4 ms·

Amazon Prime is getting worse, and it’s making me question the nature of reality

42 points by ProAm 8y ago

pdxandi 8y ago
I've noticed too that when returning items, some options make you pay for return shipping (e.g., selecting "No longer needed" for the reason). I don't remember that being a thing in the past. I used to buy items, like clothes perhaps, that I had to see and feel before deciding whether I wanted it and returning was straight-forward and free. At least that's my memory.
- mrandish 8y ago
  It depends on the item and whether the seller funds 'free returns'. Some clothing sellers want to be like Zappos and offer that while others opt for lower price. At the end of the day, no shipping is ever 'free', it's always baked into the price somewhere. One thing I've noticed is that the more I spend on Amazon (quite a lot lately), the less often Amazon tries to charge me for returns (lately that's been never). I suspect they have some kind of algo that estimates a customer's value over time vs the cost of keeping that customer happy with free returns.
- aeternus 8y ago
  This was always the case. If the item is defective it can always be returned for free, but if the reason is more user-preference should Amazon really cover it? It'd be easy for people/competitors to game the system. They do seem to provide a significant amount of leeway if your acct has a low return rate.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
pascalxus 8y ago
even if it does get worse, a lot of people will simply leave it alone and forget that they're paying 10$ per month, simply yet another monthly expense. Amazon prime knows this. Once, you've got the muscle memory of typing in "amazon.com" in the URL bar, it's really hard to let go of it, for most people. Amazon prime knows this.
- xfitm3 8y ago
  I cancelled prime awhile ago and my spending at Amazon has dramatically reduced. I let things sit in my cart and order weekly or biweekly, often removing half of the stuff I thought I wanted.
- kerng 8y ago
  I cancelled it a month ago. Little value add to be honest for me after thinking it through.
trevyn 8y ago
>Isn’t reality just a holographic projection though? Isn’t time a construct of human perception? In a sense, all Amazon packages have already been delivered, if you think about it. I deeply enjoy this conclusion, and wish that the author had explained the conceptual path to it in more detail!
dvno42 8y ago
If you go to your prime settings there is an option to "Remind Me 3 days before renewing" if you want to cancel but have already given them your money.

42 points by ProAm 8y ago

I've noticed too that when returning items, some options make you pay for return shipping (e.g., selecting "No longer needed" for the reason). I don't remember that being a thing in the past. I used to buy items, like clothes perhaps, that I had to see and feel before deciding whether I wanted it and returning was straight-forward and free. At least that's my memory.

mrandish 8y ago
It depends on the item and whether the seller funds 'free returns'. Some clothing sellers want to be like Zappos and offer that while others opt for lower price. At the end of the day, no shipping is ever 'free', it's always baked into the price somewhere. One thing I've noticed is that the more I spend on Amazon (quite a lot lately), the less often Amazon tries to charge me for returns (lately that's been never). I suspect they have some kind of algo that estimates a customer's value over time vs the cost of keeping that customer happy with free returns.
aeternus 8y ago
This was always the case. If the item is defective it can always be returned for free, but if the reason is more user-preference should Amazon really cover it? It'd be easy for people/competitors to game the system. They do seem to provide a significant amount of leeway if your acct has a low return rate.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

pascalxus 8y ago

even if it does get worse, a lot of people will simply leave it alone and forget that they're paying 10$ per month, simply yet another monthly expense. Amazon prime knows this. Once, you've got the muscle memory of typing in "amazon.com" in the URL bar, it's really hard to let go of it, for most people. Amazon prime knows this.

xfitm3 8y ago
I cancelled prime awhile ago and my spending at Amazon has dramatically reduced. I let things sit in my cart and order weekly or biweekly, often removing half of the stuff I thought I wanted.
kerng 8y ago
I cancelled it a month ago. Little value add to be honest for me after thinking it through.

trevyn 8y ago

>Isn’t reality just a holographic projection though? Isn’t time a construct of human perception? In a sense, all Amazon packages have already been delivered, if you think about it. I deeply enjoy this conclusion, and wish that the author had explained the conceptual path to it in more detail!

dvno42 8y ago

If you go to your prime settings there is an option to "Remind Me 3 days before renewing" if you want to cancel but have already given them your money.