Author Topic: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140  (Read 8542 times)

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #100 on: February 10, 2022, 11:49:57 AM »
I guess I have trouble relating to the "I need something tomorrow" mind set.  Just about everything in my home that I could say I have a general need for I try to apply a "two is one and one is none" philosophy, if I have only one unused of an item I will pick up a second the next time I am out.  This may shift some spending forward but it does not really change the total spend and I am never caught without.

Okay I'll give you an example.  I was suffering horribly from GERD and my doctor wanted me to get a 12" wedge for my bed.  Amazon had the best price and I didn't even know where to drive to locally.  I needed it ASAP because I was having a lot of problems sleeping like lowered oxygen for example.  It was detrimental to my health that I get it ASAP.  I got it the very next day with Amazon Prime and it immediately improved the quality of my sleep.

Other examples:  Say you got a side gig and need some supplies for a project you are working on, which you could stand waiting 2 days for but not 2 weeks.

List goes on and on.  Thinking about it more and the $4.50 per month is worth it to me -- I'm allocating $3 per month for Prime Video Service because that service is worth it to me for $3 per month.  I probably won't cancel.  (I'm going back and forth because I too hate subscriptions.)
« Last Edit: February 10, 2022, 11:51:42 AM by JenniferW »

GreenSheep

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #101 on: February 10, 2022, 11:54:19 AM »
It is kind of annoying that they are increasing cost of Amazon Prime, when they dont' even often get your packge to you in 2 days ever since covid.

Yes, came here to say this, too. And sometimes the package never arrives, so Amazon apologizes and says I can cancel the order if I want. So I cancel, then reorder, which means waiting even longer for the same item. Or... in the case of some walnuts I ordered... the package goes from California to Hawaii, then back to California, and finally to my house, very far east of California. Those were some very well-traveled walnuts.

Also, we've been trying to watch "The Man in the High Castle" via Amazon Prime and we've had to resort to letting it... load? (sorry, I'm not very technical)... before actually sitting down to watch it because it was stalling every minute or two.

So I'm very tempted to dump Prime and see how it goes.

NotJen

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #102 on: February 10, 2022, 12:25:04 PM »
I needed it ASAP because I was having a lot of problems sleeping like lowered oxygen for example.  It was detrimental to my health that I get it ASAP.  I got it the very next day with Amazon Prime and it immediately improved the quality of my sleep.

This is a great example of a time when paying for expedited shipping is well worth it.

This is not a great example of why you need to pay in advance for a year of slightly-faster-than-normal-shipping.

I have needed and purchased fast shipping a few times in my life; I can guarantee it's cost me a lot less than maintaining an Amazon Prime membership.  Plus it leaves me the freedom to comparison shop at other retailers.

GuitarStv

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #103 on: February 10, 2022, 01:09:14 PM »
Free 2-day or 1-day shipping is still worth it for me.

What are you ordering that is so time sensitive it couldn't wait a couple days?

Sometimes I order things so I don't have to go to the grocery store (where I would spend more). It also saves me a trip. This is mainly items <$10, so I would have to spend $25 more on stuff I likely don't need, to get free shipping. I'd almost argue I save $12 a month by not trying to meet the minimum for free shipping. I did this a ton more with Walmart+ orders than Amazon, but it's the same idea.

At least from my anecdotal experience, whenever I've ordered from Amazon not on Prime it takes nearly 1.5-2 weeks to get to me. It appears your order is placed at the bottom of the fulfillment list, below prime orders. When I order on Prime it's 2-3 days. I don't consider the environmental impact because I live in a major city and an Amazon truck passes by my house at least 5x a day.

I guess that makes sense.  Three or four years ago I was considering using Amazon for groceries and found that they either didn't stock what I wanted, or didn't have a competitive price so pretty much gave up on the idea.  Might be better today (or maybe just better in the States than Canada).

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #104 on: February 10, 2022, 02:13:48 PM »
I needed it ASAP because I was having a lot of problems sleeping like lowered oxygen for example.  It was detrimental to my health that I get it ASAP.  I got it the very next day with Amazon Prime and it immediately improved the quality of my sleep.

This is a great example of a time when paying for expedited shipping is well worth it.

This is not a great example of why you need to pay in advance for a year of slightly-faster-than-normal-shipping.

