupons for baby sitting or exotic chocolates for mom and less daily stuff like toys and clothes.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29 2018, @09:37PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29 2018, @09:37PM (#767941)

          I know you're a bit of a right wing nutcase but please at least don't emulate Pence and start calling your wife "mom" or "mother" when not talking to your kids!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:42PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 29 2018, @08:42PM (#767926)

      I found baby registry useful. Though I suppose wife could have just bought the items as fast as adding them to registry.