Do you have Amazon Prime?

[Peach]

No, we don't have Prime anymore.  We had it for a couple of years when it was under $100.  When we had it, we streamed Prime Video a lot.  Now there is very little there that we would want to see that we haven't already.  We've never purchase enough stuff to make the free and quick shipping a motivator.

Also, Amazon prices are no longer the best game in town.  I like to bargain hunt and will happily spend a little bit of time tracking down the best price. 

Once a year we get the free trial for a month.  We wait for the new season of The Grand Tour to come out, which is the only streaming show we want to see.

[salt cured]

I canceled my Prime about a month ago. I'll probably resubscribe for a month or two every year or so to catch shows I like, but I've been surprised at how much I haven't missed it. When I needed to order stuff, I easily found it elsewhere, sometimes even cheaper and with better shipping options. I just don't get enough value from it for it to be worth $119/year.

Same same. It's been maybe 3 months for me, and I haven't missed Prime at all. I just stick stuff in my cart until I get the free shipping. And packages usually come much quicker than quoted (essentially providing the 2-day shipping benefit that you get with Prime). But I often find things are cheaper locally and have been shopping at brick and mortars more often.

[Home Stretch]

I used the free trial. It was totally not worth it because 1) I don't buy that much stuff anyhow, 2) 2 day shipping to anywhere I have lived is a flat lie, and slower than competitors 3) I don't buy anything on Amazon if I need it anytime soon anyhow. They upgraded my Amazon card so I got five percent back on purchases. When I cancelled Prime, they cancelled my store card and I immediately signed up for another store card, receiving a $40 gift card for doing so. So cancelling Prime was totally worthwhile.

If the 2 day shipping is a lie, then you actually can get free Amazon Prime forever. Every time you get an item delivered later than the guaranteed 2-day delivery time, you just have to send a message to Amazon support requesting a free Prime extension. So long as you order an average of 12 shipments per year (or more), you can indefinitely have free Prime.

[dragoncar]

I used the free trial. It was totally not worth it because 1) I don't buy that much stuff anyhow, 2) 2 day shipping to anywhere I have lived is a flat lie, and slower than competitors 3) I don't buy anything on Amazon if I need it anytime soon anyhow. They upgraded my Amazon card so I got five percent back on purchases. When I cancelled Prime, they cancelled my store card and I immediately signed up for another store card, receiving a $40 gift card for doing so. So cancelling Prime was totally worthwhile.

If the 2 day shipping is a lie, then you actually can get free Amazon Prime forever. Every time you get an item delivered later than the guaranteed 2-day delivery time, you just have to send a message to Amazon support requesting a free Prime extension. So long as you order an average of 12 shipments per year (or more), you can indefinitely have free Prime.

They stopped doing this every time.  Seems like these days they give you a $5 credit.  $5 is worth less than a month of prime, so it's not really a great deal.

[robartsd]

If the 2 day shipping is a lie, then you actually can get free Amazon Prime forever. Every time you get an item delivered later than the guaranteed 2-day delivery time, you just have to send a message to Amazon support requesting a free Prime extension. So long as you order an average of 12 shipments per year (or more), you can indefinitely have free Prime.

They stopped doing this every time.  Seems like these days they give you a $5 credit.  $5 is worth less than a month of prime, so it's not really a great deal.

I guess you'd have to have 24 late orders a year. But with Prime, each item might as well be its own order. Since I frequently get free 2 day shipping without Prime (super saver is just that fast in my area most of the time), I'm pretty sure I can't use this hack to get "free" Prime video.

I used the free trial. It was totally not worth it because 1) I don't buy that much stuff anyhow, 2) 2 day shipping to anywhere I have lived is a flat lie, and slower than competitors 3) I don't buy anything on Amazon if I need it anytime soon anyhow. They upgraded my Amazon card so I got five percent back on purchases. When I cancelled Prime, they cancelled my store card and I immediately signed up for another store card, receiving a $40 gift card for doing so. So cancelling Prime was totally worthwhile.

If this is repeatable, you could "try Prime" for a month or two - long enough to upgrade your card, make your major purchases, redeem rewards - then cancel Prime and claim the card sign-up bonus. I bet this cycle could be repeated about every 2 years as long as they keep the offers going. Of course you could probably just cancel the store card then wait for them to give you the same offer again without the Prime part of the cycle and Discover has offered 5% at Amazon in the October quarter several years running.

[EngagedToFIRE]

I used the free trial. It was totally not worth it because 1) I don't buy that much stuff anyhow, 2) 2 day shipping to anywhere I have lived is a flat lie, and slower than competitors 3) I don't buy anything on Amazon if I need it anytime soon anyhow. They upgraded my Amazon card so I got five percent back on purchases. When I cancelled Prime, they cancelled my store card and I immediately signed up for another store card, receiving a $40 gift card for doing so. So cancelling Prime was totally worthwhile.