I have needed and purchased fast shipping a few times in my life; I can guarantee it's cost me a lot less than maintaining an Amazon Prime membership.  Plus it leaves me the freedom to comparison shop at other retailers.

I gave that as a single example; I am finding numerous occasions looking at my order history.  All I need is one per month to cover the subscription.. and well I exceed 12 incidents per year.  So you can rationalize however you want just because you hate subscriptions (I hate them as well).  Maybe your logic works for you, but not everyone else. But I've already considered everything and I actually benefit from the  subscription financially.  I am looking through my purchase order history for the past couple years.. been doing it for the past couple days.. and it pays for itself easily.  It also prevents any stress from having to wait extra long for something to come and having to buy more stuff to get the $25 limit.  It's free to me and prevents stress.. no brainer for me.

Someone was bold enough here in this thread to say having a Prime Subscription is NOT mustachian.  I think that was very bold and not very careful statement; preaching from their own personal perspective as it being the golden written rule. It depends on the situation.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2022, 02:35:12 PM by JenniferW »

Paper Chaser

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #105 on: February 10, 2022, 03:41:32 PM »
I stand by my statement that it's not Mustachian. A core component of being Mustachian is reducing consumption. This of course has financial benefits, but another big motivator for reducing consumption is to reduce the impact we have on our planet. You might be able to justify Prime financially, but if you look back at most of my posts in this topic, you'll probably note that consumption is my biggest complaint, not necessarily the finances of it.

You've given some good examples in other threads of ways that you have Mustachian habits like buying used items instead of new, doing your own repairs to extend the life of your possessions, and growing a garden. Those are very Mustachian things to do because they save money andreduce consumption at the same time. Paying monthly money that you don't need to in order to have "free delivery" of small trinkets so that you can skip a trip into town, or avoid some basic planning and combining trips is not Mustachian. A big reason that I say that, is the wasteful consumption it causes. You might not feel the environmental impact, but the impact is still being made. It's there in the unnecessary trips by inefficient vehicles. It's there in the extra packaging. It's there in any impulse purchases that might not otherwise be made. That's why I say it's not Mustachian. You're paying extra money, and increasing the environmental impact of your consumption. It's the exact opposite of your Mustachian habits.

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #106 on: February 10, 2022, 03:50:34 PM »
Thanks for the polite reply.  I get where you are coming from.  But one could argue there would be more consumption for one person driving across town to buy a single item -- when there are absolutely no other items to buy in that area in the foreseeable future -- than it would be for a truck on a fixed route dropping off packages in the most efficient order possible.

I don't generally buy "trinkets" at all. I buy necessary things from Amazon, or perhaps things which are used from Amazon at spectacular prices such that I could sell it after I am done with it and get all my money back.  I can't stand trinkets lol, and unnecessary things laying around the house.  I don't have an egg slicer or other single task items for example.  I can't stand an abundance of decorations because they take up so much space and I don't sit there appreciating them all very often.  If I do get decorations, I get them for 25 cents at a flea market etc.
« Last Edit: February 10, 2022, 03:56:32 PM by JenniferW »

Paper Chaser

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #107 on: February 10, 2022, 04:52:50 PM »
I used "trinkets" to describe small, inexpensive items. Honestly, I can't think of a single case where I needed something small from the other side of town that was worth making a dedicated trip for unless it was an absolute emergency and I needed the item in hours not days or weeks. Nothing that I purchase online fits that category, and none of it is so important that I need it in 2 days instead of 5-10. If I buy it online, I can wait. If I'm buying it in person, then I'm probably waiting until I can combine trips, so I'm waiting either way.

I also have tracked shipping on many items only to see them go the opposite direction from my house so I'm skeptical of the idea that having it shipped is always (or even often) more efficient than just making a direct trip in an efficient vehicle. The logistics companies move freight in a way that's most efficient for them considering all of their packages. That's different than trying to get your single item from its origin to your door in the most efficient manor.

Some small lifestyle changes like planning ahead and combining trips seems like it could cover most non-emergency situations and avoid some waste. At least it has for me. So paying a monthly fee to potentially get things a little bit sooner seems unnecessarily wasteful and excessive.

PDXTabs

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #108 on: February 10, 2022, 05:58:50 PM »
I don't know how this relates to Amazon, but Scientific American: Delivery from Local Store Is Greenest Shopping Method—Most of the Time.

I always use "prime day" so that hopefully Amazon does something reasonable with my packages.

