Amazon Prime increasing annual fee to $119

[RonBoyd]

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/medi...-5-99-a-month/

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Yesterday Amazon announced their first price hike on Prime’s yearly membership in over 4 years. The good news is Amazon still has several programs to offerAmazon Prime to Americans who need help. If you receive Medicaid or EBT benefits you can get Amazon Prime for just $5.99 a month. To get this deal you need to visit this Amazon site and confirm your eligibility. From there you can sign up for Amazon Prime at just $5.99 a month.

[Dawg52]

Shipping is not always great at Amazon. I bought a tv a few months ago and the box was open on one side. When I picked up the box to move inside the tv literally started to slide out of the box. Some of the foam inside was crushed. I'm guessing it did slide out somewhere along the way. Luckily no damage and it works fine. But Amazon needs to reinforce the taping on boxes. Had the same thing happen on another item.

[RonBoyd]

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Originally Posted by Aerides Mine too! I did an online pickup during the holidays. A) had to drive and park, even though it's only a couple miles...still. B) unlike target, the walmart pickup was the back of the store, so i had to go clear across it to get my item (presumably so you'll buy more stuff). C) the staff at the counter were ignoring customers. easily 20+ mins from arrival to departure. I'd rather pay for shipping than do that again.

My only experience with Walmart Online was even worse.

I purchased a 65" TV (not from Walmart) and found that it was too heavy to hang on the wall and found that I needed a TV Stand. After several days of research, I found that Walmart Online had the best price... and free two-day delivery (to the local store for pickup).

Within two days the Stand made it to Fort Collins (65 miles away). After a couple days, I went to the store and was told the item hadn't been received yet. Sure enough, checking online informed me that the Stand was still in Fort Collins. Well... long story short -- two and a half weeks later, I received an e-mail informing that the item had arrived at the store and was ready for pickup.

Not done yet...

So I go to the store and, as mentioned earlier, the pickup department is way in the back of the store. I go there and this girl looks it up and says she will be right back. I waited and waited. Finally, the door behind the counter opens and this girl, huffing and puffing, is struggling with this box that must weigh as much as her. She could slide a foot or so and then stop and readjust. I rush around the counter to help her and we got it to my side of the counter. After completing the paperwork, I asked if there was a
cart I could use since I was by myself and it was way too heavy for me to carry all the way through the store and to the far end of the parking lot. She told me they didn't have one. I asked to speak with her supervisor. He, first, told me I was on my own but, eventually, he reluctantly told me to go to the front of the store and get a shopping cart while he freed up someone to help me.

When I got back with the cart (A typical worn out hard-to-push one -- you know, the kind that has one wheel with its own mind of what direction you want to go), there was, indeed, a young boy about half my size. We eventually got the Stand partially into the cart. So with me half carrying and pulling and he pushing, we got the item to my vehicle.

So ended my one and "never-again" experience with ordering from Walmart.

[free2020]

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Originally Posted by Aerides Mine too! I did an online pickup during the holidays. A) had to drive and park, even though it's only a couple miles...still. B) unlike target, the walmart pickup was the back of the store, so i had to go clear across it to get my item (presumably so you'll buy more stuff). C) the staff at the counter were ignoring customers. easily 20+ mins from arrival to departure. I'd rather pay for shipping than do that again.

I have been shopping grocery online at Walmart for 1 year and the customer service has been superb. I do the curbside pick up and have never had any delays. I am now seeing older associates loading my car. Always pleasant. Here is what takes me back to Walmart,

1. Sams Club gas station is in the same parking lot. Gas prices are easily 30 cents lower. At the least. We have 3 cars in the house and we’ trying to always combine gas with curbside pickup. Zero incremental cost for me with online purchases. This is the holy grail of the online shopping battle being fought between Amazon and everyone else. So far I am winning and hopefully “everyone else” will not lose to Amazon.
2. We hate plastic bags. Even more, detest cardboard cartons. I carry cloth bags to the curbside pickup and have Walmart transfer and get rid of the plastic right there. Hopefully someday I can get Walmart to use recycled bags.
3. I’ve been “parallel shopping “ Amazon and Walmart.com and mostly getting similar prices but Amazon has a larger catalog. This is a matter of first mover advantage. >$30 Order’s earn free shipping.