If the 2 day shipping is a lie, then you actually can get free Amazon Prime forever. Every time you get an item delivered later than the guaranteed 2-day delivery time, you just have to send a message to Amazon support requesting a free Prime extension. So long as you order an average of 12 shipments per year (or more), you can indefinitely have free Prime.

They stopped doing this every time.  Seems like these days they give you a $5 credit.  $5 is worth less than a month of prime, so it's not really a great deal.

It's very rare to receive an item later than the guaranteed time.  And when it happens, their customer service will jump on it and make it right.  Whether prime is worth it to some or not is fine, but they don't mess around with deliveries.  They even notify you proactively when a delivery is late and make it right.  I've even canceled items ALREADY IN TRANSIT and they will take them back without a penalty, they just don't deliver and voila, money refunded.

Half our shipments are next day nowadays.  I guess we are close enough to a fulfillment center.  For us, prime is worth every penny and Amazon truly is amazing.  And I hate to think that way because I prefer "shop local" but dang, they really do set the bar ridiculously high.

[dragoncar]

I used the free trial. It was totally not worth it because 1) I don't buy that much stuff anyhow, 2) 2 day shipping to anywhere I have lived is a flat lie, and slower than competitors 3) I don't buy anything on Amazon if I need it anytime soon anyhow. They upgraded my Amazon card so I got five percent back on purchases. When I cancelled Prime, they cancelled my store card and I immediately signed up for another store card, receiving a $40 gift card for doing so. So cancelling Prime was totally worthwhile.

If the 2 day shipping is a lie, then you actually can get free Amazon Prime forever. Every time you get an item delivered later than the guaranteed 2-day delivery time, you just have to send a message to Amazon support requesting a free Prime extension. So long as you order an average of 12 shipments per year (or more), you can indefinitely have free Prime.

They stopped doing this every time.  Seems like these days they give you a $5 credit.  $5 is worth less than a month of prime, so it's not really a great deal.

It's very rare to receive an item later than the guaranteed time.  And when it happens, their customer service will jump on it and make it right.  Whether prime is worth it to some or not is fine, but they don't mess around with deliveries.  They even notify you proactively when a delivery is late and make it right.  I've even canceled items ALREADY IN TRANSIT and they will take them back without a penalty, they just don't deliver and voila, money refunded.

Half our shipments are next day nowadays.  I guess we are close enough to a fulfillment center.  For us, prime is worth every penny and Amazon truly is amazing.  And I hate to think that way because I prefer "shop local" but dang, they really do set the bar ridiculously high.

Not sure I agree with this.  Granted I was only prime for a year and in a certain geographic area.  I had a generally good experience, but I had late deliveries maybe half a dozen times.  I got two prime extensions and a few $5 credits.*  I didn’t always contact them; only when I really did need an item quickly.  The $5 credits pissed me off because the item arrived pretty much in the same time frame as “no rush” shipping would have arrived.  They gave me the option for no rush shipping for a $5 prime now credit but I obviously wanted it quickly.  So it was equivalent to a non-voluntary no-rush shipment.  Seems like they should have given a better consolation than what they already offered me and I had turned down

*this is a major metro area and I think I only had late deliveries around the holidays... but that’s really when you depend on the delivery dates

[ketchup]

It's definitely a YMMV situation.  I've had a handful of late deliveries over the years with no clear pattern, maybe 5-6 total over five years of using Amazon pretty heavily.

One time they refunded us a full $40 for a game that was delivered late.  Usually though, it was just a free month of Prime.  I don't think we've had it happen since that policy changed.

[cats]

Bumping this thread as I saw this article today about deaths resulting from Amazon delivery driver crashes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/us/amazon-delivery-drivers-accidents.html

I have been bothered by conditions in Amazon's (and other big retailers) warehouses and this is yet another aspect of their fast/free delivery system that is not so pretty.

We don't really buy a lot of stuff and when we do I always look for an alternative to Amazon, stuff like this makes me more inclined to continue on my current path.

[Pigeon]

I have Prime.  I don't love Amazon and try to buy locally.  But it's gotten to the point where you can't buy a lot of stuff locally.  For example, we have mid-level Motorola cell phones.  The local stores only carry accessories for flagship phones.  I wear wide shoes.  All the stores don't stock them and say you can order them online.  That annoys me to no end, since my feet are hard to fit.  I'd have to pay for shipping and Amazon makes returns easy if they don't fit.

We do watch enough Prime Video and listen to music to make it worthwhile.

