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Do you have to be a Prime member to get the delivery? That's crappy, as we're looking to retire our Prime membership after this year.

by atonse 8y ago

tptacek 8y ago
Why? It's not as amazing as it was a few years ago, but it's still a good enough deal to fit Matt Yglesias's description of it as "a charity run by Wall Street for the benefit of the American consumer".
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  I'm finding Prime less and less competitive price-wise than places like Target. When items are directly comparable, the cost of "free" shipping appears to have been figured into the Amazon price. They're also devaluing it with "this item is Prime, but may take 3-5 days to arrive" and their new in-house delivery, which has resulted in late packages (previously a very rare experience) for me three times in the last month. I've been an Amazon customer since 1999, Prime since its debut, and this is the first year I've been questioning whether to renew or not.
  - danpalmer 8y ago
    The Prime branding on products that don’t deliver next day is a killer for me. (Note I’m in the U.K. where next day delivery is common and Prime started out with that as it’s pitch) Amazons point of view seems to be that the products aren’t in stock, so when they do come in stock will be delivered next day, but as a customer I don’t care about stock levels or when it ships, it’s only the delivery date that matters. I only really care about Prime over Christmas, when I could just shop in stores anyway, some will price match Amazon if necessary, and Amazon is no longer cheap anyway. I do care about Prime at work, but we have Amazon for Businesses for that. I suspect I’ll let me Prime subscription lapse.
  - fmajid 8y ago
    Not too mention the "Add-on" products, and the fact they are too dumb to just bundle them up with the next Prime delivery.
  - alexhutcheson 8y ago
    Target also now has free 2-day shipping if you have the debit or credit card.
- pilingual 8y ago
  Amazon raised the price of Prime, and so it was a good opportunity to question the value of it. Two day delivery is great but how often did I need something that quickly? Free delivery and ~5 days is fine. Prime Video seems to target baby boomers; there’s nothing that’s notable except for a few times a year when a hit movie appears and it certainly isn’t worth any amount to me. Amazon itself is a poor experience as I try to avoid doing business with unknown third parties. Whole Foods: after the acquisition I noticed that quality declined with brittle, smaller eggs and milk that expired sooner. Amazon hasn’t been in the best of light in the news in the past year or so. I remember a couple years ago thinking Amazon was the only respectable big tech company. Then, there was a scheduled tissue package delivery that was “lost” by OnTrak. Amazon doesn’t automate the refund, you have to ask. Happened to be at Target and noticed that an 8 pack of 160 tissues each cost $12. I looked up amazon’s and it was $17 when bought, but all of a sudden it was now $13 — also only 120 tissues each box. Why the shadiness? It’s great that you have pricing power, but I wouldn’t want to do business with a coffee shop where I walk in and the barista says, “Bob’s here! Jack up the price!” Amazon feels like some legal version of Wolf of Wallstreet. Anyway, it’s all just anecdotal. At the end of the day I just don’t trust them. Edit: I’ve been off Prime 2 months and don’t miss it.
  - acdanger 8y ago
    Also anecdotally, Prime has become inconsistent and unreliable since I moved to DC a couple of months ago. It's gotten better as we've moved closed to the holidays, but for a while it was taking 3-7 days for Prime-qualified items to arrive. I heard that there may have been some disruptions in service due to the tornado hitting an Amazon warehouse in Baltimore, but never in my contact with customer service was this mentioned. https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/9xebhs/any_updates_on_dmv_area_amazon_prime_deliveries/ https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/9xebhs/any_up...
  - bredren 8y ago
    I think the data sharing is possibly a major problem-to-be in that Amazon probably getting a lot of info about me. A LOT. This is as I ramp down what I allow Google to know as I've taken steps to limit use of their products, particularly search. I think this should be people's primary concern with the rise of this service--especially as it now grows to include data on the foods you consume. Presumably, Amazon will begin private labeling food products, which will put the company in direct line of choosing which farming practices to promote, what diets get discounted and other interesting capabilities. I want to believe this power will be used for good--such as Apple's stance toward Privacy. But benevolence can wax and wane. I haven't heard Bezos talk about the importance of human health and the food chain, but I haven't gone looking for that yet either. To me the delivery service via prime is still amazing. It does matter that products arrive within two days because I often put them into service the moment they are delivered. It matters to me that the product catalog on Amazon is so expansive and has been combed over by previous buyers. The review system is not perfect, but largely I am happy with highly rated, well sold merchandise routed through Amazon's marketplace. I also have been on the selling side of Prime and while it is expensive for sellers, it is an incredible to be able to address potential buyers using Prime with the branding and consistent experience of Amazon all over it. I'm able to sell unusual things with no reviews. Regarding the issues you've had with that tissue delivery, I also had an issue once with a falsely advertised sizing of a ducting tube I needed for a swamp cooler a couple years back. I had to really get through to customer service to show that the product sold was not legit. They did take action on the seller after I spent the time. That said, that was one out of many hundreds of product purchase experiences where I felt wronged and Amazon was involved. I think we're still just getting started with the value prop of Amazon Prime.
- kasey_junk 8y ago
  I gave up my prime membership this month for a few reasons: - the price raise got up over my utilization for shipping and I don't use the ancillary benefits more than the occasional prime video usage. - the Amazon self shipping is horrendous. Lies about deliveries, much higher level of damage on boxes & crazy driver experiences made it so that every time one of those got selected I had a bad customer service experience. With non-prime delivery I can choose, with Prime it was up to some algo.
  - tacomonstrous 8y ago
    >the Amazon self shipping is horrendous This was a key factor for us getting rid of Prime as well. Kept waiting for their service to improve or at least let me only have packages shipped via major carriers. Unfortunately, neither option was available.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    I feel like, if you never use Prime Video, you never use Prime Now, and you don't mind some extra clicking (and/or aren't price sensitive about shipping), I see how Prime might not be the best deal. But Prime Now in particular has been extremely useful, especially for multi-day trips to different cities, where I can save myself a trip to a grocery store or drug store to get supplies. Also: Prime Video is pretty solid! It's how you get to watch Patriot!
gdulli 8y ago
It's also crappy that you don't get access to the best sale prices without a Prime membership. That's why I've stopped shopping at Whole Foods. I get access to the best price at every other grocery store without having to pay a monthly fee for it. Luckily there's a good Wegman's that just opened near me.
- jedberg 8y ago
  > I get access to the best price at every other grocery store without having to pay a monthly fee for it. I take it you don't go to Costco or Sam's Club?
  - gdulli 8y ago
    That's correct. I have additional reasons I don't want to give Amazon my business, but I don't see enough value in joining those based only on the membership fees.
    - onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago
      I sort of like what Amazon is trying to do, but until they start paying their delivery drivers livable wages, I refuse to buy anything from the company. Jeff Bezos is the richest person in human history, and he's employing like 100K people at laughable wages. I dunno -- I just don't want anything to do with that.
      - gdulli 8y ago
        I've heard persistent ugly stories about how they treat the warehouse workers, the drivers, and the corporate workers. And business partners. Every large company can produce at least some anecdotes like that, but with Amazon it's much more of a pattern, part of their identity.

