Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Amazon knows it’s in the doghouse over Prime Day glitch

Caleb Denison
By

Amazon was on Fire, but not in the way it intended. Mere seconds after Amazon’s Prime Day went live at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on Monday, July 16, the online mega-retailer crashed and burned. The issue seems to be solved for most shoppers at this point, but for hours on Monday visitors to the Prime Day Deals section were greeted with the following image:

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you fell victim, it wasn’t your phone, your tablet, your laptop, or your PC. It was an internal error at Amazon, and it wreaked havoc on Prime Day.

Recommended Videos

While some shoppers saw nothing at all (as seen above), others were greeted by error pages.  Twitter user Chris Owens posted the following screenshot he was served with:

Related

Naturally, the masses quickly took to Twitter to commiserate and share a laugh at Amazon’s expense:

Employees working overtime inside Amazon did not appear amused:

What makes this situation so tragic is that Amazon worked extremely hard to manage its Prime Day from end to end. Every update was carefully scrutinized and media outlets like Digital Trends were placed under strict embargoes to prevent leaks about Prime Day Deals ahead of their official announcement. Unfortunately, by trying to keep the cat in the bag, it appears Amazon’s manufactured urgency has backfired on the company, sending far more shoppers to its pages than it can handle. This is troubling considering Amazon runs Amazon Web Services, a critical component in the backbone of the internet. After all, if Amazon can’t keep its own e-commerce site up and running on one of its biggest sale days of the year, how can it assure its customers will be able to survive a growing and voracious customer base?

Unfortunately, it appears as if the glitch was a tremendous hit to Amazon’s entire online retail presence. Digital Trends employees attempted to purchase non-Prime Day items and ended up in an endless loop of “shop all our deals” prompts for hours on end. Though some of our team members managed to squeak purchases through, social media indicates it was not possible for most shoppers to check out at Amazon.com for hours. Frequently, one would make it to the buy now button, then lose everything.

Given the scale of the issue, it is unclear how deeply this could impact Amazon, let alone the Prime Day Event as a whole. Many media sites spent hours tracking the deals in order to help readers sift through the massive selection of products and make the best choices. When the dust settles, we’re sure we will learn more. And when we do, we’ll be sure to cover it.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Caleb Denison
Caleb Denison
Editor at Large
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
Amazon’s Fallout series adds Walton Goggins to its cast
Walton Goggins in Justified.

There's a very familiar face coming to Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of the video game series Fallout. But if the rumor is true, we'll have trouble recognizing Walter Goggins under heavy makeup. Deadline is reporting that Goggins has been cast in the live-action Fallout series, and "he is believed to be playing Ghoul."

The Fallout video games are a hit franchise that was created by Bethesda Softworks in 1997. The games take place in a uniquely envisioned postapocalypse that mixes a 1940s vision of the future with a grim wasteland created by a nuclear war in the year 2077. In the games, ghouls are people who have been horribly mutated due to overexposure to radiation. They could pass for zombies, but they aren't actually members of the undead. It's unclear if Goggins' character will have a proper name.

Read more
Amazon Prime Video renews Reacher for a second season
Alan Ritchson stares intently at something in Reacher.

Reacher season 1 premiered three days ago on Amazon Prime Video, but that's all the time that was needed to earn it a renewal. Earlier today, Prime Video confirmed that Reacher season 2 is officially going forward with the further adventures of Jack Reacher. The series is based upon Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, which were previously adapted on the big screen with Tom Cruise as Reacher. For Prime Video's series, former Titans star Alan Ritchson has stepped into the role of Jack Reacher.

"Partnering with Amazon Studios for season 1 of Reacher was a total delight – they had our backs every step of the way, and it really shows, in every line and every frame," said Child in a statement. "So I'm thrilled we'll be working together again, for season 2. This is very exciting news, and I can't wait to get started. Reacher couldn't be in better hands."

Read more
You’re about to pay more for Amazon Prime
Amazon worker packaging products.

Amazon announced in its quarterly earnings call today that the cost of Amazon Prime is going to increase for the first time since 2018. Starting February 18, 2022, for new sign-ups — and effective after March 25, 2022, for current members when their next renewal comes around — the monthly fee for the Prime will increase by $2 to $15. Yearly memberships will increase $20 to $139.

"Amazon also continues to invest heavily in Prime," the company said in its earnings release. "In the last few years, Amazon has added more product selection available with fast, free, unlimited Prime shipping; more exclusive deals and discounts; and more high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, and books."

Read more