Last week, in the “other” Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives launched their biggest broadside yet against Big Tech. A package of five separate bills takes direct aim at the most “richly valued” companies in America seeking to limit how tech companies can use their overlapping lines of business to enhance their power.
The most far-reaching, the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, could force Amazon to “split its business into two separate Websites” — one for its own products and one for other sellers — or even to “shut down the sale of its own products.”
Surprisingly, the instigator of the proposed anti-trust regulation is none other than Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (so much for supporting your district’s largest employer). The vice chair of the House’s antitrust subcommittee, Jayapal commented in an interview, “Look, this isn’t about Amazon. This is about the monopoly powers of the Big Four tech companies. It’s an irresistible urge for companies that are operating on multiple platforms with conflicts of interest and competing business to use power in ways that will suppress competition.”
Penalizing Amazon products would put a definite crimp in the annual “Black Friday-sales bonanza know as Prime Day. The “Christmas in Summer” event unfolds on Monday and Tuesday. Prime Day starts at 12 a.m. PDT on June 21, offering 48 hours of epic savings and more than 2 million deals.
The biggest and best deals are often those of Amazon’s own technology and Prime Day 2021 appears to be no exception.
Prime members will be able to leverage their membership to save as follows:
• Up to 50% off on Amazon Fire TV devices including the Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote ($24.99)
• 30% on Luna Controller ($48.99)
• Up to 70% on Echo devices including Echo Show 8, 2nd Gen ($94.99) and Echo Auto ($14.99)
• Up to 50% on Fire tablets and accessory bundles including the all-new Fire HD 10 ($79.99) and Fire HD 8 Kids ($69.99)
• Up to 40% on Ring devices including Ring Video Doorbell Wired ($44.99) and Ring Alarm 5-piece kit ($119.99)
• Up to 40% off Kindle devices including the Kindle Paperwhite ($79.99) and Kindle Kids Edition ($64.99)
• Over 40% off Blink devices including Blink Mini ($19.99); 35% off eero devices including the Amazon eero 6 dual-band mesh Wi-Fi 6 system three pack ($181) and 30% off the Amazon Halo Band ($69.99).
Amazon Music: Prime members who haven’t yet tried Amazon Music Unlimited can get our best deal ever—four months of the premium subscription service free, with unlimited access to more than 75 million songs ad-free and millions of podcast episodes. In addition, with the purchase of select Amazon Echo devices, Prime members new to Amazon Music Unlimited can get six months of the premium subscription service free.
Prime Video: Enjoy a selection of titles to rent or buy at up to 50% off. And for a limited time, customers will be able to subscribe to select channels for $0.99 per month for up to two months if they are not already subscribed. Only pay for the channels you want and cancel anytime. A full list of Prime Video deals, including the offer window for each, can be found at amazon.com/primememberdeals.
Kindle Unlimited: Prime members who are new to Kindle Unlimited get four months free with a new subscription. Kindle Unlimited readers can read as much as they want from an ever-growing selection of over 2 million eBooks, thousands of audiobooks, comics, short reads, and magazines, including blockbuster titles like The Hunger Games trilogy, The Other Emily by Dean Koontz, Drown Her Sorrows by Melinda Leigh, In Her Tracks by Robert Dugoni, and Take the Lead by Jessica Simpson. Find out more at amazon.com/ku.
Amazon Explore: Prime members get 50% off all interactive live streamed experiences from Amazon Explore this Prime Day. Visit wildcats in Costa Rica, take a rickshaw ride in Tokyo, shop handmade crafts from a family-owned shop in Florence, and learn new skills from cooking to crafts with experts around the world. Amazon Explore is a great way for customers to have fun and support local businesses with instant, on-the-spot shopping.
It’s hard to argue with the convenience and vertical integration of Amazon services. Prime was built on the foundation of unlimited fast, free shipping. Prime members enjoy ultrafast grocery delivery and pickup from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market in more than 5,000 cities and towns, free Same-Day Delivery on millions of items in 47 major metropolitan areas, and free One-Day Delivery on more than 10 million items coast to coast. Prime members also receive free two-day delivery on prescriptions from Amazon Pharmacy and prescription savings at more than 60,000 participating pharmacies in the U.S.
An often overlooked feature of the online merchandiser is Amazon Live where shoppers can watch throughout Prime Day to see product demonstrations and try-on hauls, hear directly from hundreds of creators, and shop can’t-miss deals the minute they go live. Amazon Live is bringing a non-stop celebration to Prime Day with live chat, celebrity cameos, exclusive content such as a sneak peek from Prime Video’s Making the Cu, and deal reveals, including exciting deals revealed first via Amazon Live. Viewers can easily shop the featured products and brands through a carousel that updates in real-time. To watch, visit amazon.com/primeday, or download the Amazon Live Shopping app on Fire TV.
Amazon customers can also shop and support charities. Customers visiting smile.amazon.com find the exact same Amazon experience—amazing deals, wide selection, fast and free delivery options—with the added bonus that AmazonSmile will donate a portion of the eligible purchase price to the charity of the customer’s choice. Customers can now shop AmazonSmile on the latest version of the Amazon app on their mobile phone. Just open the app, navigate to Settings in the main menu (☰), tap on “AmazonSmile,” select the charity, and then follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile. Visit smile.amazon.com/onthego to learn more. [24×7]