[GuitarStv]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

[ketchup]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

I'm not defending it, but grocery stores have plenty of absurdly excessive packaging too that is invisible to the consumer.  I worked unloading trucks and stocking shelves at Target for a summer after high school and we threw away a shitload of boxes and packing material.

[GuitarStv]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

I'm not defending it, but grocery stores have plenty of absurdly excessive packaging too that is invisible to the consumer.  I worked unloading trucks and stocking shelves at Target for a summer after high school and we threw away a shitload of boxes and packing material.

No doubt there's lots of behind the scenes packaging waste at a grocery store, but I've got to think that the bulk quantities they order stuff in tends to help that a lot.

In my case I ordered three boxes of cereal, a guitar slide, some nuts, and some new brake pads for my bike.  This came in four separate orders:

- Two boxes of cereal (in amazon box, with big plastic bubble wrap)
- Guitar slide (in large manilla envelope with bubble wrap)
- Bag of nuts and other box of cereal (in amazon box)
- Brake pads (in large manilla envelope with bubble wrap)

This is all above and beyond the (already excessive) packaging that they regularly would have come in.  Ugh.  So much waste.

[Dogastrophe]

I had Prime for a year - didn't really watch video or stream music (I also have netflix and spotify).  Also found that the regular free shipping was often just as fast to Halifax as the Prime 2-day shipping.

I try to keep my Amazon ordering to items that I either cannot get locally or for items that are over priced locally

[marble_faun]

I'm glad this has come up again!

I have loved Prime in the past, as someone who prefers not to drive.  For a long time it seemed like I might as well go to Amazon rather than some box store -- it's not like Wal-Mart is some sort of corporate saint.

BUT Amazon has just gotten really dark lately, and I am rethinking this.

The issue with the delivery "contractors" seems wrong to me on many levels.  They seem to be incentivized to drive quickly and perhaps carelessly to meet the company's demanding quotas.  And because they are divided between so many different subcontractor companies, it's difficult for them to organize for better working conditions.

Personally, I don't usually need my Amazon items the next day, but that has become the default for some reason. I'd far prefer for the drivers to take their time and be careful, and for the company to take more responsibility for what happens on the road. 

There are also the issues with third-party sellers on Amazon, captured in this Wall Street Journal article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-has-ceded-control-of-its-site-the-result-thousands-of-banned-unsafe-or-mislabeled-products-11566564990

Essentially products that US retailers would not put on the shelves for safety reasons (like kids' toys made with lead over the recommended levels, or helmets that have been recalled) will show up on Amazon, sometimes even promoted as "Amazon's Choice" products. Often they are put up by Chinese sellers with false descriptions. Trying to get them down or ban the sellers is like playing whack-a-mole. And it's sometimes hard to tell what is being sold by Amazon, and what is a third-party purchase, making it hard to avoid these items.

I find myself just no longer able to trust the site.  More and more I'm buying from other places and trying to avoid them, because I just don't know what sort of shady things are going on.

I also hate all the waste of it. I've tried to group my orders so that everything I want for a while can come in one box... but even so, each item (even identical items!) will arrive separately, in its own box.

Increasingly I just don't want to be a part of this.  I have Prime and a credit card that gives me free Amazon bux, but is it worth the human and environmental toll?

[robartsd]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

I'm not defending it, but grocery stores have plenty of absurdly excessive packaging too that is invisible to the consumer.  I worked unloading trucks and stocking shelves at Target for a summer after high school and we threw away a shitload of boxes and packing material.

Whatever source you go with, packages are boxed up in cases (typically exactly the size needed) as the producer, stacked on a pallet and wrapped in shrink wrap.

Warehouse stores receive these pallets, remove excess packaging and sell to consumers.

Retail chain stores typically receive these pallets at a distribution warehouse. Pick cases of various items and put them on a pallet and shrink wrap it to send out to individual stores, which remove excess packaging and sell to consumers. They just add a pallet's worth of shrink wrap for almost every pallet of goods sold (a few high volume items will go to the individual stores by the pallet).

Amazon (and others that sell online and ship directly to consumers) receive the pallets from the producer and remove excess packaging. Individual items are picked for an order, placed in a box that is somewhat bigger than needed, fill the excess space with packaging material, then deliver the package to the customer. This is quite a bit more packaging used than most retail chain stores. There is an option with Amazon to group your order into as few shipments as possible; but since their entire fulfillment chain is geared towards rapid delivery of small orders, I don't think checking the box is likely to change much about how your order arrives.

A third party seller using Amazon fulfillment typically adds another level of packaging and shipping to get items to an Amazon warehouse.

Personally I like the growing trend of big retailers offering items online that they don't keep in the local store with free in store pick up. These items get picked at the distribution warehouse and put on a pallet on the same truck delivering regular SKUs to the store. Usually the return policies for these items are the same as similar items stocked in the local store. Larger selection of items available, but at a similar level of packaging and transportation resources used as as for items stocked at the store.

