Amazon?

[tradosaurus]

How do you not pay shipping if you’re not a prime member?

I am given the option of Free Shipping (with a later ship date) and paid shipping.

Even with the free shipping at a later date I have been getting packages about the same time as when I had Prime.

Prime video isn't worth the $150/yr so Prime is no benefit to us.

 

[jyoutz]

I am given the option of Free Shipping (with a later ship date) and paid shipping.

Even with the free shipping at a later date I have been getting packages about the same time as when I had Prime.

Prime video isn't worth the $150/yr so Prime is no benefit to us.

I don’t use prime video, but I order a lot of small items that don’t have free shipping options. I make up more than the $150 in free shipping annually.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

If you order from Amazon with any frequency then Prime is absolutely worth the cost. 90% of my Amazon orders are delivered by the mailman and they almost always come in 1, 2 or 3 days. I routinely place orders of $5 to $15 that come the next day with free shipping. This is mostly stuff that they sell a lot of so it’s warehoused close by. Something from California can take 4 or 5 days, but if it costs enough to ship by air, like a phone or a computer, it comes in 2 days.

 

[tradosaurus]

I don’t use prime video, but I order a lot of small items that don’t have free shipping options. I make up more than the $150 in free shipping annually.

I believe you can gather enough small items to equal at least $25 for free shipping.

 

[jyoutz]

I believe you can gather enough small items to equal at least $25 for free shipping.

I order small items weekly due to limited retail store inventory in my area. Over the course of a year, my free shipping is worth a couple hundred dollars. I looked at some small items on eBay last week; they were cheaper than Amazon, but the shipping was almost the same cost as the item.

 

[Diggin It]

How do you not pay shipping if you’re not a prime member?

I ordered a $22 item recently. I added a $4 trinket I had saved on a wish list (for just that purpose) to get over the $25 mark. Between a $25 Gift Card and Rewards Points, I paid nothing:

Item(s) Subtotal: $25.96
Shipping & Handling: $8.92
Free Shipping: -$8.92
-----
Total before tax: $25.96
Estimated tax to be collected: $1.56
Gift Card Amount: -$25.00
Rewards Points: -$2.52
-----
Grand Total: $0.00



Ordered and shipped on the 16th, arrived on the 22nd.

Prime not required.

 

[jyoutz]

View attachment 739781

I ordered a $22 item recently. I added a $4 trinket I had saved on a wish list (for just that purpose) to get over the $25 mark. Between a $25 Gift Card and Rewards Points, I paid nothing:

Item(s) Subtotal: $25.96
Shipping & Handling: $8.92
Free Shipping: -$8.92
-----
Total before tax: $25.96
Estimated tax to be collected: $1.56
Gift Card Amount: -$25.00
Rewards Points: -$2.52
-----
Grand Total: $0.00



Ordered and shipped on the 16th, arrived on the 22nd.

Prime not required.

Yep, you can do that. But not in every case on every item.

 

[Diggin It]

I routinely place orders of $5 to $15 that come the next day with free shipping.

I order small items weekly due to limited retail store inventory in my area.

I don't hate my mail carrier that much to make extra, unnecessary work for them. I gather my orders of small items onto wish lists and place the order when I can do several items at once.

I looked at some small items on eBay last week; they were cheaper than Amazon, but the shipping was almost the same cost as the item.

The big difference is there, you are more likely to be supporting a small business or home based seller/craft worker.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I don't hate my mail carrier that much to make extra, unnecessary work for them. I gather my orders of small items onto wish lists and place the order when I can do several items at once.


The big difference is there, you are more likely to be supporting a small business or home based seller/craft worker.

My mail-carriers love Amazon. It has revitalized the rural post offices. We have more carriers making more money than ever, and getting nice new trucks to drive.I don’t “hate my mail carrier” enough to see him in-employed with a bankrupt pension. Where do you think “small business” gets the goods they sell? They’re delivered to them by USPS, UPS, FedEx and as often as not coming from Amazon.

 

[tradosaurus]

If you order from Amazon with any frequency then Prime is absolutely worth the cost. 90% of my Amazon orders are delivered by the mailman and they almost always come in 1, 2 or 3 days. I routinely place orders of $5 to $15 that come the next day with free shipping. This is mostly stuff that they sell a lot of so it’s warehoused close by. Something from California can take 4 or 5 days, but if it costs enough to ship by air, like a phone or a computer, it comes in 2 days.

In 2021 I placed 176 orders
In 2020 I placed 181 orders
I'll probably place about the same amount of orders (15/month). There has been very few times I needed something "quickly" but in my rural area it takes about 5 days to get anything from Amazon.
My son who lives near Dallas can get same day delivery from Amazon on some items.
Prime is definitely a cost each individual has to weigh. I just wish I got rid of it years ago.