Amazon Prime going to $99 but stock makes up for it

I looked to see when I last paid for Prime. It was Mar 10 last year. I looked on Amazon to see if I could pay before the new price came into effect. Found out my credit card had been charged on Mar 11 for $79 and I will owe $99 next year. It would have been nice if they sent me an e-mail telling me they charged my account.

If I drive my pickup in to town its about $12 and most of the day shot. If I drive my Jeep its a little less. I think the extra $20 will still make Amazon Prime the cheapest way to get most things if you live in the boondocks.
 
OK. I'll bite. :D

For those of you who are members of Amazon Prime: What sort of things do you buy for which the two day delivery is important? Otherwise you would get in the car and drive to the store if the wait was more than two days.
 
Chuckanut said:
OK. I'll bite. :D

For those of you who are members of Amazon Prime: What sort of things do you buy for which the two day delivery is important? Otherwise you would get in the car and drive to the store if the wait was more than two days.
Click to expand...
You also have to wait until you have enough "stuff" to get free shipping without it. I bought a book the other day. It was nice to get it in a couple of days.
 
Katsmeow said:
For optional purchases that you can just do whenever, I can agree that getting something a few days earlier may not be that important. The point though is that if you can get something in 2 days, then it expands the number of things you would buy from Amazon that ordinarily you don't want to wait 2 days for. ...
Click to expand...

Well, everyone's needs/situations are different, but I can honestly say that it is really rare that I need something quicker than free shipping. So I don't think it makes sense for me. I do try to plan ahead though, to avoid the inconvenience of running out, and also to give me time to look for a low price (camelcamel is good for that).



FIREd said:
... So if I run out of printer ink, I order some on Amazon but I don't want to wait a week to get it. I also order a lot of household items from Amazon. I don't have much room to stock up on those items, so I depend on quick delivery to restock. There is not much reward from delayed gratification when the cats are running out of food...;)
Click to expand...

These are the kinds of things I plan for. I (when I used an inkjet) kept a small stock of ink carts on the shelf. When I get to the last one or two, I looked for sales to order more. Maybe 'inventory control' is ingrained in my thinking, as I used to also manage a maintenance department, and there were consumable items we had to keep in stock to do our job. And often, getting a purchase req approved, and then shipping and delivery from our dock could take much longer than a week. I still have to 'gently remind' DW to rotate stock at home - the new cans of diced tomatoes go behind the cans already on the shelf!

Seriously, you don't know a week ahead that you are low on cat food, but you know 2 days ahead? I understand about not having storage space, but the difference between a week of stock and two days stock seems awful small. How often do you order to keep the stock down to 2 days, every 2 days?

The way I see it, I'm saving $99, I'm saving stress (having a spare handy. no rush to place an order), and probably getting better deals because with a little time to spare I can shop for the deal, so saving more than $99.

I guess I'm just saying that a lot of this doesn't sound like a 'need' to have it in 2 days. But to each their own. Also, for me (near several warehouses), the regular amazon shipping is often within 2-4 days, sometimes a week.

-ERD50
 
Last edited:
REWahoo said:
Here's how to continue to get Prime for $79 - at least for a while.

For new memberships the price is still $79 until mid-April.

If you are an existing member, until the price goes up you can purchase an Amazon Prime Membership Gift Card for $79 and specify the future delivery date of the gift. Our membership just renewed and I'm purchasing a Prime gift card for DW, with a delivery date the day after our membership expires next February.

Hey, 20 bucks is 20 bucks...
Click to expand...

Good tip. I've passed it along to the kids.

The wording of the announcement brings me back to my w*rk days when I worked in pricing and had to meet with customers to discuss price increases. A little obfuscation always helped.

We are writing to provide you advance notice that the price of your Prime membership will be increasing in 2015. Your 2014 annual renewal will remain at the original price of $79. On January 6, 2016, your membership will renew at $99/year.
Click to expand...
My 2014 annual renewal "will remain at $79" because it's already paid. The renewal price will take effect Jan 6 2015, the reason they write Jan 6 2016 is to end the announcement with the impression the increase does not take effect for 2 years. As pricing announcements go, not a bad job.
 
