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Amazon: You Know Better

For the past few days, Amazon has followed me around the Internet with this one advertisement for a rolling suitcase.

That's because the wheel bearings on my old rolling suitcase are just about shot, they're all screechy and wobbly.
It's been a good suitcase and traveled over the world, but it's just worn out.
So I went over and bought a nice suitcase from Amazon, using my Prime membership.

But I didn't get that suitcase, I got a different one. Amazon knows perfectly well which suitcase I got, it was delivered today, and it's nicer than this one in my opinion. Yet Amazon continues to show me an ad for that suitcase as if to say, "Are you sure you made the right decision?"

I imagine that the infrastructure that Amazon uses to determine what product to show is pretty awesome technically. Yet Amazon is doing significantly worse than if it just showed a random product from some category other than rolling suitcases, and they should know that. My purchase process for any substantial product consists of two steps:
  1. Research product choices and prices.
  2. Buy the product

If you catch me between 1 and 2, the ad could make a difference. Once I've reached step 2? Forget it, you're wasting your time and money.

So rather than grabbing an opportunity to sell more product, Amazon is running the risk of creeping me out by reminding me that they are following me everywhere. I actually don't mind the concept of customized ads, but this implementation is a complete waste of ad space.

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