Amazon’s New Text Message Service
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The problem with writing news articles on April 1st is the fact that you never know if the source is playing an April’s Fools prank or if it’s really real. Some of the news announced yesterday are pretty awesome like Microsoft finally announcing Windows Mobile 6.1 but then, there are those that are just plain pranks. Which is why I think many companies chose not to make major announcement about actual services that they were launching on this day.
I guess Amazon is one such company, choosing today to launch their service, in case users were unsure about it. With their new service, TextBuyIt, you can now get price checks from just about anywhere. And it’s so simple, you do not need to sign up for the service to use it. Just text your search word/phrase to Amazon (that’s 262966). The search phrase can be the author’s or artist’s name, the item name, or for more accurate results, the item’s ISBN or UPC code. You will receive a text message shortly with 2 results. Reply with 1 or 2 to choose the item and order through the phone. You will then receive a call and can place your order through an automated voice system. Or if those 2 options are not what you are looking for, you can then reply with the letter m and Amazon will provide you with another 2 results or h to get help.
As with all Amazon orders, you can then track the purchase from their site just when it would reach you. This is defnitely a nifty service and something I would find useful because when I shop at Borders, I always wonder if Amazon has it and for how much cheaper. But that’s not all as you can use this service for more than just books so be sure to give it a go. That 15 cents you spent on a text message could just save you 15% or more on your purchase. (via TechCrunch)
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I’ve been using Frucall for awhile, which does the same but compares prices across many sites. Really useful when you see something in a store and think it’s a good deal but wonder if it’s cheaper somewhere online.
Thanks for the heads up. This is the first time I have heard of the service but it does look like something I must look into soon.