Is this a new thing for Amazon? Items reserved for prime members only

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cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
I've seen a few Blu-Rays lately on Amazon that are reserved for Prime members only. Is this new? I've never seen it before that I recall. After they raised the price I refused to sign up again. Do they think that telling me I can't buy an item from them unless I pay $99 for a membership is going to make me sign up or something? I can get the same Blu-Ray for the same price at Walmart or Best Buy.

Do they do this for low stock items or something?
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
DaveSimmons said:
What's an example? I've never noticed this, but I have prime.
Click to expand...

Search Kung Fu Killer and without being a member you see this. I'll admit that you don't see a lot of items listed as exclusive, I just happened to notice. I was wondering if this was because of items at low stock but a search shows a discussion on amazon's website that has people complaining about every day items they've bought before and one guy says Transporter 2 was exclusively for prime members when he looked and that's an old movie. Unrelated to that I started seeing lots of items listed as "in stock but will require an extra 1-2 days to process"

esVzX7B.jpg
 
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D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Interesting -- I wonder if they do that all the time for this or only when they are down to a very few copies left.
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
DaveSimmons said:
Interesting -- I wonder if they do that all the time for this or only when they are down to a very few copies left.
Click to expand...

That's what I was wondering myself. It's not a big deal, but if it becomes more prevalent it could be.
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
manly said:
I don't think it's related to inventory, this item has been in stock and Prime only for at least a month:
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Veg-Capsules-Capsules-750-Count/dp/B0014UEEE8/

(In this case, anyone can still Subscribe and save.)
Click to expand...

I don't see the option to purchase at all in your link.

You can sign up for a 30day prime trial, but once that ends you have to pay up for a membership unless you keep making new accounts or something. It seems like they're trying real hard to push their prime membership on people. "Your money is no good unless you sign up"
 
M

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
12,858
3,631
136
cmdrdredd said:
I don't see the option to purchase at all in your link.

You can sign up for a 30day prime trial, but once that ends you have to pay up for a membership unless you keep making new accounts or something. It seems like they're trying real hard to push their prime membership on people. "Your money is no good unless you sign up"
Click to expand...
You're right, it is Prime only even to subscribe.

The only loophole for this item is that since I've subscribed to it in the past, I can reactivate that subscription at any time.

I'm guessing Amazon is doing some live testing to see if they can drive more customers to sign up for Prime.

In other news, it looks like Amazon is trying to crack down on adults who share Prime shipping benefits with their friends:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441491
 
M

MWink

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,642
1
76
I noticed this a few months ago. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with stock. A few items on my wishlist jump back and forth between normal and Prime-exclusive. When they are Prime-exclusive the price tends to be about a dollar cheaper than when they aren't. These are items that tend to hold a fairly consistent price, unlike many which fluctuate frequently on Amazon.

I'm not at all a fan of this Prime-exclusive shenanigan. I'm getting really tired of all the games Amazon plays. Frankly, I feel like Amazon's site provides a pretty awful shopping experience. Searches bring completely unrelated results. Filters are borderline useless. Browsing is tedious and absolutely miserable. Pricing (due to third parties, Prime-exclusives, Subscribe and Save, add-on items, etc.) can be confusing/misleading. In the past I feel like they made up for their shortcomings (intentional or otherwise) by having good prices, good customer service, and convenience. I feel like those advantages are slowly slipping away. Their prices in particular tend to be nothing special these days. Personally, I'm strongly considering not renewing my Prime membership. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.
 
X

XavierMace

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2013
4,307
450
126
MWink said:
I'm not at all a fan of this Prime-exclusive shenanigan. I'm getting really tired of all the games Amazon plays. Frankly, I feel like Amazon's site provides a pretty awful shopping experience. Searches bring completely unrelated results. Filters are borderline useless. Browsing is tedious and absolutely miserable. Pricing (due to third parties, Prime-exclusives, Subscribe and Save, add-on items, etc.) can be confusing/misleading. In the past I feel like they made up for their shortcomings (intentional or otherwise) by having good prices, good customer service, and convenience. I feel like those advantages are slowly slipping away. Their prices in particular tend to be nothing special these days. Personally, I'm strongly considering not renewing my Prime membership. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.
Click to expand...

