Amazon Prime Increase

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
inbox788
Posts: 8372
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:24 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by inbox788 »

NorCalDad wrote:We're in the same boat. I've seen Amazon go from cut-rate pricing on their diapers and other staples to a point where Costco and local stores can beat them on a regular basis. We hardly ever use their streaming library, which I consider a distant third place to Netflix and Hulu. I like the convenience of not having to deal with stores, particularly during holiday season. I also like 2-day shipping. But we no longer seem to get our money's worth from the $79 Prime, so we won't renew at $99. My take on the Prime increase and the price increases on other goods is that they are facing more investor pressure to turn a regular profit and are finally trying to take advantage of the dominance they built through many years of low prices, charging no sales tax and convenient services.
I'm disappointed that they've had to raise their prices. It's making Prime membership more exclusive instead of less. They've carved out specials for Moms and Students.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/201 ... cable.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info

Maybe a 2-tier Prime would make more sense, and maybe they'll roll out a $30-50 product with less benefits than full prime for intermediate buyers. Some people don't need videos, others don't need unlimited 2-day delivery, etc.

These memberships programs are getting too numerous to support all, so you have to start making choices between them to be cost effective. You can join Sams Club or Costco, and some folks join both, but there are diminishing returns because there's so much overlap. Similarly, Amazon is getting involved, and at some point, if you spread your purchases across too many membership fees, much of the volume discount disappears.

In some ways, I'd save money by not having Amazon or Costco. The convenience of making purchases makes me buy more than I need, either buy stocking up years worth of staple goods, or buying things just because they're good deals, just in case I need it.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52215
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by nisiprius »

(Shrug) My wife has it and is going to keep it. I suppose there are some people whose judgement of its value is so close to the edge that it would seem worth it at $79 and not worth it at $99.

It is not just free two-day shipping; Prime is a complicated, weird bundle of small benefits, and they do add up. My wife actually gets some decent value out of the set of videos Prime members can stream for free--she's found some good ones. She must have watched a couple of dozen episodes of some British TV series....

She has both an iPad, which is what she uses most of the time, and an old (original model) Kindle Fire, and I occasionally borrow it if there's a free-for-Prime video I want to watch.

There is a limited selection of no-cost books available to Prime members, as well as the "Kindle Owners' Lending Library," and there's some value to that, although there turns out to be a lot of overlap with the set of titles non-Prime members can "borrow from our public library."
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
Texas hold em71
Posts: 595
Joined: Sat May 18, 2013 11:09 am

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Texas hold em71 »

A lot depends on how you value your time as well. If I think of something on Tuesday night, I can order it and have it on Friday saving me an hour or so of errand running on Saturday morning. Right now, I value my time enough to make it worth it.

I also have a teenager in a very difficult to buy for size (think 29 inch waist by 34 inch length in pants). Not very many stores carry those and teenage boys aren't very excited to drive around looking for them. I can not only find them on Prime, but I can order them and have said teenager try them on at home and send them back for free if he does not like them. I can still remember what my mother went through with my similarly built brother in the pre-internet era. This is a huge time and stress saver.

At Christmas, when the stores are crowded and picked over, I can find what I need and avoid wrapping it and standing in another line at the post office to ship it.

We don't find the streaming to have as much of a selection as Netflix and I don't find the free Kindle books to be of very good quality although I have seen exceptions.

To the previous poster who thinks they buy more because of Prime, I used to agree, but now I find that by not going into a store, I avoid many impulse purchases so overall, I don't think it increases my spending.

For now, it makes sense for us. Once kids leave, I am not sure it will.
User avatar
rob
Posts: 5247
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:49 pm
Location: Here

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by rob »

Texas hold em71 wrote:I can not only find them on Prime, but I can order them and have said teenager try them on at home and send them back for free if he does not like them. I can still remember what my mother went through with my similarly built brother in the pre-internet era. This is a huge time and stress saver.
You can do that without prime - free shipping still for > $35.... It's just they have been stalling non prime deliveries in recent times so it will take longer.
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
Tom_T
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:33 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by Tom_T »

leonard wrote:Never understood why prime is so popular. Amazon has nothing that I can't wait an extra day or 2 to receive. Just added expense for essentially no real benefit.
If you're willing to bunch your purchases to exceed $35, that is. Otherwise, you pay shipping. And you pay for returns.

