Author Topic: Amazon prime - is it worth it?  (Read 21712 times)

KarefulKactus15

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Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« on: September 30, 2015, 02:11:39 AM »
Anyone else use it? I realize the free shipping isn't really free..since I pay yearly. But so far all my prime orders have arrived in two days without a single late package to date.

Does anyone recommend for or against having a prime membership, and for what reasons? (I'm trying to decide if I should cancel for the upcoming year)

thingamabobs

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2015, 02:48:35 AM »
We went without it for a while and noticed that even when we qualified for free shipping the order would just sit for days before being processed and shipped out. Probably just their way of convincing us that we needed the prime membership.

KarefulKactus15

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2015, 03:13:54 AM »
Alright,  I'll take that as two votes for no.  I also have cut back on my ordering stuff. Seems more mustachian.

MrsPfennig

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2015, 04:57:56 AM »
I use Prime here in Germany. I save on dog food alone each month 20 Euros. Plus its delivered to my door step which is a huge plus since we both work and have a kid. We also get diapers and other household items that we would not get cheaper at the store. Since we went several month without a car delivery is a blessing. Because we subscripe to several articles we also get a couple of percentages off on top. I dont know if US Prime works the same though. We only get items that we would have to get the store anyways. We dont spent more because we have prime.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2015, 04:59:47 AM by MrsPfennig »

Bucksandreds

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2015, 05:26:15 AM »
Yes!  If you use subscribe and save with Amazon Mom you save 20% on diapers ( already priced at or below Walmart before discount) and 15% on all else. I always get diapers, wipes, k cups, baby food, kind or larabars at cheaper then elsewhere and then Amazon will do stackable coupons on select products and I'll order toilet paper, paper towels, detergent etc when it's on sale and I can get it far cheaper than at any store.  It works for parents, I can tell you that.

MsPeacock

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2015, 05:27:53 AM »
I am dropping it when my current term runs out in a couple months. The price increase was the final straw. I have also noticed that items that have 2 day shipping actually take a week or longer to arrive now. So, no advantage in terms of arrival. Also, I think a minimum order has to be $35 or so to qualify for free shipping, and a lot of my orders are over $35 anyhow - so I save nothing on shipping for most of my orders. I don't use the video or music service. I get electronic books for free from my library.

I intended to drop it last year but accidently placed in order after it automatically renewed and then I was stuck - they won't allow cancellation after one order into your contract. I set my automatic cancellation for the end of my current term.

So, another NO vote to add to your tally.

nanu

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2015, 05:31:25 AM »
Personally I use Amazon Prime all the time. Is it worth it? Not sure, and I haven't done the math since I don't pay for the membership I have...

However, you can save on Amazon by using a credit card that gives money back on purchases - the Barclay Sallie Mae gives 5% back on up to $750 in spend every month at bookstores (Amazon counts), but last I heard sign up for the card is closed (unclear why).
But until the end of 2015 the Discover It card gives 5% (later doubled to 10% if you signed up to the promotion/get the card now) back on Amazon purchases as well. If you use this link (http://discover.popularmedia.net/click/share/0fbb236e719bc917ac05a3152801751f/917f03d37ac65af692141c9909ae0d5a) to sign up for the card we both get $50 after you make your first purchase.

Oh, and a cash back portal called Giving Assistant has started giving 5% back on ALL Amazon purchases, and you get the money within about a week (I received about $15 to my bank account already since starting to use it three weeks ago). This is my referral link to the site (https://givingassistant.org/?rid=dlNFTHVg5e), which gives us both $5 after your first purchase.

katstache92

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2015, 06:09:19 AM »
I use prime for the tv and music options.  I would say before prime had music I would on the low end, buy one $5 album per month - that's $60/year.  The high end of that would easily pay for prime by itself.  I have a fire tv and use the prime tv option on that, they have a lot of shows I haven't watched yet and don't have cable.

I also do use the two day delivery, but that is not what keeps me with prime.