I guess YMMV but I'm just the opposite. About the only item I have a problem searching for is memory which is always flooded with crap results but that's largely due to the stupid China retailers that feel it necessary to relist the same item 1,000 different times. But I average 3-5 Amazon orders a month, I can't say I have any problems beyond that finding what I'm looking for. I can't say I find anything on their site remotely "miserable". I've bought everything from clothes to tools to car parts to games to computer parts off Amazon.

I REALLY don't see what could possibly be called confusing/misleading about pricing unless you just can't be bothered to read. They make it quite clear who's selling the item and give you this nice little button to click to see pricing from other sellers if you'd rather.

Last but not least they are ungodly fast, at least around here. I placed the first order I've done at Newegg in a long time because they were a little over 10% cheaper than Amazon (after shipping) and it was an order for a customer that wanted the project done cheap. That was 2a Tuesday morning. I'm still waiting for my stuff. Amazon would have had it to my door by Wednesday night. Probably at least some of it on Tuesday. In retrospect that would have been worth the extra $30.

I've only had to deal with 3 returns, but they made those exceptionally painless.

I'll agree their competition is starting to be price competitive again on merchandise itself. But I paid $35 for 3 day shipping on that Newegg order. It took them 2 days to process the order. Amazon would have shipped it same day or next day for Free. Do that 3 times and you've paid for the membership.

Plus Prime Instant Video has been filling a lot of gaps on Netflix for me.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,456
6,302
126
never seen that before, but then again i've had prime for 3+ years now so i guess i wouldn't have seen it. prime has been great for me and amazon customer service is incredible.

i wanted to return an item i bought during the prime sale (was a $8 usb wifi dongle) because it was getting crap reception, and it was "non returnable" according to chat. but they didn't care, they just refunded me the $8 and said keep the item.

this has happened multiple times for me, one time it was 100% my fault too as i thought i ordered something that had a square peg in it but it was a hex peg clearly on the picture, and the hex didn't fit in my fishing rod. they just said to keep the new handle and refunded me my money.

oh another one recently, i ordered a ps4 controller that was on back order until august 3rd. i ordered like july 28th. that thursday i noticed it said in stock so i contacted them to see if mine would ship out now instead of august 3rd since it says it's not in stock. they just upgraded me to free 1 day shipping instead, and i had the item on friday. great customer service.
 
notposting

notposting

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2005
3,498
33
91
I'll have to keep an eye out for this. I would not be surprised if they were trying things like this, and honestly it's their prerogative. Leading up to that Prime Day I recall seeing some numbers that average annual sales for Prime members were 3x higher.

We do have Prime but use the shipping (a lot), Video (offline videos are nice), Music (mostly through the Echo), Lending Library, Mom coupons...

I do shop local still (local hobby shop and True Value hardware store are both great, actually) and eBay is a competitor on some items (though as mentioned, the customer service on Amazon is usually great.)

Also not surprised the family "qualifications" are tightening...
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
MWink said:
I noticed this a few months ago. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with stock. A few items on my wishlist jump back and forth between normal and Prime-exclusive. When they are Prime-exclusive the price tends to be about a dollar cheaper than when they aren't. These are items that tend to hold a fairly consistent price, unlike many which fluctuate frequently on Amazon.

I'm not at all a fan of this Prime-exclusive shenanigan. I'm getting really tired of all the games Amazon plays. Frankly, I feel like Amazon's site provides a pretty awful shopping experience. Searches bring completely unrelated results. Filters are borderline useless. Browsing is tedious and absolutely miserable. Pricing (due to third parties, Prime-exclusives, Subscribe and Save, add-on items, etc.) can be confusing/misleading. In the past I feel like they made up for their shortcomings (intentional or otherwise) by having good prices, good customer service, and convenience. I feel like those advantages are slowly slipping away. Their prices in particular tend to be nothing special these days. Personally, I'm strongly considering not renewing my Prime membership. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.
Click to expand...


