What's going on at Amazon?

[buckeyefarmer]

My prime orders are arriving on time lately. Overall prime is worth it to me.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I love my Prime. Amazon built a huge distribution center 25 min from me and now my 2 day orders often come in 1 day. Now if I could only pick up my orders same day on my way home from work!

 

[MF283]

I found that being a "Prime" member has lots of advantages.Free and fast shipping,lots of free music and movies.If you order a lot from Amazon I believe it's worth it.

My wife found that to:mur:

 

[CCWKen]

My prime orders are arriving on time lately. Overall prime is worth it to me.

Does Amazon send the items in your order in separate boxes? Do they send one item a day? Why does anyone need to pay a membership fee to get a complete order shipped? It didn't used to be that way and that's the reason I posted. Someone at Amazon has the picking robots programed to pick one item and ship it. They've got to be loosing money. But maybe not having to hire a person saves them money. As I mentioned, this is a recent change. I used to get my orders complete and fast without Prime.

 

[EarPlug]

Amazon has nearly 100 Distribution Centers. Not all products are stocked at all Centers. This is why the multiple shipments.

 

[prichard]

There are also many vendors on amazon. I ordered 4 of the same item that came from 3 vendors in 3 packages. Most of my purchases are in one box even if separate orders. I pay for prime because I like 2 day free shipping without min purchase and we do stream a good amount of tv from them. Also, I shop around a lot and often amazon does have the lowest price for what I buy.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Sometimes the order is consolidated in one box, sometimes not. This weeks came in 2 days, separate boxes.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I have to agree with prichard, my Amazon Prime experience this past year has been very good. I'd balked for years about joining, but after getting fed up with eBay ripoffs and them doing nothing about it, really appreciate the way Amazon will just accept the return and deal with the merchant for me. I almost always get the 2 day shipments in exactly that, and sometimes even overnight. For most purchases, I start with Google's Shopping option, and usually Amazon is at the top of the list of lowest prices. Even when they're not the lowest, their customer service is worth the difference to me rather than gamble on an untrusted entity with my ID and credit card info. I don't stream much video from them over my satellite connection, and haven't taken advantage of any of their other Prime extras, but the great service and convenience are worth the Prime membership fee to me. Going into the holidaze it will be interesting to see if the 2 day shipments hold up. Previously as a non-Primer, things I used to get in 3 days often went out to a week.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Just ordered two Moen heavy duty shower grab bars from Amazon at $19 ea. They were exactly twice that $38 at Lowes. My general experience is Amazon is cheaper than local stores, although not usually that much cheaper.

Prime free shipping arrives Sunday. Took about 2 minutes to make the purchase after another 2 minutes to check the Lowes price. The Prime membership buys convenience and reliability. Doesn't take long to reach break even on the $100 by avoiding online shipping, or if you count the value of your time and gas driving around big box stores to buy the same thing at equal or greater cost.

 

[nybirdman]

Just ordered two Moen heavy duty shower grab bars from Amazon at $19 ea. They were exactly twice that $38 at Lowes. My general experience is Amazon is cheaper than local stores, although not usually that much cheaper.

Prime free shipping arrives Sunday. Took about 2 minutes to make the purchase after another 2 minutes to check the Lowes price. The Prime membership buys convenience and reliability. Doesn't take long to reach break even on the $100 by avoiding online shipping, or if you count the value of your time and gas driving around big box stores to buy the same thing at equal or greater cost.

I agree 100%.We only have Lowes and Walmart to chose from.We also are very rural.Very happy with our Prime membership.I can find and purchase many items that simply are not available local.

 

[TheMan419]

Also note with your Prime you can "give" the free shipping portion of it to family members. My brother has prime and we get his free shipping as a result. We do not have access to the movies, music etc. They like to stream stuff for the kids.

That said, I personally, do not buy enough on Amazon to make Prime worth it. Don't stream movies etc so would not get the value there.

I do price check constantly on Amazon and other sites.

 

[antlers125]

Same here. They actually have a system here that also allows you to pick up Same Day for an extra fee. FYI, Prime member packages are Priority when it comes to shipping. Amazon will bypass standard packages to ship Prime packages. Also, Amazon offers an Amazon Store Credit Card that gives you an additional 5% off your orders.

I love my Prime. Amazon built a huge distribution center 25 min from me and now my 2 day orders often come in 1 day. Now if I could only pick up my orders same day on my way home from work!

 

[PILOON]

Sure, lots of things are cheaper from online stores but usually when you factor in shipping it is best to go to the corner store.
At least in Canada that is most often the case.

Then they ship, leave a note at the door and I have to drive 20 miles to get my parcel.

My experience is USPS and Can post is still the most economical method especially if goods have to cross the US/Can border in either direction.
Then comes 'flat rate shipping' (and mandatory on EBay Can) which means that I have to charge same price for next city as across the continent?

 

[dodge man]

Almost all of my Amazon experience is positive. My wife is a prime member, she will once in a while not be happy, she orders a lot of books. Some will say hardcover and be paperback but we are talking about a $3 book. If she complains, they often just say keep it and she gets a refund. I once in a while find something cheaper on another web site but it seems rare. Rockauto is a good example, their prices are great but when you factor in the shipping, they are crazy high.

 

[dickfoster]

Almost all of my Amazon experience is positive. My wife is a prime member, she will once in a while not be happy, she orders a lot of books. Some will say hardcover and be paperback but we are talking about a $3 book. If she complains, they often just say keep it and she gets a refund. I once in a while find something cheaper on another web site but it seems rare. Rockauto is a good example, their prices are great but when you factor in the shipping, they are crazy high.

If your wife likes to read, you should get her a Kindle for Christmas. I got mine one years ago and will replace it with a new one this year. She loves that thing and reads it constantly. It's one of the best presents I ever got her. She also gets a 100 gift card for her Kindle account as a stocking stuffer every year so she always has plenty to read.

 

[rekees4300]

My wife has a Kindle. When I suggested cancelling our Prime membership all he[[ broke loose!

 

[Boeing]

I'm with you....they used to offer free shipping after $25...then it became $35. The sales used to be TAX free.....then they opened a processing center in almost every state and charge TAX. So, E-Bay is now my marketeer of choice. Good Move.....by the way, I don't want their movies.....or music....

 

[BoylermanCT]

Also note with your Prime you can "give" the free shipping portion of it to family members. My brother has prime and we get his free shipping as a result. We do not have access to the movies, music etc. They like to stream stuff for the kids.

That said, I personally, do not buy enough on Amazon to make Prime worth it. Don't stream movies etc so would not get the value there.

I do price check constantly on Amazon and other sites.

Ditto here. Amazon lets you sign up 3 others to share your Prime membership. So my brother pays the $99 and we split the fee 4 ways so it only costs $25 for free 2nd day shipping. Paid for itself a couple of years ago when I needed a snowblower before a blizzard, and all the local stores were sold out or price gouging. Got free 2 day shipping on the blower! Same thing when I needed a roof rake. Stores were sold out. Amazon to the rescue again!

 

[kenmac]

I now have to price check amazon B-4 I buy.. They entered into an agreement with my state to collect 8% sales tax started this month

 

[CCWKen]

Looks like Prime has gone up to $130+ a year or $10.99 per month. That's down right ridiculous. It ain't that good. I was ready to try it out for while but not at that price. I guess I'll go back to Ebay.