Amazon Prime $68/yr Friday Sept 23 NOT HAPPENING

[Hossly]

BTW, 1 year ago (9/25/15) I got the email "Gift Yourself Amazon Prime for $67. Ends tonight!" which seemed strange for Amazon (kind of like the stealth renewals), but I knew it was a good deal esp. considering I'd previously done the 30-day trial.

Well, turns out my state (MI) had quietly passed the "Amazon tax" to charge the 6% state tax up-front, and it went into effect on 10/1/15. For years, every time they even thought about doing this it was front page news, but when it finally happened there was radio silence until 9/29/15 (the first it was mentioned in the news that I can find).

Coincidence(s)?

 

[zinfamous]

What if everyone just took that $68/year and just gave it to St. Jude?

That would be great!

Really strange when you come out sounding like the commie liberal type that you tend to despise, though. :hmm:

 

[Perknose]

man, I really hate Tamil.

And I bet the internet does, too.

She turned me into a newt . . . without Prime!

 

[Muse]

What if everyone just took that $68/year and just gave it to St. Jude?

I was thinking about this. Why would Amazon suddenly reduce the rate to $68 for even a day? Too much downside. They'll keep it even keel at $99. To bait new subscribers with a reduced rate would risk all kinds of downside as is evidenced in this thread amply.

 

[John Connor]

I was thinking about this. Why would Amazon suddenly reduce the rate to $68 for even a day? Too much downside. They'll keep it even keel at $99. To bait new subscribers with a reduced rate would risk all kinds of downside as is evidenced in this thread amply.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

I was thinking about this. Why would Amazon suddenly reduce the rate to $68 for even a day? Too much downside. They'll keep it even keel at $99. To bait new subscribers with a reduced rate would risk all kinds of downside as is evidenced in this thread amply.

It's just a gimmick based on the Emmys. They did it before and obviously realized it wasn't worth it.

 

[John Connor]

Crazy how so many people think you're uncivilized for not having crime, (Prime). I guess the economy is better than I thought and there isn't some 98 million out of work.

I'll just point out my opine again and say it's asinine to pay to play and then be restricted from buying certain items from an online retailer. That's almost like the RIAA or MPAA making YouTube deny certain users from watching videos.

 

[Muse]

Crazy how so many people think you're uncivilized for not having crime, (Prime).

I was weighing things on Thursday in anticipation of this 1/3 off deal happening on Friday. I've pretty much decided to go for it. In fact I was close when it was $68/year before they bounced it to $99/year. But when they did that, I was, sorry, I was interested in $68, not $99. I juggle my Amazon purchases to get free shipping >=$49. I may go prime one day, not right now. 95% of the time I'm in no hurry to receive my orders. 2 day doesn't have that much appeal and I can wait on most stuff until I have enough in my cart to get over the $49 threshold for free shipping.

 

[John Connor]

I was weighing things on Thursday in anticipation of this 1/3 off deal happening on Friday. I've pretty much decided to go for it. In fact I was close when it was $68/year before they bounced it to $99/year. But when they did that, I was, sorry, I was interested in $68, not $99. I juggle my Amazon purchases to get free shipping >=$49. I may go prime one day, not right now.

I guess it works for those that buy tons of shit. I simply don't buy enough to merit the cost of Prime. A few things here and there, maybe an MP3, but that's about it.

 

[TwiceOver]

I use the shit out of it so no issues here. I save that much in shipping many times over through the year and get movies, music, some audible content to boot. Does it suck that they treat "regular" customers like dirt, sure.

 

[John Connor]

[offtopic] But this made me laugh[/offtopic]

"I.T. Technician n. The only person under the boss' desk not looking for a raise."

 

[zinfamous]

Crazy how so many people think you're uncivilized for not having crime, (Prime). I guess the economy is better than I thought and there isn't some 98 million out of work.

I'll just point out my opine again and say it's asinine to pay to play and then be restricted from buying certain items from an online retailer. That's almost like the RIAA or MPAA making YouTube deny certain users from watching videos.

Crazy how someone thinks that a company offering a service purely based on consumer choice is some sort of crime.

Please, do explain why you think Prime is such a criminal enterprise? Another sense of entitlement that you deserve whatever you want, however you want it?

 

[darkswordsman17]

To the person asking why Amazon would offer a discounted price...um they've been doing that every year for a while now. I think they've done it multiple times a year even. Normally its to $79.

