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It's very effective sleight of hand. The cherry on top is 2-day delivery being prepaid. I wouldn't have paid for 2-day otherwise. They "fixed" that for me. The

It's very effective sleight of hand. The cherry on top is 2-day delivery being prepaid. I wouldn't have paid for 2-day otherwise. They "fixed" that for me. The whole thing makes going to a brick and mortar store feel like going to the DMV.

pc86 11y ago
With the exception that if you drive to store and back home for a single item, you'll have the item inside of an hour. If you live close, inside of 15 minutes? When I know I will need batteries in a week, I'll buy a box on Amazon and get it in a few days. If I need batteries now, I'll have them within an hour. It's certainly not "like going to the DMV."
- eric_h 11y ago
  Well, the advent of prime now means you can get many things in an hour from Amazon, though of course there are additional fees that are not covered by the annual prime membership fees.
- ErrantX 11y ago
  Here in the UK Amazon seem to be heading for same-day delivery for Prime customers (we already have free next day on Prime) and ultimately "within the hour" types of delivery in major cities.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- ArkyBeagle 11y ago
  Relative to not having go it feels like going to the DMV.
mikeash 11y ago
It's funny, it feels like the opposite to me. Going to a regular store is pretty simple. Buying with Prime is a pain in the ass, since half the stuff they sell isn't eligible. Amazon is rarely the cheapest option anymore, too, so I no longer have the luxury of skipping the price comparison and knowing I'm getting a pretty good deal anyway.
- dpark 11y ago
  > Buying with Prime is a pain in the ass, since half the stuff they sell isn't eligible. From what I can see, Amazon sells very little that isn't Prime eligible. There are lots of "Marketplace" offerings that aren't Prime eligible, but you can filter those out by clicking the "Prime" checkbox that pops up on the left whenever you're in a search or category view.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    From the user's (i.e. my) perspective, "Marketplace" offerings are still things that Amazon sells. The "Prime" checkbox doesn't work well. It doesn't filter out add-on items (which can be removed with another checkbox), and it doesn't do a very good job of only showing me Prime items. Searching for hard drives, just as a random example, I get results where the primary seller isn't Prime, and the Prime option is either more expensive than what's listed, or is a used or refurbished item. I'm sure there's a combination of checkboxes that will do what I want, but they sure don't seem to be optimizing for the common case.
    - dpark 11y ago
      I don't have any particular problem with the system as it is today. I certainly wouldn't complain if Amazon made it more obvious/friendlier, though.

pc86 11y ago

With the exception that if you drive to store and back home for a single item, you'll have the item inside of an hour. If you live close, inside of 15 minutes? When I know I will need batteries in a week, I'll buy a box on Amazon and get it in a few days. If I need batteries now, I'll have them within an hour. It's certainly not "like going to the DMV."

eric_h 11y ago
Well, the advent of prime now means you can get many things in an hour from Amazon, though of course there are additional fees that are not covered by the annual prime membership fees.
ErrantX 11y ago
Here in the UK Amazon seem to be heading for same-day delivery for Prime customers (we already have free next day on Prime) and ultimately "within the hour" types of delivery in major cities.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ArkyBeagle 11y ago
Relative to not having go it feels like going to the DMV.

mikeash 11y ago

It's funny, it feels like the opposite to me. Going to a regular store is pretty simple. Buying with Prime is a pain in the ass, since half the stuff they sell isn't eligible. Amazon is rarely the cheapest option anymore, too, so I no longer have the luxury of skipping the price comparison and knowing I'm getting a pretty good deal anyway.

dpark 11y ago
> Buying with Prime is a pain in the ass, since half the stuff they sell isn't eligible. From what I can see, Amazon sells very little that isn't Prime eligible. There are lots of "Marketplace" offerings that aren't Prime eligible, but you can filter those out by clicking the "Prime" checkbox that pops up on the left whenever you're in a search or category view.
- mikeash 11y ago
  From the user's (i.e. my) perspective, "Marketplace" offerings are still things that Amazon sells. The "Prime" checkbox doesn't work well. It doesn't filter out add-on items (which can be removed with another checkbox), and it doesn't do a very good job of only showing me Prime items. Searching for hard drives, just as a random example, I get results where the primary seller isn't Prime, and the Prime option is either more expensive than what's listed, or is a used or refurbished item. I'm sure there's a combination of checkboxes that will do what I want, but they sure don't seem to be optimizing for the common case.
  - dpark 11y ago
    I don't have any particular problem with the system as it is today. I certainly wouldn't complain if Amazon made it more obvious/friendlier, though.