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

[Jeff7]

Many of you act like you never leave the house. Get out of your moms basements, or better yet, make her get your groceries.

They call it "the outernet." Some aspects of it are tolerable.

Kept waiting for that robot to take the stance of dominance and kick that guys ass.

That'll come after it has a manager badgering it for results, and it determines how to "mitigate" the source of the delays.

 

[Craig234]

You know what is funny is that you guys complain about the fee for prime but have no problem playing for Costco membership when you can go across the street and by the same crap.

Not so much. Costco carries different stuff for lower prices.

 

[13Gigatons]

For non-prime members Amazon is not that great now.
*slower shipping
*sales taxes
*higher shipping cost

I buy locally more now then I used too.

 

[Rakehellion]

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?

ebay sides withthe buyer in pretty much every case

 

[11thHour]

They are trying to squeeze people into prime, and hopefully out of netflix and other competing services. This will backfire.

 

[jlee]

For anyone complaining about shipping costs...have you actually shipped anything lately? A small flat rate USPS box costs almost $7!

 

[NoCreativity]

It has less to do with this:

For anyone complaining about shipping costs...have you actually shipped anything lately? A small flat rate USPS box costs almost $7!

And more to do with this:

They are trying to squeeze people into prime, and hopefully out of netflix and other competing services. This will backfire.

 

[jlee]

It has less to do with this:


And more to do with this:

Maybe, but I have Prime exclusively for shipping. I very rarely use their music or video, since a Google Play / Netflix combination is far superior.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Using prime to not have to deal with all the stupid snowbird french canadians in Florida this time of year is worth it

 

[Rakehellion]

Prime is what, $8 a month now? I just don't buy enough crap from Amazon to justify the cost. And I know they're banking on the sunk cost fallacy in hoping people will spend more to make it worth their while.

I'm not going to use their super saver shipping either because it simply isn't a good deal.

 

[Zee]

Not so much. Costco carries different stuff for lower prices.

Costco prices are not that much lower. and it's not lower at all for produce and meats

 

[Art&Science]

Meh... Prime customer.

Do people realize that Prime customers also often receive a discount on the item? For example an item may be $15 for non prime customers and $10 for prime customers?

If you order from them more than once a month the membership makes sense.

Amazon is the Costco of the Internet. You pay to play.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I swear, its like you people actually like going to target/walmart.

 

[13Gigatons]

I swear, its like you people actually like going to target/walmart.

Target = yes
Walmart = no
Best Buy = rare
Lowes = often
Home Depot = often
Menards = often
Ace = rare
Microcenter = never enough visits
Walgreens = rare
Fry's = so far away
Costco = no
Staples = rare
Office Max = rare
Kohls = no
Apple Store = rare
Big Lots = rare

 

[13Gigatons]

For anyone complaining about shipping costs...have you actually shipped anything lately? A small flat rate USPS box costs almost $7!

Gas prices have gone way down and Amazon gets the volume discount.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I swear, its like you people actually like going to target/walmart.

I like to go where i can get a great value. :sneaky:

On that note though..you say that like spending money on every day mundane things is somehow enjoyable. It's still spending money, the novelty of online shopping wore off in 95. Since 96 it's been about the best deals. That was online for a large time, but it is shifting slightly.

 

[Jeff7]

I swear, its like you people actually like going to target/walmart.

Target = Bad traffic to get there.
Walmart = Bleh, but there are two 24hr SuperCenters fairly close by.
Best Buy = It still amazes me that they're still in business.
Lowes = Traffic
Home Depot = Traffic
Menards = I heard of this once on MST3K.
Ace = Nice stores with lots of bins of hardware.
Microcenter = Never seen one. :'( The closest one is an 8hr round trip, assuming I-90 has no accidents, and that just doesn't happen.
Walgreens = No need.
Fry's = I saw one. One. The Promised Land.
Costco = Never been.
Staples = rare too
Office Max = If Staples is there, no need.
Kohls = Never been
Apple Store = App. le? Nope.
Big Lots = rare

Updated.

