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This makes me envious of you Americans. Here in Norway online shopping involves finding an online store that sells what you need (there's no site that sells ev

This makes me envious of you Americans. Here in Norway online shopping involves finding an online store that sells what you need (there's no site that sells everything, like Amazon, here), going through a cumbersome sign-up/payment process, paying a lot of money for the shipping costs, waiting several days and having to go to the post office unless the package is really small (or if you're willing to pay even more for premium shipping). I really don't get why so many people here dislike the idea behind Dash Button. Buying essential shit isn't fun, it's a burden that needs to be done. I can't understand why removing the hassle of purchasing stuff like toilet paper and detergent is "dystopian consumer hell". Dystopian consumer hell is what we have here in Norway, where we need to physically go to the store and buy the same stuff over and over and over again.

usaphp 12y ago
> I really don't get why so many people here dislike the idea behind Dash Button Welcome to HN, where some people think they just have to dislike everything they see on top to show how "unique" they are.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- pestaa 12y ago
  Most ideas suck, and those that do not suck are more likely targeted at people with different needs than the average HN user. Businesses want to sell tons of crap anyway, so I'm never surprised to see harsh (but often constructive!) criticism on these boards.
- gopher2 12y ago
  I remember when I first heard of twitter, the exact moment. My response was "Oh that's dumb. Why would I care if somebody posts what they ate for lunch? And it's only 140 characters?" Basically, I'm a visionary. I think Amazon has the right idea. Just launch products and see how they go, what you learn, and if they stick. Very interesting company to watch operate.
  - jes5199 12y ago
    in your defense, twitter really is an awful idea.
- giarc 12y ago
  HN hated Dropbox......
  - icebraining 12y ago
    Not true. Most comments were positive, and even the ones that showed reservations, hardly "hated". https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863
    - giarc 12y ago
      You are right, I guess I've only read the top few comments, and read other comments from people that said "HN didn't like Dropbox". Thanks for correcting me.
dogma1138 12y ago
I'm pretty sure most Americans will give up amazon for free education, health care, paid maternity and paternity leave and the many other social benefits Norway provides to its nationals.
- j2kun 12y ago
  Thankfully, these two things are not mutually exclusive and we can hope for all of it.
- baddox 12y ago
  At this point in my life, I definitely wouldn't, but that might obviously change in the future.
  - guipsp 12y ago
    The statement "At this point in my life" doesn't make much sense unless you specify the point in your life you're at.
    - baddox 12y ago
      I'm in my 20s and I have no dependents or known health problems.
      - bch 12y ago
        The idea isn't to "get social" only in your personal hour of need, though.
        freehunter 12y ago
        I've known people who used government assistance after losing their job, then just a few years later complain about people using welfare and unemployment income. Some of us Americans can be really weird when it comes to helping out our neighbors.
esteer 12y ago
> there's no site that sells everything, like Amazon, here I see an opportunity there :)
mikeash 12y ago
I think it's ridiculous just because it clearly involved a lot of effort to solve a problem that doesn't really need solving. The choice isn't between a button and the massive hassle you describe. The choice is between a button and ordering the product on your smartphone in ten seconds, or picking up the product at the grocery store the next time you're there. How often do you need laundry detergent? Every two weeks? If this button saves you ten seconds each time, that's a total of 4.3 minutes per year saved. And that assumes you buy the stuff one at a time instead of getting a bunch at once. Amazon as a whole is great because you can use it for so much stuff. Saving time on a rare purchase is almost pointless, but saving time on all your rare purchases put together can be significant. But this button thingy is inherently single-product. This is basically the ordering-side equivalent of when you buy three small items from Amazon and they get shipped to you in three separate gigantic boxes filled with vast amounts of padding. Maybe it makes sense when you see the big picture, but I can't help but scream "why??"
- ocfx 12y ago
  Honestly, I'd much rather press a button to reorder toilet paper that I place right on the toilet. If you don't see the benefit of that then you are not their target consumer.
- enraged_camel 12y ago
