The Decline of Amazon Prime (how clever these marketeers)

[kaneohe]

What does Amazon Prime mean to you? I thought it meant order today , get it 2 days later. That used to be true but last wk I recently I ordered a Prime eligible item and it arrived 6 days later. Now I am finding out that Prime just means shipping is free and item arrives 2 days after: it is shipped; not after you order it........so if it takes vendor 4 days to get around to shipping something and you get it 6 days after you ordered it, that's still within the Prime definition. I had no idea. I could never be a marketeer.....not creative enough.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I've got about 3 unopened boxes from amazon in my foyer

 

[TrvlBug]

What does Amazon Prime mean to you? I thought it meant order today , get it 2 days later. That used to be true but last wk I recently I ordered a Prime eligible item and it arrived 6 days later. Now I am finding out that Prime just means shipping is free and item arrives 2 days after: it is shipped; not after you order it........so if it takes vendor 4 days to get around to shipping something and you get it 6 days after you ordered it, that's still within the Prime definition. I had no idea. I could never be a marketeer.....not creative enough.

Even if Amazon fulfills the order and you order Friday pm, it doesn't arrive until Tues or Weds. If vendor fulfills order, it's taken up to 2 weeks to arrive .

 

[Katsmeow]

Not all items are Prime eligible. Even if something is Prime eligible there are some items that take longer to ship. That isn't typical but it does happen. I ordered something Prime eligible yesterday but it was out of stock so is delayed. Also some larger items take longer to ship such as the TV we ordered a few months ago. The vast majority of Prime eligible items arrive in 2 days though. It will tell you the estimated delivery date when you order.

 

[Senator]

As a kid, growing up in Hawaii, I used to send a letter to a company requesting a catalog. After a week, they would get the request.

After a few days, they would send the catalog, and I would have it about 2-4 weeks after I requested it, if I was lucky.

Then, I would fill out an order blank, get a check from my mother (after I gave her the money), and mail in the order form in an envelope. They would get the order after a week or so, and process the order. Same day shipping was non-existent. About 2-3 weeks after I mailed the order in, I would get the product.

From 6+ weeks, to 3-4 days, seems pretty good. Sometimes the order arrives even the next day, as we have an Amazon warehouse here in the cities not too far away, 30 miles or so.

 

[MichaelB]

What does Amazon Prime mean to you? I thought it meant order today , get it 2 days later. That used to be true but last wk I recently I ordered a Prime eligible item and it arrived 6 days later. Now I am finding out that Prime just means shipping is free and item arrives 2 days after: it is shipped; not after you order it........so if it takes vendor 4 days to get around to shipping something and you get it 6 days after you ordered it, that's still within the Prime definition. I had no idea. I could never be a marketeer.....not creative enough.

Delivery date is different for each order and is confirmed during the checkout. Sometimes they say "requires 2 or 3 days for additional processing". I've always read that as "2 day delivery is too expensive, this will take 4 or 5, so suck it up". Also, the 2 day period is usually tomorrow and the day after, but sometimes it is today and tomorrow.

It is clear they use this to help them lower their shipping cost. Still, every time I've had delivery issues and complained they have made good in some way.

Edit to add - they also deliver on Sunday

 

[hnzw_rui]

Have had pretty good experience with Prime. Recently, a lot of my Prime orders even arrive next day.

 

[DrRoy]

We have mixed results. Sometimes 2 days, sometimes longer.

 

[Tadpole]

Several things I have ordered in the last year have been Prime and free shipping but have posted a window for delivery that might be as much as several days. The delay was sometimes extended/changed after I ordered. In all cases, the order was shipped by a third party vendor and not by Amazon. I think many vendors who enjoy Prime designations cannot meet the free shipping if it is two days.

 

[jollystomper]

We have not seen any problems, but we live less than 60 miles from 2 fulfillment centers. At times we have ordered items that, if they are stocked in either of these centers, arrive the next day.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have NEVER had a Prime 2 day shipment take more than 3 days...and that's pretty rare. On occasion, I've done same day delivery, but if it's after 3, I will usually get it the next AM with a $10 merchandise credit.

Sent via mobile device. Please excuse any grammatical errors.

 

[2017ish]

We have not seen any problems, but we live less than 60 miles from 2 fulfillment centers. At times we have ordered items that, if they are stocked in either of these centers, arrive the next day.

This is us; two fulfillment centers within 30 miles of my office (plus the same day center nearby, which I don't use). If it is prime eligible, it gets here in two days, sometimes one (exception is weekend orders, but page clearly says what's up). Most of my book purchases are $4 (1 cent, plus 3.99 shipping) from third parties, so slow speed is expected there.

I have not noticed any deterioration in service--and [-]we[/-] I make WAY too many orders on Amazon.

 

[audreyh1]

What does Amazon Prime mean to you? I thought it meant order today , get it 2 days later. That used to be true but last wk I recently I ordered a Prime eligible item and it arrived 6 days later. Now I am finding out that Prime just means shipping is free and item arrives 2 days after: it is shipped; not after you order it........so if it takes vendor 4 days to get around to shipping something and you get it 6 days after you ordered it, that's still within the Prime definition. I had no idea. I could never be a marketeer.....not creative enough.