[EngagedToFIRE]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

I'm not defending it, but grocery stores have plenty of absurdly excessive packaging too that is invisible to the consumer.  I worked unloading trucks and stocking shelves at Target for a summer after high school and we threw away a shitload of boxes and packing material.

Big time.  That damn baler!  Always full.

[thesis]

I do not. As others have mentioned, I spend less without it, which is precisely why I got rid of it in the first place. It turns out that when you ask yourself, "Do I still want this if it takes two weeks to arrive?", the answer is usually a mixture of a grumble, shuffling, and a weak, "no...." Prime just makes spending more on Amazon so much easier. After starting a new job, I once needed a book for work and happily paid $8 to overnight it. This happened ONCE. Another time, I realized another book for work was only $5 more at the bookstore. Easy decision. (my message being, if you really need something, there are typically ways to get it fast for cheaper than the Prime fee. Otherwise, it just caters to impatience. Unless you love the movie selection, but eh...)

I guess if I were buying things needed on a regular basis, I might actually get good value from it. Otherwise, it just convinces you to buy more, and I think that's why they market it so heavily. In those cases, the consumer does not win.

[Wrenchturner]

I don't pay for any subscription type services, except audible, and I'm not really using it enough to keep it much longer.  So I'll either step up my usage or cancel it.  I already put my account on hold for three months per year, the max allowed.

There's plenty of material on YouTube for me.

[bmjohnson35]

If credit cards are too easy to spend vs cash, Amazon is Credit cards on steroids.  Don't get me wrong, we use Amazon our fare share, but I do recognize that I spend more than necessary at times.  Just like credit cards, as long as you use it wisely, it can be a tool that can lower your costs, but only if you use it that way.  Combine Amazon Prime with a CC that has prime cash back and its even easier to lower costs.  If you don't have a car or have limited access to transportation, it makes even more sense.

BJ

[seattlecyclone]

We just don't buy much stuff. When we do buy something online it's often from Amazon, though we usually find that either it's expensive enough that Amazon will ship it to us for free if we're not in a hurry (and we usually aren't), or a third-party seller will ship it to us for not much more than Amazon charges to Prime members.

We will occasionally take advantage of a free trial offer for Prime and binge watch some of their TV shows. I only got halfway through Man in the High Castle last time we got a free trial, and am happy to wait until the next one to finish it.

[jpdx]

First, we try to buy as much as possible second hand or for free from our Buy Nothing community.

For new purchases, we use Amazon quite a bit. Gone are the days of driving around store to store in search of what you need. And as a 1-car family, Prime is really helpful.

If you're low income, you can get Prime for $70 per year, billed $6/mo. We used our child's Medicaid card to enroll (CHIP AGI levels are quite generous in my state).

https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16256994011

[minimustache1985]

Currently yes, I didn’t until pregnant with our first, but with a newborn was pretty homebound and being able to order things I discovered I needed to arrive quickly without a shipping minimum was very helpful to my already sleep deprived sanity levels.  We are expecting #2 now and will keep it through at least the newborn phase for the same reason, after that we may cut it and go back to hitting the free shipping minimum and slow delivery for the items that are hard to find in our local stores.

I do enjoy the streaming services, both TV and the included music I play while cleaning, but could live without them for sure.

[HBFIRE]

I have amazon prime, but the value proposition has decreased over the last couple years due to increased membership pricing and less control over quality of merchandise (lots of counterfeit goods are sold on their site, and the reviews are largely fake).  Amazon has basically become a giant flea market.  Also, they are nowhere close to the price leader they once were -- in fact they are rarely the price leader on any given item.    That said, we do enjoy their video content and it can be convenient when we need something shipped very quickly.  At this point, I look at it as another netflix with some perks.  It's one of those things I'll have to evaluate each year if it's worth it any longer.

[OtherJen]

We’ve been placing considerably fewer orders with Amazon and shop at Whole Foods maybe once a year. Now that husband’s watched all available episodes of The Expanse, I’ve turned off the Prime membership. We’ll probably turn it back on for a month or two when the next season of his show is released.

We’ve been without Prime for ~6 months now. I really don’t miss it. We might turn it back on for a couple of months this winter because I want to watch Fleabag and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but otherwise there’s little point. We place fewer orders because of the minimum amount required for free shipping, which cuts down on impulse buys.

[PatronWizard11]

We’ve been placing considerably fewer orders with Amazon and shop at Whole Foods maybe once a year. Now that husband’s watched all available episodes of The Expanse, I’ve turned off the Prime membership. We’ll probably turn it back on for a month or two when the next season of his show is released.