  Sorry, but ordering stuff from Amazon on my iPhone takes way more than 10 seconds. I have to: 1. Find my iPhone (I don't carry it with me around the house) 2. Enter my PIN to unlock it 3. Open Safari 4. Navigate to Amazon.com 5. Type in their search bar and browse through the results 6. Click on the product I want 7. Add it to my cart 8. Go to check out and confirm settings (e.g. delivery speed) 9. Place order It's actually way more cumbersome than it has to be.
  - Aardwolf 12y ago
    1. Find my iPhone From the description of it, I think the button wouldn't work if you don't carry a phone with you, as it depends on it.
hyh1048576 12y ago
In major Chinese city like Beijing and Shanghai, it's even possible for "same day delivery" if you order before 11am (Jingdong -- jd.com -- delivers 3 times a day) and it's also possible to "pay when delivered" (i.e. give cash to the delivery man) since many people don't have credit card or web payment is too complicated/dangerous for them.
dismal2 12y ago
I have been using the Amazon "scan" function (in the app) a lot recently and I really doesn't think it gets any easier than that to reorder things you're running low on. I don't need a freaking button I will need to configure, hope it uses the right payment method and address, hope it I didn't just press it a few days ago... etc.
teetam 12y ago
Americans are spoiled. Whether you think this innovation will be useful to you personally or not, the amount of hate spewed at it is just fascinating. Think this is not useful? Don't buy it.
curiously 12y ago
add canada. especially when you live 3 hour drive away.
duaneb 12y ago
> we need to physically go to the store and buy the same stuff over and over and over again. The horror.... The "dystopian consumer hell" is that humans spend their time making this crap instead of, you know, something that's not a complete waste of time and resources.
- icebraining 12y ago
  Or writing HN posts.
giarc 12y ago
I've recently signed up for Amazon Prime (in Canada). I "Subscribe and Save" for a few items. Two of those items being paper towel and toilet paper. My wife does most of the shopping and carrying out 36 rolls of toilet paper to the car doesn't make sense when she's also carrying a baby. So I figure what's the harm in having it delivered to my door every month? I love Subscribe and Save.
- cesarbs 12y ago
  I've just started taking advantage of Subscribe & Save. The products are cheaper than what I pay for them at the local grocery store, plus I've made sure to include at least 5 items in each order so I get the 15% discount (instead of 5%). Subscribe & Save is really great for items that are hard to carry when coming back from the store and that don't degrade quickly.
  - giarc 12y ago
    Agreed. I usually cross reference Walmarts online prices. They are usually the same (for the products I have looked at). I utilize the subscribe and save for items that I never realize I need until I'm all out (razor blades, shaving cream, diapers). However I've yet to fully explore all the offerings.
    - zaroth 12y ago
      Pro-tip: Walmart and Amazon are both significantly marking up the price of paper online (be it in rolls, tissues, or sheets). The rolls are smaller, the prices are higher. Actually do the comparison. Note that box stores rotate the sales weekly between the major brands, but they each go on sale in turn each month.
      - giarc 12y ago
        I'll look next time I'm in a store, thanks.
rodgerd 12y ago
> Buying essential shit isn't fun, it's a burden that needs to be done. I can't understand why removing the hassle of purchasing stuff like toilet paper and detergent is "dystopian consumer hell". Dystopian consumer hell is what we have here in Norway, where we need to physically go to the store and buy the same stuff over and over and over again. Sure, maybe if that's your mindset. Personally I love going and doing the grocery shopping with my kids, and they love noodling around the supermarket, helping select things from the shelves, and it's generally a good time. The drive to crush every interaction beyond a screen flow that sticks money into Bezos' pocket, glorified by misanthropes under the banner of "efficiency" seems more like a vision of hell to me.
sytelus 12y ago
Most people in US don't realize what Amazon has done to prices in US. I'm too used to prices like $18 Syma 107G RC heli and $50 waterpiks. Other countries are not like that. They have little competition from online shopping and as a result people there usually pay significant premiums. I recently traveled to so-called shopping capital of the world, i.e. Dubai. My expectation was that everything would be cheaper, well, because most of the Dubai is just made for shopping and its even tax free. I was horrified to find things like Syma 107G at $50 and most other stuff at 20%-50% premiums even at "discount" shops. In my foreign travels, I have yet to encounter a place that consistently beats Amazon on prices anywhere close even with best currency conversion rates and even after high sales taxes in US. Most consumers in world have to pay about 30% margins to retailers while people in US gets away with just 3% - thanks to Amazon.

