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A better headline would have been "Amazon merges Prime Pantry into regular .com site". > "As part of our commitment to delivering the best possible customer ex

A better headline would have been "Amazon merges Prime Pantry into regular .com site". > "As part of our commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience, we have decided to transfer Amazon Pantry selection to the main Amazon.com store so customers can get everyday household products faster, without an extra subscription or purchase requirement"

judge2020 6y ago
Source article seems to be https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/amazon-shutters-prime-pantry-an-early-online-grocery-initiative https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/amazon-sh...
gumby 6y ago
A better headline would have been "Amazon merges Prime Pantry > into regular .com site". Not exactly. The products for sale are still for sale on the site, yes. But the "pantry" product including a volume-based flat rate shipping. You entered products until you were told that your box was filled and then they shipped it to you flat rate. I used to fill it with kitty litter, dog food, cans of stuff and other heavy products. Now kitty litter is covered by prime free shipping so why pay extra for pantry?
- cloudwalking 6y ago
  FWIW I used to order kitty litter on Prime. Free shipping and all that. Turns out they hugely marked up the retail price for the free shipping. I’ve since found it on Walmart’s website for about 40% cheaper. Free shipping if I order 5 at a time.
  - ardy42 6y ago
    > FWIW I used to order kitty litter on Prime. Free shipping and all that. Turns out they hugely marked up the retail price for the free shipping. I’ve since found it on Walmart’s website for about 40% cheaper. Free shipping if I order 5 at a time. This is really common on Amazon, even for things that aren't heavy/large. Amazon used to be a place that gave you some of the best prices on things, but that hasn't been true for a long time.
    - ehsankia 6y ago
      I especially noticed this when I accidentally browsed logged out once. The same thing that was $X + $Y shipping became $(X + Y) + 0 Prime shipping...
      - hansvm 6y ago
        Awhile ago I used to sell a lot of consumer grade electronics on eBay, and one of the first things I noticed was that people were generally willing to pay more to have free shipping. $X+$Y shipping could easily turn into ($X+$Y+20%) + free shipping, and people would do it to themselves -- I'd start iPhones bidding at $0.99, and without fail I'd drum up a ton more business than I ever could with substantially lower fixed prices and accurate shipping costs.
    - sneak 6y ago
      Before I buy anything on Amazon, I check eBay first. Oftentimes I would have been overpaying 20-50%, especially on small, <=$15 items. It seems like something for $11 is a good deal, until you can get 3 on eBay for $8.
  - plorkyeran 6y ago
    For the expensive-to-ship items that I've specifically looked into I've generally found that Amazon's price with "free" shipping is cheaper than the price with 2 day shipping from anyone else, but more expensive than slower shipping. When I actually need something in a hurry that makes Amazon the best choice, but I've mostly stopped buying from them for recurring purchases that I can do well in advance.
  - ehsankia 6y ago
    > Free shipping if I order 5 at a time. I wouldn't want to be the delivery guy who has to bring that to your door...
  - bdcravens 6y ago
    Had mediocre results with pet products on Amazon. Had an entire bag of dog food busted open because of how it was shipped. Often the litter products I get aren't available, and it's a mixed bag with other pet food. I pretty much stick with Chewy except for rare one-offs.
    - XargonEnder 6y ago
      I've had this problem too but I complain and get a refund and get to keep the product
- nsandell123 6y ago
  Why would someone with prime use prime pantry if it was free shipping anyway?
  - robbiemitchell 6y ago
    Prime Pantry had stuff that wasn't available elsewhere. Lots of random grocery items.
  - xeromal 6y ago
    Pantry seemed to have heavy stuff that was not normally for sale on prime. Big bags of rice and such
  - cameldrv 6y ago
    Prime pantry was cheaper, because you pay the shipping as part of the item price.
  - Spooky23 6y ago
    Pantry was actually sold by Amazon and met expected retail parameters. The coffee beans I used to buy through pantry would have a typical expiry date - 18-24 months out. Once that product moved to normal Amazon, it transitioned to the standard jobbers and hucksters... you’d buy a can of coffee whose best by date was 30 days out. I think this segment is really being replaced by Whole Foods, it is somewhat constrained by the more limited selection of Whole Foods vs normal grocery. Also, I think Amazon is getting a run for its money with Target and to a lesser extent Walmart. The target drive-up service in particular is best in class. Every mom is hooked to it, and you see people waiting for drive up orders ordering more in the car.
    - tssva 6y ago
      The Walmart vs Target experience can be store specific. In my area Target moved in before Walmart which means their stores and their parking lots were designed before pickup services were started. This means the pickup experience at the Targets in the area is less than ideal. Walmart on the other hand built their stores and designed the traffic flow around them specifically to support large scale pickup service. As a result the Walmarts in the area seem to do a much bigger pickup business. I know many people that have switched from using Target to Walmart because of the vastly better pickup experience. This is all specific to my area and anecdotal. The original comment was also anecdotal, so I feel less bad about it.
- zinckiwi 6y ago
  > I used to fill it with kitty litter, dog food, cans of stuff and other heavy products. And if your experience was anything like mine the few times I used it before I felt too guilty, the delivery folks looooved you for it. (To be fair, I did have a third floor walkup.)
  - gumby 6y ago
    In my case they just wheel it over on a trolly.

