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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

#71

Post by 300bps »

criley2 wrote: post #54
john61 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reasons not to buy from amazon: https://stallman.org/amazon.html

This is ridiculous. "Reasons you shouldn't buy products from Amazon:" - They sell e-books which are bad inherently - They don't pay taxes everywhere That's 80% of the list. You should have noted that this list was for people who avoid stuff like Ubuntu for not being F/OSS enough, because this list is clearly intended for the hardcore anti-capitalist pro-freedom types.

They don't pay taxes everywhere

They're paying it in more jurisdictions than ever and the infrastructure they're setting up to support paying taxes in every jurisdiction will be sold as a service to other merchants. This will enable the technical ability for states and municipalities to finally collect revenue on Internet sales universally.

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

#72

Post by dspillett »

javindo wrote: post #5

Amazon UK used to be no limit but it's now £10 limit. However, this can be bypassed slightly by adding any media item (for example CD/book/DVD). A lot of people had fun finding the cheapest piece of media, I think someone found a warehouse full of 10p cassette tapes at one point being sold by a company and handled by Amazon, thus giving people 10p shipping for orders under £10. Regardless, if you have 4 friends you c…

> for next day

I took up the free month again this year, and have decided to keep it for the year. The finial decision point was when I realised that the free faster delivery often includes Saturday delivery, which I find more convenient than having larger and/or heavier things delivered to work.

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

#73

Post by 300bps »

andrewvc wrote: post #21
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.

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.

You're going to love how Walmart ships boxes of crayons then:

http://imgur.com/a/g4Hi5

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

#74

Post by DennisP »

abirfrankel wrote: post #33
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.

In what ways?

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

#76

Post by evandena »

criley2 wrote: post #54
john61 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reasons not to buy from amazon: https://stallman.org/amazon.html

This is ridiculous. "Reasons you shouldn't buy products from Amazon:" - They sell e-books which are bad inherently - They don't pay taxes everywhere That's 80% of the list. You should have noted that this list was for people who avoid stuff like Ubuntu for not being F/OSS enough, because this list is clearly intended for the hardcore anti-capitalist pro-freedom types.

They pay taxes where they're required to. In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota that states cannot compel out-of-state retailers to collect taxes without the company having a physical presence in the state.

We all know it's up to the consumer to pay the sales tax on their tax filings.

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

#77

Post by cylinder »

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…

I love Prime, but there's no way that shipping a 20-roll pack of paper towels[1] that cost less than the store, in a giant cardboard box, in two days via an airplane to my door, is sustainable. They are taking a loss, even factoring in the membership fees, and at some point they won't be able to get away with it any longer.

[1] Or a big heavy television. Or anything else you can find on Amazon.

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

#78

Post by tnorthcutt »

BillyMaize wrote: post #38
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 mon…

It's worth it to compare prices on food items as well. Plus, you might get a better selection than in your local store. For instance, Amazon carries loads of Bob's Red Mill products at great prices.

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

#79

Post by FrankenPC »

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…

Agree with everything you said. They have the perfect formula. Unfortunately, I see them ultimately going the way of Ebay if we don't see some healthy competition sometime soon.

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

#80

Post by blisterpeanuts »

nanidin wrote: post #70
leef wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add-On items are items that are not economical enough to be in the Prime program by themselves but can be thrown in a box already on it's way to you. Without the Add-On program they would not be Prime shippable at all. Therefore Add-On items are just an improvement to Prime.

Before the concept of add-on items, anything shipped and sold by Amazon was eligible for prime. Add-on items are actually a limitation to prime, from a consumer/user standpoint.

Amazon has always had both Prime and non-Prime products in their inventory. Usually, 3rd party sellers are non-Prime, although some choose to use the Amazon Prime shipping system (and their products cost commensurately more). Also, products with thin profit margins, such as textbooks, quite often were and are not Prime.
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