Yes, it's an expense, but it's all in what it offsets for you.  For me it keeps me from wanting cable and from buying music.  So for me, it's worth it.

acroy

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2015, 08:04:02 AM »
We're 'mustachian lite' and spend more than we should/could (about $40k/yr incl mortgage etc). We have Prime for the fast delivery, shows for the kids, music channels and such. At $100/yr the value is very borderline.

merlin7676

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2015, 08:04:53 AM »
I use prime for the tv and music options.  I would say before prime had music I would on the low end, buy one $5 album per month - that's $60/year.  The high end of that would easily pay for prime by itself.  I have a fire tv and use the prime tv option on that, they have a lot of shows I haven't watched yet and don't have cable.

I also do use the two day delivery, but that is not what keeps me with prime.

Yes, it's an expense, but it's all in what it offsets for you.  For me it keeps me from wanting cable and from buying music.  So for me, it's worth it.

Ditto. Having packages arrive in 2 days is nice. But we don't have cable so it's mostly for the movies

Easye418

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2015, 08:20:36 AM »
For me, yes.  I order little nick nacks constantly from there when needed.  I have Student Prime (somehow wink).

The amount of time I save ordering through Amazon makes it worth it for me.  Plus I love their customer service and return policy. 

FLBiker

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #11 on: September 30, 2015, 08:30:38 AM »
We have Prime this year (Amazon Mom) but won't continue when we pay full price.  The difference between 2 and 5 days in receiving something is meaningless to me.  And I'm an inveterate pirate, so I don't think we've ever used the streaming service.

Thinkum

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #12 on: September 30, 2015, 08:44:49 AM »
I had abstained from buying it...until they offered it for $69 to new members recently. It was their anniversary I believe. So far, I've really enjoyed Prime Music, I never buy music and only use Pandora which has become annoying. Prime Video is pretty cool as well. Lot of stuff that is not on Netflix. Then this holiday season, since all our family is in CA, we'll most likely ship them gifts and save on shipping. I have to still figure out how to get some free books for reading. So far it's been worth it for sure. We'll see how I feel after a years time. It breaks down to $5.75/month which is not bad at all at this special price.

FLBiker

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #13 on: September 30, 2015, 08:55:21 AM »
I never buy music and only use Pandora which has become annoying.

The key to using Pandora (I use it all the time at work) is having Adblock Edge (or similar) installed as a browser extension.

RunHappy

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #14 on: September 30, 2015, 09:01:07 AM »
I've had it for a while.  The closest big box store is 15-20 miles away, so I use it to purchase stuff in bulk (toilet paper, paper towers, toothpaste, etc).  I've only started using it for more bulk dry grocery items (flour, etc) which cuts down on our trips to the grocery store.

We also watch a lot of Amazon Prime movies (edit: no cable) and will occasionally rent a non-prime movie.  I wanted to get rid of it last year, but he convinced me to keep it around.  Even with the occasional movie rental (the closest redbox is 10 miles away), for our household budget it counts for way less than .001% of it, so we will keep it for now.

Kaikou

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #15 on: September 30, 2015, 09:14:22 AM »
To try it out. Do the 1 month AMAZON mom trial. Then cancel. Then get it free for 6 months free using a edu student email. Cancel or let it ride over for the $60 price. You could also split prime with someone else and pay half.

Petuniajo

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #16 on: September 30, 2015, 09:46:40 AM »
I love it. The 2-day free shipping is nice (though I think you can get free shipping on a lot even without it), but I use the streaming options a lot (shows for the kids, movies, music, etc.). So for me it is "worth it", though I'm not necessarily sure that I save money because of it if that's what you mean.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #17 on: September 30, 2015, 09:47:01 AM »
It depends on your volume, which partly depends on the number of persons in your household.  I usually can wait if I don't have a $35 load.  You can put the item in "wish list", then come back to it and combine it with another item.

The best thing to do is "partner" on Prime with someone you trust.  One creates a userid and password and let the partners log in and use it.

Thinkum

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #18 on: September 30, 2015, 02:14:35 PM »


The key to using Pandora (I use it all the time at work) is having Adblock Edge (or similar) installed as a browser extension.

