WTF is this "Add-on" item BS, Amazon?

[Phynaz]

None of them are Prime elligable only because of what you said, they reclassified the item. I can guarantee you that the day before they were reclassified they were all Prime

Proof?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

actually, i take that all back. i think the reason it is not 2-day is bc it is batteries they have to ship ground.

so, bad example

 

[KeithP]

First, Amazon doesn't charge you tax. No retailer does. They collect a tax that your local government requires you to pay by law.

I am a Prime subscriber and this is the first I have heard of this. However, I have no problem with it...for now. I will take it at face value, that this will allow me to order smaller quantities of low cost items and still get free 2nd day air shipping as long as I meet the minimum requirement.

From the description you give, and as I understand it, that item would not have been Prime eligible (correct spelling) before this program. You probably would have had to buy 3-5 of them.

Sorry, righteous indignation not found.

-KeithP

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

actually, i take that all back. i think the reason it is not 2-day is bc it is batteries they have to ship ground.

so, bad example

Yeah, was gonna say. I think if UPS can ship it by air, they'll do it. I ordered some equipment off there a few years ago that had a hundred something pound flywheel, and UPS did 2nd day on it.

Anything over the UPS limit (160lbs?) and it'll be delivered by freight in about a week.

I would really like it if with this "new" deal, they would let you buy say, a box of cereal instead of a package of 6.

 

[BrokenVisage]

From the description you give, and as I understand it, that item would not have been Prime eligible (correct spelling) before this program. You probably would have had to buy 3-5 of them.

How do you figure that? I already said I bought this nose clip using Prime last year from Amazon as the seller. Any item on Amazon is either shipped from a 3rd-party seller facility or an Amazon fulfillment center, it's either one or the other, and since the 3rd party seller options of this item are ALL classified with the "Add-on" restriction (except for the one that has a shipping price) it's only rational to assume that Amazon is handling the sellers stock in each case except the one with a shipping option, meaning before being reclassified I would bet my last penny that it was STILL available through Prime from all of those sellers save for the one, as it was last year when I bought it. I can't understand why people still aren't believing this was a Prime item.

I've taken it this far, so here's proof..

I understand the application of the program but I don't have to like it, they make enough fucking money to eat shipping costs on a 2 ounce item and still not have to worry about profits.

 

[djnsmith7]

I shop regularly at Amazon, but I have no interest in paying $80 a year so that "some" of my orders will ship faster. It would appear as though I'd be in the minority here in terms of agreeing with the OP, but I do, to an extent.

I see & understand both sides of the argument. I can appreciate his frustration with a previously "eligible" product no longer being eligible. With that being said, Amazon does reserve the right to add or remove items that are Prime eligible. Folks are right, Amazon is a business & in this to make money.

With my luck, I'd end up wanting to buy too many "ineligible" Prime products & end up as frustrated as the OP.

 

[Ns1]

I am a regular Amazon customer, but I have no interest in paying $80 a year so that "some" of my orders will ship faster. It would appear as though I'd be in the minority here in terms of agreeing with the OP, but I do, to an extent.

I'm not gonna lie, I bet it's cuz of prime owners like me who buy $6 items 3-4x a week and get it delivered to my door in 2 days.

I have no incentive to lump the items together to exceed the $25 threshold to get free shipping otherwise (ie non-prime)

 

[mugs]

I shop regularly at Amazon, but I have no interest in paying $80 a year so that "some" of my orders will ship faster. It would appear as though I'd be in the minority here in terms of agreeing with the OP, but I do, to an extent.

I have 80-90 orders per year and the only ones that aren't covered by prime are third-party items that aren't fulfilled by Amazon.

I see & understand both sides of the argument. I can appreciate his frustration with a previously "eligible" product no longer being eligible. With that being said, Amazon does reserve the right to add or remove items that are Prime eligible. Folks are right, Amazon is a business & in this to make money.

