Amazon Prime

[Jim]

Just noticed my Amazon Prime membership is up to $150 a year.

Prime 2-Day Delivery has fallen from the program and I suspect the "free shipping" is actually just rolled into the price of the product. I guess that leaves us with Amazon's library through Firestick, but is that worth the price of the membership? The 5% back is about all that is left that interests me, and it looks like there may be a chance that legislation is going to take that away as well.

Anyone else considering dropping their Prime membership?

 

[Neal]

There is no doubt my shipping costs in a year far exceed $150 so no, I'm not dropping it. There are obviously other benefits of the membership (video, music, etc.) which are less significant.

 

[Russellvh]

I listen to the, included, music A LOT. Plus my kids and grand kids can listen. They get a lot out of my membership also. I’m sure I order more than enough to cover the cost.

 

[Scooterfan]

When I decide to buy on Amazon, I always (often ) check the prices from other sources. Most of the time it's the same as another retailer (price + shipping). Convenience is also a huge factor. But I understand your angst...prices are simply going up everywhere! Hold on to your hats cause this year could be a doosey!

 

[RKins]

@Jim - my membership is $139/yr and still has 2 day shipping. Are you a commercial member?

 

[Jim]

@Jim - my membership is $139/yr and still has 2 day shipping. Are you a commercial member?

I don't know, I'll check. But what was once 2-day shipping is now "whenever" delivery. Most of my orders are 5-7 days, and even more. Sometimes it takes so long that I forgot that I even ordered it.

I attributed it to the supply shortage and chain issues.

 

[Rosy]

My wife had downloaded a bunch of music onto her phone to listen to while driving and Amazon somehow deleted it all. So that benefit doesn't seem to exist any more.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I don't know, I'll check. But what was once 2-day shipping is now "whenever" delivery. Most of my orders are 5-7 days, and even more. Sometimes it takes so long that I forgot that I even ordered it.

I attributed it to the supply shortage and chain issues.

Supply, transportation system changes for Amazon and a few others.

The other factor may be the number of layoffs, (but I thought that was because of the slowdown ).

 

[Buc]

If you’ve ever paid for two-day shipping and noticed the price increase over 4-day shipping, you might understand why Free two day shipping has been disappearing. I do watch content through Prime Video, so there’s that as well.

The better option for the economy would be shopping local, but who wants to drive around town hoping to find what they need?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

If you’ve ever paid for two-day shipping and noticed the price increase over 4-day shipping, you might understand why Free two day shipping has been disappearing. I do watch content through Prime Video, so there’s that as well.

The better option for the economy would be shopping local, but who wants to drive around town hoping to find what they need?

I do the shop locally thing! I don't drive all over town to do it, after all that is what the find supplier button is all about.

 

[Buc]

I do the shop locally thing! I don't drive all over town to do it, after all that is what the find supplier button is all about.

My comment was meant a bit tongue in cheek. I apologize if it didn’t come across that way. I shop in stores most of the time.

 

[LMHS]

Amazon Prime membership is $139 per year. The Amazon Prime Membership Fee - Amazon Customer Service

I live in a desert in more ways than location. I got tired of running all over town only to find that I have to order product online plus the cost of wasted gas and time. I order a great deal of my supplements and some foods thru Amazon. I just order a lot of things from Amazon that I cannot buy locally. The Prime more than pays for the "free" 2-day shipping (I still get free 2 day shipping but I also understand that not everything is eligible for Prime shipping - I can read the description). Although everything I ordered in the past week had 2-3 day shipping on it and it all came in on time. I got Prime for shipping not for the video channels. The video was a bonus after having Prime for shipping for many years and no reliable internet connection.

Prime was started in 2005. Amazon Prime - Wikipedia
I've had Prime since 2007. Often the Amazon product + "free" Prime shipping is much cheaper than the price + shipping from other places. I know, I compare. I still compare. I'm frugal. I think that Amazon ships so much stuff plus does a lot of the front end shipping paperwork and packaging that they get a huge discount of shipping costs.

When I got an unlimited data hotspot (Unlimitedville), I bought a Firestick during a Black Friday sale. At first I only watched the freebie channels. After several months, I added Britbox. It was a hard choice between Acorn and Britbox. I may add Acorn at some point. I also tried out my daughter's Netflix for several months. I added it on the "single screen" plan. I have discovered I really don't like commercials interrupting a who-done-it at the worst possible time. I currently have a $40/mo unlimited data plan for my hotspot. I also get a lot of Kindle ebooks for free or under $5.