I don't think of it as some sort of badge of honor. As a Boglehead, I look at it strictly for its financial benefit. That said, Amazon is making is harder to determine the value of that benefit. Some items have Prime prices that have clearly been inflated. Two-day shipping, as many people discovered during the holidays, is not a guarantee. The value of the streaming library, for me, is zero. When my membership comes due next spring (I was renewed just before the price hike), I will take a look at the pattern of my purchases for the year and re-evaluate my membership.
leonard
Posts: 5993
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:56 am

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by leonard »

Tom_T wrote:
leonard wrote:Never understood why prime is so popular. Amazon has nothing that I can't wait an extra day or 2 to receive. Just added expense for essentially no real benefit.
If you're willing to bunch your purchases to exceed $35, that is. Otherwise, you pay shipping. And you pay for returns.

I don't think of it as some sort of badge of honor. As a Boglehead, I look at it strictly for its financial benefit. That said, Amazon is making is harder to determine the value of that benefit. Some items have Prime prices that have clearly been inflated. Two-day shipping, as many people discovered during the holidays, is not a guarantee. The value of the streaming library, for me, is zero. When my membership comes due next spring (I was renewed just before the price hike), I will take a look at the pattern of my purchases for the year and re-evaluate my membership.
I've never paid shipping from amazon and I've never had prime. So, not sure why you think someone would have to pay shipping.
Leonard | | Market Timing: Do you seriously think you can predict the future? What else do the voices tell you? | | If employees weren't taking jobs with bad 401k's, bad 401k's wouldn't exist.
Tom_T
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:33 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by Tom_T »

leonard wrote:
Tom_T wrote:
leonard wrote:Never understood why prime is so popular. Amazon has nothing that I can't wait an extra day or 2 to receive. Just added expense for essentially no real benefit.
If you're willing to bunch your purchases to exceed $35, that is. Otherwise, you pay shipping. And you pay for returns.

I don't think of it as some sort of badge of honor. As a Boglehead, I look at it strictly for its financial benefit. That said, Amazon is making is harder to determine the value of that benefit. Some items have Prime prices that have clearly been inflated. Two-day shipping, as many people discovered during the holidays, is not a guarantee. The value of the streaming library, for me, is zero. When my membership comes due next spring (I was renewed just before the price hike), I will take a look at the pattern of my purchases for the year and re-evaluate my membership.
I've never paid shipping from amazon and I've never had prime. So, not sure why you think someone would have to pay shipping.
What do you mean? The only time shipping is free is if you use Super Saver shipping, which is only available if your order is at least $35.
User avatar
papito23
Posts: 449
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:54 am

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by papito23 »

I have Student Prime, which is increasing from $39 to $49, but not until my renewal in 11 months. :)

I use the free/quick shipping for both my side business and personal, so it adds up. Plus, Downtown Abbey and Dora the Explorer/Curious George to keep both my ladies happy.

Video availability is just enough to be kind of worth it, but not quite what I suspect Netflix has.

Tried reading on an e-reader. Won't do that again until Fahrenheit 451 becomes a reality.
A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. -Aldo Leopold's Golden Rule of Ecology
sls239
Posts: 1208
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:04 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by sls239 »

There's always something I can add to my order to get it to the $35 free shipping threshold - a hepa filter here, a package of toothbrush heads there. And the price isn't inflated on those items either.
dad2000
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:04 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by dad2000 »

We have transferred much of our non-grocery shopping to Amazon, so the savings in gas alone would cover the membership fee.

We have also been able to cut out all premium programming (except for sports) from our cable bill. Instead, we use Prime, and a few months of Netflix during the summer.

We also check out books from the Kindle library.

