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Having recently unsubscribed from Prime, I can say their dark patterns don't stop there. About 5 pages to complete the process, in which the CTA to confirm bump

Having recently unsubscribed from Prime, I can say their dark patterns don't stop there. About 5 pages to complete the process, in which the CTA to confirm bumps around the page, gets less prominent, and is given such lousy loss-aversion labels as "Give up my prime benefits".

iuguy 8y ago
Strangely it wasn't so bad for me, I live in the UK. I wonder if EU rules are different? I have to say for all the people complaining but still staying with Amazon, there's a simple solution that will force their hand if enough people act: Stop buying from them. Personally I cancelled my Prime subscription because no service is worth enough to me to force other human beings to pee in bottles to avoid work breaks for fear of being sanctioned.
- kennydude 8y ago
  Same. Amazon Logistics is a horrible thing and not worth the money.
- y4mi 8y ago
  I'm from germany, cancelled two days ago and can confirm that the process was bafflingly bad. [cancel prime membership] ... "do you want to terminate your membership?" [ask me later][keep me signed up][terminate] ... "you'll lose [x], do you want to terminate?" [ask me later][terminate][keep me signed up] ... "but even shipping will cost!" [keep me signed up][ask me later][terminate] ... you're now unsubscribed [sign me back on][ok]
dingo_bat 8y ago
For me there was no procedure. It just ended and I got an email asking me to pay again.
phyzome 8y ago
They've really ramped up selling Prime in the checkout process. It's no longer easy to order from Amazon; it's this adversarial "spot the 5 traps" obstacle course where you have to avoid clicking the "sign me up for Prime" trick buttons.
- alexwilliamsca 8y ago
  I've noticed this as well. The trick is to _remove your credit card_ from your Amazon account. It significantly reduces the "traps" and prevents them from automatically subscribing you to Prime. I now purchase Amazon Gift cards instead (also, free shipping when using a gift card).
  - phyzome 8y ago
    Oh hmm, the gift cards thing -- are the gift cards no-overhead? Like, can you buy a $100 gift card for yourself for $100, and then use it to buy things with free shipping?
    - alexwilliamsca 8y ago
      Yes, exactly! In Japan there's also no fees or sales tax on Amazon gift cards (physical ones), and you can purchase them in arbitrary amounts I think max 100,000 JPY (~$1000 USD). Amazon.com provides one-day free shipping with gift card purchases, but could have a surcharge for oversized, heavy, or international items. I'm not sure if any of this applies to digital gift cards though.

iuguy 8y ago

Strangely it wasn't so bad for me, I live in the UK. I wonder if EU rules are different? I have to say for all the people complaining but still staying with Amazon, there's a simple solution that will force their hand if enough people act: Stop buying from them. Personally I cancelled my Prime subscription because no service is worth enough to me to force other human beings to pee in bottles to avoid work breaks for fear of being sanctioned.

kennydude 8y ago
Same. Amazon Logistics is a horrible thing and not worth the money.
y4mi 8y ago
I'm from germany, cancelled two days ago and can confirm that the process was bafflingly bad. [cancel prime membership] ... "do you want to terminate your membership?" [ask me later][keep me signed up][terminate] ... "you'll lose [x], do you want to terminate?" [ask me later][terminate][keep me signed up] ... "but even shipping will cost!" [keep me signed up][ask me later][terminate] ... you're now unsubscribed [sign me back on][ok]

dingo_bat 8y ago

For me there was no procedure. It just ended and I got an email asking me to pay again.

phyzome 8y ago

They've really ramped up selling Prime in the checkout process. It's no longer easy to order from Amazon; it's this adversarial "spot the 5 traps" obstacle course where you have to avoid clicking the "sign me up for Prime" trick buttons.

alexwilliamsca 8y ago
I've noticed this as well. The trick is to _remove your credit card_ from your Amazon account. It significantly reduces the "traps" and prevents them from automatically subscribing you to Prime. I now purchase Amazon Gift cards instead (also, free shipping when using a gift card).
- phyzome 8y ago
  Oh hmm, the gift cards thing -- are the gift cards no-overhead? Like, can you buy a $100 gift card for yourself for $100, and then use it to buy things with free shipping?
  - alexwilliamsca 8y ago
    Yes, exactly! In Japan there's also no fees or sales tax on Amazon gift cards (physical ones), and you can purchase them in arbitrary amounts I think max 100,000 JPY (~$1000 USD). Amazon.com provides one-day free shipping with gift card purchases, but could have a surcharge for oversized, heavy, or international items. I'm not sure if any of this applies to digital gift cards though.