Interesting. I usually use Pandora on my phone or at home away from a computer.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #19 on: September 30, 2015, 02:28:26 PM »
I think we paid $79 (maybe less through a promotion?) for it for the free shipping back when we were ordering more stuff, then possibly paid for it for another year automatically.  We then canceled it when we backed off our spending a bit.  Then we got a credit card offer to get it free for a year, my wife and I both did it and it stacked the credits for 2 years, so we are 9 months or so into our 24 free months.  Still don't use it much for shipping, but we do watch a fair bit of streaming TV.  Selection is okay, but probably not as good as Netflix.  Still don't use the free shipping much.  I'll probably switch back to Netflix when our free subscription is up.  What I really don't like about it is that when they don't have a TV show or movie included with Prime it is often only a click and $.99+ away which has led to a few impulse purchases of things that are probably only a few months away from release. Haven't had Netflix in a while, maybe they are doing this now as well?   

infogoon

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #20 on: September 30, 2015, 02:29:55 PM »
I like it for the streaming video / music more than for the free shipping. There really are a lot of things bundled together in Prime.

NV Teacher

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #21 on: September 30, 2015, 02:31:49 PM »
I use mine quite regularly.  I'm in a small rural town about 50 miles away from a big city with more shopping options.  I found that I was driving to the city to pick up a few things and then while there I stopped at a few more places to just look around and then of course I'd get something to eat, spending more than I had planned.

Now, I use Amazon for most things.  A quick example.  I needed a bell for my classroom.  I could drive to the city and get one from Office Max for $5.  That's 100 miles on the car and two hours of my time.  I check on Amazon and they have one for $3.62.  With a few clicks of the mouse it arrives two days later.  Works for me.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #22 on: September 30, 2015, 02:42:04 PM »
For us, yes! We use Subscribe and Save (15% off!) for a lot of items. Ex- supplements/meds, make up, razors. It is even cheaper than Costco for quite a few things- ex., coconut oil goes back and forth for which is cheaper (depends on if there are coupons for amazon), seaweed packs, etc. Costco is still cheaper for trash bags, paper towels, and TP though.

If you don't have a costco membership, then the S&S prices absolutely make Prime worth it.

FatCat

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #23 on: September 30, 2015, 03:09:11 PM »
Back when it was just free 2 day shipping I thought it was definitely not worth it to me. But now it includes discounts on some products, and a streaming video service. It might be worth it if you will be using their streaming service or if you frequently buy the items they discount for Prime customers.

Bucksandreds

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #24 on: September 30, 2015, 03:20:35 PM »
For us, yes! We use Subscribe and Save (15% off!) for a lot of items. Ex- supplements/meds, make up, razors. It is even cheaper than Costco for quite a few things- ex., coconut oil goes back and forth for which is cheaper (depends on if there are coupons for amazon), seaweed packs, etc. Costco is still cheaper for trash bags, paper towels, and TP though.

If you don't have a costco membership, then the S&S prices absolutely make Prime worth it.

Costco is not cheaper on Paper towels when you stack the 15% subscribe and save with a 20-30% off coupon. The cheapest you will get on virtually all household supplies is when you subscribe and save and check every week or so for when a good coupon comes up.  I'll often get things for 50-60% of  what they would cost at Walmart, that way. I often get organic baby food pouches for around 60cents each when they have coupons (at least $1 at any store), gevalia K Cups for about 33 cents each and diapers for 20-30% (depends on Amazon coupon) less than Walmart.  They even deliver this to your house.  If you have a household then do yourself a favor and subscribe and save.

MrSal

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #25 on: September 30, 2015, 03:21:33 PM »
we have it but only because my wife has a .edu e-mail account which enables us to have prime for 30 dollars a year.

With it, we get Prime Music, Prime Video and prime shipping so its worth it since we dont have to pay netflix or spotify ...

Can't Wait

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #26 on: September 30, 2015, 03:23:41 PM »
I probably wouldn't purchase Prime just for myself but I currently have an account that is used by 6 different people and we just split the cost of the membership.

lbmustache

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #27 on: September 30, 2015, 05:17:28 PM »
I use it almost weekly for groceries, random items, school stuff (I teach). Great for videos etc. too. One day shipping is also free if your order is high enough. It's worth it for me.

