FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
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Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#2I wouldn't say the process of unsubscribing from Prime is 'deceptive' but it sure has many steps. They tried just about everything to persuade me to stay except offer to bring back two day shipping.
(I know many of you in urban areas are getting one day shipping but those of us in less favored geographies, such as the same ZIP code as AMZN warehouses, have seen two day shipping turn into five, which makes Amazon uncompetitive with going to the store or with other e-tailers which usually offer faster shipping.)
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#3I wouldn't say the process of unsubscribing from Prime is 'deceptive' but it sure has many steps. They tried just about everything to persuade me to stay except offer to bring back two day shipping. (I know many of you in urban areas are getting one day shipping but those of us in less favored geographies, such as the same ZIP code as AMZN warehouses, have seen two day shipping turn into five, which makes Amazon unco…
I have never intentionally paid for prime. I have tried a couple dozen "free trials" since signing up for Amazon in 2000. The process of canceling these trials definitely has the buttons labeled and styled deceptively. You really do have to pay close attention. And the date at which they start charging your payment method is not when you'd think either, it's a day earlier than the 30 days they promise. I've ended up paying them for "free" prime a few times and only received part of it back via-refund.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#4I wouldn't say the process of unsubscribing from Prime is 'deceptive' but it sure has many steps. They tried just about everything to persuade me to stay except offer to bring back two day shipping. (I know many of you in urban areas are getting one day shipping but those of us in less favored geographies, such as the same ZIP code as AMZN warehouses, have seen two day shipping turn into five, which makes Amazon unco…
What's deceptive about it is you click the first link to cancel your benefits, then each subsequent page is basically a quiz: "which button will boot you out of the cancel flow and which button will proceed to the next page"
I agree it's not actually that hard to cancel, but the flow is so needlessly complex from a consumer perspective.
It should go straight to a page with three buttons and associated explanations:
1) Cancel at the end of the term 2) Cancel immediately and receive pro-rated refund (Since they offer this, I'm including it here - wouldn't expect it in general) 3) Keep subscription
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#5The whole Amazon.com experience has been getting worse and worse as the years go by. Everything from the products they sell, quality control, customer service, dark patterns in the UI, etc.
I wonder how long until you have to call someone or mail in a 1,000 word letter on why you don't need Prime to cancel it.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#6The whole Amazon.com experience has been getting worse and worse as the years go by. Everything from the products they sell, quality control, customer service, dark patterns in the UI, etc. I wonder how long until you have to call someone or mail in a 1,000 word letter on why you don't need Prime to cancel it.
Sounds like a perfect job for PrimeGPT to write that for you.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#7I wouldn't say the process of unsubscribing from Prime is 'deceptive' but it sure has many steps. They tried just about everything to persuade me to stay except offer to bring back two day shipping. (I know many of you in urban areas are getting one day shipping but those of us in less favored geographies, such as the same ZIP code as AMZN warehouses, have seen two day shipping turn into five, which makes Amazon unco…
I have never intentionally paid for prime. I have tried a couple dozen "free trials" since signing up for Amazon in 2000. The process of canceling these trials definitely has the buttons labeled and styled deceptively. You really do have to pay close attention. And the date at which they start charging your payment method is not when you'd think either, it's a day earlier than the 30 days they promise. I've ended up…
I've always shied away from Amazon's Prime service because the signup process already looks shady, no points offered for guessing that cancallation is even shadier.
Walmart offers Walmart Plus - I've never used it but it looks infinitely less sketchy. Between that and the fact that Walmart has its supply chain under control ("commingling", anyone) the choice is easy.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#8Lol, it's not deceptive at all. I routinely sign up for the free trials and then cancel a couple of days before the trial ends.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#9The whole Amazon.com experience has been getting worse and worse as the years go by. Everything from the products they sell, quality control, customer service, dark patterns in the UI, etc. I wonder how long until you have to call someone or mail in a 1,000 word letter on why you don't need Prime to cancel it.
The experience has been getting worse for customers, but better for shareholders. Can't please everyone!
Life Pro Tip: Be a shareholder, don't be a customer.
Re: FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process
#10Lol, it's not deceptive at all. I routinely sign up for the free trials and then cancel a couple of days before the trial ends.
That's for you. Number one rule or UX design is (or should be) never base a design decision or assume user abilities based upon your own preferences or abilities. Users, especially Amazon users, are a very wide range of people.