We’ve been without Prime for ~6 months now. I really don’t miss it. We might turn it back on for a couple of months this winter because I want to watch Fleabag and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but otherwise there’s little point. We place fewer orders because of the minimum amount required for free shipping, which cuts down on impulse buys.

That’s where we’re sitting. I thought we were going to miss it way more but we haven’t even noticed.

[Rosy]

We bought sixteen items in 12 months. Considering the coupon offers - total $120, free shipping or in most cases extra credit $5, or $1 towards a media purchase, discount offers on amazon gift cards - total $60, the extra 5% in rewards points on my prime cc, it actually paid for itself and then some.

A couple of times I found cheaper alternatives for purchase from the mfg/distributor direct or a different website by reading the comments/reviews. I would not have known or found out about these options without amazon.

I also found that when it comes to techie stuff and tricky DIY projects - reading the reviews and following up on links was extremely helpful.
Yeah, I know many of the reviews are garbage but overall they've proven helpful - books being the notable exception, insert eyeroll:).

I did not realize that prime video was included for free until eight months in, yeah well, I had a boomer moment. I like it, it's as good as Netflix so I decided to stop Netflix for a while:).
More savings:).

All in all, well worth it for us.
I'm looking into the pricing for cat food under their auto-ship program to determine if that would be worth it for us as well.

[Dicey]

Just tried Prime again as my free subscription thingie came up.  I actually feel bad using the service . . . the free shipping and convenience is nice, but when I tried getting some groceries and basic items with it the amount of packaging stuff was shipped in was kinda disturbing to me.

I'm not defending it, but grocery stores have plenty of absurdly excessive packaging too that is invisible to the consumer.  I worked unloading trucks and stocking shelves at Target for a summer after high school and we threw away a shitload of boxes and packing material.

No doubt there's lots of behind the scenes packaging waste at a grocery store, but I've got to think that the bulk quantities they order stuff in tends to help that a lot.

In my case I ordered three boxes of cereal, a guitar slide, some nuts, and some new brake pads for my bike.  This came in four separate orders:

- Two boxes of cereal (in amazon box, with big plastic bubble wrap)
- Guitar slide (in large manilla envelope with bubble wrap)
- Bag of nuts and other box of cereal (in amazon box)
- Brake pads (in large manilla envelope with bubble wrap)

This is all above and beyond the (already excessive) packaging that they regularly would have come in.  Ugh.  So much waste.

Add to this that Amazon has an equivalent amount and type of waste that Target does. Honestly, the amount of non-recyclable waste created by Amazon and Starbucks is appalling. Yet it seems to mostly fly under the radar.  Why?

[ctuser1]

Yes - so far!

We used to have a lot of subscribe and save items and used to order a lot. That has reduced a lot in the last 1 year or so. Thanks in no small parts to this forum for waking me up to the level of frugality possible. Bogleheads - where I used to mostly lurk before - is still too spendy compared to the crowd here.

I am hoping wifey will let me cancel once the Disney+ starts :-). She did not react too negatively when I suggested it - so I am very hopeful we will no longer be prime members post this coming November.

[Chris Pascale]

Had it until this past Monday when my "student promo" expired. I was able to get the promo by using my school email address, where I teach.

[Zamboni]

I've decided it isn't worth it for me. I couldn't tell if "cancelling" turns it off right now or just stops auto-renew, so I just had to put reminders to cancel it a couple of days before it renews on my calendar.

Kind of a pain . . . but I might as well use it until renewal time. If anyone knows that hitting "cancel" will keep it active until the renewal date since I've prepaid for a year, then please reply and tell me! Thanks!

[GuitarStv]

I've decided it isn't worth it for me. I couldn't tell if "cancelling" turns it off right now or just stops auto-renew, so I just had to put reminders to cancel it a couple of days before it renews on my calendar.

Kind of a pain . . . but I might as well use it until renewal time. If anyone knows that hitting "cancel" will keep it active until the renewal date since I've prepaid for a year, then please reply and tell me! Thanks!

It did when I cancelled my free subscription.

[afox]

i have prime but finding more and more that walmart is seriously competing with amazon and is a real cheaper or as cheap with no membership alternative for online shopping. Also, ebay usually has prime prices with "fast and free" (3-4 days) shipping. So, really the only thing keeping me on prime now is some convenience and laziness to shop for alternatives. Also, the 5% chase amazon cash back card often brings the equal prime prices below walmart/ebay but certainly not considering the prime membership.

[BurtMacklin]

I have been getting the student rate ($50 I think), because I was in grad school. I may be able to get it one more year because I still have access to school email. I also use the TV service, Bosch is a great show, I've read all the books.

