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I feel like I must be the odd one here. My wife and I watch free Amazon Prime videos (i.e. bundled with the Prime service, I know nothing is actually free!) all

by bunkat 13y ago

I feel like I must be the odd one here. My wife and I watch free Amazon Prime videos (i.e. bundled with the Prime service, I know nothing is actually free!) all the time. The selection is decent enough for us and they have lots of free television series that keep us busy. Between that and shipping that usually gets things here the next day, Amazon Prime is worth every penny to us.

Einstalbert 13y ago
I absolutely love the prime service, and it has not become worse for me here in California. They had to start charging us tax but all it really meant was that we had closer and closer distribution centers. My overall service, in that regard, has only become better in the last few years. I use AP at least once a week between work and home purchases... can't say I have ever used the video stuff, though.
majormajor 13y ago
Prime is better than ever for me too. I almost always get things the next day nowdays, even frequently for weekend orders (Saturday orders arriving Monday). The one hiccup was that the first thing they tried to send me on a Sunday got lost, but they handled it with great customer service and next-day shipped me a replacement during the week. And since then the few things I've had scheduled for Sunday have been fine, too. I'm in a big city, though. Maybe it's gotten worse for people in less densely populated areas that aren't so near their warehouses? --- The videos service is a mess UI-wise compared to its competitors, but considering how much free shipping I take advantage of I can't complain. But Marco certainly a point that the bundling (and branding, and messaging, and discoverability) is pretty bad. It works serviceably on my Kindle Fire and Samsung TV, but is a clear step down from the competitors in terms of interface, app availability, polish, etc.
rgbrgb 13y ago
> free Amazon Prime videos I know that's how Amazon phrases it but this is the fallacy the OP is arguing against.
- bunkat 13y ago
  Bad wording, I was differentiating between the Amazon videos that are bundled with Prime vs the videos that you still have to pay for even with Prime. We very rarely pay an additional amount to watch a video on Amazon.
gress 13y ago
They're not free.
- tptacek 13y ago
  Of course not. You have to pay $99 to get them.
  - gress 13y ago
    So why do people go along with Amazon's claim they are free?
    - tptacek 13y ago
      Because they are using the word "free" in a different (but obvious) way than you are: their meaning is "no extra cost, once you've paid the yearly fee". That's reasonable.
      - gress 13y ago
        Surely that applies to everything about prime - shipping is 'free' after you've paid the fee. So that means it's all 'free' despite costing $100 just as a Tesla Model S is free after you've paid the $70,000 fee, and a Mac Pro is also free after you've paid the $2,999. Perfectly reasonable.
        djur 13y ago
        Those are inapt comparisons. How about this: I go to Costco and see a 24-pack of toilet paper. The price displayed is $7.99. I go to the checkout and pay $7.99 and take the toilet paper home. I wouldn't have been able to make the purchase without having previously paid for a Costco membership, so the "true" cost of the toilet paper is more than $7.99. That said, would anyone reasonably contend with the statement "I got this toilet paper for $7.99"? Similarly, those videos are free _for members_, in the sense that they can be used at no further cost.
isaacb 13y ago
Yea, I love Prime videos. The author here is extrapolating about the entire Prime subscribership based on his personal experiences. That's a terrible way to write an article.
- yeahyeah 13y ago
  I know, right. He should keep that kind of stuff on his personal blog.
radley 13y ago
I don't use Prime video, but I'll support people who are happy to use it.
abalone 13y ago
You're missing the point of the post: those videos are not free, and for the many people who don't want them they're the reason Prime shipping is more expensive than it needs to be.
xur17 13y ago
I'd love to try it out, but unfortunately they don't support a lot of devices (eg: android, chromecast, or linux). Out of all of my devices, I can watch Netflix on 6, and Amazon Video on 1 (my bluray player that I very rarely use). If they truly want Amazon Video to be a compelling alternative to Netflix, they need to start supporting more devices, and stop the embargo against android devices that's a poor attempt to prop up Kindle sales.

by bunkat 13y ago

Einstalbert 13y ago

I absolutely love the prime service, and it has not become worse for me here in California. They had to start charging us tax but all it really meant was that we had closer and closer distribution centers. My overall service, in that regard, has only become better in the last few years. I use AP at least once a week between work and home purchases... can't say I have ever used the video stuff, though.

majormajor 13y ago

Prime is better than ever for me too. I almost always get things the next day nowdays, even frequently for weekend orders (Saturday orders arriving Monday). The one hiccup was that the first thing they tried to send me on a Sunday got lost, but they handled it with great customer service and next-day shipped me a replacement during the week. And since then the few things I've had scheduled for Sunday have been fine, too. I'm in a big city, though. Maybe it's gotten worse for people in less densely populated areas that aren't so near their warehouses? --- The videos service is a mess UI-wise compared to its competitors, but considering how much free shipping I take advantage of I can't complain. But Marco certainly a point that the bundling (and branding, and messaging, and discoverability) is pretty bad. It works serviceably on my Kindle Fire and Samsung TV, but is a clear step down from the competitors in terms of interface, app availability, polish, etc.

rgbrgb 13y ago

> free Amazon Prime videos I know that's how Amazon phrases it but this is the fallacy the OP is arguing against.

bunkat 13y ago
Bad wording, I was differentiating between the Amazon videos that are bundled with Prime vs the videos that you still have to pay for even with Prime. We very rarely pay an additional amount to watch a video on Amazon.

gress 13y ago

They're not free.

tptacek 13y ago
Of course not. You have to pay $99 to get them.
- gress 13y ago
  So why do people go along with Amazon's claim they are free?
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Because they are using the word "free" in a different (but obvious) way than you are: their meaning is "no extra cost, once you've paid the yearly fee". That's reasonable.
    - gress 13y ago
      Surely that applies to everything about prime - shipping is 'free' after you've paid the fee. So that means it's all 'free' despite costing $100 just as a Tesla Model S is free after you've paid the $70,000 fee, and a Mac Pro is also free after you've paid the $2,999. Perfectly reasonable.
      - djur 13y ago
        Those are inapt comparisons. How about this: I go to Costco and see a 24-pack of toilet paper. The price displayed is $7.99. I go to the checkout and pay $7.99 and take the toilet paper home. I wouldn't have been able to make the purchase without having previously paid for a Costco membership, so the "true" cost of the toilet paper is more than $7.99. That said, would anyone reasonably contend with the statement "I got this toilet paper for $7.99"? Similarly, those videos are free _for members_, in the sense that they can be used at no further cost.

isaacb 13y ago

Yea, I love Prime videos. The author here is extrapolating about the entire Prime subscribership based on his personal experiences. That's a terrible way to write an article.

yeahyeah 13y ago
I know, right. He should keep that kind of stuff on his personal blog.

radley 13y ago

I don't use Prime video, but I'll support people who are happy to use it.

abalone 13y ago

You're missing the point of the post: those videos are not free, and for the many people who don't want them they're the reason Prime shipping is more expensive than it needs to be.

xur17 13y ago

I'd love to try it out, but unfortunately they don't support a lot of devices (eg: android, chromecast, or linux). Out of all of my devices, I can watch Netflix on 6, and Amazon Video on 1 (my bluray player that I very rarely use). If they truly want Amazon Video to be a compelling alternative to Netflix, they need to start supporting more devices, and stop the embargo against android devices that's a poor attempt to prop up Kindle sales.