That’s What I Like: The Amazon Wish List
My birthday is in four days!
Normally that statement would be grounds for a demerit since it might be seen as a blatant plea for gifts. But really it’s just a friendly reminder to my 3.42 billion fans that I have a HUGE Wish List available for perusing on Earth’s Largest Store. OK, no it’s really just an opportunity to give mad props to my newest infatuation, which IMHO deserves a sniglet of its own, something that combines wistful longing with online shopping. (We have a “Comments” section folks so try your own hand!)
Even though I have been shopping at Amazon since probably 1996 or so, I never even noticed the Wish List and I have no idea when they actually implemented this brilliant Trojan Horse. Previously I went to the site knowing what I wanted, bought it, and that was that. I have to give credit to my sister-in-law Katie, who turned me on to THE LIST a year ago when she and her husband were looking for something to get me for my birthday. My wife’s family has always been very straightforward about the gifting process. There is no mystery about it: “Hi Mom, this is what I want for Christmas. This is the store/Web site/telephone number where you can purchase it.” My family has always been far more bashful and circumspect about such issues. Perhaps we thought it was gauche to be so straightforward about one’s desires (geez, yes, we are British). The result being that we would end up with stuff we didn’t necessarily want. Now, *I* control the process! These days when family members ask me, I cheerfully chirp “Check my Amazon Wish List!” and the onus of deciding which book/DVD/new-fangled electronics gear falls back on them. But I’ve made it easy for them. Granted, this is not a development that heralds world peace, but it has at least solved the twin vexing issues of trying to come up with a list of stuff I want right before my birthday or Christmas AND tactfully trying to tell people what they can get me.
Revisiting my Amazon Wish List brings me back to my early teen years visiting the comic book store and salivating over all the stuff I couldn’t afford. But the nice twist is that now I actually CAN afford the stuff being sold. Not all at once mind you, but hey, me and my List are in it for the long haul.
–Tyson currently has 43 items on his Amazon Wish List.
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4 Comment(s) so far
1. Tim wrote on November 2nd, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I knew someone’s birthday was coming up.
2. Jim wrote on November 2nd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
There are *lots* of birthdays coming up, actually
3. Tim wrote on November 2nd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
You are so right. My mom’s is on the 10th! Thanks.
4. The Bi-Weekly ‘Loper - November 4, 2007 | Medialoper wrote on November 4th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
[…] That’s What I Like: The Amazon Wish List - Just in time for the holidays and all of those end of the year birthdays. Have you updated your wish list lately? digg_url=’http://www.medialoper.com/columns/the-weekly-loper/the-bi-weekly-loper-november-4-2007/’; digg_skin = ”; digg_bgcolor = ‘#FFFFFF’; digg_title = ‘The+Bi-Weekly+%27Loper+-+November+4%2C+2007′; digg_bodytext = ”; digg_topic = ”; Powered by Gregarious (21) […]