[ketchup]

I've decided it isn't worth it for me. I couldn't tell if "cancelling" turns it off right now or just stops auto-renew, so I just had to put reminders to cancel it a couple of days before it renews on my calendar.

Kind of a pain . . . but I might as well use it until renewal time. If anyone knows that hitting "cancel" will keep it active until the renewal date since I've prepaid for a year, then please reply and tell me! Thanks!

They'll refund you a prorated amount if you cancel part-way through the year.

[HBFIRE]

Quick side note:  For those who credit card churn and have a million credit cards, capital one ($1)  Discover ($2) and Barclays ($1) will balance cancel charges up to the amount I mentioned in parenthesis.

So, each month I will amazon reload on all my extra cards that meet the above criteria with the amount stated.  For me its like $10/month free and takes a couple seconds.  This ends up basically paying for Amazon for me so that's how I justfy keeping it haha.

[Zamboni]

I've decided it isn't worth it for me. I couldn't tell if "cancelling" turns it off right now or just stops auto-renew, so I just had to put reminders to cancel it a couple of days before it renews on my calendar.

Kind of a pain . . . but I might as well use it until renewal time. If anyone knows that hitting "cancel" will keep it active until the renewal date since I've prepaid for a year, then please reply and tell me! Thanks!

They'll refund you a prorated amount if you cancel part-way through the year.

Good to know, thanks!

[WhiteTrashCash]

I went out shopping in person yesterday to pick up a couple things I needed for work (which I will be reimbursed for), but I ran into the problem that makes it necessary to have Amazon Prime. I went to four different stores and none of them had what I needed, which are fairly common items. I specifically went to the stores because their websites said they had the items and listed what aisle and shelf they would be on. Unfortunately, none of this information was accurate. In fact, in all stores, the specified aisles all had completely unrelated items instead; They had reorganized their aisles and not updated their websites to reflect this. I suppose I could have ordered it ahead of time to pick up at the store and waited for confirmation that they had it, but I was trying to combine the trip with a grocery shop at the same time to save time. But at least I had the pleasure of being treated like an annoyance by their disinterested employees when I asked for assistance.

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

[dragoncar]

I went out shopping in person yesterday to pick up a couple things I needed for work (which I will be reimbursed for), but I ran into the problem that makes it necessary to have Amazon Prime. I went to four different stores and none of them had what I needed, which are fairly common items. I specifically went to the stores because their websites said they had the items and listed what aisle and shelf they would be on. Unfortunately, none of this information was accurate. In fact, in all stores, the specified aisles all had completely unrelated items instead; They had reorganized their aisles and not updated their websites to reflect this. I suppose I could have ordered it ahead of time to pick up at the store and waited for confirmation that they had it, but I was trying to combine the trip with a grocery shop at the same time to save time. But at least I had the pleasure of being treated like an annoyance by their disinterested employees when I asked for assistance.

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

Doesn’t necessarily require prime, though.  You could just pay more for 2-day shipping.  Analysis of paying extra for some ordered vs a flat monthly/annual fee is orthogonal to the need for 2-day shipping in general

[WhiteTrashCash]

I went out shopping in person yesterday to pick up a couple things I needed for work (which I will be reimbursed for), but I ran into the problem that makes it necessary to have Amazon Prime. I went to four different stores and none of them had what I needed, which are fairly common items. I specifically went to the stores because their websites said they had the items and listed what aisle and shelf they would be on. Unfortunately, none of this information was accurate. In fact, in all stores, the specified aisles all had completely unrelated items instead; They had reorganized their aisles and not updated their websites to reflect this. I suppose I could have ordered it ahead of time to pick up at the store and waited for confirmation that they had it, but I was trying to combine the trip with a grocery shop at the same time to save time. But at least I had the pleasure of being treated like an annoyance by their disinterested employees when I asked for assistance.

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

Doesn’t necessarily require prime, though.  You could just pay more for 2-day shipping.  Analysis of paying extra for some ordered vs a flat monthly/annual fee is orthogonal to the need for 2-day shipping in general

Just share the Prime subscription with another family member. Spread it out a bit and it's worth the price. This is a "sharing economy" after all. When Disney+ premieres in November, I'm planning to split the cost of an annual subscription with a friend and discontinue Netflix. Lots of savings everywhere since we're all "sharing" these days. This is what our society wants, so let's do it.

[HBFIRE]

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

Well yeah, you're comparing Amazon to the dinosaur of retail.  That said, Amazon is rarely the price leader.  If you want a good deal, always search google shopping and Ebay.  One thing to always be aware of is that there are a lot of counterfeit goods sold on both Amazon and Ebay, so you have to make sure to always do due diligence.  These sites are both flea markets essentially.  Additionally, you don't need prime to purchase Amazon items.