With my luck, I'd end up wanting to buy too many "ineligible" Prime products & end up as frustrated as the OP.

I misunderstood what the OP was talking about initially, and I think a lot of other people are too. This has nothing to do with Amazon Prime. You can't buy these "add-on" with a sub-$25 order and just pay for shipping or get slower shipping. You can't buy these "add-on" items with a sub-$25 order at all. Whether you're a prime member or not, if you put one of these items in your cart and try to check out, they will be removed unless you have a total order of $25 or more.

Amazon.com has decided that it is not profitable for them to do these nickel and dime orders at all.

 

[Dessert Tears]

Right now I have some pens on my wishlist because I didn't need them right away and didn't have anything else to order them with.

I put items that I'm not going to buy immediately in my "Saved for later" list so that I can see the price movements in my cart. If I see a big drop, I check that item against Camelcamelcamel.

amazon offers FSS on most items over $25, so despite being prime-eligible you get no real benefit for that item

FSSS takes longer to leave Amazon, up to a few days, in my experience. I used not to care (and I usually go for the slow shipping/MP3 credit if it's offered), but Prime has changed my habits and expectations.

Amazon.com has decided that it is not profitable for them to do these nickel and dime orders at all.

I try to consolidate my orders, so I'm fine with this bottom line.

 

[ponyo]

The whole point of Prime for me was so I wouldn't have to bundle to hit $25 for the free shipping.

 

[SP33Demon]

How do you figure that? I already said I bought this nose clip using Prime last year from Amazon as the seller. Any item on Amazon is either shipped from a 3rd-party seller facility or an Amazon fulfillment center, it's either one or the other, and since the 3rd party seller options of this item are ALL classified with the "Add-on" restriction (except for the one that has a shipping price) it's only rational to assume that Amazon is handling the sellers stock in each case except the one with a shipping option, meaning before being reclassified I would bet my last penny that it was STILL available through Prime from all of those sellers save for the one, as it was last year when I bought it. I can't understand why people still aren't believing this was a Prime item.

I've taken it this far, so here's proof..

I understand the application of the program but I don't have to like it, they make enough fucking money to eat shipping costs on a 2 ounce item and still not have to worry about profits.

Good post, that proves that Amazon is changing Prime Only items to Add-On Only now and then lying about it. I'm going to see how this affects items that I buy, but it's too many then bye bye Prime. It was already on the news that Walmart can beat Amazon + taxes so the writing may be on the wall for Amazon. I've already noticed that Walmart blows Amazon out of the water on bar soap which I've ordered from Walmart instead.

 

[Phynaz]

Good post, that proves that Amazon is changing Prime Only items to Add-On Only now and then lying about it

No, the only thing it proves is he bought it with Prime a year ago. He has not shown any proof that it was available with Prime recently.

 

[GasX]

I love Prime. I recently order two toilets and they were prime eligible for two day shipping for free. Everyone else wanted $75+ for ground for each toilet...

 

[Wreckem]

sorry, i should have been clearer. it does not qualify for free 2-day shipping, as most prime-eligible items are. amazon offers FSS on most items over $25, so despite being prime-eligible you get no real benefit for that item

They will ship 100lb weight plates with free two day or $3.99 next day. I don't think weight is why they can't ship it 2 day.

 

[Craig234]

On the one hand, Prime can be a great deal, but it's a mess as a business model. One price fits all.

Consider the person above who bought the toilets that cost $150 to ship from others, and it was a loss right there; now imagine they buy other big things a lot.

Same $79 as the person who buys a book every couple months.

Why do I think they do it? Market share. Wow, look at tha, great deal on 2 day shipping - now that I have Prime, buyfirst on Amazon because you already have shipping paid.

Amazon accounts for one third of all internet sales in the US and is doubling in size every year - gigantic business. Now $50 billion a year.

So, I sympathize with this policy in a way - but in another, there's a bit of risk of bait and switch.

"Buy a one year ticket for all you can eat buffet!" "Oh now we added some new items that aren't included, because it wouldn't be profitable."