Lowes/Home Depot: Decent for bulky or heavy items that ship cheaper by the pallet to stores on a dedicated trucks, rather than taking the last leg by UPS.

Shoes and clothing: JCPenney or something similar. Shoes especially just need to be tried on first. I tried out some shoes several years ago with the crush-resistant safety toe, and its steel edges were left with a lovely toe-slicing razor edge that dug in with each step.

 

[bruceb]

I do not like the shipping fees either and try to combine my items into as few shipments as possible. Unless it is something I need quickly. As to sales tax, Amazon is opening retail stores all over, starting this year. Eventually, if they open in your state and that state charges sales tax, then Amazon is obligated by law to also charge you tax, if the order is going to a state where they have a physical presence. At some point I may consider Amazon Prime, but not just yet.

Target = yes .. competitive with Walmart on most items, has some Walmart does not have
Walmart = yes .. competitive with Target on most items, has some Target does not have
Best Buy = rare as they are not close, but sometimes get a good deal on line from them
Lowes = often ... only Lowes Foods ... Lowes Home Improvement is higher on most items than Home Depot
Home Depot = often
Menards = never
Ace = not sure if we have any here in NC
Microcenter = once in a while, some prices are good, others are higher & no store yet in North Carolina
Walgreens = now and then for some items
Office Max = now and then, some prices better than the thieves at Staples
Kohls = no
Apple Store = no
Big Lots = no
Costco = no

 

[Darwin333]

Shrug, my time is worth more than a few bucks and for the most part Amazon is very competitive. Even if I could price match at a local store it would take me an hour to get their, deal with the idiots and make my purchase. Instead I click one button and it's at my door in two days. I do use their free streaming but that's just a bonus to me, the free two day shipping is worth every penny considering how many items I buy from them over the course of a year. Hell just Christmas time alone makes it worth it.

 

[TwiceOver]

Prime was $0.66 per order for me in 2015 and not even 1% of the amount I spent with them. *Shrug*

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Prime was $0.66 per order for me in 2015 and not even 1% of the amount I spent with them. *Shrug*

At $99 is that like 148-149 orders?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I like to go where i can get a great value. :sneaky:

On that note though..you say that like spending money on every day mundane things is somehow enjoyable. It's still spending money, the novelty of online shopping wore off in 95. Since 96 it's been about the best deals. That was online for a large time, but it is shifting slightly.

I get one, maybe 2 days a week off. I'm not spending it at walmart. Amazon/Costco/Trader Joes/Vietnamese Supermarket gets 99% of what I need. I don't eat garbage so no real need to buy boxed junk food.

I'm also not driving to 4 places to find a specific type of thai red curry paste. One click on amazon and its here in a day.

 

[Mike64]

Just noticed Amazon's latest little bit of "cuteness"... they seem to have changed the "usefulness" ratings of individual reviews to remove the helpful/unhelpful ratio - all I'm seeing is the net number of "helpful" ratings... Coupled with the absolute explosion in the number of "free/discounted product for 'honest & unbiased' review" reviews over the past couple of years, the utility of the site's ratings is heading rapidly toward the "truly pitiful" end of the spectrum... Next I suppose they'll decide that's it's really not terribly "helpful" for reviewers to even note that they got the product they're reviewing for free at all...

 

[TwiceOver]

At $99 is that like 148-149 orders?

Correct. 148 orders in 2015. But I don't know how many of those were put into the same box after I placed the order. So it could be more "Per shipment". Still a good deal for my use. I don't have the convenience of most major retailers. We have a Target and a Wal-Mart here, that's it for consumer goods.

 

[Anubis]

I swear, its like you people actually like going to target/walmart.

TBH ive never understood the hate for walmart
its convenient for stuff and its cheaper when im buying stuff like pens and TP or games or well pretty much anything. pre packaged shit is the same there as anywhere else and it costs less

also its 1 of 2 options for most people. the other being the grocery store