Lanthiriel

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2015, 05:27:32 PM »
I had it and cancelled. Nothing gets to Alaska within two days anyway, and their programming just wasn't that great. If you aren't doing it for the TV, then why spend $99/year to have something shipped to you faster? I can see the uses for discounts, though, re: Amazon Mom.

geekette

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #29 on: September 30, 2015, 06:01:45 PM »
I probably wouldn't purchase Prime just for myself but I currently have an account that is used by 6 different people and we just split the cost of the membership.
Once your current Prime runs out, you can't do that any longer.

We split it for years when it was $79, but now it's $99 per "household" for two adults max, and you will see each other's credit card info.

JLee

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #30 on: September 30, 2015, 09:22:11 PM »
I love Prime, especially when I was in Phoenix with free same-day shipping. There's a deal now for a year of Prime with an Amazon Fire phone for $120, so if you're up for renewal and want a super cheap smartphone, that may be a good option to consider.

http://slickdeals.net/f/8136624-brand-new-amazon-fire-phone-32gb-4g-lte-factory-unlocked-smartphone-1-year-prime-119-95-rakuten

Gizsuat2

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #31 on: September 30, 2015, 09:26:53 PM »
My vote - No.

We have it now and we're not renewing because ...
(1) Netflix has better content
(2) The stuff rarely actually arrives in 2 days
(3) I buy more stuff than I otherwise would and
(4) I had this realization that anything I bought at Amazon I would otherwise buy from Target or Costco.  All big corporations, but I'd probably rather support a brick and mortar Costco (paying what I understand to be fairly decent wages) and a brick and mortar Target (who is at least employing people right in my region other than the UPS guy).

Kaikou

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #32 on: September 30, 2015, 09:58:35 PM »
we have it but only because my wife has a .edu e-mail account which enables us to have prime for 30 dollars a year.

With it, we get Prime Music, Prime Video and prime shipping so its worth it since we dont have to pay netflix or spotify ...

do you guys split with someone?

Can't Wait

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #33 on: October 01, 2015, 04:40:39 AM »
I probably wouldn't purchase Prime just for myself but I currently have an account that is used by 6 different people and we just split the cost of the membership.
Once your current Prime runs out, you can't do that any longer.

We split it for years when it was $79, but now it's $99 per "household" for two adults max, and you will see each other's credit card info.

Yeah, I saw that they announced changes. So yeah, we'll either cancel it or just try to work around it. Maybe you can just change the shipping address every time someone orders something.. I don't know, if it's too much of a hassle then we'll cancel it. I seem to only order from Amazon a couple of times a year anyway. Prime has been convenient though haha.

Bucksandreds

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #34 on: October 01, 2015, 05:22:50 AM »
My vote - No.

We have it now and we're not renewing because ...

(2) The stuff rarely actually arrives in 2 days


Call them if a prime item doesn't arrive by the day they say it will under the orders section. Twice now they have given me an extra month of prime free because of that.  Prime then equals 2 day shipping or 3-4 day shipping plus $8.xx free in Prime membership.  I actually hope every item that I order arrives late, now.

davisgang90

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #35 on: October 01, 2015, 06:12:32 AM »
We have it and get great value from it.  I use the Prime Music for lots of great playlists, love the 2 day shipping (usually ends up 1 day or same day since we live near D.C.) and I also routinely borrow books for free as well.

snogirl

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #36 on: October 01, 2015, 10:09:22 AM »
I had it for years & when I did, shared it.
Once I realized my hair was on fire, I got rid of it
Funny no one I shared it with shared it back :(
Now I am on a household account though hardly ever use it.
I get my books from the recycle building at our dump, movies from the library.
That is what works for me best right now.

norabird

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #37 on: October 01, 2015, 10:21:48 AM »
I don't really buy books anymore, but as someone who was in big retail publishing when they went nuclear in their dispute from Macmillan, I have issues with their business approach. I do still use it for specific household things, but I'd never want to rely on it or throw more money to it than necessary.

Scandium

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #38 on: October 01, 2015, 10:46:27 AM »
I had it and cancelled. Nothing gets to Alaska within two days anyway, and their programming just wasn't that great. If you aren't doing it for the TV, then why spend $99/year to have something shipped to you faster? I can see the uses for discounts, though, re: Amazon Mom.

