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Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

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Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#151

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I think that Amazon, may in the end be better off starting their own shipping company. It may sound weird, but I'm half surprised they didn't buy Uber or Lyft, not for the ride service, but for the drivers and the logistics in place. Large trucks from warehouses, to meet drivers in individual vehicles at drop spots, for final deliveries.

Amazon has their own shipping company, although I've found it to be subpar compared to passing the shipments off to the USPS or FedEx (largely because their deliveries don't have access to existing maildrops or mailboxes). The recently rolled-out same-day delivery uses their shipping service without a handoff.

Yeah, as much as I appreciate their initiative there, the Amazon delivery drivers don't have access to my building and the company seems to be unable to solve that. So I have to buzz them in every time.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#152
post #13
post #7

They are really trying to force you into signing up for prime, aren't they? I cancelled my prime subscription at the start of the year. Some thoughts: - I buy less stuff on impulse. Since the price limit is (or was) $35 for free shipping, I usually have to wait until there are enough things I really want/need before ordering. - The pricing is often better other places. Normally Amazon's non prime price will be compar…

> I buy less stuff on impulse. I've always got a couple of running "projects" and it's really nice to have Prime if I find out I need to buy a 20 Mhz oscillator, or a magneto cover gasket, or a pink buggy whip mid-stream.

I know what you mean - that's why I was so disappointed when they started marking small things "Add on items". Suddenly I needed to make it a $25 order just to get the free shipping.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The non-amazon shipped stuff on Amazon honestly had been a pain ever since they introduced it. If you have prime it mostly is just a huge nuisance.

I always make sure I check off the "Prime Eligible" checkbox when searching Amazon. It sucks to find an item, go to buy it, and finding out it's going to take 4 weeks and $25 to ship from the UK or something.

I was going on a trip and needed some random stuff delivered the next day and was happy to pay delivery for it. It was a nightmare tryng to elimate marketplace sellers with longer delivery times and finding out that Amazon don't actually sell a lot of things I wanted.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#155

Prime subscriber here, though it's the UK model (next-day delivery on many things, plus Amazon Video as a perk). My approach on it is somewhat different to many others here. I can order some stuff before 8pm and have it delivered next day. Things ordered earlier in the day (pre-noon) could be any courier, but the post-6pm orders are almost always delivered by DPD to my area (north Cornwall, EX23 postcode). Talking wi…

"though it's the UK model (next-day delivery on many things" I order a couple of books today, for delivery to London. As Prime customer, I was offered several free options: - same day delivery (6pm-10pm if I recall correctly) - next day delivery - timed delivery (day after tomorrow, within a 4 hour window)

Most of the UK is next-day minimum, as I understand it. Us rural folks don't have the same-day perk.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#156
post #109
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's abuse either, but back when Prime was $79 and small items shipped free, I cringed at the thought of buying, say, a pack of razors from Amazon. It felt wrong.

Exactly, it offends my sensibilities to order such things 2nd day unless I'm likely to really need them that quickly. And with their incentives for slower shipping (but still pretty fast as a rule) like $1 in free digital goods for a limited time (a few months) they recognize that. They also use it to promote their Pantry system (regular bulky subscriptions that some in big monthly boxes). And it makes me feel non-ab…

Like you when I need something small, I usually just add it to my next Amazon shipment. Pantry and Subscribe and Save have almost made it where I do not have to go to the grocery store. Add in something like Blue Apron for fresh dinners and I may never have to go to the grocery again.

I miss when I lived in Denver and had a milk man. Every week he would deliver milk (obviously), eggs, bacon, bread, juice, etc...

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#157
post #95

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In the past year or two, I've noticed a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit products. If you buy directly from Amazon, it generally seems ok, but all bets are off when you buy from a third party. I've also noticed the increased gaming of the reviews system. If you read reviews of many of the highest rated products, you often find that most are shills who are given products for free in exchange for "fair and un…

For me it's the amount of spam i'm getting asking for reviews. One of the big reasons i shop with amazon is so i know that i don't need to deal with making another account, giving someone else my CC info, getting relentless spam email every week telling me to buy more. But now sellers are using the "contact customer" system to beg for reviews, and it's starting to get annoying enough that i want to avoid amazon. Just…

I tend to give negative product reviews when harassed by the sellers like this. In my opinion, the review should also be reflective of the company making/selling the product.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#158
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's the amount of spam i'm getting asking for reviews. One of the big reasons i shop with amazon is so i know that i don't need to deal with making another account, giving someone else my CC info, getting relentless spam email every week telling me to buy more. But now sellers are using the "contact customer" system to beg for reviews, and it's starting to get annoying enough that i want to avoid amazon. Just…

I tend to give negative product reviews when harassed by the sellers like this. In my opinion, the review should also be reflective of the company making/selling the product.

I've actually started giving negative seller reviews for this.

If you go to http://www.amazon.com/feedback you can review the sellers instead of the product.

Re: Amazon Free Shipping minimum is now $49

#160
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to give negative product reviews when harassed by the sellers like this. In my opinion, the review should also be reflective of the company making/selling the product.

I've actually started giving negative seller reviews for this. If you go to http://www.amazon.com/feedback you can review the sellers instead of the product.

Good idea, I'll be sure to do that too!

To be fair though, I believe people are much more likely to see a product rating than a seller rating. As evidenced by the number of "unbiased" 5 star reviews.

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