I'm with you. I was looking at upgrading my PC and all the parts are more expensive from Amazon. They used to be very competitive and their return policy was great for potential DOA items. Now though I can't even look at them for certain items. Like you said, too many third party sellers and such.

I used to use Amazon almost exclusively, anymore though I really can't and have to shop around more than in the past.
 
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purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,456
6,302
126
cmdrdredd said:
I'm with you. I was looking at upgrading my PC and all the parts are more expensive from Amazon. They used to be very competitive and their return policy was great for potential DOA items. Now though I can't even look at them for certain items. Like you said, too many third party sellers and such.

I used to use Amazon almost exclusively, anymore though I really can't and have to shop around more than in the past.
Click to expand...

it's very easy to filter amazons search result to NOT show those 3rd party sellers. gets rid of a lot of the junk results.
 
Homerboy

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
126
For what it's worth, I have never ever had a bad experience with Amazon. I have purchased TONS of stuff from them and their 3rd parties. And I have returned a ton (or, much like in purbeast0's case, tried to return and they just told me to keep it and credited me). I LOVE Amazon, and my purchasing frequency with them goes up and up every year


THAT being said, I can say the same thing for Amazon -- never a bad transaction.
 
M

maddogchen

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2004
8,903
2
76
i couldn't buy a Last of the Mohicans blu ray for $5 yesterday because of this.

So here is what I did...I went to Walmart.com and bought it for $5 with a free in-store pickup. Screw Amazon!
 
cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
mikeymikec said:
Do many people really browse with maximised windows at resolutions as high as this?
Click to expand...


I do cause it shows more of the page at a time which I prefer over having a window hanging over the desktop. I'd rather not need to scroll around a page.


purbeast0 said:
it's very easy to filter amazons search result to NOT show those 3rd party sellers. gets rid of a lot of the junk results.
Click to expand...


Might sound dumb but I never thought about doing that. Even so, Amazon costs more for the parts I am looking at compared to newegg. No big deal, they can't be the lowest price all the time.
 
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cmdrdredd

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
maddogchen said:
i couldn't buy a Last of the Mohicans blu ray for $5 yesterday because of this.

So here is what I did...I went to Walmart.com and bought it for $5 with a free in-store pickup. Screw Amazon!
Click to expand...


Pretty much. The items I looked at were the same price elsewhere and they don't care that I'm not a member of the club.
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
John Connor said:
Just saw this when I was searching for a portable vacuum and a Swisschap Swiss Army knife. I compare prices with ebay and Amazon and as always the cheaper price and free shipping on ebay beat Amazon. Bought a HDD from Amazon that was a good deal though.

One day I'm buying this:http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Sw...d=1438462707&sr=8-5&keywords=swiss+army+champ
Click to expand...

$379?, who would be foolish enough to buy that?, to turn a Phillips-head screw you'd be turning 4lbs of metal along with it. The $$ would be much better spent buying a proper tool-set.
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
manly said:
You're right, it is Prime only even to subscribe.

The only loophole for this item is that since I've subscribed to it in the past, I can reactivate that subscription at any time.

I'm guessing Amazon is doing some live testing to see if they can drive more customers to sign up for Prime.

In other news, it looks like Amazon is trying to crack down on adults who share Prime shipping benefits with their friends:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441491
Click to expand...

This will end up as a fail, I used the prime free 30 day trial to get free shipping on an item 2 months ago but canceled it before the 30 days were up to avoid the $100 fee. If they decide to move a lot of items to "prime only" status then I will buy elsewhere. Yea, if your buying a lot of stuff you can make out just fine in the end but for the occasional shopper it's just not worth it.
 
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