Do you have to be a Prime member to get the delivery? That's crappy, as we're looking to retire our Prime membership after this year.

by atonse 8y ago

Do you have to be a Prime member to get the delivery? That's crappy, as we're looking to retire our Prime membership after this year.

tptacek 8y ago

Why? It's not as amazing as it was a few years ago, but it's still a good enough deal to fit Matt Yglesias's description of it as "a charity run by Wall Street for the benefit of the American consumer".

ceejayoz 8y ago
I'm finding Prime less and less competitive price-wise than places like Target. When items are directly comparable, the cost of "free" shipping appears to have been figured into the Amazon price. They're also devaluing it with "this item is Prime, but may take 3-5 days to arrive" and their new in-house delivery, which has resulted in late packages (previously a very rare experience) for me three times in the last month. I've been an Amazon customer since 1999, Prime since its debut, and this is the first year I've been questioning whether to renew or not.
- danpalmer 8y ago
  The Prime branding on products that don’t deliver next day is a killer for me. (Note I’m in the U.K. where next day delivery is common and Prime started out with that as it’s pitch) Amazons point of view seems to be that the products aren’t in stock, so when they do come in stock will be delivered next day, but as a customer I don’t care about stock levels or when it ships, it’s only the delivery date that matters. I only really care about Prime over Christmas, when I could just shop in stores anyway, some will price match Amazon if necessary, and Amazon is no longer cheap anyway. I do care about Prime at work, but we have Amazon for Businesses for that. I suspect I’ll let me Prime subscription lapse.
- fmajid 8y ago
  Not too mention the "Add-on" products, and the fact they are too dumb to just bundle them up with the next Prime delivery.
- alexhutcheson 8y ago
  Target also now has free 2-day shipping if you have the debit or credit card.
pilingual 8y ago
Amazon raised the price of Prime, and so it was a good opportunity to question the value of it. Two day delivery is great but how often did I need something that quickly? Free delivery and ~5 days is fine. Prime Video seems to target baby boomers; there’s nothing that’s notable except for a few times a year when a hit movie appears and it certainly isn’t worth any amount to me. Amazon itself is a poor experience as I try to avoid doing business with unknown third parties. Whole Foods: after the acquisition I noticed that quality declined with brittle, smaller eggs and milk that expired sooner. Amazon hasn’t been in the best of light in the news in the past year or so. I remember a couple years ago thinking Amazon was the only respectable big tech company. Then, there was a scheduled tissue package delivery that was “lost” by OnTrak. Amazon doesn’t automate the refund, you have to ask. Happened to be at Target and noticed that an 8 pack of 160 tissues each cost $12. I looked up amazon’s and it was $17 when bought, but all of a sudden it was now $13 — also only 120 tissues each box. Why the shadiness? It’s great that you have pricing power, but I wouldn’t want to do business with a coffee shop where I walk in and the barista says, “Bob’s here! Jack up the price!” Amazon feels like some legal version of Wolf of Wallstreet. Anyway, it’s all just anecdotal. At the end of the day I just don’t trust them. Edit: I’ve been off Prime 2 months and don’t miss it.
- acdanger 8y ago
  Also anecdotally, Prime has become inconsistent and unreliable since I moved to DC a couple of months ago. It's gotten better as we've moved closed to the holidays, but for a while it was taking 3-7 days for Prime-qualified items to arrive. I heard that there may have been some disruptions in service due to the tornado hitting an Amazon warehouse in Baltimore, but never in my contact with customer service was this mentioned. https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/9xebhs/any_updates_on_dmv_area_amazon_prime_deliveries/ https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/9xebhs/any_up...
- bredren 8y ago
