Anti-Hot Deal: Amazon's minimum free shipping now $49 for everything except books!

[Captante]

Prime is nice but they lost me when they jacked the price to $100. I realize $25 isn't the end of the world but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Amazon customer service is great no question though.

 

[Fritzo]

There are people without Prime?

Shocked to hear this myself. Love Prime and never have a problem with shipping. If it gets to me in 3 days instead of two...boo hoo. People are dying of cancer.

 

[QueBert]

They want everyone buy their membership which I gladly canceled year ago due to their fvcked up shipping.

They don't need to up the free shipping prices to make that happen. They have been doing just fine with taking an extra 2-3 days to prep an order for shipping for people who aren't prime members. Prime members should get faster shipping of course, but faster handling of the order's just shitty. At least Newegg doesn't bullshit, they label it rush processing.

Fuck amazon

 

[ultimatebob]

Makes sense, they're trying hard to shove Prime down people's throats.

If "free" movies, books, and music aren't going to do it, making regular shipping cost more might.

 

[Rakehellion]

Yeah, I just buy from third party retailers. People on eBay usually have better prices anyway.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow that seems a little excessive. I could see maybe $20, or make the shipping based off the weight/size of the actual item.

Just went to check real quick and still see lot of stuff with free shipping though. Wonder if this wont affect Canada. But we usually get screwed, it's probably going to be like $70 shipping.

Amazon is basically a store front for Ebay though. You can buy the same item on Ebay and it's probably coming from the same person.

 

[gorcorps]

Makes sense, they're trying hard to shove Prime down people's throats.

If "free" movies, books, and music aren't going to do it, making regular shipping cost more might.

*shrugs*

You can't even shop at Costco or Sam's without a membership, so I don't know why people piss all over Amazon for their service when it's not even mandatory.

 

[Strk]

Yeah, I just buy from third party retailers. People on eBay usually have better prices anyway.

Except with Amazon if something goes wrong with the product, they don't even try and argue a refund. I don't really see the big deal. Shipping is expensive. How many companies offer free shipping for less that don't cost more per item?

 

[zerocool84]

Yeah, I just buy from third party retailers. People on eBay usually have better prices anyway.

I refuse to use PayPal at all.

 

[ponyo]

I refuse to use PayPal at all.

Paypal account is no longer required for eBay since the companies separated. You can select credit card as payment option.

Nice thing about eBay is there's no minimum for free shipping. And you can earn eBay Bucks on top of credit card rewards. And then you can stack shopping portal cashback on top of that. Then there are discounted eBay gift cards and occasional 5x eBay Bucks promotions. Plus eBay sellers don't play delay shipping games like Amazon does with non-Prime members. Amazon shipping is absolutely horrible if you're not Prime member. It's not uncommon for Amazon to sit on an order for over a week before shipping.

 

[JSt0rm]

Im super busy and amazon is a god send. I buy 80% of my stuff from them. One click boom done free 2 day shipping done.

 

[destrekor]

Paypal account is no longer required for eBay since the companies separated. You can select credit card as payment option.

Nice thing about eBay is there's no minimum for free shipping. And you can earn eBay Bucks on top of credit card rewards. And then you can stack shopping portal cashback on top of that. Then there are discounted eBay gift cards and occasional 5x eBay Bucks promotions. Plus eBay sellers don't play delay shipping games like Amazon does with non-Prime members. Amazon shipping is absolutely horrible if you're not Prime member. It's not uncommon for Amazon to sit on an order for over a week before shipping.

This is the second time I've seen that mentioned in this thread. Is this a consequence of choosing the slowest free shipping?

What if you paid for the 2-day shipping? Or any of the shipping options which have a specified number of transit days, and not in some wide range of 7-14 days or some crap like that?

I just figured the speed of Amazon shipping isn't the Prime, it's the 2-day shipping. You see everywhere, "Get this by such and such date with 2 day shipping"
Eh, reading up more on that, that is a Guaranteed Accelerated Shipping thing. It is not exclusive to Prime, but I've seen it on everything I buy on Amazon, but I also tend to only buy when an item qualifies for Prime, which means it is fulfilled by Amazon one way or the other, and sitting in their warehouses.

I can't vouch for other the snail-pace shipping methods, but the free shipping is usually just that, snail-pace. Not that it excuses them, I'm just curious if anyone has experienced that with faster delivery options.

