There is no longer a need to put off the gratification of buying an umbrella hat, electric kettle, breakfast sausage, Fitbit, airbed or trunk-mounted bike carrier from your cell phone and unwrapping it all in the same day, though you may need to leave the couch to answer the door.

Well, Columbus, if you need Oreos, Gatorade, paper towels, hand soap and a copy of "The Sandlot," it can all be yours in just one hour � and you never need to leave the couch.

Amazon's Prime Now service offers tens of thousands of products for one-hour delivery (a $7.99 charge) or free two-hour delivery, if, you know, you can wait a little longer for your new Kindle or organic free-range eggs.

"It really just gives people time back," said Aaron Toso, Amazon spokesman. "It�s not only easy, but it helps get hours back in your day."

Why the rush, though? Can't people wait for batteries, cases of Perrier and bags of ground coffee? The answer is no.

"We have never had a customer ask for something to be delivered slower," Toso said.

The service is brought to central Ohio by a local Prime Now hub. This hub is separate from the gargantuan fulfillment centers being built in Etna and Obetz. Fulfillment centers are more than 800,000 square feet and house millions of items, compared to a Prime Now hub that, "is much smaller and has tens of thousands of items," Toso said.

So, there is no longer a need to put off the gratification of buying an umbrella hat, electric kettle, breakfast sausage, Fitbit, airbed or trunk-mounted bike carrier from your cell phone and unwrapping it all in the same day, though you may need to leave the couch to answer the door.

jmalone@dispatch.com

@j_d_malone