Occasionally an item is not available to be shipped out immediately. But most are. So it's still good IMO.

We order a ton on Amazon. It's probably over half our annual purchases, including groceries!

 

[dixonge]

I once ordered something through Prime Now and tipped the driver, just to test it out. From payment to delivery was about 1.75 hours. Incredible.

 

[frayne]

I like it and have been a prime member for the last few years. No problem with the prime items being delivered in two days so far.

 

[Walt34]

Only once has a prime-qualified item been late, and that came the next day. Lately they've been showing up a day early.

 

[dvalley]

I think it depends on the location. I can typically order on Fri and they'll deliver it by USPS (not UPS) on Sun! - that's never happened until the last 6 months or so.

My big problem with Amazon is that they no longer have the best prices and the quality of products has gone down- perhaps not directly Amazon's fault but lots of cheap inferior products are flooding the marketplace- similar to many fake reviews. Oh and the movie selection sucks too but lately so does Netflix as they keep pushing more and more tv and netflix original series.

 

[ERD50]

Delivery date is different for each order and is confirmed during the checkout. Sometimes they say "requires 2 or 3 days for additional processing". I've always read that as "2 day delivery is too expensive, this will take 4 or 5, so suck it up". Also, the 2 day period is usually tomorrow and the day after, but sometimes it is today and tomorrow.

It is clear they use this to help them lower their shipping cost. Still, every time I've had delivery issues and complained they have made good in some way.

Edit to add - they also deliver on Sunday

Are you sure? I think that would be pretty low to disguise longer shipping as a 'processing' prior to shipping, if Amazon sells Prime as 'Two Day shipping'..

If you watch the tracking details, it will show when it actually shipped. I'd be surprised if a Prime item actually got shipped out the same/next day, and then took 5 days in shipping. It could be, but I just think there would be an uproar over that.

-ERD50

 

[BLS53]

As a kid, growing up in Hawaii, I used to send a letter to a company requesting a catalog. After a week, they would get the request.

After a few days, they would send the catalog, and I would have it about 2-4 weeks after I requested it, if I was lucky.

Then, I would fill out an order blank, get a check from my mother (after I gave her the money), and mail in the order form in an envelope. They would get the order after a week or so, and process the order. Same day shipping was non-existent. About 2-3 weeks after I mailed the order in, I would get the product.

From 6+ weeks, to 3-4 days, seems pretty good. Sometimes the order arrives even the next day, as we have an Amazon warehouse here in the cities not too far away, 30 miles or so.

My experiences as well. Perhaps those complaining are of a younger generation, that don't recall the inconvenience and impractical nature of the old mail order routine. In order to be willing to endure the ordeal, the item had to be something rare that one couldn't find in a story anywhere.

As for items being back ordered or out of stock on Amazon, the product webpage tells you that upfront, and you can decide whether to wait, or find an alternate product.

 

[marko]

Well, this is news to me!

I have Prime and thought it was only about free shipping.

I never noticed how long the delivery time was because even before I was on Prime stuff came in a reasonably short time.

Of course I also watched some free Prime movies and series (Man in the High Castle) etc.

 

[calmloki]

Had a $13 pool brush shipped Prime - it went all over the place from the south - east coast, Alaska - before reaching SoCal after a week. I called and whined and they gave me a free month of Prime, so my pool brush which had traveled over 8000 mile cost me about $2. I'm ok with our Prime membership.

 

[harley]

I just ordered a wifi thermostat yesterday, and got the notice that even though it was Prime eligible it wouldn't be shipped for 3-4 days. I've had Prime for a few years, and I order a LOT of stuff as part of my business. I'd say 95% or the Prime eligible items make it in 2 days or less, often next day. But some doesn't. Personally I wouldn't have Prime just for myself, since I seldom need anything that fast and seldom use the streaming part. But since I have it for the business I use if for my personal use too. Mostly satisfied, but I have noticed more and more of what I end up buying isn't Prime eligible. Oh well, definitely a first world problem.

 

[audreyh1]

Even if Amazon fulfills the order and you order Friday pm, it doesn't arrive until Tues or Weds. If vendor fulfills order, it's taken up to 2 weeks to arrive .

That item is not Amazon Prime, and they make it clear that it is not. Only orders shipped/fulfilled by Amazon can be Amazon Prime.

 

[Cat-tirement]

A few months ago I was spending some time in our soon-to-be retirement house. While I was there, I placed a couple of Amazon orders, making sure the items were Prime eligible. When I went through the checkout process, it defaulted to my current address and showed delivery in 2 days. When I changed the address to my temporary location, it changed to show delivery in 3-4 days. So apparently the the 2 day delivery doesn't apply everywhere (and it's not like I was in some remote location either). They also used some carrier I had never heard of before, rather than the usual UPS, Fedex or USPS. This other carrier also had lousy tracking, and didn't operate on Saturdays. Makes me wonder if Prime will be worth maintaining once we move to the new location.

 

[NW-Bound]

No Amazon Prime user here. I do not buy enough stuff from Amazon to make it worthwhile.

And I often buy little electronic parts from Hong Kong or China, and they have free shipping even for parts that cost $1 or $2. So, I often have to wait for 2 to 3 weeks. I am patient.