 

[iCyborg]

Just went to check real quick and still see lot of stuff with free shipping though. Wonder if this wont affect Canada. But we usually get screwed, it's probably going to be like $70 shipping.

When it comes to minimum order for free shipping, Amazon hasn't been screwing Canada for years - it's still CDN$25, while USA was more ($35) even before this hike. Not to mention the current exchange rate...
Where we get screwed is selection, and probably pricing, I often see examples where an item costs more on Amazon than at Best Buy etc.

I do 5-8 orders per year (half of which are >$100), so shipping would need to be >$20 before Prime would start making sense. There's no way they can get me on board with that, so any measure like this would simply mean less buying on Amazon.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When it comes to minimum order for free shipping, Amazon hasn't been screwing Canada for years - it's still CDN$25, while USA was more ($35) even before this hike. Not to mention the current exchange rate...
Where we get screwed is selection, and probably pricing, I often see examples where an item costs more on Amazon than at Best Buy etc.

I do 5-8 orders per year (half of which are >$100), so shipping would need to be >$20 before Prime would start making sense. There's no way they can get me on board with that, so any measure like this would simply mean less buying on Amazon.

Was speaking more in general not Amazon specifically, but yeah selection we do get screwed on. Often I see a good deal, go to see the price in Canada, the item is either not available at all, or like 2x the price.

 

[dr150]

Nice experiment Amazon's doing.

It could backlash on them like when Netflix rose their fees and their stock tanked and lost subscribers conditioned to a great price.

Amazon is pushing their "conditioned users" against the wall and betting they'll stay and/or buy Prime.

The fact Amazon's trying to generate revenue means that consumer spending has gone down and they're trying to make up for it in other ways.

 

[Sonikku]

Darn it, now I'll be giving them even MORE money with a Prime membership!!





not.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Except with Amazon if something goes wrong with the product, they don't even try and argue a refund. I don't really see the big deal. Shipping is expensive. How many companies offer free shipping for less that don't cost more per item?

Many, which is why I don't buy much from Amazon. Amazon has become like facebook for the lazy. You are PAYING MORE for what you deem is easier and quicker, when in fact it is just another storefront. The ONLY reason it is quicker is because now they hold orders back to make prime seem like that much more of a value. If it wasn't for the extras you get (if you even want them) it would be a complete scam.

The "I'm busy" excuse is just that, an excuse. It's your money so waste it how you want, but Amazon is not some great deal that is any better than any other place. They got bailed out what? 3 times before they finally started making a profit, and now they are taking away all the things that got them to where they are.

 

[JEDIYoda]

a lot of cheap ass members.....ask your parents to pay...sheese!!

 

[ImpulsE69]

a lot of cheap ass members.....ask your parents to pay...sheese!!

So now it is a bad thing to be money conscious? It's not like we're coupon hoarding. I would counter that seems to be a lot of impulse buyers who have no patience to wait for something to be delivered.

 

[destrekor]

Many, which is why I don't buy much from Amazon. Amazon has become like facebook for the lazy. You are PAYING MORE for what you deem is easier and quicker, when in fact it is just another storefront. The ONLY reason it is quicker is because now they hold orders back to make prime seem like that much more of a value. If it wasn't for the extras you get (if you even want them) it would be a complete scam.

The "I'm busy" excuse is just that, an excuse. It's your money so waste it how you want, but Amazon is not some great deal that is any better than any other place. They got bailed out what? 3 times before they finally started making a profit, and now they are taking away all the things that got them to where they are.

Not sure how you get that?

I save money with Amazon, even with Prime if you factor in you could use free shipping that is excessively slow (it always was, not sure where the new complaints are now - unlike say NewEgg which adds an option for Rush, Amazon's Rush processing is bundled with the faster shipping speeds. Choose the ridiculously slow free option, they assume you don't need it rushed. So they instead focus on everything that needs to be rushed, Prime or not, and get to the non-rush orders as they can. That's basically standard approach for Rush processing, it's just a hidden feature that's unavailable for slow speeds and automatic for faster speeds.

But with or without Prime, I save money with Amazon. Sure, you may find a lot of things at similar prices at Walmart, or at least similar type products, but A) that means you have to go to Walmart (which isn't close for me, and I hate it there), and B) if it's not the same product, it's likely a lower quality item.

I get what is cheaper at Target or Kroger, and sometimes use price match at Best Buy if I want the item RIGHT NOW and they have it in stock.