Easily worth $99 to us.
Sriracha
Posts: 524
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 12:14 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by Sriracha »

My DW - who hates to wait for regular shipping - buys loads of stuff from Amazon and most of it qualifies for Prime shipping. If Amazon had upped the price to $119 (which is what I had read it was considering a while back), I'd probably suggest to her that we should consider dropping it. But for $99, we'll likely stick with it. I'll review our purchases for a six month period or so sometime before our renewal date comes up this summer. I'm not surprised they finally increased the price; I believe it had been $79 for nine years.
Don't reach for yield.
User avatar
frugaltype
Posts: 1952
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:07 am

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by frugaltype »

Random Musings wrote:
leonard wrote:Never understood why prime is so popular. Amazon has nothing that I can't wait an extra day or 2 to receive. Just added expense for essentially no real benefit.
In most cases, people don't really need it in terms of product delivery. The needs being addressed more of the time is getting close to immediate gratification and also one upmanship (you can get a few "hot" items a few days before other people). The video library is just a throw in.

RM
I like having things show up in a day or two, but I don't like it enough to pay extra money for it. I accumulate items to order until I hit $35. Then I wait a week or two for them to be delivered. I would no more pay for shipping than I'd buy unneeded stuff to get to $35. Really, how Boglelike is it to pay actual money to play consumer oneupmanship?
arsenalfan
Posts: 1132
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:26 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by arsenalfan »

Just cancelled my auto renew, following these guidelines
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer ... =201118010
Like everyone else here, was getting stuff in 3-4 days...and I don't value Prime at $99 per year. Just don't need stuff that ASAP.
User avatar
TomatoTomahto
Posts: 17158
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by TomatoTomahto »

Kevin21 wrote:
dhodson wrote:Lasership is horrible. Definitely agree with that.
Before they used Lasership, I would frequently get my shipments next day. It was absolutely wonderful.

With Lasership, it became 3-4 (sometimes 5) day shipping, and at the oddest hours of the day (930pm once!). And for shipments to my office, I would have to worry if they simply left a package in a different mailroom and marked it delivered.

It seems as if Lasership was a move to "contracted" delivery personnel, to save them a few bucks -- no thanks!
I am a big fan of Amazon, but Lasership is the pits. I have emailed CS 3 times; the only shipping snafus I've had have been with Lasership.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
User avatar
TomatoTomahto
Posts: 17158
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by TomatoTomahto »

I don't know how many items I have shipped per year, but last year it was $6k from Amazon, so I think an extra $20 per year isn't a problem.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95696
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by LadyGeek »

FYI - I merged two other threads into here, which is in the Personal Consumer Issues forum. Let's keep this at one thread.

denovo- I apologize, as your poll got removed with the thread merge. I didn't realize what happened until afterwards. Sorry.
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
placeholder
Posts: 8421
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:43 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by placeholder »

I just don't buy that much stuff that I could get from Amazon and I'm not all that interested in the streaming video.
ajcp
Posts: 719
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:44 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by ajcp »

Friend: What the deal with that Bogleheads thing you're always talking about?

Me: Oh it's just a forum with an average net worth in the 7 figures where a $20 price increase every 9 years gets a 3 page topic.

:happy
Dadarkar
Posts: 161
Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 9:23 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Dadarkar »

We rarely watch Amazon Prime movies/TV shows. Although two day shipping was a good deal, I will cancel my Prime membership next month.
User avatar
Leif
Posts: 3705
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:15 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Leif »

ajcp wrote:Friend: What the deal with that Bogleheads thing you're always talking about?

Me: Oh it's just a forum with an average net worth in the 7 figures where a $20 price increase every 9 years gets a 3 page topic.

:happy
Why do you think the average net worth is in the 7 figures? I guess many of us use Prime. Plus, we watch costs.
ajcp
Posts: 719
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:44 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by ajcp »

Leif wrote:
ajcp wrote:Friend: What the deal with that Bogleheads thing you're always talking about?

Me: Oh it's just a forum with an average net worth in the 7 figures where a $20 price increase every 9 years gets a 3 page topic.

