It’s Amazon’s big finish. For nearly two months, they’ve been giving away prizes on Facebook — each one an example of something that’s eligible for Amazon’s “Prime” shipping program. The first gift was an Android tablet (made by Motorola), and they’ve also given away an expensive camera, an X-Box, and of course, a Kindle. The prizes were offered in alphabetical order, and this week, they’re up to the Z’s.
So this morning, Amazon announced that Z stood for the “Zillions of things” you can buy at Amazon.com. And the lucky winner of their last Facebook give-away will receive a $1,000 gift card…
To enter, just point your web browser to facebook.com/amazon. (Amazon requests your name, e-mail address, and a phone number.) But no matter who wins, it’s been fun to read the comments people left on Amazon’s Facebook page. “What would you use it for if you won?” Amazon asked. “How would you spend $1,000 on Amazon.com?”
“DIAPERS!!! About to have a baby in 10 days!!! :)”
“I’d buy my fiance a tablet & hook our bridal party up w/cute gifts :)”
“Everything on my amazon wish list that no one else is buying for me”
“I would buy…my fiance a new guitar, and finally I would get us a couch so we can stop sitting on the floor all the time.”
But a pattern quickly emerged. Even the Facebook user buying the couch also added that “I would buy myself a Kindle and a few ebooks.” In fact, even though Amazon received nearly 1,000 comments since they posted their entry, at least 14% of the comments specifically mentioned the Kindle!
“Kindle books! Lots and lots of Kindle books….”
“The possibilities are endless, but it sure would fill up my Kindle fast!!”
“Kindle books and kitchen stuff! Lol!”
“Four kindles and running gear”
It’s the ultimate what-if scenario — a shopping spree through Amazon’s endless virtual aisles. But often it was very touching to read the comments that people left. If they won the contest, many of the people hoped to use Amazon’s gift card to buy… gifts, for the other people that they loved.
“I would buy my wife a wedding ring, since hers no longer fits due to weight loss and the ring is a custom made one that isn’t able to be sized down.”
“I would gift it to our soup kitchen…”
“I would get my holiday shopping done early and buy my family nicer presents that I can’t normally afford.
“Then, of course, I’d treat myself to a Kindle!”
Yes, even as they reached for imaginary gifts in Amazon’s store — the gifts they’d most want to give — it was still the Kindle which kept popping into their minds.
“a kindle for my friend’s genius kid.”
“Kindle for my wife and I :)”
“Kindle for my 8 year old daughter and books. She loves to read…”
“First, I would get my eldest son a Kindle. After that – who knows!”
“Kindles for my 3 girls and lots of books. My middle daughter just read 5 books the first week of summer vacation.”
“I would buy my g-pa the new kindle and MORE BOOKS!”
“get a kindle for my niece….and lots of books for us both!!!!!!”
“Kindles for my daughters and books, books, books!!!!!!”
It reminded me of one of my favorite statistics. 47% of the people who own a Kindle say they received it as a gift (according to a study by the vice president of a company which watches the publishing industry). That sentiment was alive and clear in the comments today on Amazon’s Facebook page. A teacher in Kentucky posted she’d use the thousand dollars to buy “Kindles and books for my high school students! I won a grant to buy three Kindles, but an entire classroom set would be AMAZING!”
A woman in Michigan wrote “Kindles for my daughters and grandson, and books for everyone!!! :)”
A woman in Texas vowed she’d buy “Kindles and e-books for the whole family…”
“Books to read over the summer with my son,” posted one mother.”
“books. books, books and more books!” posted a woman in Florida. “oh, and i’d buy my grandma’s birthday gift….which would be a kindle, and some books:)”
Not everyone wanted a Kindle. But ultimately Facebook was still offering small glimpses into people’s lives — and the current state of their dreams.
“Groceries, times are tough.”
“Crayons!”
“…quite possibly this Amazon tablet that I hear may be coming out soon.”
“STUFF WE LOST WHEN OUR HOUSE BURNT DOWN”
The most poignant comment came from the man who posted that if he won Amazon’s gift card, “I would buy my wife a wedding ring, since hers no longer fits due to weight loss and the ring is a custom made one that isn’t able to be sized down.” But the take-away message from all the comments was that deep down inside, people still spend a lot of time thinking about their Kindles.
“I would buy a Kindle along with a MOST AMAZING electronic library and my books for the Fall Semester — yes I’m back in school at 50 and loving it! Because I am being all that I can be ! ”
“I’d finally get a Kindle and buy lots of Agatha Christie!”
“Kindle Books that I have on my want list.”
“kindle books and dog food.”
“A kindle, e-books and a laptop!”
“A brand new Kindle and a new SLR camera. ”
“I would purchase another Kindle so that I won’t have to share mind with my grandson…”
“The possibilities are endless, but it sure would fill up my Kindle fast!!”