judge2020 6y ago

Source article seems to be https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/amazon-shutters-prime-pantry-an-early-online-grocery-initiative https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-07/amazon-sh...

gumby 6y ago

A better headline would have been "Amazon merges Prime Pantry > into regular .com site". Not exactly. The products for sale are still for sale on the site, yes. But the "pantry" product including a volume-based flat rate shipping. You entered products until you were told that your box was filled and then they shipped it to you flat rate. I used to fill it with kitty litter, dog food, cans of stuff and other heavy products. Now kitty litter is covered by prime free shipping so why pay extra for pantry?

cloudwalking 6y ago
FWIW I used to order kitty litter on Prime. Free shipping and all that. Turns out they hugely marked up the retail price for the free shipping. I’ve since found it on Walmart’s website for about 40% cheaper. Free shipping if I order 5 at a time.
- ardy42 6y ago
  > FWIW I used to order kitty litter on Prime. Free shipping and all that. Turns out they hugely marked up the retail price for the free shipping. I’ve since found it on Walmart’s website for about 40% cheaper. Free shipping if I order 5 at a time. This is really common on Amazon, even for things that aren't heavy/large. Amazon used to be a place that gave you some of the best prices on things, but that hasn't been true for a long time.
  - ehsankia 6y ago
    I especially noticed this when I accidentally browsed logged out once. The same thing that was $X + $Y shipping became $(X + Y) + 0 Prime shipping...
    - hansvm 6y ago
      Awhile ago I used to sell a lot of consumer grade electronics on eBay, and one of the first things I noticed was that people were generally willing to pay more to have free shipping. $X+$Y shipping could easily turn into ($X+$Y+20%) + free shipping, and people would do it to themselves -- I'd start iPhones bidding at $0.99, and without fail I'd drum up a ton more business than I ever could with substantially lower fixed prices and accurate shipping costs.
  - sneak 6y ago
    Before I buy anything on Amazon, I check eBay first. Oftentimes I would have been overpaying 20-50%, especially on small, <=$15 items. It seems like something for $11 is a good deal, until you can get 3 on eBay for $8.
- plorkyeran 6y ago
  For the expensive-to-ship items that I've specifically looked into I've generally found that Amazon's price with "free" shipping is cheaper than the price with 2 day shipping from anyone else, but more expensive than slower shipping. When I actually need something in a hurry that makes Amazon the best choice, but I've mostly stopped buying from them for recurring purchases that I can do well in advance.
- ehsankia 6y ago
  > Free shipping if I order 5 at a time. I wouldn't want to be the delivery guy who has to bring that to your door...
- bdcravens 6y ago
  Had mediocre results with pet products on Amazon. Had an entire bag of dog food busted open because of how it was shipped. Often the litter products I get aren't available, and it's a mixed bag with other pet food. I pretty much stick with Chewy except for rare one-offs.
  - XargonEnder 6y ago
    I've had this problem too but I complain and get a refund and get to keep the product
nsandell123 6y ago
Why would someone with prime use prime pantry if it was free shipping anyway?
- robbiemitchell 6y ago
  Prime Pantry had stuff that wasn't available elsewhere. Lots of random grocery items.
- xeromal 6y ago
  Pantry seemed to have heavy stuff that was not normally for sale on prime. Big bags of rice and such
- cameldrv 6y ago
  Prime pantry was cheaper, because you pay the shipping as part of the item price.
- Spooky23 6y ago
  Pantry was actually sold by Amazon and met expected retail parameters. The coffee beans I used to buy through pantry would have a typical expiry date - 18-24 months out. Once that product moved to normal Amazon, it transitioned to the standard jobbers and hucksters... you’d buy a can of coffee whose best by date was 30 days out. I think this segment is really being replaced by Whole Foods, it is somewhat constrained by the more limited selection of Whole Foods vs normal grocery. Also, I think Amazon is getting a run for its money with Target and to a lesser extent Walmart. The target drive-up service in particular is best in class. Every mom is hooked to it, and you see people waiting for drive up orders ordering more in the car.
  - tssva 6y ago
    The Walmart vs Target experience can be store specific. In my area Target moved in before Walmart which means their stores and their parking lots were designed before pickup services were started. This means the pickup experience at the Targets in the area is less than ideal. Walmart on the other hand built their stores and designed the traffic flow around them specifically to support large scale pickup service. As a result the Walmarts in the area seem to do a much bigger pickup business. I know many people that have switched from using Target to Walmart because of the vastly better pickup experience. This is all specific to my area and anecdotal. The original comment was also anecdotal, so I feel less bad about it.
zinckiwi 6y ago
> I used to fill it with kitty litter, dog food, cans of stuff and other heavy products. And if your experience was anything like mine the few times I used it before I felt too guilty, the delivery folks looooved you for it. (To be fair, I did have a third floor walkup.)
- gumby 6y ago
  In my case they just wheel it over on a trolly.