But in general, for everything I can order online, Amazon often has the better price to start with, and I can now get it in 2 days free, 1 day for a little extra if I feeling antsy. But what that enables is now I don't have to plan for excessively slow free shipping, with unpredictable processing and shipping times, and can get different essentials delivered instead of having to go to a local store. And it's especially great for things that I can only find online, because again, most often they have the better price, or perhaps it's a few pennies more but then there's that Prime shipping I elected to buy. Factor in shipping costs for anything other than Free if I had not went with Prime, and I'd definitely be paying more in the long run than I am with Prime, and if I went with Free, it'd be agonizing and I'd likely be unable to plan accordingly for future needs, and I'd rather not stockpile a whole ton of extra stuff just in case I run out sooner than I could reorder.

 

[dr150]

Darn it, now I'll be giving them even MORE money with a Prime membership!!

not.

You do get Music and Movies as a value proposition though.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

You do get Music and Movies as a value proposition though.

The shipping + movies & music makes it more than worth it, in my opinion. Much easier to have stuff delivered to my door (#lazy) and I really like the original TV programming & classical music selection (best of John Williams playlist - awesome!)

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not sure how you get that?

I save money with Amazon, even with Prime if you factor in you could use free shipping that is excessively slow (it always was, not sure where the new complaints are now - unlike say NewEgg which adds an option for Rush, Amazon's Rush processing is bundled with the faster shipping speeds. Choose the ridiculously slow free option, they assume you don't need it rushed. So they instead focus on everything that needs to be rushed, Prime or not, and get to the non-rush orders as they can. That's basically standard approach for Rush processing, it's just a hidden feature that's unavailable for slow speeds and automatic for faster speeds.

But with or without Prime, I save money with Amazon. Sure, you may find a lot of things at similar prices at Walmart, or at least similar type products, but A) that means you have to go to Walmart (which isn't close for me, and I hate it there), and B) if it's not the same product, it's likely a lower quality item.

I get what is cheaper at Target or Kroger, and sometimes use price match at Best Buy if I want the item RIGHT NOW and they have it in stock.

But in general, for everything I can order online, Amazon often has the better price to start with, and I can now get it in 2 days free, 1 day for a little extra if I feeling antsy. But what that enables is now I don't have to plan for excessively slow free shipping, with unpredictable processing and shipping times, and can get different essentials delivered instead of having to go to a local store. And it's especially great for things that I can only find online, because again, most often they have the better price, or perhaps it's a few pennies more but then there's that Prime shipping I elected to buy. Factor in shipping costs for anything other than Free if I had not went with Prime, and I'd definitely be paying more in the long run than I am with Prime, and if I went with Free, it'd be agonizing and I'd likely be unable to plan accordingly for future needs, and I'd rather not stockpile a whole ton of extra stuff just in case I run out sooner than I could reorder.

Before prime was being pushed, I always got Amazon free (standard) shipping within 2-3 days, now it is a week minimum. Also, I'm not talking Wal-Mart, I'm talking online. I guess I plan ahead a bit better because I'm never in some hurry where I need some inane item in a few days. If we want to include local retail, there is a Wal-Mart on nearly every block (exaggeration of course) and it isn't nearly the hassle people want to make it out to be. YOU AREN'T GETTING FREE SHIPPING FOR FREE. That is the piece people seem to want to throw out there, but it isn't free. You are paying for it. Sure, you can make it worth it, but that comes at the cost of buying more. I spend less on shipping in a year than what you are paying for Prime and I'm also not buying a ton of things to justify having Prime.

The other things they include with prime would be what I would push way more as a reason to have it, however none of that interests me at this time.

I have no objection that there are people who use Prime in a manner that justifies the cost, but I find it hard to believe 50 million users do because if you do any research and price comparisons you find Amazon tends to cost more, then add Prime on top of that and you find you aren't saving any money at all. Honestly the only time I tend to use Amazon is when I get gift cards that can only be used there because most times I can get the same item less from elsewhere (usually with free shipping).

 

[Imp]

I buy a ton from Amazon...

It's still, right now, $25 for free shipping in Canada, but considering how far apart our cities are, there's a chance it could follow. Also, its main competitor, Wal-Mart, jacked their free-shipping up to $50 a while ago. On the other hand, Amazon should have fulfillment centers relatively close to most population centers. Most Canadians are concentrated near a few areas.

I'd be more inclined to pay shipping if it did go to $50.

 

[ponyo]

The Prime movies and music is worth nothing to me. So I'm happy to just leech Prime shipping membership from a family member and pay nothing.