With all this I just canceled Prime membership. I simply don’t like the “Winner-take-all” idea. I am trying to rid myself of Facebook, Google and Amazon. I don’t like the fact that they have so much data on me. With my slowly declining memory it’s already true that these guys remember more of me than I do. That is downright scary. How they got my data, mostly by stealing, spying etc. is crazy.

It is not about technology, it’s about me. I will do what I can to not become enslaved by it.

[Which Roger]

How much one values convenience seems to be a big factor in the "to Prime or not to Prime" debate. I value convenience, and I don't remember the last time I couldn't find something I need on Amazon. They already have my shipping and payment info, and I can buy with one click. Others are more price sensitive and therefore tend to shop around more.

Another big factor is whether or not one streams video. I do, and there's enough content on Prime to last me several lifetimes. So I don't need a Netflix subscription, which costs roughly as much as Prime, and only provides one of Prime's 3 big benefits (the third being streaming music).

[jollystomper]

One cannot expect these services to stay the same price forever. For our household, based on our usage, it is still a good deal. The increase from $8.25/month to 10$/month is a very small percentage of our budget.

[redduck]

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Originally Posted by Walt34 I'll grumble, but I'll probably stay...

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Originally Posted by bUU And in the end that's the most important factor in the analysis behind the price increase.

I figured that making Walt34 grumble was the most important factor behind the price increase.

[easysurfer]

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Originally Posted by Which Roger How much one values convenience seems to be a big factor in the "to Prime or not to Prime" debate. I value convenience, and I don't remember the last time I couldn't find something I need on Amazon. They already have my shipping and payment info, and I can buy with one click. Others are more price sensitive and therefore tend to shop around more. Another big factor is whether or not one streams video. I do, and there's enough content on Prime to last me several lifetimes. So I don't need a Netflix subscription, which costs roughly as much as Prime, and only provides one of Prime's 3 big benefits (the third being streaming music).

Though I don't shop exclusively at Amazon, for me, the convenience of Amazon and Prime worth the price increase. One factor worth considering is how easy to return. Bought something not long ago (not on Amazon and price was less elsewhere). On first use, power didn't work. With Amazon, I would have just returned and got my money back (true, many other places have good returns too, but not all). The place didn't take returns but did do a repair under warranty.

A lot a variables to consider besides just price alone.

[bUU]

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Originally Posted by redduck I figured that making Walt34 grumble was the most important factor behind the price increase.

I sure hope you were kidding, and that you understood the point was that the most important factor behind the price increase was that most subscribers would do nothing more than grumble about it.

[joeea]

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Originally Posted by dvalley I just ordered something on walmart.com it was cheaper than anywhere else and when I selected slower delivery (by just 2 days!) they gave me an additional discount of $8, which was a nice unexpected surprise. Amazon has a big market share but they're no longer the only game in town if you want to save money.

It makes complete sense to check other sites before purchasing at Amazon.
I always check Walmart, Target, and a few others depending on what I'm looking for.

I more often find the item I'm seeking at Amazon, likely due to their huge reach and 3rd party merchants. And most of the time it's cheaper than other sites, but not always.

Just as I do with all other subscription services, I rethink it every time it comes up for renewal. I'm keeping Prime for another year. It would be nice if it were free, but it's still worthwhile for us.

In addition to Delivery, we use Prime Video, Prime Rewards Card, Prime Reading, Prime Early Access (a little), and Prime Photo. I haven't used Prime Music much - just for a few free songs.

And I always use Amazon Smile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=201365340 to help my favorite charitable organization (my local library). I hope others do as well.

[explanade]

Travel bloggers suggest buying gift Amazon Prime memberships at $99 and cancel your existing ones so it doesn't auto-renew and then resubscribing with those gift memberships.

Kind of jumping through hoops to save $20 a year.

[ocean view]

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Travel bloggers suggest buying gift Amazon Prime memberships at $99 and cancel your existing ones so it doesn't auto-renew and then resubscribing with those gift memberships. Kind of jumping through hoops to save $20 a year.

DH saw this too, but noted one downside— if you are grandfathered into the “share your prime benefits with a family member”, you would lose this benefit. We share our prime with DFIL in another state, so we don’t want to mess that up.

[aja8888]

Online grocery ordering and store-side pickup at Walmart has been superb for us. I do ALL the grocery shopping now that DW is not able to do it. Very convenient, fast, wonderful service.

We have Amazon Prime also, but really just use it for free shipping. Lately though, price shopping has led me to other online retailers that offer better prices and free shipping.

