Author Topic: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?  (Read 18135 times)

DeltaBond

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #50 on: November 13, 2015, 09:46:38 AM »
I'll tell you one thing I won't miss when my subscription runs out is those lame notifications they started sending out on smart phones... like "buy it again" and "new deals".  I don't need MORE notifications in my life.

Spork

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #51 on: November 13, 2015, 10:35:51 AM »
I'll tell you one thing I won't miss when my subscription runs out is those lame notifications they started sending out on smart phones... like "buy it again" and "new deals".  I don't need MORE notifications in my life.

You can edit their notifications.  It's been years since I've done it, but they have 20 or so categories.  Turn them off.

cheddarpie

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #52 on: November 13, 2015, 10:48:10 AM »
I have it and love it. There's definitely a risk of unnecessary purchases, but I find that to be more true with impulse buys in a store than online. I'll often keep a running shopping list in my cart and then wait to check out to make sure I really need something.

Here's why I'll renew again:
-- Better selection. I can find ANYTHING. I am doing a lot of home remodel projects and can't tell you how many times I've been to Lowe's looking for a specific thing and the clerk has told me they don't carry it, "check Amazon." ARGH! But yeah. I try to shop local brick and mortars when I can, but sometimes it just doesn't work.
-- Free shipping. As someone above pointed out, it's not exactly free since they make up the price differential, but having items delivered to my house, particularly when there's a very different set of things I need, makes my life so much easier than running around to 10 different stores on the weekend. And when I need something fast, Amazon's two day shipping option is usually faster than I can get to a store anyway since I work more than full time.
-- Prime Videos -- I love the streaming options. The selection isn't always the best, but I can always find something I want to watch for free OR ...
-- Digital Credit for regular shipping. It's rare that I use Prime's 2-day shipping option. Sometimes I need things fast, but almost always I can wait a couple of extra days and instead get a $1 digital credit for movies, music, and Kindle. This alone makes up for the subscription fee.


cjottawa

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #53 on: November 13, 2015, 10:51:43 AM »
I test drove the free 30-day trial and elected to not pay to continue.

  • Amazon.ca has a tiny fraction of the products offered on Amazon.com.
  • Many items are several times more expensive.
  • Many Canadian mail order companies are less expensive than Amazon.ca and ship faster.

Price comparison between a retailer that sells on Amazon.ca as well as direct via their website:
$55 via Amazon.ca, $45 direct (shipping is $15 flat to me).

While I'd prefer to use the "Amazon platform" for convenience, as a Canadian, you can usually do better.

TL;DR: Amazon.ca doesn't make financial sense. Amazon Prime in Canada: doubly so.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2015, 11:43:13 AM by cjottawa »

JLee

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #54 on: November 13, 2015, 01:56:02 PM »
I test drove the free 30-day trial and elected to not pay to continue.

  • Amazon.ca has a tiny fraction of the products offered on Amazon.com.
  • Many items are several times more expensive.
  • Many Canadian mail order companies are less expensive than Amazon.ca and ship faster.

Price comparison between a retailer that sells on Amazon.ca as well as direct via their website:
$55 via Amazon.ca, $45 direct (shipping is $15 flat to me).

While I'd prefer to use the "Amazon platform" for convenience, as a Canadian, you can usually do better.

TL;DR: Amazon.ca doesn't make financial sense. Amazon Prime in Canada: doubly so.

Based on my 3+ months in Canada earlier this year, I would agree.

FLA

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #55 on: November 13, 2015, 02:33:48 PM »
I am one of those people on someone else's account, my brother's.  His renewed a few weeks ago and all of his "people" are still on there.

I like it, would love to have the video content but not enough to pay for Prime if I get kicked off my brother's

Cwadda

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #56 on: November 13, 2015, 03:50:55 PM »
I have Prime (student rate) because I love Amazon. The ratings are always beneficial, the site is so easy to use, etc. Last year I realized I could do ALL of my holiday shopping online. Without having to go out into consumer-cultured stores. I felt sick to my stomach going into a mall at Christmas time.

I also use Amazon to sell stuff!

BlueMR2

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #57 on: November 13, 2015, 04:02:26 PM »
No to Amazon Prime.

1) We don't buy much stuff to begin with.
2) We buy local whenever it's reasonable (which is very nearly all of the time).

In short, it's just not worth it from a financial standpoint and I don't support Amazon from a social standpoint.

DeltaBond

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #58 on: November 15, 2015, 06:32:33 AM »

-- Digital Credit for regular shipping. It's rare that I use Prime's 2-day shipping option. Sometimes I need things fast, but almost always I can wait a couple of extra days and instead get a $1 digital credit for movies, music, and Kindle. This alone makes up for the subscription fee.

Digital credit - I was unaware of this.  Is it only used for movies, music or kindle? 

MoonShadow

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #59 on: November 16, 2015, 06:37:51 AM »

-- Digital Credit for regular shipping. It's rare that I use Prime's 2-day shipping option. Sometimes I need things fast, but almost always I can wait a couple of extra days and instead get a $1 digital credit for movies, music, and Kindle. This alone makes up for the subscription fee.

Digital credit - I was unaware of this.  Is it only used for movies, music or kindle?

All of the above, whichever digital content you buy next.  I do it all the time, but not enough to contradict the annual prime fee.

Scandium

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #60 on: November 16, 2015, 08:26:49 AM »
I don't have it because all it is is paying for impatience, which I try not to do.  I just wait until I have $35 worth of stuff I need and then order.  If you HAVE to have something RIGHT NOW, that's either poor planning or a lie to yourself.  And even if that's the case, I can come up with stuff I know I'm going to need in the near future that I can add to the cart to get free shipping.

Totally agree with this. Anyone who needs prime because they can't wait 5 days should probably fix their poor impulse control and planning. There are a very few things where i can be helpful (say you need batteries, or a part to repair your washer), but mostly not.

I do keep prime for the streaming videos though, but might cancel once we're done watching the Wire. The selection is pretty bad.

BlueMR2

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #61 on: November 17, 2015, 10:01:56 AM »
Totally agree with this. Anyone who needs prime because they can't wait 5 days should probably fix their poor impulse control and planning. There are a very few things where i can be helpful (say you need batteries, or a part to repair your washer), but mostly not.

Then there's that.  :-)  Yeah, a facepunch probably is in order for anyone that has Prime just because of quicker delivery.

BTW, for batteries, try your local dollar store.  I just paid $1.00 for an 8 pack of AAAs (after having one of the regular expensive ones in a remote-control only VCR explode on movie night...)

flan

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #62 on: November 17, 2015, 02:20:25 PM »
Alright, you guys have convinced me that it's at least worth TRYING life without Amazon Prime :P

I've cancelled my auto-renew.

eostache

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #63 on: November 17, 2015, 03:24:20 PM »
I browse on amazon a lot, reading reviews and such. I only actually buy something from there once or twice a year. I do not keep my credit card info in my amazon account. If I really really want to buy something I have to go find my credit card and add the payment info. It curbs the impulse buys.  So, no Prime account.

SachaFiscal

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Re: Amazon Prime - do you have it? Why or why not?
« Reply #64 on: November 17, 2015, 09:10:51 PM »
I have prime. Also I have an Amazon rewards credit card which I use to pay all my bills. So Most of the time i can cover the entire cost with points. I use it mostly for birthday gifts which are shipped with free two day shipping.  It pretty much covers my birthday gifts to family for the whole year and sometimes some Christmas gifts too.