Amazon has become the world’s largest retailer by offering convenience that no one else can compete with. It not only offers the largest marketplace to buy everything from laundry detergent to automotive parts, but it also offers free shipping on just about everything it sells. If you sign up for Amazon Prime, you also get free two-day shipping as well as same day delivery if you get your order in by a specified time. Other benefits include free videos, music, books and audio books, and Amazon Dash buttons too.
What are Amazon Dash buttons?
They are virtual or physical buttons that are assigned to a product sold by Amazon that allow for quick and instant reordering. The virtual buttons listed in your Amazon account settings under the “Personalization” category. You assign one product to one button with your credit card, billing address and shipping address. The physical Amazon Dash buttons are WiFi connected buttons you can place in your home or office, and offer the same one click purchase that the virtual buttons offer too. The virtual buttons are free to create where the physical buttons cost $4.99, but come with a $4.99 instant coupon on your first use. The physical buttons are small but are well-built.
The physical buttons require a little more effort to set up. The setup is similar to pairing a new Bluetooth device; you simply open your Amazon app on your Android or iOS device, open “Your Dash Buttons” and hit setup new. You hold down the physical button for six seconds until the light flashes blue and your Amazon app then inputs your WiFi password so it can only work on the network it is attached to. It only took 20 seconds to set up my Bounty and Tide buttons.
I set up my Tide Dash button to the bulk Tide pods and my Bounty button to the 12-pack of paper towels. These are both items that I order 1-12 times a year as needed. While I could use auto reordering through Amazon, I tend to cancel those orders since I never can predict the exact amount of each I’ll need. If I go on vacation I might not need paper towels or laundry detergent for an extended period. I’ve been going through much more laundry detergent since January because I’ve been on a health kick, and having the Amazon Dash buttons in my home are very nice to have around. They aren’t essential, but considering they are free after the first purchase, they are well worth the cost for the convenience factor. It sure beats turning on my phone, opening the Amazon app, searching for a product and then placing the order.
I also like having the buttons where I would use them most – on my fridge for the Bounty button and on the washer for the Tide button. That way I don’t forget to order the items if I get distracted by something else. Each click sends a notification to your phone which will allow you to cancel any accidental orders. This is something you want to be aware of if you have children. The last thing you want is 100 orders of paper towels because your kids decided to get button happy. Amazon was smart about that too as it offers order protection. With order protection, your Dash button only responds to the first press until you actually receive your order. So even if you don’t see an order notification, you don’t have to worry about 100 orders that you didn’t cancel in time.
Physical Dash buttons aren’t limited to paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent. If you drink Red Bull or eat Cheez Its, Amazon has you covered. There are over 100 Dash buttons with more popping up regularly. You can see the full list here.
Having the Dash buttons are certainly more convenience than necessity. However since owning them, I find myself waiting longer between orders and saving myself storage space. I now wait to order these items tied to Dash buttons when I am running low, rather than ordering when I remember. That saves me a lot of space since I am not reserving space for paper towels that will take me two months to get to. If you haven’t tried out a Dash button, I strongly suggest you give it a try on something you plan on reordering next. While it might seem like something you don’t need, you might think otherwise once you have tried it out for yourself. Now if Amazon would only make a Dash button that would call a dog walker…
Learn more about the Amazon Dash buttons at Amazon.com.