Tired of Amazon.com "punishing" me for not getting hooked on Prime.

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Just had them cancel two EBT orders. Ordered some mango nectar, that went through supposedly. Then ordered some unsweetened tea. Both orders flagged, now. "Provide updated payment info, or we cancel the order within 24hr."

Got my EBT refilled today, plenty on there.

Edit: I mean, why offer non-Prime free shipping, at all, if it's costing them money, if they're just going to cancel orders using it. I should probably file an FTC complaint.
 
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VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Or maybe my social credit score isn't good enough. Welcome to life under the digital dollar and "big algorithm".
 
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sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,686
14,935
126
what is ebt?
Electronic Benefit Transfer. Larry gets wellfare.

Amazon's system probably is being conservative about the EBT balance. There might be some rules on how fast they can get the money so they don't want to be left holding the bag.
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,389
5,256
136
I don't like the bait & switch they pulled. The price has hiked up to $139 per year, but at least in my area, the advertised 2-day shipping has sometimes turned into several days or even a week at times. They still stick the "free shipping with Prime" logo when you're shopping on their webpage, but it's really annoying now because it not longer means "2-day shipping". There aren't really any computer stores available in my area anymore, so if I need parts for something like a repair job, I've been relying on Prime for years now to get the equipment here in a couple days (replacement drive or laptop power supply or whatever) & I can no longer rely on the 2-day shipping method.
 

[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
14,006
12,075
146
I'm not surprised Amazon doesn't manage EBT correctly. But yes, not to be too critical but I'd also suggest just getting tea bags. You can get a billion lipton tea bags for like a dollar.
 

WilliamM2

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2012
2,353
463
126
I don't like the bait & switch they pulled. The price has hiked up to $139 per year, but at least in my area, the advertised 2-day shipping has sometimes turned into several days or even a week at times. They still stick the "free shipping with Prime" logo when you're shopping on their webpage, but it's really annoying now because it not longer means "2-day shipping". There aren't really any computer stores available in my area anymore, so if I need parts for something like a repair job, I've been relying on Prime for years now to get the equipment here in a couple days (replacement drive or laptop power supply or whatever) & I can no longer rely on the 2-day shipping method.


Just buy from Newegg, bigger selection, better search, always arrives in two days.

I got my last non-Prime Amazon order in two days but usually it's a week. because they don't ship for 5 days...
 
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WilliamM2

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2012
2,353
463
126
Or maybe my social credit score isn't good enough. Welcome to life under the digital dollar and "big algorithm".

I can never bring myself to order food items or household goods from Amazon, the prices are ridiculous. And if I relied on EBT...
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,190
85
91
madgenius.com
I don't like the bait & switch they pulled. The price has hiked up to $139 per year, but at least in my area, the advertised 2-day shipping has sometimes turned into several days or even a week at times. They still stick the "free shipping with Prime" logo when you're shopping on their webpage, but it's really annoying now because it not longer means "2-day shipping". There aren't really any computer stores available in my area anymore, so if I need parts for something like a repair job, I've been relying on Prime for years now to get the equipment here in a couple days (replacement drive or laptop power supply or whatever) & I can no longer rely on the 2-day shipping method.

I just wait a few weeks, they usually offer a free 30 days of prime. Cancel it, and keep doing that cycle. But I usually just wait until I have enough to get free shipping either way. If it's bought on Amazon, I can wait.
 

SKORPI0

Lifer
Jan 18, 2000
18,396
2,306
136
My Amazon Prime account has been locked since Sept. 2022 for suspicious purchases. Submitting my Prime/payment account on-line didn't help.
Was told insufficient proof submitted, checked probably by a bot (not a real person). I'll have to move my ass to acutally call/chat with them.
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
I can never bring myself to order food items or household goods from Amazon, the prices are ridiculous. And if I relied on EBT...