I got tricked into prime when I got a free year with my amex card, and then renewed it. But I agree with your sentiment. Really don't care about free 2 day shipping. I always got free shipping anyway by spending $35+, and there were hardly ever times I needed it in less than 5 days. If that's the case I'm terrible at planning, or I have lost impulse control. Both bad things.

Use it now to watch the wire, and they have some HBO shows I'd like to watch (the Pacific). With Netflix loosing a bunch of TV shows I hate that there are now stuff on amazon that's not on netflix so I feel compelled to keep both. Once we're done with the wire I'm reconsidering though. Their music streaming is lacking, and the app is godawful. So is their video streaming app (PS3) too actually.

Oh, and I'm an "amazon mom" (there's no dad option..) and with prime I get 20% off diapers. In a year that'll about pay for the prime, so we get free streaming I guess.

tl;dr.
for video streaming and diaper discounts: yes
for shipping: heck no, learn some patience.

Megma

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #39 on: October 01, 2015, 10:57:51 AM »
Apparently I am in the minority here but LOVE Amazon prime. Love it. Here is why:

1) Streaming of movies and TV for free. Yes it's not quite as good as Netflix maybe (Netflix originals are good), but it's pretty robust (HBO stuff, BBC stuff, movies, originals) and it almost the same price (.25/mo more) and you get other benefits too.

2) Free book/month for your kindle (unfortunately kindle only). Yes I know we can all get free books a the library but they don't have everything. Neither does the free book program but having two options is better.

3)Free 2-day shipping. It seems many don't actually get their package in 2 days? If so I would complain to customer service as I have found them really helpful. My packages always arrive in 2 days, sometimes faster.

4) No Rush shipping credits. I love this program. Like ya'll, I don't always need my things in 2 days so then I choose "no rush" and get them in a week and get $1 credit toward digital products. I have gotten several free books this way over the past year that neither the library or Amazon had for free. Since I don't have any need to group things together to get free shipping, I order from Amazon whenever I need 1 thing, so I get a lot credits.

5) No need to drive anywhere, especially to a store that is not my normal grocery store to buy one random thing I need.

6) It keeps me out of Target where I will pick up random cute things that I happen across and buy them. Amazon is shockingly bad at suggesting things to me that I actually want, so I'm normally only interested in the things I searched for, so I don't buy extra stuff. But if I go to a Target I will spend $60+ "oh they have tank tops on sale? Mine have been looking a little ragged...oh that shirt is a cute color..." It's better for me to stay home and order my carpet cleaner and dog food online.

Also, why are any of your paying for Amazon Prime??? In the past year I have gotten (without looking) 2 free years of Prime, so I am renewed until the end of 2017. I got a free year from:

1) Amex blue cash card signup bonus and a statement credit (100 or 200? I can't remember now). This was offered ~December 2014, so is probably due to come around again.
2) We switched our WiFi to AT&T (lesser of the 2 available evils) and got a free year of Prime as a bonus

So keep your eye out for free Prime offers! It's definitely worth it when you don't pay for it :-)

sheepstache

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #40 on: October 01, 2015, 11:07:02 AM »
Am I the only one who thinks the free shipping is complete bullshit?

I notice it time and again. I can buy a used book for a penny plus $3.98 shipping. Or I can free shipping from Prime!!! ...and the book costs $3.99. But hey free shipping.  Even new items I look at, if there's a non-Prime alternative, it's cheaper than Prime by exactly the cost of shipping.

I even notice it to some extent on the items that qualify for free shipping over $35, that they're more expensive than non-qualifying versions by about what the non-qualifying version would charge for shipping. Although I've started noticing more non-qualifying items that are cheaper even once you factor in shipping. So I can order it right away rather than waiting for a full cart, plus sales tax only applies to the purchase price, not shipping charges.

fitfrugalfab

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #41 on: October 01, 2015, 11:31:56 AM »
If you have an old student account you'll get 50% off an amazon prime account. I haven't been a student for 2 years but i was able to get the discount since they don't confirm with your student email.

MrSal

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #42 on: October 01, 2015, 06:35:30 PM »
we have it but only because my wife has a .edu e-mail account which enables us to have prime for 30 dollars a year.