Another caveat is that Prime "two day" shipping very frequently turns into 3 - 4 day delivery (or no delivery at all) when the USPS gets the job of attempting to find our mailbox within the cluster box.

[mpeirce]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 Another caveat is that Prime "two day" shipping very frequently turns into 3 - 4 day delivery (or no delivery at all) when the USPS gets the job of attempting to find our mailbox within the cluster box.

Interesting. In my experience 2 day shipping often turns into 1 day shipping for me. I suppose it helps that there is a big Amazon warehouse hub nearby.

Amazon Prime is a really good deal for our household. We'll keep it.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by Dawg52 Shipping is not always great at Amazon. I bought a tv a few months ago and the box was open on one side. When I picked up the box to move inside the tv literally started to slide out of the box. Some of the foam inside was crushed. I'm guessing it did slide out somewhere along the way. Luckily no damage and it works fine. But Amazon needs to reinforce the taping on boxes. Had the same thing happen on another item.

In 2013 I bought a 55" Panasonic plasma TV from Amazon.

It was delivered in a big truck by a freight company with a local office in Kenner, Louisiana (about 5-10 miles away from me, I suppose).

The instructions online said they would dump it at the curb and after that, it was all up to me. But in reality, they not only brought it into my house, but unpacked it from the sturdy packing materials, put it on my entertainment console/stand, plugged it in, checked to make sure it worked, inventoried the contents, and when they left they removed the packing material for me.

Granted, I played the "oh gosh I'm just a weak little old lady like your grandma, whatever shall I do, oh gosh can you help me?" card to the hilt. (I know, I'm shameless. ) Still, I was pretty happy with the service provided.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by aja8888 Online grocery ordering and store-side pickup at Walmart has been superb for us. I do ALL the grocery shopping now that DW is not able to do it. Very convenient, fast, wonderful service.

I tried that earlier this year and liked it, too.

Walmart converted a nearby bank drive-through into a grocery pickup, and so there are convenient parking spots with intercom service for picking up groceries. They messed up my order somewhat, with unapproved substitutions, but they didn't charge me for them so I thought that was a plus. Free food for a cheapskate? I liked that, who cares if it was the wrong stuff. Even without that perk, I thought Walmart was cheaper than Amazon overall.

I do plan to use Walmart grocery online ordering and pickup at the old bank more frequently in the future. However I am so accustomed to Prime Pantry, that I am still ordering non-perishables through Amazon.

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Originally Posted by aja8888 Another caveat is that Prime "two day" shipping very frequently turns into 3 - 4 day delivery (or no delivery at all) when the USPS gets the job of attempting to find our mailbox within the cluster box.

I ordered a box from Prime Pantry on Friday at about 4 PM, and it is scheduled to arrive via UPS on Wednesday. Let's ignore that that is actually five days. I SUPPOSE one could claim that was two working days, OK, I get it. But I am rolling my eyes anyway because I'm an ungrateful crabby old lady.

Oh well, at least it is UPS which I think provides better delivery service than USPS in my location.

[HFWR]

The $20 increase, in isolation, is relatively benign, but I am careful of recurring charges. My cable bill was $99/mo., but next thing you know it’s $199/mo. Snip!

[ncbill]

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Originally Posted by W2R Granted, I played the "oh gosh I'm just a weak little old lady like your grandma, whatever shall I do, oh gosh can you help me?" card to the hilt. (I know, I'm shameless. ) Still, I was pretty happy with the service provided.

My wife played the "I'm 8.5 months pregnant" card when we had the new fridge delivered to get the delivery guys to hook up the water connection (always buy the copper line kit)

I'm keeping Prime, dropping Netflix.

Kids are the ones who use the latter, but they can just switch to Prime instead.

Or pay for their own Netflix account.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by ncbill My wife played the "I'm 8.5 months pregnant" card when we had the new fridge delivered to get the delivery guys to hook up the water connection (always buy the copper line kit)

That's even better!

[bUU]

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Originally Posted by HFWR The $20 increase, in isolation, is relatively benign, but I am careful of recurring charges. My cable bill was $99/mo., but next thing you know it’s $199/mo. Snip!

Amazon's got a track record of not doing annual increases for Prime; of course, as alluded to above, that could change if the reaction they get from the customer base indicates that annual increases would be better than larger increases less often.