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Amazon's mystery Treasure Truck revealed: A local deal of the day

The truck, which has been driving around Seattle for the last four days, will deliver a specific discount product every day to customers in the area.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Roger Cheng
2 min read

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Amazon's Treasure Truck will be rolling down the streets of Seattle giving away deals. Amazon

Amazon is taking its deal-of-the-day concept into the physical world.

The nation's largest Internet-based retailer on Thursday finally spilled the beans on the ""="" shortcode="link" asset-type="article" uuid="9aeefb00-9dca-4f89-84ac-09888c5ac790" slug="what-is-amazons-treasure-truck" link-text="mysterious " section="news" title="What is Amazon's Treasure Truck?" edition="us" data-key="link_bulk_key" api="{"id":"297119aa-836c-45a6-a555-2b9a6e07c173","slug":"amazon-leaves-mysterious-giant-orange-locker-in-downtown-sf","contentType":null,"edition":"us","topic":{"slug":"online"},"metaData":{"typeTitle":null,"hubTopicPathString":"Tech^Services and Software^Online","reviewType":null},"section":"news"}"> driving around Seattle since Monday. The truck -- and it is a single truck -- will act as a real-world version of its daily Gold Box deal, offering up limited quantities of a product for that day.

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You can view and purchase items from your Amazon mobile app. Amazon

Customers in the Seattle area can view and purchase what's on the Treasure Truck through Amazon's mobile shopping app, and can pick up the item at one of the predetermined drop-off points. The program begins in Seattle on Saturday at 7 a.m. PT.

While the Seattle-based company has built its business on the ease of use of the Internet, the Treasure Truck program is one of the ways Amazon is working to establish a stronger physical presence in the eyes of customers. The company offers Amazon Lockers in public locations that can hold your packages, and has invested in faster same-day delivery of select items.

It's also not the first time Amazon turned heads in the real world. Last year, Amazon left a giant orange locker in downtown San Francisco and pushed the Tweet hashtag #giantlocker in exchange for prizes, with the grand prize inside being a car.

The first deal available from the Treasure Truck is a $99 inflatable paddleboard that Amazon said was 79 percent lower than the retail price. Future deals include a limited edition glass cup from Glassybaby and tw0 24-ounce porterhouse steaks. The truck will offer a new product several days a week.

The Treasure Truck is limited to Seattle, but is a long-term program. Amazon declined to comment on whether Treasure Truck would make its way to another city.