:happy
Why do you think the average net worth is in the 7 figures? I guess many of us use Prime. Plus, we watch costs.
Recent net worth survey had an average of over 2 million (and I used the not including SS/pension column). Granted, that only had a few hundred participants, so the forum's figure may very well be lower, but there's an over 50% buffer there. Even if it's high 6 figures it wouldn't really change my statement.

Also, I'm not saying no one's allowed to cancel or anything, I just found it amusing. I do think some saying it's a huge increase is a little overstated though.
User avatar
Tycoon
Posts: 1630
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:06 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Tycoon »

20 bucks is a lot of Bogle money - 7 figures or not. :greedy
Emotionless, prognostication free investing. Ignoring the noise and economists since 1979. Getting rich off of "smart people's" behavioral mistakes.
Marylander1
Posts: 583
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:18 pm
Location: Baltimore & DC

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Marylander1 »

Amazon Prime also includes other seemingly random discounts. As a Prime member, I got 2013 TurboTax Deluxe + State in January for $39.99; it was $10 more for non-prime.

-Marylander1
lightheir
Posts: 2684
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:43 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by lightheir »

Has been mentioned before, but you can share your prime with I think like 4 family members. Makes it much more worth it. I wouldn't get it for myself, but we all use it.
Texas hold em71
Posts: 595
Joined: Sat May 18, 2013 11:09 am

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Texas hold em71 »

rob wrote:
Texas hold em71 wrote:I can not only find them on Prime, but I can order them and have said teenager try them on at home and send them back for free if he does not like them. I can still remember what my mother went through with my similarly built brother in the pre-internet era. This is a huge time and stress saver.
You can do that without prime - free shipping still for > $35.... It's just they have been stalling non prime deliveries in recent times so it will take longer.
I am not sure they are stalling them. The free shipping with $35 offer reads:

" If your order is $35 or more, you may qualify for free shipping. With free shipping, your order will be delivered 5-8 business days after all of your items are available to ship, including pre-order items."

Prime offers free two day delivery.

The two offers are not intended to be equal.

For some, there is no difference between 2 days and 5-8 but to me there is.
rj49
Posts: 630
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:22 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by rj49 »

I'm not going to renew my student membership. I end up buying too many impulse purchases, so the $40 ends up being hundreds of dollars more. Students also have no choice about opting out of advertising,and any movie I watch has suggestions for paid movies at the bottom, so I'd rather stick with Netflix (you can get a discount one-year gift card to Netflix on ebay that makes it $3-4 a month). Then I hate waiting around for the UPS guy on delivery days, and having to pop all their air-bubble packaging. For me Amazon is the equivalent of an ETF--cheap and easy to buy, but the convenience leads to impulse buying (trading), which isn't good for my financial health. So I'm trying to do more local buying in person, and look to only purchases for other merchants (overstock, ebay, newegg, and REI).
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by denovo »

LadyGeek wrote:
denovo- I apologize, as your poll got removed with the thread merge. I didn't realize what happened until afterwards. Sorry.
I am terminating my bogleheads prime membership.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by denovo »

What do people mean when they say impulse purchases? Are people thinking books, dvds? I guess I don't purchase either, so it doesn't apply to me. So do people end up replacing their laptop or tv more often?

I mostly use it for household good purchases, which is good for so me so I can save my time and skip a trip to Wal-Mart or Target. Looking at my orders over the last 6 months I have ordered laundry detergent, toilet paper, can opener, printer ink, cereal, coat hangers, textbooks, required vitamin or mineral supplements. At least for me, none of these fall into the category of impulse purchases.