Depends .... some stuff is absurdly expensive but if you pay attention and don't rely on Amazon search (use Google!) there are almost always good deals to be found. (Amazon often hides their best deals IME... also lately they've been making it harder to locate "sold & shipped by Amazon" items by steering you towards 3rd party sellers with sketchy return-policies)

I also agree about Amazon's poor handling of EBT purchases .... really the only way to reliably tell if many food-items are EBT qualified is to add them to your cart and try checking out. (searching "EBT food items" = nearly worthless)

HUGE waste of time.... fortunately I have multiple high-quality local grocery-stores nearby so I don't rely on them at all but it would really suck if I had to do so!
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
Electronic Benefit Transfer. Larry gets wellfare.

You know I've never understood the inclination some people have to try to subtly (or not so much!) shame others. Pretty $hitty thing to do even if borderline unintentional.... what kind of "man" gets their "jollies" kicking people in the 'nads when they're down? (I think we ALL know the answer to that!)

Ever notice that NEARLY ALWAYS the people doing the "shaming" are the ones hiding the most disgraceful behavior?

Food for thought.
 
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Dec 10, 2005
23,990
6,793
136
I don't like the bait & switch they pulled. The price has hiked up to $139 per year, but at least in my area, the advertised 2-day shipping has sometimes turned into several days or even a week at times. They still stick the "free shipping with Prime" logo when you're shopping on their webpage, but it's really annoying now because it not longer means "2-day shipping". There aren't really any computer stores available in my area anymore, so if I need parts for something like a repair job, I've been relying on Prime for years now to get the equipment here in a couple days (replacement drive or laptop power supply or whatever) & I can no longer rely on the 2-day shipping method.
I don't bother with Prime unless I have a trial. I don't order enough stuff to make it worth it, the free 2-day shipping is rarely 2 days (often just 2 days just for processing), and we just don't use the "free" add-ons often enough to justify the cost.

Plus, if I need something ASAP, there are 4-6 Best Buys within a 30 min drive and a Micro Center. Both also price match.
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
I don't bother with Prime unless I have a trial. I don't order enough stuff to make it worth it, the free 2-day shipping is rarely 2 days (often just 2 days just for processing), and we just don't use the "free" add-ons often enough to justify the cost.

Plus, if I need something ASAP, there are 4-6 Best Buys within a 30 min drive and a Micro Center. Both also price match.


In fact these days Best Buy WILL price-match Amazon but the reverse is no longer true.

Officially Amazon no longer offers price-matching/protection EVEN VS THEIR OWN PRICES! :oops:

The "work-around" for this policy is to start a return on the item whose price is at issue using the automated system and when it asks for a reason for the return select "found a better price". This will usually (not always!) result in an offer of the price-difference on a giftcard as incentive not to return it. Note this works better with "sold by Amazon" items.
 
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balloonshark

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2008
6,288
2,682
136
Maybe they need a back up payment method for EBT purchases. Perhaps you haven't used your EBT card in a while and they want to re-verify the info for security reasons. Or maybe the card you had on record was expired or the number changed.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
Maybe they need a back up payment method for EBT purchases. Perhaps you haven't used your EBT card in a while and they want to re-verify the info for security reasons. Or maybe the card you had on record was expired or the number changed.

Back in late Sept 2020 when I got "furlowed" for the second time and I started relying on EBT myself for awhile, they used to roll you over to the Federal "SNAP" website to enter your PIN code but these days the system is fully integrated with Amazon.

My guess is that there's been some allegation of fraud on either Larry's EBT account or maybe on Amazon itself.

Aside from it being a PITA to locate "EBT-qualified" food items on Amazon (and some crap prices!) I never experienced so much as a hiccup using benefits to buy food.
 
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balloonshark

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2008
6,288
2,682
136
Back in late Sept 2020 when I got "furlowed" for the second time and I started relying on EBT myself for awhile, they used to roll you over to the Federal "SNAP" website to enter your PIN code but these days the system is fully integrated with Amazon.

My guess is that there's been some allegation of fraud on either Larry's EBT account or maybe on Amazon itself.