[ministashy]

I went out shopping in person yesterday to pick up a couple things I needed for work (which I will be reimbursed for), but I ran into the problem that makes it necessary to have Amazon Prime. I went to four different stores and none of them had what I needed, which are fairly common items. I specifically went to the stores because their websites said they had the items and listed what aisle and shelf they would be on. Unfortunately, none of this information was accurate. In fact, in all stores, the specified aisles all had completely unrelated items instead; They had reorganized their aisles and not updated their websites to reflect this. I suppose I could have ordered it ahead of time to pick up at the store and waited for confirmation that they had it, but I was trying to combine the trip with a grocery shop at the same time to save time. But at least I had the pleasure of being treated like an annoyance by their disinterested employees when I asked for assistance.

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

It's interesting that so many posters on this thread are so vehemently anti-Prime (or just in general anti-Amazon, tho I suppose that's due to it and Bezos becoming the next big corporate boogeyman in the media, while Walmart and the rest of the big boxers seem to be getting a pass these days).  That said, WTC's experience above is exactly why I would continue to shop online at Amazon even without Prime--why waste my time and gas driving through traffic from one retail store to the next, wandering up and down multiple aisles in the hopes they have the specific thingamabob I want or need?  Esp. when I can go to Amazon, find the thingamabob, compare all the new/used price listings they have for said thingamabob, maybe cross-check with Ebay and Google shopping to make sure I'm not missing out on a deal elsewhere, and then click on it and have it delivered?  Also, I find that Amazon wishlists are great for restraining impulse purchases--if I see a shiny I want, I can just put it in a wishlist and wait a few weeks/months/years and see whether I still want it ... and if so, whether I want it enough at the listed prices, or if I want to wait for it to go on sale.  I'm honestly surprised more people from this forum don't do this.

[Kris]

I went out shopping in person yesterday to pick up a couple things I needed for work (which I will be reimbursed for), but I ran into the problem that makes it necessary to have Amazon Prime. I went to four different stores and none of them had what I needed, which are fairly common items. I specifically went to the stores because their websites said they had the items and listed what aisle and shelf they would be on. Unfortunately, none of this information was accurate. In fact, in all stores, the specified aisles all had completely unrelated items instead; They had reorganized their aisles and not updated their websites to reflect this. I suppose I could have ordered it ahead of time to pick up at the store and waited for confirmation that they had it, but I was trying to combine the trip with a grocery shop at the same time to save time. But at least I had the pleasure of being treated like an annoyance by their disinterested employees when I asked for assistance.

Ultimately, I ended up going home and ordering the items from Amazon with 2-day shipping instead. They simply offer better products at a better price with better customer service and their items are almost always in stock. Retail just can't compete.

It's interesting that so many posters on this thread are so vehemently anti-Prime (or just in general anti-Amazon, tho I suppose that's due to it and Bezos becoming the next big corporate boogeyman in the media, while Walmart and the rest of the big boxers seem to be getting a pass these days).  That said, WTC's experience above is exactly why I would continue to shop online at Amazon even without Prime--why waste my time and gas driving through traffic from one retail store to the next, wandering up and down multiple aisles in the hopes they have the specific thingamabob I want or need?  Esp. when I can go to Amazon, find the thingamabob, compare all the new/used price listings they have for said thingamabob, maybe cross-check with Ebay and Google shopping to make sure I'm not missing out on a deal elsewhere, and then click on it and have it delivered?  Also, I find that Amazon wishlists are great for restraining impulse purchases--if I see a shiny I want, I can just put it in a wishlist and wait a few weeks/months/years and see whether I still want it ... and if so, whether I want it enough at the listed prices, or if I want to wait for it to go on sale.  I'm honestly surprised more people from this forum don't do this.

This is kinda where I am. I literally almost never go inside a store. Amazon saves me time, and also money in gas and the impulse purchases I would make if I went to, say, Target for stuff. At this point, in any given month I might go into our local pharmacy one time, and our hardware store one time. (Note: DH does the grocery shopping.)

[OtherJen]

Also, I find that Amazon wishlists are great for restraining impulse purchases--if I see a shiny I want, I can just put it in a wishlist and wait a few weeks/months/years and see whether I still want it ... and if so, whether I want it enough at the listed prices, or if I want to wait for it to go on sale.  I'm honestly surprised more people from this forum don't do this.

Why do you assume we don't do this? My wishlist is pretty long. I don't have a problem shopping on Amazon. I don't see the need to pay extra to maintain Prime service when, if I'm willing to be a bit patient, I can still get free shipping without it.