I should note for a lot of these things, they weren't cheaper than big retail, but same price, but for me I prefer waiting 2 days to schlepping to the store.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
DrPeppaPig
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:38 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by DrPeppaPig »

We live in an area without many shopping options so we use Amazon quite a bit. I'm not happy with the increase but think Prime is still worth it.
User avatar
Leif
Posts: 3705
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:15 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Leif »

denovo wrote:
LadyGeek wrote:
denovo- I apologize, as your poll got removed with the thread merge. I didn't realize what happened until afterwards. Sorry.
I am terminating my bogleheads prime membership.
I'm definitely signing up for another year of Boglehead Prime! I cannot live without it.
lightheir
Posts: 2684
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:43 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by lightheir »

rob wrote:
Texas hold em71 wrote:I can not only find them on Prime, but I can order them and have said teenager try them on at home and send them back for free if he does not like them. I can still remember what my mother went through with my similarly built brother in the pre-internet era. This is a huge time and stress saver.
You can do that without prime - free shipping still for > $35.... It's just they have been stalling non prime deliveries in recent times so it will take longer.
I will add however, that in my experience there has been a BIG difference between prime 2-day and 'general' shipping.

With prime 2-day, I reliably get items in 2 days, maximum 3.

With general free shipping, the typical wait time I experienced was close to 2 weeks, and never less than 8 days, even for local and small goods. Most of the time it was so long I had almost forgotten about the purchase and was confused when the box arrived.

I know prime is a consumer luxury in terms of shipping, but whether by design or not, it ends up to be like 3-4x faster than their free shipping. Actually, if you want to spend LESS on amazon, just go all-free shipping - prime makes it so easy to order that you indeed offload many of your errands shopping right to prime just due to convenience.
leonard
Posts: 5993
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:56 am

Re: Amazon hikes cost of Prime to $99

Post by leonard »

Tom_T wrote:
leonard wrote:
Tom_T wrote:
leonard wrote:Never understood why prime is so popular. Amazon has nothing that I can't wait an extra day or 2 to receive. Just added expense for essentially no real benefit.
If you're willing to bunch your purchases to exceed $35, that is. Otherwise, you pay shipping. And you pay for returns.

I don't think of it as some sort of badge of honor. As a Boglehead, I look at it strictly for its financial benefit. That said, Amazon is making is harder to determine the value of that benefit. Some items have Prime prices that have clearly been inflated. Two-day shipping, as many people discovered during the holidays, is not a guarantee. The value of the streaming library, for me, is zero. When my membership comes due next spring (I was renewed just before the price hike), I will take a look at the pattern of my purchases for the year and re-evaluate my membership.
I've never paid shipping from amazon and I've never had prime. So, not sure why you think someone would have to pay shipping.
What do you mean? The only time shipping is free is if you use Super Saver shipping, which is only available if your order is at least $35.
BINGO.
Leonard | | Market Timing: Do you seriously think you can predict the future? What else do the voices tell you? | | If employees weren't taking jobs with bad 401k's, bad 401k's wouldn't exist.
User avatar
vectorizer
Posts: 512
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:52 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by vectorizer »

rj49 wrote:Then I hate waiting around for the UPS guy on delivery days, and having to pop all their air-bubble packaging.
You hate having to pop the air-bubble packaging? That's the fun bonus of mail order! :)

Like another poster(s), I do have the impression that Amazon is not the reliably low cost price provider it had been up to a few years ago. We've also started Netflix streaming recently (mostly for their original programming like Orange...Black and House of Cards), so the relative value of free Amaon video is much less. OTOH, my daughter is going out to college in hicksville, so Prime might save us more money than before. Leaning toward canceling, but our membership doesn't renew till October, so we'll see then. I can't complain about not getting enough notice.
User avatar
frugaltype
Posts: 1952
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 9:07 am

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by frugaltype »

I haven't read through all 3 pages of replies, so maybe someone has posted this already.

I know I've read in the past that some online sites adjust pricing based on what they know about the customer. The lawsuit in the link below alleges that amazon encourages some of its sellers to increase the price of their products to prime customers by an amount that matches the shipping fee they'd charge a non-prime customer:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/amazon-c ... d=22882043
User avatar
lmpmd
Posts: 743
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:47 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by lmpmd »

I recently ordered a screwdriver. It was an "add on item". Is the "add on item" a way around Prime? In other words, you can't get the screwdriver alone - without paying shipping. If lots of items on Amazon are made "add on items", doesn't that help Amazon and hurt me?
Mike Scott
Posts: 3579
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 2:45 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Mike Scott »

