These seemingly-odd gadgets from Amazon are actually worth the money
Amazon’s vast online marketplace is filled with weird and wonderful gadgets that you never knew you needed, but how do you know which products actually work and which ones are duds?
One surefire way to tell whether an item will actually do what it claims to is by reading through customer reviews, and checking what’s trending on Amazon’s Best Sellers pages. There’s power in numbers, and the more shoppers are raving, there’s an even better chance that you’ll be happy with your purchase.
We’ve scoured the web to find the top niche items out there, and picked the ones that are actually worth the money according to Amazon shoppers. Take a look through our list below and get ready to find your new favourite gadgets, backed by thousands of positive reviews.
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The TubShroom
Rating: 4.4/5 stars, 3,138 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “I was skeptical about this at first but upon trying it, I loved it instantly. I have long black hair and they often clog the drain. After removing the TubShroom, all the hair was wrapped around the base and they were very easy to remove. I highly recommend this product.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $15
Accuweight AW-KS001BB Electronic Food Scale
Rating: 4.6/5 stars, 2,177 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “Used this product consecutively for four months now and Ive gotta say, i love it! Its really convenient and can be stored just about anywhere, but its also big enough to weight out most of your kitchen needs. I usually put a bowl on the scale and tare it and start putting food in the bowl, it just allows to get more on the scale without constantly doing it in batches. So far it’s held out great and is super durable!”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $18
Wyze Wireless Smart Home Camera
Rating: 4.4/5 stars, 3,943 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “Love this little security camera. It took five minutes to set up, at most. I mounted it inside my front bay window so I can get a view of the front door, yard and driveway. I'm not prepared to spend money on Nest or other expensive camera, nor did I want to pay a monthly fee of any kind. This WyzeCam is the perfect simple, no-frills solution for someone like me.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $40
Fashion & Beauty
Conair Battery Operated Fabric Defuzzer
Rating: 4.1/5 stars, 931 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “It was easy to hold and easy to use and the blades work really well despite it otherwise seeming to be totally safe and not exposed. I just ran it against the fabric in circular motions and it looked like new! I’ve since used it on a couple of sweaters and think this was well worth the cost for effectiveness and ease of use.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $15
Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush
Rating: 4.4/5 stars, 1,072 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “Before this, I was air drying then blow drying till fully dry THEN flat ironing... so was definitely not good for my hair. Now within 20 mins, after slightly air drying, I have beautiful, volumized, soft locks! Would highly recommend!”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $65
Amope Perfect Pedicure
Rating: 4.1/5 stars, 1,005 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “I was happy to get this on Amazon at almost half the cost as the price in stores. It worked well on my feet, even on the callouses I always get on the knuckles of my big toes that I normally have a hard time removing. It was amazing on my husband’s rough calluses, which are like sandpaper and catch on the bedsheets! Now they're super smooth after a couple uses.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $29
Electronics
Veepeak Bluetooth OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scanner
Rating: 4.5/5 stars, 2,057 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “This product is a no-brainer. All you need is this & a cellphone app (free), & you can save yourself $50 at the mechanic. It becomes really useful when you roll in the garage and you let your mechanic know the exact problem even before they start diagnostics. Saves them time, saves you money.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $24
Avantree USB Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter Dongle for PC
Rating: 4.3/5 stars, 1,516 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “I just built a brand new pc without Bluetooth so I purchased this. This was plug and go. Didn't need to use the CD (couldn't anyways since I don't have a CD-ROM drive), just plug in and it instantly gave my computer Bluetooth capabilities. The Bluetooth symbol just appears in the corner and gives you all the options to connect.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $17
NETGEAR WiFi Range Extender
Rating: 4.0/5 stars, 3,592 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “This is the first range extender that I have been able to plug in and forget about. No resetting after power outs required. No reboots. I have used it for 3 months with no problems at all. It works for multiple users at once, and has a powerful signal that goes through thick walls and floors, and around steel doors. After trying lower end D-Link and Linksys extenders, I am relieved to have found this one.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $40
Pets
DakPets Deshedding and Light Trimming Tool
Rating: 4.7/5 stars, 879 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “Works very well on three of our dogs, all different breeds, with shortish hair. One with slightly longer hair got out the winter coat fairly quickly, although you have to do it over a few days. None of them complained so it's gentle enough if you follow directions not to press down. And the price is about half of some others on the market.”
Petrainer PET998DRB1 Dog Training Collar
Rating: 3.9/5 stars, 2,440 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “Works just as it says it does. The vibration is so intense and irritable on its own that we haven't had to use the shock. Which we don't ever plan on using as we tested on ourselves and OUCH! The beep is loud enough to alert (with a stern "NO!") and vibration to follow it makes for a great training tool.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $46
Oster Sunny Seat Window Cat Bed
Rating: 4.1/5 stars, 1,437 customer reviews
Why shoppers love it: “My two cats LOVE the widow seat! They are 12 and 11 lbs each, and both sit on it (without an inch of room to spare). Every single person who comes over just Loves this product and asks me where to get one.”
SHOP IT: Amazon, $12
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