usaphp 12y ago

> I really don't get why so many people here dislike the idea behind Dash Button Welcome to HN, where some people think they just have to dislike everything they see on top to show how "unique" they are.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
pestaa 12y ago
Most ideas suck, and those that do not suck are more likely targeted at people with different needs than the average HN user. Businesses want to sell tons of crap anyway, so I'm never surprised to see harsh (but often constructive!) criticism on these boards.
gopher2 12y ago
I remember when I first heard of twitter, the exact moment. My response was "Oh that's dumb. Why would I care if somebody posts what they ate for lunch? And it's only 140 characters?" Basically, I'm a visionary. I think Amazon has the right idea. Just launch products and see how they go, what you learn, and if they stick. Very interesting company to watch operate.
- jes5199 12y ago
  in your defense, twitter really is an awful idea.
giarc 12y ago
HN hated Dropbox......
- icebraining 12y ago
  Not true. Most comments were positive, and even the ones that showed reservations, hardly "hated". https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863
  - giarc 12y ago
    You are right, I guess I've only read the top few comments, and read other comments from people that said "HN didn't like Dropbox". Thanks for correcting me.

dogma1138 12y ago

I'm pretty sure most Americans will give up amazon for free education, health care, paid maternity and paternity leave and the many other social benefits Norway provides to its nationals.

j2kun 12y ago
Thankfully, these two things are not mutually exclusive and we can hope for all of it.
baddox 12y ago
At this point in my life, I definitely wouldn't, but that might obviously change in the future.
- guipsp 12y ago
  The statement "At this point in my life" doesn't make much sense unless you specify the point in your life you're at.
  - baddox 12y ago
    I'm in my 20s and I have no dependents or known health problems.
    - bch 12y ago
      The idea isn't to "get social" only in your personal hour of need, though.
      - freehunter 12y ago
        I've known people who used government assistance after losing their job, then just a few years later complain about people using welfare and unemployment income. Some of us Americans can be really weird when it comes to helping out our neighbors.

esteer 12y ago

> there's no site that sells everything, like Amazon, here I see an opportunity there :)

mikeash 12y ago

I think it's ridiculous just because it clearly involved a lot of effort to solve a problem that doesn't really need solving. The choice isn't between a button and the massive hassle you describe. The choice is between a button and ordering the product on your smartphone in ten seconds, or picking up the product at the grocery store the next time you're there. How often do you need laundry detergent? Every two weeks? If this button saves you ten seconds each time, that's a total of 4.3 minutes per year saved. And that assumes you buy the stuff one at a time instead of getting a bunch at once. Amazon as a whole is great because you can use it for so much stuff. Saving time on a rare purchase is almost pointless, but saving time on all your rare purchases put together can be significant. But this button thingy is inherently single-product. This is basically the ordering-side equivalent of when you buy three small items from Amazon and they get shipped to you in three separate gigantic boxes filled with vast amounts of padding. Maybe it makes sense when you see the big picture, but I can't help but scream "why??"

ocfx 12y ago
Honestly, I'd much rather press a button to reorder toilet paper that I place right on the toilet. If you don't see the benefit of that then you are not their target consumer.
enraged_camel 12y ago
Sorry, but ordering stuff from Amazon on my iPhone takes way more than 10 seconds. I have to: 1. Find my iPhone (I don't carry it with me around the house) 2. Enter my PIN to unlock it 3. Open Safari 4. Navigate to Amazon.com 5. Type in their search bar and browse through the results 6. Click on the product I want 7. Add it to my cart 8. Go to check out and confirm settings (e.g. delivery speed) 9. Place order It's actually way more cumbersome than it has to be.
- Aardwolf 12y ago
  1. Find my iPhone From the description of it, I think the button wouldn't work if you don't carry a phone with you, as it depends on it.

