Amazon has pushed back the launch of its “Treasure Truck” in Seattle after several days of hyping the unique initiative by driving around the city to drum up attention.
Treasure Truck, announced by Amazon this week, is a deals program that the company was planning to launch today in Seattle, letting people buy a heavily discounted item through Amazon’s mobile app and pick it up from the truck at a designated location. The launch had been scheduled for this morning with a $99 inflatable stand-up paddleboard set that normally sells for more than $475.
The item was slated to go on sale at 7 a.m., for pick-up later in the day, but people opening the Amazon mobile shopping app this morning are instead being told that the offer has been “moved to a later date.”
The designated pickup location was near Amazon’s headquarters and the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle. The company had even suggested that people buying the paddleboards could try them out right away on nearby Lake Union.
Is it possible that Amazon forgot to apply for a permit in its bureaucracy-loving hometown? The city’s regularly updated list of sidewalk and plaza vending permit applications doesn’t reference Amazon or the initial Treasure Truck location.
We’ve contacted the company for explanation, but in the meantime, it’s clear that something unexpected happened between 4 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Friday. Here’s the progression of tweets from the @treasuretruck account, starting at the car wash and concluding with the announcement that the first offer had been delayed.
#TreasureTruck at the car wash. See you all tomorrow! #FreshandClean pic.twitter.com/Tblw9w8Ty5
— Treasure Truck (@treasuretruck) June 26, 2015
Seattle, our first limited quantity item goes on sale tomorrow. (While supplies last) #TreasureTruck #GetOnBoard pic.twitter.com/dCMPEQG4Ad
— Treasure Truck (@treasuretruck) June 26, 2015
#TreasureTruck has moved its first offer to a later date. Thanks for following us and stay tuned!
— Treasure Truck (@treasuretruck) June 27, 2015
Stay tuned, indeed. We’ll update this post if we get an explanation from the company on this mysterious turn of events.
Update, Saturday evening: The company did not answer our question about the reason for the delay, but spokeswoman Pia Arthur said via email, “We needed to move our first offer to a later date. We are working hard to bring customers Treasure Truck as soon as possible and apologize for the delay.”