We bought prime this winter for the first time. The 2 day shipping has never been less than 4-5 days shipping. The only "free" videos that we have any interest in are BBC TV programs that are mostly available at the library for free. I'm pretty sure the Prime prices are generally higher than otherwise. I doubt that we will renew at $79 much less $99. I can wait to bundle orders for the regular free shipping and a couple extra days to get. In another thread on a similar topic, someone suggested they separate the prime services to those who are interested in video streaming from those who want faster shipping. I think that makes sense but I doubt that I would be interested in either for now.
Mike Scott
Posts: 3579
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 2:45 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Mike Scott »

lmpmd wrote:I recently ordered a screwdriver. It was an "add on item". Is the "add on item" a way around Prime? In other words, you can't get the screwdriver alone - without paying shipping. If lots of items on Amazon are made "add on items", doesn't that help Amazon and hurt me?
The add ons let them offer more competitive prices on small items. The built in shipping charges on small items is not competitive.
mhalley
Posts: 10432
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:02 am

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by mhalley »

I read some articles on the net about how to get another year at 79, saving the 20 bucks. It involves cancelling your auto renew, purchasing a gift subscription for prime using your own email address, and having it delivered the day after your subscription is set to expire. I thought about putting a link to one of the articles, but decided to make you work for your 20 bucks.
Mike
Caduceus
Posts: 3527
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:47 am

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Caduceus »

Prime is very important for Amazon, and I don't think they would have raised it without good reason. A customer who has already "prepaid" for shipping using Prime will buy an item that is actually more expensive at Amazon (sticker price + prorated share of shipping) rather than at a competitor as long as Amazon's sticker price is cheaper. The paradox is that having customers develop a propensity to make multiple small orders must be very costly for Amazon. I wonder what the breakeven point would be in terms of number of deliveries/profit margin of orders for $99 Prime to work.

I like Amazon but dislike Prime. For orders below $35, Amazon Marketplace will often offer a reasonable total all-inclusive cost. Everything else I can wait until I have $35 worth of stuff to buy. Sometimes I forget to buy the items, which means I didn't actually need them in the first place, so it all works out!
Tom_T
Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:33 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Tom_T »

FYI, sometimes Prime surprises me. I ordered something yesterday morning (Saturday.) It was on my doorstep today -- Sunday. I was shocked. I didn't even know that anyone delivered on Sunday.
User avatar
Ged
Posts: 3945
Joined: Mon May 13, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: Roke

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by Ged »

frugaltype wrote:
I know I've read in the past that some online sites adjust pricing based on what they know about the customer. The lawsuit in the link below alleges that amazon encourages some of its sellers to increase the price of their products to prime customers by an amount that matches the shipping fee they'd charge a non-prime customer:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/amazon-c ... d=22882043
I would be very surprised if the 3rd party sellers weren't doing this. Amazon charges them for use of their fulfillment systems, and does not share Prime revenue with them.

Whether that is grounds for a lawsuit is quite questionable. 'Free Shipping' is an obvious oxymoron.
brianH
Posts: 666
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:21 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by brianH »

lmpmd wrote:I recently ordered a screwdriver. It was an "add on item". Is the "add on item" a way around Prime? In other words, you can't get the screwdriver alone - without paying shipping. If lots of items on Amazon are made "add on items", doesn't that help Amazon and hurt me?
I just happen to be in my 1-month of free Prime as this price increase was announced...The 'add on item' nonsense is a reason why I won't be converting to a full membership, and the price increase seals the deal. I had a few items early in my trial that I wanted to buy quickly, but found out all of them were add-ons. Thus, I had to spend the $35 I otherwise would have as a non-Prime member. I've also been satisfied with the 'Subscribe and Save' program that also gives free shipping (and a 5% discount), as long as you can wait until your next shipping cycle.

