Is Amazon Prime still a good deal ?

[mike243]

Getting ready to retire in mid November and going to start looking at stuff to cut out, me and wife going to do that before I pull the plug

 

[Smokin Okie]

I'd been an Amazon user clear back to when they only sold books but a few months ago I decided Prime wasn't worth the expense and frustration. Deliveries being made days if not weeks late, trying to speak to an actual human in CS, etc. I switched to Walmart+ for $13 monthly. So far all my deliveries have been on time with the exception of a few that have come a day early. I've ordered a number of things that are available in local Walmart stores and have gotten them the same day which saves me a 25 mile round trip to get them myself. The only problem I've had is when a 2 item order was missing one of the items. Clicked the "Contact Us" button on the website, opted to be called. CS was on the line within 15-20 seconds and my money was refunded and in my bank account before I hung up. Kind of like how Prime was in the early days. It has some perks like 10 cents off on gas, food delivery, free Paramount+ Essential, etc.

I had a 90 free trial of Walmart +. When it came time to fork over $100 for a year, I declined. A few weeks after that, I get an offer from them for $50 a year and I took it. I save money and time with Walmart + but it was not worth $100. Gladly pay 50.

My first Amazon purchase was a book in 1999 called " History of the 447th BG " by Doyle Shields. Amazon still has it in my " orders " .

 

[Colin1230]

Pam and I both shop Amazon frequently. We watch Prime movies also. I afraid they have us 'hook, line and sinker'!

 

[Smokin Okie]

The money I save on shipping more than offsets the annual fee. Though, you do need to comparison shopping. We use Amazon prime streaming quite often.

That was once true for me.

But as I said above, I'm finding that I can get free shipping if I'm willing to wait a day or two longer for delivery. And I rarely order anything that I must have in one day shipping.

I placed an Amazon order this morning for three items.

One item was Prime and would be delivered tomorrow.

The other two were not Prime items and had a Saturday delivery day.

They gave me an option to have all three delivered together on Saturday with free shipping.

Well hell, I'm a Prime member, I get free shipping anyway. If I can get free shipping without the $140 a year .... why be a Prime member ?

 

[Steve H]

That was once true for me.

But as I said above, I'm finding that I can get free shipping if I'm willing to wait a day or two longer for delivery. And I rarely order anything that I must have in one day shipping.

I placed an Amazon order this morning for three items.

One item was Prime and would be delivered tomorrow.

The other two were not Prime items and had a Saturday delivery day.

They gave me an option to have all three delivered together on Saturday with free shipping.

Well hell, I'm a Prime member, I get free shipping anyway. If I can get free shipping without the $140 a year .... why be a Prime member ?

I found that some areas that is the case. We were camping up near the 1000 Islands in May. And we needed some medical supplies since Ann hurt herself. 1 or 2 day shipping wasn't available. The best they had was 4 day shipping. I don't have that problem where we live. If it was. I would reconsider as well.

 

[LoydB]

We use it constantly and have forever.

 

[bill ace 350]

Works great for me. I love the streaming, use it often.

Free delivery is nice and fast.

No real issues with customer service either. Had 2 "deliveries" that never arrived. Got on line, explained the situation and had replacements on the way.

If I NEED something IMMEDIATELY, I will drive to the closest town with a hardware store, grocery, pharmacy, about 15 miles, or if urgent drive 30 miles to a Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot...

 

[pc farmer]

I wanted to cancel my prime because of the shipping issues. It's getting better again thou. More stuff is prime like it was before COVID. My wife wants the Amazon tv so I got the big NO on cancellation

 

[clifish]

They are at my house at least 3 days a week. With about 5 big distribution facilities within 25 miles of me, they are generally on time. Can't beat the easy, free returns.

 

[philpom]

the movies us old timers like to watch that used to be free on Amazon, are now pay to play rentals.

Try buying a ROKU for the 1 time cost of about $35. Those have a number of TV services on them that show all of the old movies, TV shows etc for free. For example PLUTO TV and TUBI are 2 examples, the channels are typically broken down like 24x7 game shows, classic movie channel, Westerns, The magnum PI channel etc. You can reliably find and watch what you want whenever you want for no monthly fee. There are also newer movies and even rentals for the latest stuff if you wanna go that way. These TV apps may also just be available for free on your smart TV app store. We "cut the cord" 15 years ago and never looked back. We also have an antenna that brings us nearly 100 HD channels for free. That's a lotta dough in my pocket!

 

[Smokin Okie]

Wasn't starting a referendum on Amazon.

Question is whether Prime is still the value it once was.

 

[Colin1230]

I probably see the value in it more than some. Rather it is actually there is debatable.

 

[Smoking Allowed]

Wasn't starting a referendum on Amazon.

Question is whether Prime is still the value it once was.

I've never had Prime and never had a reason to get it because I don't order stuff that I had to have yesterday. I also don't know anything about Prime TV or music so obviously I haven't missed those. I'll bundle enough to get the free shipping option and most items arrive at my house within 3 days anyway.

 

[noboundaries]

I'm sitting here watching Thurs Night Football on Prime. So, there's that.

Boring game. Not Amazon's fault. Nice opening to second half, though.

 

[Fueling Around]

Wasn't starting a referendum on Amazon.

Question is whether Prime is still the value it once was.

Answered that question many posts ago with my wife saying NO.

Listening to the radio today and the question came up what is the most canceled streaming service. Martha Quinn on an iHeart station if you ask.
Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Netflix was the choices.
Well, Netflix is first followed by Amazon Prime and Hulu to round out the top three.

Try buying a ROKU ...

After you buy the first unit, they offer the next purchase with serious discounts.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

It's a YES for me.

I mostly order things that you would not typically find without going to a specialty store. I just replaced the air filer for my HVAC and bought two of the Lennox filters with carbon for the same price as one from Lennox.

I just bought a new welder and needed a 60# tank for Argon. I would rather not rent one since I only have to refill once every few years. I was able to get a new tank filled with Argon for less than buying a tank and having it filled. I will get it tomorrow.

My wife watches Prime movies and music. I rarely watch movies and never music.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I'm sitting here watching Thurs Night Football on Prime. So, there's that.

Boring game. Not Amazon's fault. Nice opening to second half, though.

I only wish I could stay awake for the second half of evening games, boring or not.

 

[chopsaw]

they return it to the center, all the package orders get automatically cancelled

Got an e mail yesterday that they refunded my money for the Pipe leg kit . Things happen , I get that , but if the sales pitch is 2 day free delivery how does that even out ?
At this point I don't even know what Prime cost . Auto renews . It's a personal convenience for me . I do all my Christmas shopping on Prime , and watch Prime video enough that I just keep it .

 

[Smokin Okie]

At this point I don't even know what Prime cost . Auto renews . It's a personal convenience for me . I do all my Christmas shopping on Prime , and watch Prime video enough that I just keep it .

Well, I've always been a frugal person. And saving money is what attracted me to Amazon 24 years ago.

But things change and the way they're now handling shipping charges calls for me to reassess.

 

[mneeley490]

I've been a prime member for many years. It's kind of hard to say if it's worth it these days, but it is still convenient. Especially if you buy heavy items where shipping would be a real killer.

About a year ago, I was starting a smoke at 5am on a Sunday. My probe thermometer took that opportunity to crap out, so I got on Amazon, clicked "same day shipping", and they delivered another one in under 2 hours.
I don't watch as much content as I used to, but I'm still looking forward to season 2 of Reacher.