The Amazon Dash button Has Arrived: Rip-off or Good Deal?

By on July 29, 2015

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Made available today exclusively to Amazon Prime members, the Amazon Dash button is a physical button that you mount in your home and press it when you run out of a specific product. Limited to certain brands, you use the Amazon shopping app to link the button to a specific product (within the defined brand). When the button is pressed, you receive a smartphone notification confirming the order.

The button itself sells for $5 and Amazon has 18 buttons available for brands like Bounty, Huggies, Tide, Glad, Gatorade, Maxwell House, Smart Water, Gerber Formula, Olay and Clorox; basically anything you would commonly find in a grocery store.

We took a closer look at the products listed on Amazon and compared prices against other retailers like Walmart, Target, Jet and Costco. According to our analysis, prices on Amazon were the same or very close to competitors, occasionally slighter lower or higher.

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Kristin Cook, Ben’s Bargains Editor-In-Chief, had this to say about the Amazon button:

Using the Dash button probably won’t save you a whole lot of money, but based on our preliminary price checking, you won’t spend more than you would making a run to your local Target or Walmart.”

You can check out a portion of our raw data below:

Gatorade Comparison

Gatorade Thirst Quencher Frost, Glacier Freeze 8-pack

  • Amazon: $5.44
  • Walmart: $5.44
  • Jet(.com): $5.44
  • Target: $5.49

Huggies Comparison

Huggies Snug and Dry Diapers, Size 4, Economy Plus Pack (192-ct)

  • Amazon: $39 ($0.20/diaper)
  • Target $42 ($0.22/diaper)
  • Walmart: N/A
  • Costco: N/A

Huggies Little Movers Diapers, Size 4, (112 Count)

  • Amazon: $32 ($0.29/diaper)
  • Target: $34 ($0.30/diaper)
  • Walmart: $34 ($0.30/diaper)
  • Costco: 180-ct for $51 ($0.28/diaper)

Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers, Newborn (88 Count)

  • Amazon: $25 ($0.28/diaper)
  • Target: $25 ($0.28/diaper)
  • Walmart: 72-count for $17 ($0.24/diaper)
  • Costco: N/A

Glad Comparison

Glad Tall Kitchen Quick-Tie Trash Bags, 13 Gallon, 80 Count

  • Amazon: $8.46
  • Walmart: $8.46
  • Target: N/A
  • Drugstore(.com): $9.89

Glad 2-in-1 Zipper Quart Food Storage Bags, 46 Count

  • Amazon: $3.59
  • Walmart: N/A
  • Drugstore(.com): $3.59
  • Walgreeens: $3.59

Kraft Mac N Cheese Comparison

Kraft Mac N Cheese (various sizes)

  • Amazon: 35-count for $34 ($0.97/box) OR 15-ct for $22 ($1.46/box)
  • Walmart: 5-count for $3.97 ($0.79/box)
  • Target: N/A (not online, personal recollection is about $1.20/box or so)
  • Costco: 18-count for $17 ($0.94/box)

Bounty Comparison

Bounty Big Roll Paper Towels (6-pack)

  • Amazon: $9.59
  • Target: $9.59
  • Walmart: $8.98
  • Jet(.com): $9.59

Gerber Comparison

Gerber Good Start Gentle Powder Infant Formula, 23.2 Ounce

  • Amazon: $26
  • Walmart: $26
  • Target: $26
  • Costco: N/A

Gerber Good Start Gentle Ready to Feed Infant Formula, 24-pack

  • Amazon: $40 ($1.66/bottle)
  • Walmart: 4-pack for $7.28 ($1.83/bottle)
  • Target: 4-pack for $7.39 ($1.84/bottle)
  • Costco: N/A

Maxwell House Comparison

Maxwell House 100% Colombian (Medium) Ground Coffee, 28 Ounce

  • Amazon: $7.98
  • Target: $7.99
  • Walmart: $7.98
  • Jet(.com): $13.58

About Mike Flacy

Editor-in-Chief for The CheckOut. During my free time, I love to write about pop culture, home theater, digital photography, social media, mobile technology and cool gadgets!

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