[Aelias]

I never had Prime, but I cancelled my Amazon account altogether about a year and a half ago.  The final straw was their support of NRA TV, but really the fact that Amazon was something that made my life easier and the world as a whole worse was getting harder to ignore.  A few things I’ve observed:
— I don’t really miss it.  I will admit that if I’m looking for some very specific product, it will often come up on Amazon first.  But it’s usually through another small retailer, so I find their e-commerce site and cut out the middle man.  Works most of the time, and is about as convenient as Amazon.
—I buy less stuff.  Adding just a little speed bump between wanting something and purchasing it leads to fewer purchases.
—Buying local is still not really an alternative.  There are fewer retailers, they often don’t have what you need, and most of them are big chains that are only marginally less evil anyway. 

So, if you feel inclined to break up with whatever store for whatever reason, I say go for it.  You’ll probably buy less and be better of for it, and after a few weeks, you won’t even miss it.   But, consumerism is much bigger problem than any one company.  The real solution is just to buy less— way less—overall.

[DadJokes]

My in-laws pay for Prime, and we mooch off of them. We would actually get pretty good value out of it if we had to pay. We stream a lot of shows, use the music app, and even started taking the no-rush option for shipping, so that we can get money toward buying additional digital content, since many of the kids' shows only have a couple seasons available. However, we wouldn't keep it if we had to pay.

It definitely falls under the "unethical ways to save money" thread, but our family shares a lot of stuff. Wife's parents pay for Prime & DirecTV and share passwords. We get Netflix through T-Mobile and share it with wife's brother. And we will be getting Disney+ and sharing it (if possible).

[Just Joe]

It's interesting that so many posters on this thread are so vehemently anti-Prime (or just in general anti-Amazon, tho I suppose that's due to it and Bezos becoming the next big corporate boogeyman in the media, while Walmart and the rest of the big boxers seem to be getting a pass these days).  That said, WTC's experience above is exactly why I would continue to shop online at Amazon even without Prime--why waste my time and gas driving through traffic from one retail store to the next, wandering up and down multiple aisles in the hopes they have the specific thingamabob I want or need?  Esp. when I can go to Amazon, find the thingamabob, compare all the new/used price listings they have for said thingamabob, maybe cross-check with Ebay and Google shopping to make sure I'm not missing out on a deal elsewhere, and then click on it and have it delivered?  Also, I find that Amazon wishlists are great for restraining impulse purchases--if I see a shiny I want, I can just put it in a wishlist and wait a few weeks/months/years and see whether I still want it ... and if so, whether I want it enough at the listed prices, or if I want to wait for it to go on sale.  I'm honestly surprised more people from this forum don't do this.

What you wrote. I'm not happy driving all over town looking for that widget and not finding it. Not a good way to spend my time, waste of fuel, wear and tear on the car. I'm just adding to the significant traffic here (growing small town). I've had similar experiences with out of date websites misreporting stock on hand. Clerks don't want to answer the phone and go searching for the random item I want b/c what if I never come buy it? Waste of their time.

All those monthly purchases we do like dog food or detergent or paper towels we have reliable local sources for.

What's left is occasionally shopping for clothing (half and half locally/online). I recently bought hiking sandals and a pair of shoes for 50% off local sources. $45 off. I shopped locally but I couldn't justify their prices even accounting for overhead and employee wages.

Then there are the oddball things we order for our hobbies that are never available locally. Not a chance I can find 3D printing supplies locally. Not a chance I can find parts for my vintage cars, ebikes, or similar. Or its far more economical online. I love our LSB but an extra $1K for a low power ebike over online sources meant the difference between having an ebike or not. LSB takes 2-3 weeks to get what I can order directly and receive in a week.

[KBCB]

voted and surprised by the current results! Not sure what I was expecting but interesting!!

[Just Joe]

We have it. Live in a smallish town. Anything too unusual and we can't buy it off the shelf here. That includes - as one earlier poster said - wide shoes in some cases. And buying hobby stuff is an impossibility here without mail order options like Prime.

The internet prices at sites like Prime can be 50%+ less than local prices sometimes. I really hate not shopping at the local outdoor shop or the LBS but our dollars need to be used efficiently. In the case of our ebikes - the price savings was the difference between having an ebike and not. Also order waiting times. LBS can order something for me and it takes two+ weeks when Amazon is days.

I usually choose the slow shipping option b/c of what we all hear about life in their warehouses. I don't need anything overnight, just in the next week or so. Typically just hobby supplies anyhow. 

[fixie]

Nope, though I have had several "student" free trials over the years.  Amazon must have sensed I was on an edu network and lowered the Prime price, haha.  I like to use Amazon like it uses other people.  It's an abusive relationship.  Way I hear it, Amazon sucks up almost 50% of retail dollars or something like that.  So, when your town's downtown retail disappears and local workers can barely make ends meet, you know to go and look in the mirror.  Too bad we no longer have strong anti-trust laws.
-fixie