Amazon Pulls Diaper Brand after 6 Weeks

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos may want to stick with his day job running the e-Commerce giant, since his fallback job as a diaper salesman appears to not be as reliable as he was hoping for.

After just six weeks on the shelves for Prime customers, the Amazon Elements diaper line has been pulled due to design problems.

“Based on early customer feedback, we are making some design improvements to the diaper”, a company letter that was sent out to all subscribers for the diaper service read, reprinted on the website Gigaom. “In the meantime, Amazon Elements Soft & Cozy Diapers are no longer available, and we’ve stopped your subscription.”

While no specific reason was given in the letter to customers, some customers criticized the diapers for their saggy nature, burnt rubber smell straight out of the box, and corny prints on the diapers themselves.

The diapers were part of Amazon’s latest foray into consumable goods, which also includes groceries and other essentials. The diapers were a subscription service that Prime customers could sign up for and get regularly delivered diapers to their front door. At 19 cents per diaper, they were roughly 50 percent cheaper than Huggies or Pampers, but a $99 charge for the Prime service offsets that cost advantage. It was a logical starting point for the new division of Amazon, since diapers have a unique sense of urgency among their customers, but the design flaws hinder the progress of the program, as well as secondary purchases that stem from this frequently brought item, an integral part of Amazon’s sales and marketing strategy. A return to the market is possible within the next couple of months, and the actual improvements will make themselves apparent.

Customers who subscribed to the service received a $25 promotional credit as a thank you for trying the diapers.