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Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

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Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#31

Post by xn »

res0nat0r wrote: post #24
andrewvc wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I agree that it's somewhat less useful. There is an upside though, as shipping things has an environmental impact and people probably shouldn't be wasting a box + shipping on a missing cover for a food processor.

I don't think I've been bitten by an add-on item since they've introduced it. A food processor would definitely get you free shipping in two days via Prime, it is small items like a 6oz bottle of lotion that costs $1.99 that you can't get by itself.

You'd think the Add-On Items would ship with any Prime-eligible order. For example, I wanted to buy a staple gun for $9.50, which will ship with Prime, but the $3.59 staples are an Add-On Item, so I can't get the staples shipped with the staple gun without adding additional items to my order.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#32

Post by jon-wood »

codegeek wrote: post #17

I am amazed at how amazon remains doing business with so low margins or no profits. We love amazon at my house and being Prime members, we are almost ordering everything under the sun from Amazon that we possibly can. Here is why we love it: - The reviews are actually useful. I just bought a 70 inch TV through amazon and the critical and helpful reviews really helped me get going with settings on the TV that would ha…

There are things bought on Amazon which leave me wondering how they can possibly be making money on them. I recently bought 4kg of cat litter from Amazon, which was shipped to me next day for free - I may be utterly out of touch with how much they're paying for shipping, but I can't see the purchase price even covering that side, never mind the product itself.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#33

Post by abirfrankel »

codegeek wrote: post #17

I am amazed at how amazon remains doing business with so low margins or no profits. We love amazon at my house and being Prime members, we are almost ordering everything under the sun from Amazon that we possibly can. Here is why we love it: - The reviews are actually useful. I just bought a 70 inch TV through amazon and the critical and helpful reviews really helped me get going with settings on the TV that would ha…

They are starting to limit the terms of service for Prime members, I think for this very reason but, I'm pretty unhappy about it.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#34

Post by jessaustin »

asdfologist wrote: post #25
gcb1 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but their inventory sucks. way too limited. unless you count in the other sellers. i.e. stuff not marked as sold by amazon, then all that you said stop to be true. reviews means little because when bad reviews pile up, they create a new listing. shipping is weird. some stuff may be shipped from china. arduino clones. oh and that, you get arduinos clones being sold as originals. at least the returns are usually still…

Also, a large portion of the reviews are fake.

I doubt fake reviews could be eliminated without making everything suck. Don't believe everything you read. At least with popular items a sort of consensus emerges.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#35

Post by atwebb »

xn wrote: post #18

The "no minimum order size" statement about Prime is a bit disingenuous. Many low-cost items are now Add-On Items ( http://amzn.to/1a4NFBI ), meaning that Amazon will only ship them in an order of at least $25. Prime has become a bit less useful over the past year due to the introduction of Add-On Items.

On the flip side, Instant Video benefits seem to be getting better (as far as I can tell).

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#36

Post by Pxtl »

therobot24 wrote: post #28
gcb1 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but their inventory sucks. way too limited. unless you count in the other sellers. i.e. stuff not marked as sold by amazon, then all that you said stop to be true. reviews means little because when bad reviews pile up, they create a new listing. shipping is weird. some stuff may be shipped from china. arduino clones. oh and that, you get arduinos clones being sold as originals. at least the returns are usually still…

- inventory is limited? which amazon website are you visiting? - anecdotal, but in the several years of using amazon, never had a problem with any of the 'non-amazon' sellers. There are ratings for a reason. That's like saying you didn't get what you wanted from one ebay listing so all of ebay is bad - reviews don't mean nothing..what's your problem with the current reviews. Like anything you read, take it with a gra…

> - inventory is limited? which amazon website are you visiting?

Idunno, maybe he's Canadian? Amazon.ca is a joke compared to the American inventory.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#37

Post by specialp »

When Amazon first introduced Prime I was able to get any of their products next day regardless of what warehouse they were in. I live in NY and occasionally some stuff would come next day air from say Arizona at probably a large loss for Amazon. Recently though they took the 3.99 next day option away from items that they do not have located in my warehouse (PA). Then the 2 day items do not ship directly from the other warehouses, they must have trucks going from KY to PA and then UPS takes final miles. Previously I would get 2 day items direct from other warehouses.

So I think they are transitioning to a system where they maintain stock in every warehouse, and every warehouse is within 2 days UPS ground to everyone in USA. If you ship things to Amazon for Fulfilled by Amazon they want you to ship to at least 3 warehouses. Prime is a major reason I buy everything from Amazon. Often I can find goods at lower prices from other retailers online but the free second day shipping that is always on time cannot be beat.

So this latest super saver shipping change I think is Amazon basically making shipping free due to its superior distribution system. Paying UPS for to door delivery from nearby warehouses for all these items is most likely less money than it costs stores for rent and other costs associated with brick and mortar.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#38

Post by BillyMaize »

codegeek wrote: post #17

I am amazed at how amazon remains doing business with so low margins or no profits. We love amazon at my house and being Prime members, we are almost ordering everything under the sun from Amazon that we possibly can. Here is why we love it: - The reviews are actually useful. I just bought a 70 inch TV through amazon and the critical and helpful reviews really helped me get going with settings on the TV that would ha…

Same here. My girlfriend and I both buy basically all non food items from Amazon because we live in a small town and we are a 20 minute interstate drive away from any stores other than krogers. This has saved us a ton of money on gas and lots of time that easily makes up for the prime cost each year. The one time I have had to return a package was very easy as well. I can't imagine ever going back to spending gas money and my free time driving to a store because they might have what I want, usually at a higher price, without a rating system to see what others who bought the same thing have experienced.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#39

Post by rubberband »

asdfologist wrote: post #25
gcb1 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but their inventory sucks. way too limited. unless you count in the other sellers. i.e. stuff not marked as sold by amazon, then all that you said stop to be true. reviews means little because when bad reviews pile up, they create a new listing. shipping is weird. some stuff may be shipped from china. arduino clones. oh and that, you get arduinos clones being sold as originals. at least the returns are usually still…

Also, a large portion of the reviews are fake.

You mean the 5-star reviews which state that Product X is amazing, and the reviewer would buy it again, recommend it to their friends and purchase all future products made by that company... Are fake?

Kidding aside, it's horrible. I find myself going to other sites for reviews (NewEgg is a good one), then buying on Amazon. Crappy of me, I suppose. But they've hooked me with Prime.

Re: Amazon's minimum order size for free shipping is now $35

#40

Post by peckrob »

xn wrote: post #18

The "no minimum order size" statement about Prime is a bit disingenuous. Many low-cost items are now Add-On Items ( http://amzn.to/1a4NFBI ), meaning that Amazon will only ship them in an order of at least $25. Prime has become a bit less useful over the past year due to the introduction of Add-On Items.

The thing that's really annoying about the whole "Add-On Items" bit is that they won't ship them AT ALL, even if I want to pay to have them shipped. Forget the free shipping thing - they won't even let me pay shipping and just send it to me.

One of the great utilities of Prime (and Amazon in general) is that it saves me a trip to Wal-Mart for smaller items. Need a pack of Sharpies? Ship it from Amazon, because a trip to Wal-Mart is an hour of my time wasted and a level of frustration that I really could do without. I'm willing to pay money for that convenience.

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