Before I bought an Echo Dot I thought I'd try that too. I used a Pi and an old PlayStation Eye as the microphone. Got it working much as you describe before deciding the real thing was worth buying. My own home brew couldn't talk to Spotify or the Nest to control heating, both of which I now use a lot.
The plus side is that now being registered with Amazon as a skills developer, I get constant invites to California for conferences.
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