If a lot of cheap items on Amazon start becoming 'add-on', it's a bigger issue. Like others, I had never heard of them before, so not a big deal now.

I don't think the whole Prime thing makes a lot of sense except as that promotional program to get Amazon market share. But since it's there, we enjoy it.

I am starting to have some second thoughts about how big they're getting - 90% of independant bookstores are already closed in the US - and am glad to see them being forced to start charging the tax that has given them an unfair competitive advantage with the 90+% of customers who don't file the purchases on their taxes.

 

[Humpy]

This is part of a shift Amazon is making to limit shipping costs while decreasing delivery times.

They plan to begin offering same day and standard next day delivery for most of their items. This is their strategy to compete with local stores and offset the effect of the sales tax that they are, or will begin, collecting in more and more states. They are building new warehouses closer to large populations in NY, CA, TX and other states that they previously stayed away from due to the tax issue.

It will be interesting to see if they can pull off same day delivery on a large scale. I have a feeling that they can.

 

[SP33Demon]

No, the only thing it proves is he bought it with Prime a year ago. He has not shown any proof that it was available with Prime recently.

A year ago isn't that long. And the fact still stands that it was changed from Prime-->Add-On. Consider that Amazon isn't going to take Prime off of an item so why are you arguing it? The only way they aren't lying is if they took Prime off for awhile, and then put it as Add-On in the past week. I'm calling BS on that.

 

[mugs]

A year ago isn't that long. And the fact still stands that it was changed from Prime-->Add-On. Consider that Amazon isn't going to take Prime off of an item so why are you arguing it? The only way they aren't lying is if they took Prime off for awhile, and then put it as Add-On in the past week. I'm calling BS on that.

There's nothing to call BS on. The item is still Prime eligible, and it no doubt was Prime eligible a week ago.

The only thing that changed is that any customer must have an order of $25 or more or Amazon won't sell them these add-on items at all. This is a new restriction that applies to these items, and that restriction is not waived for Prime customers.

Amazon is being a bit misleading because they imply that these items hadn't been offered at all before. That's not true, some of them were existing items. The Add-on program allows them to profitably sell items that they couldn't sell at all before, but they also moved some existing items (which were no doubt unprofitable in the past when ordered alone) to the program.

This Add-on program has nothing at all to do with Amazon Prime, it simply affects Prime customers the same way it affects every other Amazon customer.

 

[Phynaz]

They will ship 100lb weight plates with free two day or $3.99 next day. I don't think weight is why they can't ship it 2 day.

Yep, I bought an 110Lb exercise bike and paid the $4 for overnight.

I don't know how much of a discount they get on shipping, but I don't see how they made any money off this deal.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I have 80-90 orders per year and the only ones that aren't covered by prime are third-party items that aren't fulfilled by Amazon.



I misunderstood what the OP was talking about initially, and I think a lot of other people are too. This has nothing to do with Amazon Prime. You can't buy these "add-on" with a sub-$25 order and just pay for shipping or get slower shipping. You can't buy these "add-on" items with a sub-$25 order at all. Whether you're a prime member or not, if you put one of these items in your cart and try to check out, they will be removed unless you have a total order of $25 or more.

Amazon.com has decided that it is not profitable for them to do these nickel and dime orders at all.

No, that was my assumption, they'll only bother with a lot of the dinky stuff if they can keep from losing money on it. I see no problem with this and honestly am surprised they didn't do this before now. Actually Prime probably caused this change as they used to get this affect by pushing the free shipping on orders over $25, but since people with Prime were getting free shipping they probably had a bunch of people with dozens of single orders for small stuff.

They likely had to choose between making these items non Prime eligible so everyone pays shipping on it when not over $25, or else they could make this change. Due to Prime's success I think they probably figured it works better this way, as they'd lose Prime subscribers if they start to see a bunch of things that isn't Prime eligible.

