We’ve had a few bad experiences with Amazon. They don’t vet their vendors, and there are a lot of Chinese scammers peddling counterfeit or low quality goods. Given that there are so many other reputable companies offering quick shipping now, I’m not sure Prime offers enough to me to warrant the fee anymore. As a divorced mom, I used to rely on it heavily. Now that my kids are older, I have a little more freedom to run errands and shop for the things I need. I do like to have Prime streaming, but I’m not sure that’s worth $120 a year.
Everyone on my Prime uses his or her own credit/debit card and his or her own address. They have their own usernames and passwords. The only thing we share is Prime. It was a long time ago but I seem to remember being given some kind of code to share with family members when I signed up. I don’t see (and have no interest in) their orders. I don’t think I could see them even if I wanted to.
I guess I could ding them all for $20 a year for being on my Prime but I’m content to provide them with that little perk.
If you have an Amazon credit card, having Prime ups the reward from 3% to 5% on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. That extra 2% can add up to quite a bit if you are a heavy user.
We don’t stream too much music but we do use Prime Video occasionally.
Supposedly Amazon loses money on Prime memberships, but Prime members spend a lot more on average so they make it up there.
That’s hard to believe, that they lose money. I’ve occasionally checked the item prices of items listed under prime vs not, and they basically slide the shipping cost into the base cost of the item.
Yes, there is often some sort of shipping price built into the Prime price, but it is two-day shipping whereas almost all other shipping from other vendors is not. And if you live in the right place, you can get one day or even two hour delivery.
Plus, shipping is not the only cost covered by a Prime subscription - video and music streaming, photo storage, etc, cost something as well.
If you google “does amazon lose money on prime shipping” you will see plenty of articles about it.
Not happy about the increase - which will only hit me next year – but ALL my music & t.v. is streamed. I’ve got two echo devices so I’m pretty much used to simply asking for a genre – “Alexa, play jazz”. At $119 a year it will still be less than the Netflix account – and it’s about a 50/50 split as to which programming I watch more. So Amazon Prime will stay. Plus I do have put everything on a 5% back Prime Card… and also buy via a Smile link when I remember, with an added boost to my favorite nonprofit. Also, Amazon’s very generous and convenient returns and reshipping (for damaged goods) policy is an added reason to buy from them, Prime or not.
I let my Prime membership expire in February and have no regrets. It makes me reckon whether or not I really need something in the first place. Since February I have ordered online a handful of times, not counting stuff you can’t get at Amazon (e.g. Crate and Barrel), choosing either Target or the slow boat free option on Amazon. I don’t miss the music since I never used it (Spotify instead.) The only thing we’ve lost access to with Prime is the recent season of The Americans.
I’ve toyed with the idea of cancelling but then when I think about how I was paying 9.99 a month for Apple Music for my 13 year old son I can justify having Amazon Prime for that reason alone. The shipping is a bonus I suppose although I do buy a lot on Amazon that I cannot get in my local brick and mortar stores necessarily. I would just have to plan my needs better if I cancelled Prime and have more shipped at once. That said, I would definitely save on certain impulse buys!
Let’s get real. I’ve gone out with friends (none of whom are rich) and they easily spend more than that on beer on a Friday night. And of course its value increases the more you use Amazon.
IMHO, it’s still worth it and $20 isn’t that big of a deal. And you get use your huge tax cut to defray the price increase.
Amazon Prime raising the price $20/year causing a group of people who would spend $250,000+ on the ‘perfect college experience’ to consider cancelling the service is …priceless. Sorry, but really, sometimes an issue is just not worth all the agony.
I guess it’s just me, but the reason I cancelled is I had at least 4 items in a short period of time either not delivered at all or delivered very late: 10 days, not the promised 2, and one time, one month! I had them re-send that one when it didn’t show up in a week, then eventually the original showed up. Are you actually getting the two day shipping you are promised? I was not. (These were not shipments from China either.) And then their drivers were not putting stuff by the front door! They would put it in random places in front of the house in the rain. The front door has an overhang, people! Maybe this is something they still need to work out, but not on my dime.
I had to laugh. Fortunately, I was not drinking anything spewable.
That said, I don’t have Prime and probably never will. I order from Amazon once or twice a year and bundle for free shipping. The only thing I have paid shipping on recently is a pair of sneakers I bought for my son and they were still so much cheaper than anywhere else that it was worth it and I hadn’t been able to find them locally. He’s a mailman and needs special shoes. If I do need something quickly, I have a friend who allows me to use her Prime.
Things like Amazon TV, e-books and streaming music don’t appeal to me and are not services I would use.
“And then their drivers were not putting stuff by the front door!”
You mean Fedex and USPS drivers?
Interesting that other have issues. I never have except during the holidays some orders took an extra day and they credited me $5 and extended my service by a month. They also refunded me 80% of a coffee maker that broke after less than a year. It was the manufacturer’s fault not Amazon’s and it was easier to accept that then shipping it back to the manufacturer and getting something refurbished. Overall, I think the service is pretty good!
Some of the amazon delivery people are contractors that drive unmarked white vans.
Several months ago I was waiting for an Amazon package on a Sunday. Unmarked white van pulls up, and delivers a package next door. When he returned to his van I asked if he had a package for me, and he said no, he had one for XXXX (which was MY house number and my package). He makes some lame excuse about the #s on the mailboxes. I said I would go get it from the neighbors front doorstep, but he said he would get it for me. Then, the neighbors, who were out of town at the time, posted something on the neighborhood facebook page that they saw a stranger on their outside home camera of a guy at their door taking a package!
Really some assumptions on this page. That someone who is upset about a 20% increase would drop $120 on a night out or that that person is forking out $250K on a college education. Really bold assumptions and a slap in the face to those to whom this $20 increase is just one of a long line of 20% increases in budget spending that it becomes cumbersome.
Surely many CAN cut out $20 somewhere else…but sometimes you have to draw the line - don’t discount that for those who have a strict budget.
I mean Amazon’s own drivers screw up on where to put packages. FedEx, UPS, and USPS all competently put packages by the front door.
I haven’t had any problems with delivery but I think that’s because I don’t have problems with USPS, ups or fedex. Our local delivery has been really good. Our prime is through our son, so we don’t pay. Since he got out of undergrad debt free, I figured I didn’t feel bad having him pay 
But I noticed that target is offering 2 day shipping, I have a red card so I get free shipping but I think you can get 2 day shipping with a $35 purchase. Walmart also has a shipping service which I found was very fast. They say 2 day with a $35 purchase
Well, it’s good to have friends, but piggy-backing off of someone else’s account is not a reason to object to costs. Perhaps the generous friend might appreciate a $20 contribution next year to offset their increased costs?
Well…I checked my amazon order history…well…not really…but I had zero orders from Amazon since 2012. From 2010-2012, I got the fre Amazon Daily Deal book for DD when she was in the PC and she was able to upload on her Kindle. Those were free. I don’t recall ever paying money for anything on Amazon.
Heck…Walmart offers free two day shipping now…and NO membership fee…at all. And their prices are less than Amazon for lots of things.
My DD has student Prime. DS doesn’t have it. DH doesn’t have it.
I can live without it.
Jet got bought by WalMart a while back and also has a free membership with free shipping with a $35 purchase. I haven’t tried it in a while. Got tired of living through their bumps in the road when they first started.