Amazon's own online shopping holiday -- Prime Day -- was off to a rocky start when some shoppers found problems using the website when the hyped-up sales were supposed to begin.
Often dubbed the "Black Friday" of Amazon, Prime Day, which kicked off Monday at 3 p.m. ET, is a 36-hour savings event offered by the online retailer for its Prime members.
This year, when shoppers visited Amazon's website, many were greeted with error messages saying "Sorry something went wrong on our end," and featured photographs of the "dogs of Amazon."
While the site seemed to be up and running again within an hour or so for most people, social media exploded with disappointment at opening Amazon's website and finding the dogs instead of deals.
Me: Is Amazon down for everyone, or just me?
— Tracey Hirt (@traceyhirt) July 16, 2018
Twitter: Everyone.
Me: K, thanks! #AmazonPrimeDay
I've officially met all the dogs. Please restore #AmazonPrimeDay so that I can continue with the regularly scheduled programming.
— Felicia Mares (@felicia_mares) July 16, 2018
#AmazonPrimeDay has gone to the dogs ???? pic.twitter.com/rgTZdlDtIZ
— Ben Haskin (@BradferdSayWhat) July 16, 2018
One minute into #AmazonPrimeDay and the website is already down. If only Amazon had known this day was coming.... ??
— Kese Smith (@KeseSmith) July 16, 2018
Amazon eventually responded, saying in a statement posted on their official Twitter account that they are "working to resolve this issue quickly," while assuring customers Monday afternoon that there "are hundreds of thousands of deals to come and more than 34 hours to shop Prime Day."
Amazon added that in the first hour of Prime Day in the U.S., "customers have ordered more items compared to the first hour last year."
— Amazon.com (@amazon) July 16, 2018
For those still looking to score some deals as Prime Day continues, "GMA" has a roundup of everything you need to know to score the biggest bargains.