For some benefit to customers they're trying to offer individual items.

 

[BrokenVisage]

There's nothing to call BS on. The item is still Prime eligible, and it no doubt was Prime eligible a week ago.

The only thing that changed is that any customer must have an order of $25 or more or Amazon won't sell them these add-on items at all. This is a new restriction that applies to these items, and that restriction is not waived for Prime customers.

Amazon is being a bit misleading because they imply that these items hadn't been offered at all before. That's not true, some of them were existing items. The Add-on program allows them to profitably sell items that they couldn't sell at all before, but they also moved some existing items (which were no doubt unprofitable in the past when ordered alone) to the program.

This Add-on program has nothing at all to do with Amazon Prime, it simply affects Prime customers the same way it affects every other Amazon customer.

Yup, this is exactly what I was trying to get at, except I was more focused on a Prime perspective which confused things. The fact that you have no way of buying these items unless they are included in a $25 order is hypocrisy IMO, if an item is for sale by Amazon and have inventory they "should not" (obviously they can do whatever they want) be able to apply such a prerequisite just to eliminate the possibility for someone to purchase it alone. Before getting Prime I remember at least being able to buy an Amazon-sold item and if your order was under $25 you could still buy it but shipping was a flat $3.99 rate.

With this program they're acting like we're in a checkout line and these items are stocked with the gum and mints so that we might think about picking one up as we check out just by seeing them. Problem is, this is the internet and we don't have such a setup, you need to consciously seek out and add these things to your cart meaning you actually want them and aren't acting on impulse from seeing it while buying other things. Obviously we don't know the full scope of this program but this is evidence that it's not just for new items being brought into the marketplace as they vaguely stated and as said before has NO benefit to us as customers that I can figure out. Maybe if they cut the item price by 15% like with Subscribe & Save it would actually be useful.

 

[SP33Demon]

There's nothing to call BS on. The item is still Prime eligible, and it no doubt was Prime eligible a week ago.

The only thing that changed is that any customer must have an order of $25 or more or Amazon won't sell them these add-on items at all. This is a new restriction that applies to these items, and that restriction is not waived for Prime customers.

Amazon is being a bit misleading because they imply that these items hadn't been offered at all before. That's not true, some of them were existing items. The Add-on program allows them to profitably sell items that they couldn't sell at all before, but they also moved some existing items (which were no doubt unprofitable in the past when ordered alone) to the program.

This Add-on program has nothing at all to do with Amazon Prime, it simply affects Prime customers the same way it affects every other Amazon customer.

Ok thanks the explanation, that makes more sense b/c of the "new restriction" of $25 for all of these items. And yes, they are being misleading (i.e. lying) when they say the item wasn't offered at all before. And with Prime without the $25 restriction nonetheless. All in all I don't think it will affect any items I normally purchase so if it helps keep Amazon in biz then so be it.

 

[fatpat268]

I'm not gonna lie, I bet it's cuz of prime owners like me who buy $6 items 3-4x a week and get it delivered to my door in 2 days.

I have no incentive to lump the items together to exceed the $25 threshold to get free shipping otherwise (ie non-prime)

Hell, I've lumped small items in the past, and amazon still sent some of the items in separate packages (even from the same warehouse).

They will ship 100lb weight plates with free two day or $3.99 next day. I don't think weight is why they can't ship it 2 day.

In reality, while UPS and the like charge you by weight to ship, the important value is the package's volume. Volume is at much more of a premium when shipping than weight usually is.

 

[madi35]

Proof?

An item that I purchased about a month ago for $9.69 (PB 2 powder 16 oz) is now an add-on item. In fact, up until Sunday, I had it sitting in my cart waiting to purchase and it was still available as Prime. I called Amazon because I was confused as to why something I just ordered with my Prime account a month ago, is unable to be ordered now unless I spend $25.00. They recited the information that is available on their website re: add-on items - like this was a benefit to me.

 

[Ashenor]

Odd have not really ever had a issue.