Morning Glory

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #109 on: February 11, 2022, 12:13:08 AM »
I don't have prime and I usually get my things within 2-3 days. It's rare that anything takes over a week unless it's being shipped directly from China.  Even mattresses recently took only 2 days. I order so infrequently that I always have a list of small "nice to haves" in the back of my mind for when I need to meet the free shipping threshold. 

Cranky

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #110 on: February 11, 2022, 05:32:59 AM »
If Prime is not a good value for you, it’s not Mustachian. I’m not actually Mustachian, just cheap and retired.

I like Amazon for its wider selection than I will likely find in local stores, and because I would basically always pick staying home over going to Target. Ugh.

Sugaree

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #111 on: February 14, 2022, 07:36:11 AM »
While not necessarily an emergency, it was nice to be able to order the part needed to fix the dishwasher and know it will be here tomorrow.  I'm fairly certain that there is no store within 90 miles of me that would have had that in stock yesterday when we discovered what we needed. 

GuitarStv

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #112 on: February 14, 2022, 07:51:00 AM »
While not necessarily an emergency, it was nice to be able to order the part needed to fix the dishwasher and know it will be here tomorrow.  I'm fairly certain that there is no store within 90 miles of me that would have had that in stock yesterday when we discovered what we needed.

For a critical and unusual problem like that, I'd probably pay for Amazon's fastest shipping option.  Still cheaper than getting prime.  :P

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #113 on: February 14, 2022, 10:17:23 AM »
While not necessarily an emergency, it was nice to be able to order the part needed to fix the dishwasher and know it will be here tomorrow.  I'm fairly certain that there is no store within 90 miles of me that would have had that in stock yesterday when we discovered what we needed.

For a critical and unusual problem like that, I'd probably pay for Amazon's fastest shipping option.  Still cheaper than getting prime.  :P

Or subscribe for one month of prime and enjoy free shipping the rest of the month and maybe binge watch a few series? :)

GuitarStv

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #114 on: February 14, 2022, 10:23:45 AM »
While not necessarily an emergency, it was nice to be able to order the part needed to fix the dishwasher and know it will be here tomorrow.  I'm fairly certain that there is no store within 90 miles of me that would have had that in stock yesterday when we discovered what we needed.

For a critical and unusual problem like that, I'd probably pay for Amazon's fastest shipping option.  Still cheaper than getting prime.  :P

Or subscribe for one month of prime and enjoy free shipping the rest of the month and maybe binge watch a few series? :)

Yep, do that a lot too.

iris lily

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #115 on: February 14, 2022, 12:56:44 PM »
I am a Prime member but I think it’s fairly stupid and I could live without it, but I wont because I am old and rich.

The video selections are decent though and their catalog is deep. You’ve  got to hunt for the stuff that is interesting. Yes I get “free shipping “but I hate buying stuff from Amazon even though I do it. As it is now I consolidate all my shipments to their  weekly delivery. I am horrified by all of the boxes that come my way in Amazonland.

GuitarStv

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #116 on: February 14, 2022, 01:03:17 PM »
I am horrified by all of the boxes that come my way in Amazonland.

This is the number one reason that I look for alternatives to Amazon.  The amount of packaging is painfully and heartbreakingly over the top.

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #117 on: February 14, 2022, 01:06:01 PM »
I am horrified by all of the boxes that come my way in Amazonland.

This is the number one reason that I look for alternatives to Amazon.  The amount of packaging is painfully and heartbreakingly over the top.

You can compost the cardboard for your garden if you have one.

Cranky

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #118 on: February 14, 2022, 02:48:21 PM »
I discovered that the ReStore was happy to take my Amazon boxes to pack stuff in. And big boxes are easy to give away on Buy Nothing.

Dicey

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #119 on: February 14, 2022, 06:56:00 PM »
I am a Prime member but I think it’s fairly stupid and I could live without it, but I wont because I am old and rich.
God, I love this answer! Go, @iris lily!

Dicey

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #120 on: February 14, 2022, 07:04:33 PM »
Inspired by iris lily and prompted by a spammy phone call at 6:23 am today saying that "My Amazon account has been compromised", I just checked our purchase history. Most of the five pages of orders in 2021 were for parts for our home or vehicles. I ordered some office supplies for which I was reimbursed. They were half the price of what they wanted for the very same thing at my local Office Max.