  I think the data sharing is possibly a major problem-to-be in that Amazon probably getting a lot of info about me. A LOT. This is as I ramp down what I allow Google to know as I've taken steps to limit use of their products, particularly search. I think this should be people's primary concern with the rise of this service--especially as it now grows to include data on the foods you consume. Presumably, Amazon will begin private labeling food products, which will put the company in direct line of choosing which farming practices to promote, what diets get discounted and other interesting capabilities. I want to believe this power will be used for good--such as Apple's stance toward Privacy. But benevolence can wax and wane. I haven't heard Bezos talk about the importance of human health and the food chain, but I haven't gone looking for that yet either. To me the delivery service via prime is still amazing. It does matter that products arrive within two days because I often put them into service the moment they are delivered. It matters to me that the product catalog on Amazon is so expansive and has been combed over by previous buyers. The review system is not perfect, but largely I am happy with highly rated, well sold merchandise routed through Amazon's marketplace. I also have been on the selling side of Prime and while it is expensive for sellers, it is an incredible to be able to address potential buyers using Prime with the branding and consistent experience of Amazon all over it. I'm able to sell unusual things with no reviews. Regarding the issues you've had with that tissue delivery, I also had an issue once with a falsely advertised sizing of a ducting tube I needed for a swamp cooler a couple years back. I had to really get through to customer service to show that the product sold was not legit. They did take action on the seller after I spent the time. That said, that was one out of many hundreds of product purchase experiences where I felt wronged and Amazon was involved. I think we're still just getting started with the value prop of Amazon Prime.
kasey_junk 8y ago
I gave up my prime membership this month for a few reasons: - the price raise got up over my utilization for shipping and I don't use the ancillary benefits more than the occasional prime video usage. - the Amazon self shipping is horrendous. Lies about deliveries, much higher level of damage on boxes & crazy driver experiences made it so that every time one of those got selected I had a bad customer service experience. With non-prime delivery I can choose, with Prime it was up to some algo.
- tacomonstrous 8y ago
  >the Amazon self shipping is horrendous This was a key factor for us getting rid of Prime as well. Kept waiting for their service to improve or at least let me only have packages shipped via major carriers. Unfortunately, neither option was available.
- tptacek 8y ago
  I feel like, if you never use Prime Video, you never use Prime Now, and you don't mind some extra clicking (and/or aren't price sensitive about shipping), I see how Prime might not be the best deal. But Prime Now in particular has been extremely useful, especially for multi-day trips to different cities, where I can save myself a trip to a grocery store or drug store to get supplies. Also: Prime Video is pretty solid! It's how you get to watch Patriot!

gdulli 8y ago

It's also crappy that you don't get access to the best sale prices without a Prime membership. That's why I've stopped shopping at Whole Foods. I get access to the best price at every other grocery store without having to pay a monthly fee for it. Luckily there's a good Wegman's that just opened near me.

jedberg 8y ago
> I get access to the best price at every other grocery store without having to pay a monthly fee for it. I take it you don't go to Costco or Sam's Club?
- gdulli 8y ago
  That's correct. I have additional reasons I don't want to give Amazon my business, but I don't see enough value in joining those based only on the membership fees.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago
    I sort of like what Amazon is trying to do, but until they start paying their delivery drivers livable wages, I refuse to buy anything from the company. Jeff Bezos is the richest person in human history, and he's employing like 100K people at laughable wages. I dunno -- I just don't want anything to do with that.
    - gdulli 8y ago
      I've heard persistent ugly stories about how they treat the warehouse workers, the drivers, and the corporate workers. And business partners. Every large company can produce at least some anecdotes like that, but with Amazon it's much more of a pattern, part of their identity.