With it, we get Prime Music, Prime Video and prime shipping so its worth it since we dont have to pay netflix or spotify ...

do you guys split with someone?

Nop. Just us... just because we dont have someone interested to split it otherwise we would.

boarder42

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #43 on: October 01, 2015, 06:49:55 PM »
prime is cheaper than netflix and gets you free 2 day shipping coupons and access to crazy subscribe and save deals you cant get without it ... set an alert on slickdeals for amazon subscribe and jump on what you need it will pay for itself.

Telecaster

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #44 on: October 01, 2015, 08:43:52 PM »
Well worth it. 

Villanelle

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #45 on: October 01, 2015, 09:01:21 PM »
Living overseas, I use Amazon for all sorts of small things which would otherwise cost me shipping.  I also don't have cable and I use Prime for the free streaming options.  There are also other perks.  Someone here recently posted about free online data storage.  I have yet to check it out, but I definitely plan on doing so. 

Rural

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #46 on: October 02, 2015, 03:24:25 AM »
Not here. I keep checking on Subscribe and Save since everyone keeps saying it has such good deals, but I have yet to find an item that doesn't cost more from subscribe and save than from my usual local stores. They don't offer any store brands that I can tell, and the name brands they carry are overpriced online just like they are in brick and mortars.


When you add in our own shaping hassles - the local UPS guy seems to be brave, and he's made it up here once before, but not other times - it's not even a consideration. Why pay more to add hassle?

Bucksandreds

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #47 on: October 02, 2015, 06:09:32 AM »
Not here. I keep checking on Subscribe and Save since everyone keeps saying it has such good deals, but I have yet to find an item that doesn't cost more from subscribe and save than from my usual local stores. They don't offer any store brands that I can tell, and the name brands they carry are overpriced online just like they are in brick and mortars.


When you add in our own shaping hassles - the local UPS guy seems to be brave, and he's made it up here once before, but not other times - it's not even a consideration. Why pay more to add hassle?

look under subscribe and save coupons, find 5 products for 15% off of the total and add 20-30% off that in coupons.  You have to do that at least weekly to find 5 or more products over the course of the month.  Last month I got Gevalia K cups for around 33 cents each (cheapest you'll ever find) Earths best organic baby food pouches around 70 cents each (cheapest you'll ever find) Cottonelle toilet paper and Planters nuts for around 20% less than Walmart and a few other things.  You cant just go there once a month and get 5 great deals.  It's work to find the best deals but it has always paid off for me and I will go to 20 different websites to find the best prices.

Rural

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #48 on: October 02, 2015, 06:35:02 AM »
Like I said, I do keep checking every now and then, but I don't buy any of those things except nuts, and the store brand is already more that 20% less than Planters without the trouble of looking for coupons or trying to track down shipments.


If you do Subscribe and Save, do the coupons apply to every shipment or only the first one?

midweststache

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Re: Amazon prime - is it worth it?
« Reply #49 on: October 02, 2015, 07:11:35 AM »
Depends on what you use it for.

Two city-dwellers in a pedestrian-based neighborhood with no car. Anything heavier than 20lbs (a typical grocery load for me) or larger to carry than two big grocery bags (hello, 48 rolls of TP) is very difficult to carry on transit or from even the closest of stores.

DH and I signed up for Subscribe and Save and Amazon Mom (they released a press statement basically saying they support all families, with both real and imaginary children, so they gave childless people an implied go-ahead for this). The Amazon Mom used to save us additional % on Subscribe and Save, but they quit that; however, since we're looking at starting a family in a year or so, it's worth it for me just to keep on it. We order basic personal care and household items that would be pains to lug and which I can find pretty cheap on Amazon. We don't do Amazon Pantry.

1. Dog kibble (we order 40lbs at a time, which lasts 2-3 months)--since this is priced under the "free shipping" threshold, this alone makes Prime worth every penny for us.
2. Dog freeze-dried food (a bag of nuggets every month)
3. Omeprazole (every other month for DH - comparable to CVS prices, and includes occasional coupons)
4. TP (every three months)
5. Shampoo/Conditioner (every six months, a bulk natural brand that I have yet to find, even in Chicago)
6. Trash bags (every six months)