Order Amazon Dash Buttons with Alexa

Amazon is bullish on its newest platform, Alexa -- not because it's a genuinely cool product that's only getting better with time, and not because it has made controlling the smart home easier or more accessible for all users. Instead, Amazon wants to take every last hint of friction out of its checkout process. The more convenient it is for you to buy something from Amazon, the more mindshare they get and the easier it is for them to make money.

Such has been the case with many of its products over the years. The Kindle made it easier to buy and read books. The entire Fire series of devices were built and sold at or near cost to put Amazon buying machines in your hand, backpack or purse. Now Amazon wants Alexa to be in every bedroom in America.

Last year, the company created connected buttons called Amazon Dash buttons which you can stick to surfaces around your house to reorder essentials when you were running low. Your favorite brand of laundry detergent, Vitamin Water, Burt's Bees and dozens of other products are literally one button press away.

As if the Amazon hasn't already made it easy enough to buy items from them, you can actually use your Alexa devices to order Amazon Dash buttons. There are now over 100 buttons to choose from, ranging from Quaker Oats, Slim Jim and Red Bull to Garnier, Gillette and Mucinex.

To place an order for a Dash button with your Alexa device, say, "Alexa, order a Doritos Dash Button," or "Alexa, order a Bounty Dash button."

Alexa will place the order for you, which will cost you $4.99. The Dash Button will arrive in a few days and once you configure the button and press it for the first time, Amazon will apply a $4.99 credit to your account.

Just to make it abundantly clear, Amazon has now made it easier to purchase the products it specifically designed to make it easier to purchase more products from them. Where does it end?