Aside from it being a PITA to locate "EBT-qualified" food items on Amazon (and some crap prices!) I never experienced so much as a hiccup using benefits to buy food.
I've never had an issue either but I seem to remember needing to occasionally update info for one of my various payment methods. For example they will have me reenter my debit/credit card number every once in a while. It's a bit of a pain but it's good they check.
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
I've never had an issue either but I seem to remember needing to occasionally update info for one of my various payment methods. For example they will have me reenter my debit/credit card number every once in a while. It's a bit of a pain but it's good they check.

Actually now that you mention it they DO have an annoying tendency to swap payment methods on you at the last second on EBT qualified purchases without making it obvious they had done so till afterwards.

I've had to cancel and redo a couple orders that unexpectedly sucked payment out of an Amazon gift-card or my checking account when I had already specified using exclusively EBT. I was always able to fix the issue promptly and the cash was immediately credited back but it's still annoying.

Bottom line, ESPECIALLY if you carry a balance on an Amazon gift-card always go back and double-check the payment method actually used on an EBT funded purchase before the item(s) ship. (I also suggest taking advantage of "media credits" in exchange for slower shipping whenever not in a rush.... I have $24.80 accumulated right now!)
 
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balloonshark

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2008
6,288
2,682
136
Actually now that you mention it they DO have an annoying tendency to swap payment methods on you at the last second on EBT qualified purchases without making it obvious they had done so till afterwards.

I've had to cancel and redo a couple orders that unexpectedly sucked payment out of an Amazon gift-card or my checking account when I had already specified using exclusively EBT. I was always able to fix the issue promptly and the cash was immediately credited back but it's still annoying.
Yep, I experience that annoyance every time I use EBT.

Plus if you buy something via subscribe and save you can use EBT for the first purchase but you can't use EBT for the subsequent payments so you either have to cancel the sub or use another payment method.
 
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sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,686
14,935
126
You know I've never understood the inclination some people have to try to subtly (or not so much!) shame others. Pretty $hitty thing to do even if borderline unintentional.... what kind of "man" gets their "jollies" kicking people in the 'nads when they're down? (I think we ALL know the answer to that!)

Ever notice that NEARLY ALWAYS the people doing the "shaming" are the ones hiding the most disgraceful behavior?

Food for thought.

Did I judge him in anyway? Does he not receive wellfare? That is what EBT is for no?

Also, you have read my posts. I don't do subtle.
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,246
10,748
136
Did I judge him in anyway? Does he not receive wellfare? That is what EBT is for no?

Also, you have read my posts. I don't do subtle.

I threw in the "borderline unintentional" thing because you are correct I am familiar with your posts and base my opinion at least partially on what I believe are your intentions.... being insensitive is no "plus" but it's better than being straight-up mean and I'm giving you the benefit of a doubt.

While it MAY not be true of you, MOST people who claim to "not have a filter" (or "not do subtle" lol) are actually just rude jerks who can only feel good about themselves by putting others down.

That what you were going for? ;)



EDIT: Also I consider @VirtualLarry a friend. :)
 
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nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
58,055
12,245
136
Depends .... some stuff is absurdly expensive but if you pay attention and don't rely on Amazon search (use Google!) there are almost always good deals to be found. (Amazon often hides their best deals IME... also lately they've been making it harder to locate "sold & shipped by Amazon" items by steering you towards 3rd party sellers with sketchy return-policies)

I also agree about Amazon's poor handling of EBT purchases .... really the only way to reliably tell if many food-items are EBT qualified is to add them to your cart and try checking out. (searching "EBT food items" = nearly worthless)

HUGE waste of time.... fortunately I have multiple high-quality local grocery-stores nearby so I don't rely on them at all but it would really suck if I had to do so!
Their search engine is laughably bad all around for a "tech" company, but I have to assume it's intentionally shitty because it brings them more dollars. I've gradually found myself using them less and less, as they suck more and more, this may be the last year I have Prime.
 
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