Amazon turns 20 years old this month, but rather than sharing a cake in the break room, the online retail giant wants to celebrate two decades by selling you MOAR STUFF.
How might Amazon do that? Invent a fake holiday that capitalizes on the term Black Friday, of course! This year, July 15 will be known as Prime Day, or a "global shopping event" in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Austria.
As the name implies, this joyous occasion will only be open to those with an Amazon Prime membership. Those who do fork over the annual $99 per year fee will get "thousands of Lightning Deals, seven popular Deals of the Day, and receive unlimited fast, free shipping," according to Amazon.
"Prime Day is a one-day only event filled with more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members around the globe. Members tell us every day how much they love Prime and we will keep making it better," Greg Greeley, Vice President Amazon Prime, said in a statement. "If you're not already a Prime member, you'll want to join so you don't miss out on one of the biggest deals extravaganzas in the world."
Not that Amazon is overselling it or anything.
If you spent your last dollar on Fourth of July fireworks and an Uncle Sam crop top this weekend, Amazon is offering a $10,000 Amazon gift card to the winner of its #PrimeLiving Photo Contest. Just tell Amazon how Prime has enabled your "happy moments."
"Did you save enough time today to take the dog for a long walk? Did you finish your shopping while lounging at the beach?" Amazon asked. Sign into Prime Photos between July 6 and July 15, and submit a photo via amazon.com/primeliving.
Keep it classy, though. "Winners will also be invited to have their photos become screen savers on Amazon Fire TV," Amazon said.
Among the new Amazon items you could spend your $10,000 on, though, is a new Kindle Paperwhite and the Amazon Echo smart speaker, which is no longer invite-only.