So does anyone have a less crappy alternative to Amazon? After canceling my prime membership this year it's gotten even worse trying to use them. Their shipping fees for non-prime users are insane.
Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
81–90 of 145 posts
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#82This seems oddly customer-hostile, which is something I've grown to expect from tech companies but not Amazon in specific. One can't help but wonder if the damage this does to the brand outweighs the strategic gains through Prime subscriptions. After all, selection and availability is a huge part of Amazon's secret sauce to success, more so than customer service, shipping speed, or any other concern. If customers los…
This makes me want to not have Prime anymore. It seems so clear that it's only a matter of time until they start trying to extract even more money from the prime members as well. Why would I fool myself into thinking they'd treat us any better when they think we're semi-locked-in/less likely to leave because of the subscription.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Completely deliberate. As others pointed out, they've already been doing it, on less popular products that caused no backlash. It's there in the article up top, pre roll-back: UPDATE: Amazon has provided VideoGamer.com with the following statement in response to this story: "One of the many benefits of Amazon Prime is access to exclusive selection on a number of great products. Customers who are not Prime members can…
For a company that calls itself "The Everything Store", becoming the "Everything except if we think we can squeeze you for more money" is going to push people into the waiting arms of Walmart and Jet and Google Shopping intermediary. Costco charges everyone $50/year. If Amazon wants to do that, just drop the non-Prime offering entirely, give everyone a 1 year free trial, and stop the nonsense games.
You still can buy from 3rd party though, but no free delivery from Amazon.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#84Sounds no different than WalMart/Sam's Club.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Granted I don't buy video games with Prime, but my orders with free shipping due to price threshold tend to be significantly slower than Prime, often taking weeks for items of all Prime eligible items. I live in one of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.
Previous to buying Prime, I ordered things that would be in a "Preparing to Ship" status for a week before actually shipping out. Upon contacting Amazon they informed me that they literally will not ship for a period of time if you got the over $35 free shipping deal. I complained and told them that was bullcrap and I didn't know that and I needed the things the next day and they overnighted them to me but still I wa…
This is likely true, but for a less nefarious reasons. It's very unlikely they received your order and were sitting around twirling their thumbs until the last possible moment.
Instead Amazon has algos that know exactly when they need to get an item in the mail to make it before the deadline. Every time an order comes in, the pickers list is updated.
Meaning that every time a customers order comes in with a tighter deadline, their order will be picked prior to yours, until you deadline is sufficiently close (or there is a lack of more pressing orders) for your items to make it to the top of the list.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Amazon is the only place I have seen blatant user-targeted dark patterns. "Order within the next hour to ship today". Four hours later: "order within the next 2 hours to ship today". Never mind the lowest-bid delivery acting like this is the first package they've ever handled (a phone call, really?), or email spam from checking a price. I believe a short time after a company acquires a reputation, customers develop a…
I think their shipping windows are often just messed up. I've had the opposite situation too, where it says that an item must be ordered within the next 2 hours and then when I get to checkout the window is already passed for the day. I'm wondering whether the ship timer on the item page isn't quite accurate, and the one on the checkout goes through and does a warehouse-by-warehouse check to see where the nearest war…
Typical conversion rates hover around 3-4%. That is if 100 items were viewed, only 3-4 times they are bought. So, to decrease load on your sourcing engine, it makes sense to cache the "next 2 hours" calculation results and recalculate exactly during checkout.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess: - They cost more than the free shipping threshold, giving shipping away free - New games are low profit to begin with - Amazon sells enough of these that they are already in every distribution center - Every unit Amazon ships probably arrives in a "Prime" amount of time anyway, giving away expedited shipping for free This is just bringing some video game sales into alignment with what Amazon wanted Prime to…
> Every unit Amazon ships probably arrives in a "Prime" amount of time anyway, giving away expedited shipping for free Just to add a note that this isn't always true. Sometimes they withhold shipping even though they have the item in stock at the nearby distribution center.
If you use free delivery, they seem do this more often than not lately.
For years free delivery would often be as fast as other methods, sometimes next day, even if ordered late in the day.
Now they will usually sit on the order for a suspiciously consistent 48hrs before it goes to picking status.
I don't mind, it's very rare I really need something next day.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#88So does anyone have a less crappy alternative to Amazon? After canceling my prime membership this year it's gotten even worse trying to use them. Their shipping fees for non-prime users are insane .
Walmart.com and Walgreens.com are legit. Walgreens has 20% everything coupons quite often and advertises the coupon code at the very top of every page.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#89They are doing this with physical CDs as well. For a recent album, I could buy the MP3 version, but I could not buy the CD without a Prime membership.
Re: Amazon blocks non-Prime members from buying certain video games
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
For a company that calls itself "The Everything Store", becoming the "Everything except if we think we can squeeze you for more money" is going to push people into the waiting arms of Walmart and Jet and Google Shopping intermediary. Costco charges everyone $50/year. If Amazon wants to do that, just drop the non-Prime offering entirely, give everyone a 1 year free trial, and stop the nonsense games.
You still can buy from 3rd party though, but no free delivery from Amazon.
Amazon charges vendors up to 40 percent rake just to be fulfilled by Amazon. They are swindling the living crap out of 3rd party sellers while also maintaining their position as lowest price on most products within their own sham site. Very often these days Walmart or another online vendor will have cheaper prices than Amazon. The way Amazon treats its employees and the underhanded business tactics toward customers are going to be the end of them. They became a meme - just Amazon it Bob!! But Myspace was a meme too. Fuck up a phone, make your employees miserable, and foster a culture of dark doing customers.. and Amazon will fall just like Myspace. A name recognition can only take you so far. (fyi I recently worked as a dev for them in Seattle and left due to a hostile work environment so I do have bias but also a unique perspective.)