Crazy how so many people think you're uncivilized for not having crime, (Prime). I guess the economy is better than I thought and there isn't some 98 million out of work.

I'll just point out my opine again and say it's asinine to pay to play and then be restricted from buying certain items from an online retailer. That's almost like the RIAA or MPAA making YouTube deny certain users from watching videos.

Crazy that you still can't figure out why people disparage you so much. No, people think you're ridiculous because you use 3rd grade level insults (crime instead of Prime, get it?) and use incredibly poor logic (hey guys, you knew that Sam's Club and Costco are failed business models, right?).

I like that you put Prime in parenthesis because otherwise we wouldn't know what you're talking about. Its like that person putting "saw this at Burger King"...but, you're not an "entitled" Millennial, are you? Because that's only something one of them would do. Because they're dumb. Those Millennials. They're childish crying babies that can't handle people not agreeing with them, because they're stupid. Right?

And yes actually the economy is doing better than you think, but that's not shocking considering where you get your news and information from.

And we'll just point out our opinions again. Almost all of your "opinions" are asinine. You do know YouTube has a subscription service where you can only watch some content if you pay, right? How is that different from just about any other subscription model? You don't like it, fine, don't use it. Plus considering that with a Prime membership you get music and video streaming, cloud data storage (do you get web hosting too?), its laughable that you're complaining about how its such a crime.

Crazy how someone thinks that a company offering a service purely based on consumer choice is some sort of crime.

Please, do explain why you think Prime is such a criminal enterprise? Another sense of entitlement that you deserve whatever you want, however you want it?

He literally does not understand irony or hypocrisy.

 

[zerocool84]

I just bought a couch on Amazon and didn't cost me shipping at all. It weighed 112lbs. It's crazy what Prime gets you.

 

[Hossly]

I just bought a couch on Amazon and didn't cost me shipping at all. It weighed 112lbs. It's crazy what Prime gets you.

That's bold. I can hardly buy a jacket without there being a 50/50 chance of it going back.

The one pleasant surprise for Prime with me was the streaming. It took me a while to figure out a method for searching what's available, but once I did I started using it almost as much as Netflix.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I use the shit out of it so no issues here. I save that much in shipping many times over through the year and get movies, music, some audible content to boot. Does it suck that they treat "regular" customers like dirt, sure.

100% this. "Oh shit. I'm almost out of paper towels." Besides not having to take time out of any of my days to go get such a simple item, I don't have to deal with the dickwads on the road, in the store, and everywhere in-between for less than $10/month.

Crazy how so many people think you're uncivilized for not having crime, (Prime). I guess the economy is better than I thought and there isn't some 98 million out of work.

I'll just point out my opine again and say it's asinine to pay to play and then be restricted from buying certain items from an online retailer. That's almost like the RIAA or MPAA making YouTube deny certain users from watching videos.

One question for you - do you smoke cigs? If you do, well you have no argument behind the price at all. If you don't, you've got bigger battles to fight. Prime is harmless and is pennies, comparatively speaking.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I use the shit out of it so no issues here. I save that much in shipping many times over through the year and get movies, music, some audible content to boot. Does it suck that they treat "regular" customers like dirt, sure.

I guess it works for those that buy tons of shit. I simply don't buy enough to merit the cost of Prime. A few things here and there, maybe an MP3, but that's about it.

That is the problem I have with it. It doesn't really work out that way. It is only really useful if you don't buy enough to get the free shipping, and then it is not a good deal because the shipping would almost certainly cost less. If, like TwiceOver above you buy a lot from Amazon, then all you have to do is group some of those orders together to not get charged shipping. In that case you are not really getting much. The 2 day shipping might be valuable to some, but many people, like me, get almost everything from Amazon in 3 days anyway since they have warehouses spread out across the nation now. The same day shipping might be worth it if you live in the very limited area they offer that in, but even then most items that you would really want that for are 'add on' items.

I just bought a couch on Amazon and didn't cost me shipping at all. It weighed 112lbs. It's crazy what Prime gets you.

Unless you just bought a $48 couch it would have been free shipping anyway.

I'll just point out my opine again and say it's asinine

Opine is a verb, opinion is the noun. You opine on things, you point out your opinion.

 

[SMOGZINN]

100% this. "Oh shit. I'm almost out of paper towels." Besides not having to take time out of any of my days to go get such a simple item, I don't have to deal with the dickwads on the road, in the store, and everywhere in-between for less than $10/month.