It's not worth it to me, but I also live in a suburban area (and have a car) with almost every major retailer within a 5 mile radius of my home. If I lived in the country, or in the city where running to Walmart/Target would be a huge hassle, I'd likely be a Prime lover.
User avatar
TomatoTomahto
Posts: 17158
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by TomatoTomahto »

mhalley wrote:I read some articles on the net about how to get another year at 79, saving the 20 bucks. It involves cancelling your auto renew, purchasing a gift subscription for prime using your own email address, and having it delivered the day after your subscription is set to expire. I thought about putting a link to one of the articles, but decided to make you work for your 20 bucks.
Mike
Are you related to sscritic? 8-)
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
User avatar
TomatoTomahto
Posts: 17158
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 1:48 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by TomatoTomahto »

lightheir wrote: I know prime is a consumer luxury in terms of shipping, but whether by design or not, it ends up to be like 3-4x faster than their free shipping. Actually, if you want to spend LESS on amazon, just go all-free shipping - prime makes it so easy to order that you indeed offload many of your errands shopping right to prime just due to convenience.
I looked it up: I placed 203 orders in 2013. I guess I like my convenience :happy . At that rate, the price went up a dime per order; I can live with that.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
User avatar
Topic Author
yukonjack
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:36 pm
Location: Rocky Mountain West

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by yukonjack »

I regularly ship to 3 different addresses and it's nice knowing the exact arrival date of your package. So I'll stay with Prime. Hopefully the $99 will stick around for 7 or 8 years like the $79 price did.
gcat
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:25 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by gcat »

I am a Prime customer, and I will continue to be for the foreseeable future. For me, Prime offers a higher value than Netflix or any other alternatives due to the 2-day shipping and the book lending library.

As a side note, any student with a .edu email address can purchase prime for $49/year.
User avatar
JupiterJones
Posts: 3624
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:25 pm
Location: Nashville, TN

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by JupiterJones »

Texas hold em71 wrote: For some, there is no difference between 2 days and 5-8 but to me there is.
There a difference for me too.

Just not a $79-per-year difference (much less $99).

Besides, if I want to pay extra money just to get something more quickly, I can just go to Target. 8-)
"Stay on target! Stay on target!"
OatmealAddict
Posts: 1196
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 4:03 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by OatmealAddict »

I, personally, couldn't fathom paying for Prime when shipping is free anyway (yes, I know, $35 minimum, but that's a non-issue for me). I've heard the movie selection is terrible, so I never really understood the point of paying so much to get so little in return.
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by denovo »

JupiterJones wrote:
Texas hold em71 wrote: For some, there is no difference between 2 days and 5-8 but to me there is.
There a difference for me too.

Just not a $79-per-year difference (much less $99).

Besides, if I want to pay extra money just to get something more quickly, I can just go to Target. 8-)

As I mentioned earlier, before there was a three thread convergence, there's a way of lowering your cost of prime to $19 if you are only concerned with the free 2-day shipping. 5 Amazon Accounts can share one Prime Membership. Personally I am not willing to pay $79 or $99 for this either, but $19 is ok. I am sure most people who can find 4 friends, co-workers, or relatives willing to share. The only caveat is that only the primary members gets access to Amazon Prime Instant Video.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
lightheir
Posts: 2684
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:43 pm

Re: Amazon Prime Increase

Post by lightheir »

jimday1982 wrote:I, personally, couldn't fathom paying for Prime when shipping is free anyway (yes, I know, $35 minimum, but that's a non-issue for me). I've heard the movie selection is terrible, so I never really understood the point of paying so much to get so little in return.
Oh, you get a LOT in terms of convenience if you're like me. As a full time worker, with toddler with spouse who works, and no family to help out with the child care, any free moment is precious.

It has been remarkable in terms of time savings to order stuff straight from Prime rather than drive out to Home Depot, etc. on the weekend, to browse the aisles. If I weren't so time crunched I'd probably feel differently, but as an extremely time-crunched person, prime is worth like double what they charge to me.

(I never thought I'd like/need the 2-day shipping,and I barely used it for 6 months, but then once I realized how convenient it was and how many trips to stores I could save, it was a game changer. I'm hoping that it also saves in terms of environmental damage in terms of greatly reduced personal car driving, but that could be offset if there are multiple separate deliveries. )
Post Reply