Updated Update: Seeing a lot of food on the Treasure Truck, which violates my rule against buying food off of trucks, out of vans on the side of the road, or at gas stations. Four Filet Mignon Steaks (6 oz) for $36 is a pretty good deal though. I suppose if anyone has figured out truck refrigeration its Amazon, right?
Update: So far, I’ve seen Halloween candy, and now a Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker with Bluetooth and Wifi. As near as I can tell, it attaches to the side of a pan and keeps the water inside at a certain “precision” temperature. Then, you seal your food in a bag and put it in the water. I have never seen a recipe that calls for this technique, but if this sounds good for you, go nuts.
Amazon announced that it was bringing its popular (over-hyped?) Treasure Truck to Denver not too long ago. While the city waited for the Amazon Denver Treasure Truck deal to arrive, the company did a good job of keeping what the deal would be, and when it would happen under wraps.
First Denver Amazon Treasure Truck Deal
The first Amazon Treasure Truck Deal in Denver was a Vitamix Blender. Specifically, the text announced a Vitamix 5200 Blender for $298, which the message said was $150 off. Today, on the Amazon website, a Vitamix 5200 shows up for $449.95 (with a crossed out list price of $549.99). It looks like you can get a white one for $5 less.
$150 off of $449.95 is $299.95, so at least it looks like the Treasure Truck from Amazon isn’t using crappy tricks like comparing to phony list prices to promote its deals. This one, at least, looks like a legitimate good deal, assuming you were in the market for a Vitamix.
Unfortunately, for this eager Treasure Truck stalker, I already have a Vitamix blender that looks a lot like this one, except I have the fatter, shorter, blender jar on the top. I suppose I could check my kitchen to see which Vitamix model I have, but I don’t think that’s the point here.
How the Amazon Denver Treasure Truck Works
Like Amazon’s other Treasure Trucks, the Denver one works by offering a single item for a big discount. Some items have been really cool, others have been not so amazing. This particular Amazon Treasure Truck fan wishes that the Denver version had already been up and running when they offered the Nintendo NES Classic for $60, not so much because I wanted the discount, as I just wanted to be able to actually buy one.
Check out my Credit Karma review to see if it’s a scam.
Using the Amazon Treasure Truck is a bit weird. First, you use the Amazon app to sign up for the Treasure Truck alerts. Open the App, click the menu icon (three bars in the upper left corner), then choose Settings and Notifications. Turn on Treasure Truck Offers and you are good to go.
When you get a notification, then you go into the app (or online) and order the item. AFTER you order the item, then you go wherever the Treasure Truck is located to pick up the item. This odd combination of order like normal, but pickup differently is probably designed to keep people from dangerously racing across town for popular items. It also means that there is no benefit to following around, or stalking, the Treasure Truck. It also keeps it from being a kind of lottery where being close to the random truck location gives you an advantage.
Is Amazon Treasure Truck Worth It in Denver?
While I didn’t need a Vitamix, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good deal for people in Denver who did. $150 off of a $450 item works out to a 33% off sale on a popular, and pricey item. That being said, I think I got mine for about the same final price during a Costco promotion, so it isn’t like it was a once in a lifetime offer.
Still, with a dominant position in the online shopping market, things like the Treasure Truck are more about keeping it fresh and offering some fun to already loyal shoppers. I’m sure that Amazon is already plotting to offer the truck as a marketing tool to companies willing to pay for it. After all, ads get ignored, that is if they aren’t blocked first, but a Treasure Truck alert will always at least get read by those who receive it.
I also reviewed Acorns here.
For this Amazon users, I’ll definately keep an eye out for new Amazon Treasure Truck deals… just as soon as I find a Super NES Classic in stock in Denver.