hyh1048576 12y ago

In major Chinese city like Beijing and Shanghai, it's even possible for "same day delivery" if you order before 11am (Jingdong -- jd.com -- delivers 3 times a day) and it's also possible to "pay when delivered" (i.e. give cash to the delivery man) since many people don't have credit card or web payment is too complicated/dangerous for them.

dismal2 12y ago

I have been using the Amazon "scan" function (in the app) a lot recently and I really doesn't think it gets any easier than that to reorder things you're running low on. I don't need a freaking button I will need to configure, hope it uses the right payment method and address, hope it I didn't just press it a few days ago... etc.

teetam 12y ago

Americans are spoiled. Whether you think this innovation will be useful to you personally or not, the amount of hate spewed at it is just fascinating. Think this is not useful? Don't buy it.

curiously 12y ago

add canada. especially when you live 3 hour drive away.

duaneb 12y ago

> we need to physically go to the store and buy the same stuff over and over and over again. The horror.... The "dystopian consumer hell" is that humans spend their time making this crap instead of, you know, something that's not a complete waste of time and resources.

icebraining 12y ago
Or writing HN posts.

giarc 12y ago

I've recently signed up for Amazon Prime (in Canada). I "Subscribe and Save" for a few items. Two of those items being paper towel and toilet paper. My wife does most of the shopping and carrying out 36 rolls of toilet paper to the car doesn't make sense when she's also carrying a baby. So I figure what's the harm in having it delivered to my door every month? I love Subscribe and Save.

cesarbs 12y ago
I've just started taking advantage of Subscribe & Save. The products are cheaper than what I pay for them at the local grocery store, plus I've made sure to include at least 5 items in each order so I get the 15% discount (instead of 5%). Subscribe & Save is really great for items that are hard to carry when coming back from the store and that don't degrade quickly.
- giarc 12y ago
  Agreed. I usually cross reference Walmarts online prices. They are usually the same (for the products I have looked at). I utilize the subscribe and save for items that I never realize I need until I'm all out (razor blades, shaving cream, diapers). However I've yet to fully explore all the offerings.
  - zaroth 12y ago
    Pro-tip: Walmart and Amazon are both significantly marking up the price of paper online (be it in rolls, tissues, or sheets). The rolls are smaller, the prices are higher. Actually do the comparison. Note that box stores rotate the sales weekly between the major brands, but they each go on sale in turn each month.
    - giarc 12y ago
      I'll look next time I'm in a store, thanks.

rodgerd 12y ago

> Buying essential shit isn't fun, it's a burden that needs to be done. I can't understand why removing the hassle of purchasing stuff like toilet paper and detergent is "dystopian consumer hell". Dystopian consumer hell is what we have here in Norway, where we need to physically go to the store and buy the same stuff over and over and over again. Sure, maybe if that's your mindset. Personally I love going and doing the grocery shopping with my kids, and they love noodling around the supermarket, helping select things from the shelves, and it's generally a good time. The drive to crush every interaction beyond a screen flow that sticks money into Bezos' pocket, glorified by misanthropes under the banner of "efficiency" seems more like a vision of hell to me.

sytelus 12y ago

Most people in US don't realize what Amazon has done to prices in US. I'm too used to prices like $18 Syma 107G RC heli and $50 waterpiks. Other countries are not like that. They have little competition from online shopping and as a result people there usually pay significant premiums. I recently traveled to so-called shopping capital of the world, i.e. Dubai. My expectation was that everything would be cheaper, well, because most of the Dubai is just made for shopping and its even tax free. I was horrified to find things like Syma 107G at $50 and most other stuff at 20%-50% premiums even at "discount" shops. In my foreign travels, I have yet to encounter a place that consistently beats Amazon on prices anywhere close even with best currency conversion rates and even after high sales taxes in US. Most consumers in world have to pay about 30% margins to retailers while people in US gets away with just 3% - thanks to Amazon.