I also do not have a Sam's Club membership for the fuel savings either! I have it for buying food, clothing and appliances. I no longer need to keep the membership for prescription medications (the savings on my late husband's medications would have paid more than the yearly membership cost EVERY MONTH). The cash back on the non-fuel purchases more than cover the yearly membership. Last year, I got $175+ "Sam's Cash on regular purchases - I do not have a cash back credit card. I do 85% of my food and clothing purchases at Sam's Club. The remainder is Amazon with Wal-mart and Dollartree left for a few things... like donuts and other short lived items.

Sam's Club Cafe is the cheapest place in town for lunch and "take out" baked pizza is $8.98 for 16" Cheese, Pepperoni or 4-Meat or Deluxe pizza. We eat lunch there several times per week. And you really can't beat the whole cooked rotisserie chicken for under $5 These aren't the skinny roosters that you see at most grocery stores.

Both of these services aren't for everyone. If you don't order enough to make Prime worth the membership cost, then you shouldn't have the membership. No sense in paying for something that you don't use.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

My comment was meant a bit tongue in cheek. I apologize if it didn’t come across that way. I shop in stores most of the time.

Tongue in cheek? Awe heck! You do what you want. I find pride in supporting the places I visit.

I camp out of national parks and use the money I save, to find a local eatery to support. Guess we all have different things we injoy doing.

 

[Buc]

Tongue in cheek? Awe heck! You do what you want. I find pride in supporting the places I visit.

I camp out of national parks and use the money I save, to find a local eatery to support. Guess we all have different things we injoy doing.

My thing is local breweries. This was after skiing with one of my sons today.

 

[JeffandKimVA]

Nope. We use the fire stick on both home TVs and each have a Kindle. Our deliveries for 1-2 day shipping are almost always on time, I think there have been a couple of times where it was delayed but it's not a recurring thing for us. We still shop around online for delivery or local shopping options but Amazon usually wins due to convenience/price.

 

[Knobs]

I never pay for shipping at Amazon, and I am not a member of Amazon Prime.

I also avoid Amazon for items where I can get competitive pricing (and many times lower pricing) from local stores or other online merchants. Some local stores will even ship free to my house, so they are in effect, online retailers.

If I do order from Amazon, it is always above their free shipping threshold (currently $25) and their free shipping is typically 5-7 days and they more often than not, beat that.

For me, Amazon Prime is not worth paying for.

 

[Jim]

Yeah, I think I'm about done with the whole "Amazon Prime" thing. It was an amazing product when it first came out, and I've used it religiously for years. But times change, and while I'm sure it's not Amazon's fault, I'm just not getting my monies worth anymore.

I don't use Fire Stick anymore, replaced it with Apple TV. And I'm not getting 2-day shipping anymore, which was a big part of my paying for the membership. Case in point, my last order was made on March 9th and it's now March 19th. Still waiting.

In my area, Amazon has replaced UPS with their own Amazon delivery service, and it's not very reliable yet. Hopefully, it will get better.

Products that I buy on Amazon are not any less expensive through Amazon than they are most other places. Amazon just includes the shipping so sometimes it seems like a better deal. But I've shopped around and I'm finding that it's not the best deal anymore. Walmart is often kicking Amazon's butt. And Walmart offers the same return policy that made Amazon shine in the earlier days.

So about the only thing left is the 5% rebate on the Amazon card, and if the current batch of politicans have their way, that may go away too. And even if it doesn't, there are other credit cards available that offer just about the same thing, so again, Amazon is loosing its luster.

Just my $.02

 

[Ben]

Jim
I get your point, seems like I get less from Amazon every year and the price continues to go up. It is still the best deal for us as at home we are stuck with DSL and stores are not close. Just checked and our last Prime was $148.73. That is $139 plus the good ole tax of $9.73
Good luck
Ben

 

[Neal]

If you cancel please track your shipping costs for 365 days and see what that is. To me it's worth it for shipping costs alone.

 

[Knobs]

If you cancel please track your shipping costs for 365 days and see what that is. To me it's worth it for shipping costs alone.

I find free shipping almost everywhere these days. Walmart. Target. Home Depot. etc.