Amazon’s Echo Spot might not arrive by Christmas [Updated]

A number of customers who pre-ordered Amazon’s new Echo Spot smart alarm clock are now being told the product’s ship date has been pushed back. Emails sent to customers inform them that “unfortunately, the release date for the item listed below has changed,” and then provides a new delivery estimate based on that revised date. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]

However, the official website for the Echo Spot still says the device will be released on December 19, 2017, as was originally promised.

The revised ship times seem to vary by customer, from what we’ve heard. Some have told us they’re now being promised a December 22, 2017 estimated arrival. But others told us their new arrival date is December 25.

e.g. This Twitter user posted a screenshot of their Amazon email, asking if the product had been delayed:

In the email examples we’ve seen as well, Amazon is telling customers that the release date for the Echo Spot “has changed,” using the same language as seen above.

In addition, Amazon’s customer support Twitter account is also now advising customers who ask if the Echo Spot will arrive by Christmas Eve (December 24, 2017) that “the most accurate delivery estimate will be displayed to you at checkout” instead of simply responding, “yes.”

When the customer lamented that they’re being shown a ship date of December 25, the Twitter rep suggested they pre-order on Amazon and at a local retailer, as a precaution.

That does not sound promising.

It’s unclear how many Echo Spot pre-orders there were to begin with, as that’s data Amazon doesn’t share. Nor is it clear if the arrival dates have been pushed back for all, or just some portion of the pre-order customer base.

The Echo Spot is one of Amazon’s more interesting new Echo devices, given its combination of a screen for video calling and its smaller form factor, as compared with the larger Echo Show. Its affordable price point of $130 also made it promising as a holiday gift.

Oddly, when we tried to place an pre-order for the Echo Spot ourselves today, the order would not go through at all. Whether added to the cart or ordered via 1-Click, we were shown an error page instead of an order confirmation.

Amazon has not responded to requests for comment about the matter.

—————————————-

UPDATE, 11/10/17, 6:46 PM ET: Amazon has responded. The company claims the emails are in error but declined to provide more details as to how or why they were sent.

The statement is below:

“The emails sent to customers claiming Echo Spot would be delivered on December 25 or later are inaccurate. We can confirm all customers who have ordered an Echo Spot to date will receive their order no later than December 22, before Christmas. We apologize for the inconvenience.”