【】

Amazon is apparently getting really good at ripping off your friends and family.
The e-commerce giant faced widespread backlash today following a Wall Street Journalreport detailing a rather shady advertising effort from the Jeff Bezos-helmed behemoth. Specifically, the company has been surreptitiously placing advertisements into baby registries — effectively disguising those ads as items requested by expecting parents — with only a tiny and easily overlooked "Sponsored" label to distinguish them from the rest of the listed gifts.
In other words, after someone makes a baby registry filled with items he or she actually needs, Amazon then slips in a few products as well — often without the knowledge of the person who created the list or those doing the buying.
SEE ALSO:The super chill guide to buying gifts for tech brosAnd then, of course, people purchase the random sponsored baby stuff thinking they got their brother/sister/friend/cousin the Johnson's Bath Discovery Baby Gift Set of their dreams — only realizing all too late, if at all, that they fell prey to Amazon's scheme.

Wall Street Journalreporter Rolfe Winkler documented his own experience finding one such ad in his baby registry, and shared a screenshot of it online. Looking at the picture, it's easy to imagine how a family member would confuse the sponsored item for a legit one.
Tweet may have been deleted
Notably, after being called out by the Journal, Amazon quickly went on the defensive. "We’re constantly experimenting with new ways to improve the shopping experiences for customers," a company spokesperson told the paper, along with the assurance that this particularly shady form of ad is being phased out.
That wasn't enough to mollify critics, who criticized Amazon as preying on soon-to-be parents and those who support them.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
While those on the receiving end of unneeded bath sets may be frustrated with Amazon's sponsored registry ads, you have to imagine those at the company were nothing but smiles. That's because, according to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon sold product placement deals like the one above for $500,000 each.
When you have that much money, you don't need someone else to buy you diapers.
Featured Video For You
The hidden cost of a conveniently connected world
TopicsAmazon
相关文章
Airbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana flooding
Airbnb has activated its disaster response page following the record-breaking flooding in Louisiana.2025-05-17Canadian immigration site crashes mid
As the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency looms nearer, millions of Americans are looking to Cana2025-05-175 people we think should play young Dumbledore in 'Fantastic Beasts'
LONDON -- The first installment in the Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them franchise hasn't even2025-05-17You can now buy a refurbished iPhone 6S or 6S plus directly from Apple
Looking for an iPhone 6S on the cheap? You can now get a deal directly from Apple -- if you don't mi2025-05-17These glasses hide a fitness tracker on your face
The last time a company tried popularizing wearable tech embedded in glasses, most notably with Goog2025-05-17Ground control to Jared Goff: Why won't the Rams play their franchise QB?
"I know what my teammates think about me, I know what my coaches think about me," Jared Goff told Ma2025-05-17
最新评论