Well, they've gone and done it. They've finally gone and done it.
After building an awesome diapers-in-the-mail business, then buying Diapers.com, and introducing subscriptions, and Amazon Mom [sic, obv], Amazon has finally unveiled its own brand of diapers and wipes.
Amazon Elements diapers are made by Irving Personal Care, the largest diaper manufacturer in Canada, which is owned by JD Irving, the largest privately held company in Canada, which makes them the Koch Brothers of Canada, minus the political controversies.
All of which is beside the point, I guess. What matters is quality and cost, right? Quality, who knows, but cost, well, they're only available to Amazon Prime members. So that's $99. And if you subscribe, via Amazon Mom, for more than five months, Amazon Elements diapers cost about 19 cents each. Which is as much as Huggies at Costco, which cost the same as Kirkland diapers, which are made by Huggies' conglomerate Kimberly-Clark.
Otherwise, the retail prices are close to other diapers on Amazon. So we're right back where we were. Everyone's been pitching this as a direct attack on the big diaper brands, which, sure, Amazon is a formidable competitor.
But you can subscribe to Pampers for almost the same price. The direct competition here is to a big membership retailer like Costco. That's Prime. And Amazon just wants you to subscribe.
Personally, I am skeptical of the convenience of subscription purchasing, for diapers or whatever. I am also not thrilled with it business-wise, and don't really promote it, because Amazon gives DaddyTypes a small cut of purchases made through ads and affiliate links here, but not for subscriptions. Also, HELLO, at this point AMAZON MOM as a concept is just trolling me and every dad out there. I guess I am a Costco Dad and proud of it. Even though they don't pay DT anything.
Check out Amazon Elements diapers and wipes at Amazon, obv [amazon]
Compare and shop for all sorts of diapers on Amazon [amazon]
Amazon Unveils Its Own Line of Diapers, Confirming Partners' Biggest Fears [recode]