Guess we're keeping it.

Dictionary Time

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #121 on: February 14, 2022, 07:56:33 PM »
I don't have prime and I usually get my things within 2-3 days. It's rare that anything takes over a week unless it's being shipped directly from China.  Even mattresses recently took only 2 days. I order so infrequently that I always have a list of small "nice to haves" in the back of my mind for when I need to meet the free shipping threshold.

This has 100% been my experience as well. I have never had the 1-2 week delay for non-prime orders that others speak of.

The fact is that not having prime doesn’t mean you can’t order from Amazon. I’m sure everyone here has analyzed their history and assigned a weighted value to each order and its urgency/distance/weight. But regular people out there think if they order from Amazon, they need Prime. And in the bulk of cases, I bet that’s not true.

It also puts you in the mindset of going straight to Amazon. When it might be cheaper or more available at Walmart/target/ebay/??  Amazon wants too be the default that you pull up, paying for prime helps that.  Once you stop shopping around, they can charge whatever they want.

The easy way to check this is to take a little break. See how it goes, you can sign right back up as soon as you start to miss it. I did that a a couple of price increases ago and I haven’t missed a thing.

Dicey

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #122 on: February 15, 2022, 07:08:34 AM »
Though someone clearly can't math, I thought I'd drop this here in case someone might find it useful.

https://www.wric.com/news/7-ways-to-avoid-amazon-primes-fee-hike/amp/

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #123 on: February 15, 2022, 11:03:27 AM »
It also puts you in the mindset of going straight to Amazon. When it might be cheaper or more available at Walmart/target/ebay/??  Amazon wants too be the default that you pull up, paying for prime helps that.  Once you stop shopping around, they can charge whatever they want

I check ebay very often because I do find more affordable items on ebay :)  I confess I never check either of the online versions of walmart and target; maybe I should? I think I have in the past and the prices weren't great or I didn't like the shipping charges/options, I forget.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2022, 02:29:39 PM by JenniferW »

Cranky

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #124 on: February 15, 2022, 02:23:03 PM »
I don't have prime and I usually get my things within 2-3 days. It's rare that anything takes over a week unless it's being shipped directly from China.  Even mattresses recently took only 2 days. I order so infrequently that I always have a list of small "nice to haves" in the back of my mind for when I need to meet the free shipping threshold.

This has 100% been my experience as well. I have never had the 1-2 week delay for non-prime orders that others speak of.

The fact is that not having prime doesn’t mean you can’t order from Amazon. I’m sure everyone here has analyzed their history and assigned a weighted value to each order and its urgency/distance/weight. But regular people out there think if they order from Amazon, they need Prime. And in the bulk of cases, I bet that’s not true.

It also puts you in the mindset of going straight to Amazon. When it might be cheaper or more available at Walmart/target/ebay/??  Amazon wants too be the default that you pull up, paying for prime helps that.  Once you stop shopping around, they can charge whatever they want.

The easy way to check this is to take a little break. See how it goes, you can sign right back up as soon as you start to miss it. I did that a a couple of price increases ago and I haven’t missed a thing.

I 100% promise you that I am more likely to buy something that I don’t need by going into Target than I am by ordering from Amazon. You have to know thyself. LOL

My Prime orders have mostly gone back to next day delivery.

jnw

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #125 on: February 18, 2022, 03:30:44 PM »
Okay, I went ahead and did it, just to give this chance.  I canceled my prime membership.  It auto-renewed in early January, and well they refunded me the full $119 -- was shocked.  They said my card will be credited $119 in 3-5 days.

So now I'll only get 3% back on my prime credit card instead of the 5%.   But's that okay.   I don't need the videos either.

Now I am subscription free, from both Adobe and Amazon.  Only subscription I have left is $1.99 per month to google for google drive, and I'm not changing that :)  I consider my phone and internet subscriptions as necessary, non-discretionary expenses.  Basically they are utilities.



« Last Edit: February 18, 2022, 03:35:14 PM by JenniferW »

jamesbond007

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Re: Amazon Prime membership increasing to $140
« Reply #126 on: February 23, 2022, 05:46:42 PM »
I share my Prime membership with a friend and we both pay $60/year each. It renews in November for us, and I will pay $70/year each. No big deal as I watch Prime Video quite often as most Indian movies are on Amazon these days. I don't pay for Netflix. For me, shipping is an added benefit.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!