In case you haven't noticed things like paper towels are all PrimePantry items now. You now have to buy a box of items together and they are still going to charge you 5.99 shipping. Amazon has rigged Prime so that shipping is no longer a benefit. Now to get value out of prime you need to make use of the video, ebook, and MP3 services. If you do use those, it is probably a pretty good deal.

 

[rh71]

I was weighing things on Thursday in anticipation of this 1/3 off deal happening on Friday. I've pretty much decided to go for it. In fact I was close when it was $68/year before they bounced it to $99/year. But when they did that, I was, sorry, I was interested in $68, not $99. I juggle my Amazon purchases to get free shipping >=$49. I may go prime one day, not right now. 95% of the time I'm in no hurry to receive my orders. 2 day doesn't have that much appeal and I can wait on most stuff until I have enough in my cart to get over the $49 threshold for free shipping.

Before I got on Prime last year for the price of $68/year, I was all about what you posted. I always got it up to $35 (minimum then) and was never really in a rush. Now that I've had it a year I have seen the light - the convenience in buying birthday gifts the same week, never having to leave your house for medium items (which I seem to find something to buy) - it's just a great convenience. I don't think I can handle a $50 minimum without Prime. I'd just not buy on Amazon much at all because I never really have that much saved up in wish list / cart - things are NEEDED within a week usually. $50 is too long of a wait so over the course of a month, things get taken out too. I love the freedom of buying $10 here, $20 here, etc. Even at $99, I'll keep it - I'm using other ways (CC rewards) that cancel this to $0/year really.

BTW, Prime just saved me 20% on Forza Horizon 3 also. New release perk.

 

[CraKaJaX]

In case you haven't noticed things like paper towels are all PrimePantry items now. You now have to buy a box of items together and they are still going to charge you 5.99 shipping. Amazon has rigged Prime so that shipping is no longer a benefit. Now to get value out of prime you need to make use of the video, ebook, and MP3 services. If you do use those, it is probably a pretty good deal.

Eh, not so much, especially with the holiday season right around the corner. With the Freedom 10% back last year, I did 98% of my Christmas shopping on Amazon and collected a good amount of cash back. Throughout the year, regular everyday items like toothpaste, floss, toothbrush heads, some small-type grocery things (peanut butter, coffee, etc.), dishwasher detergent, etc. are all bought on Amazon. Random stuff that I 'want' like new running shoes or kitchen gadgets are all done through Amazon as well. It's easily worth the money in my eyes.

 

[CraKaJaX]

BTW, Prime just saved me 20% on Forza Horizon 3 also. New release perk.

Yea, is this something new they're doing? I just saved 10% on new running shoes I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/Saucony-Kinvara-Running-Slime-Black/dp/B00YBFJMZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474990995&sr=8-1&keywords=kinvara+7&th=1&psc=1

 

[purbeast0]

No the 20% off new releases of video games has been going on for quite some time now, I think almost a year or more.

 

[Muse]

That's bold. I can hardly buy a jacket without there being a 50/50 chance of it going back.

The one pleasant surprise for Prime with me was the streaming. It took me a while to figure out a method for searching what's available, but once I did I started using it almost as much as Netflix.

Um, how do you do that?

I may pony up $99 and see how I like it. I did try the free 30 days a couple years ago but only watched one video. I found that somehow, probably just picked something out of a list, but it would be nice to see what's available, especially before actually subscribing. Or, maybe I'll pick up on a 30 day free subscription (I get bugged to do that all the time), and make up my mind partly by searching for video content.

BTW, I've never had a Netflix subscription of any kind, including trial, I'm contemplating that too. I am right now reviewing the The Get Down soundtrack for the radio station I work at. It is a Netflix production, I figure it's probably worth checking out. AFAIK (guessing here), I need to subscribe to Netflix to access it?

 

[Hossly]

Um, how do you do that?

Note - this is using the app on my Sony DVD player - not sure how different others are,

For searching Prime, I add videos to my Watchlist typically for the sole purpose of serving as categories. With those videos highlighted (but not selected for 'more details'), I click 'Options' on the remote, which brings up a submenu with a bunch more options, they key one being "More like this". At that point, you'll get 50 similar videos, almost all of them Prime (the ones that aren't I think have probably recently dropped off, since the "Prime" filter is enabled).

Even now, when I add something new and unique to my Watchlist, I'm still amazed at the stuff that shows up on "More like this."

There's a good chance I might've cancelled Prime (or at least been upset about the stealth renew) if I hadn't discovered this.

 

[Muse]

whoopsie