ERD50 said:
These are the kinds of things I plan for. I (when I used an inkjet) kept a small stock of ink carts on the shelf. When I get to the last one or two, I looked for sales to order more. Maybe 'inventory control' is ingrained in my thinking, as I used to also manage a maintenance department, and there were consumable items we had to keep in stock to do our job. And often, getting a purchase req approved, and then shipping and delivery from our dock could take much longer than a week. I still have to 'gently remind' DW to rotate stock at home - the new cans of diced tomatoes go behind the cans already on the shelf!

Seriously, you don't know a week ahead that you are low on cat food, but you know 2 days ahead? I understand about not having storage space, but the difference between a week of stock and two days stock seems awful small. How often do you order to keep the stock down to 2 days, every 2 days?

The way I see it, I'm saving $99, I'm saving stress (having a spare handy. no rush to place an order), and probably getting better deals because with a little time to spare I can shop for the deal, so saving more than $99.

I guess I'm just saying that a lot of this doesn't sound like a 'need' to have it in 2 days. But to each their own. Also, for me (near several warehouses), the regular amazon shipping is often within 2-4 days, sometimes a week.

-ERD50
Click to expand...

I know, I am such a dumbass.
 
Chuckanut said:
OK. I'll bite. :D

For those of you who are members of Amazon Prime: What sort of things do you buy for which the two day delivery is important? Otherwise you would get in the car and drive to the store if the wait was more than two days.
Click to expand...

To me Amazon prime is not just the 2 day delivery. There are other factors.

That said, in many cases, the 2 day delivery is not "important" but it is nice and convenient and I like it. And, it is worth $99 a year to me to get it. 2 day delivery is sort of a sweet spot where if there is something that I want now (but don't have to absolutely have right now), I'm willing to give up getting now if I get in return (1) lower price on Amazon, (2) don't have to drive to and from the store and shop - an hour and a half total at minimum usually closer to 2 hours, and (3) I get it within 2 days. If I won't get the item for a longer period of time, the tipping point is more likely to tip to getting in the car and going and finding it unless the price discount for buying at Amazon is significant.

Anyway, examples:

Dragon Ice Relief & Recovery Balm - Just ordered this today for current use. We actually did stop at a store for this but the store that was supposed to have it didn't have it. The other store nearby that has it is in the mall and it is sort of a pain to get to and I couldn't do it until tomorrow anyway. Since this is for current use (want to use this now), I would not want to wait for a long delivery.

Logitech Keyboard cover Mini for Ipad - DH's ipad keyboard cover broke. He uses it a lot and the price was better at Amazon. He could have done without it, of course, but he didn't mind waiting 2 days to get it from Amazon instead of going to store. He would not have wanted to wait several days.

Textbooks - I bought all my daughter's textbooks online from Amazon for this semester. Getting quick delivery was essential to ordering them. If I had not had Amazon Prime I would have paid for 2 day delivery.

Olloclip 4-in-1 - This was a Christmas present from DH to me and didn't arrive for Christmas as part of the whole UPS snafu. The 2 day shipping was important since it was intended to be a gift to be here on Christmas (no DH couldn't have bought it earlier as he didn't know earlier that I wanted it). The present I bought him from Amazon did arrive within the 2 days.

Meat Thermometer - 2 day shipping wasn't crucial, but was a nice to have.

Shredder - Far cheaper to buy from Amazon than other options. Our shredder died abruptly so we didn't foresee the need to replace this. Again, the 2 day shipping wasn't crucial as the price was so good I would have waiting for a longer delivery if necessary. However, we had no shredder until this one arrived so it was nice to have the 2 day delivery.

New mouse/keyboard - Price was very good so I probably would have waited even for a longer delivery time. But, the 2 day delivery was nice and much preferable since my keyboard had broken and I needed a new one ASAP (I was using an old one we had laying around but it didn't have the features I like).

Elf Ears - My son was making a costume for an event and it is actually not that easy to find elf ears. The 2 day shipping was very convenient when he found that out.

Roomba - The price was the same online as going to the store. It was just more convenient to do it online since I was getting 2 day shipping. Without the 2 day shipping we probably would have made the trip to the store to buy it (about 2 hour turnaround).

I could list lots of things, but the general statements would be largely the same. I usually get a better price at Amazon and it is convenient to get 2 day shipping. Sometimes, it has been more important than other times. A lot of the time it is simply a "nice to have."
 
For me, at $99/year, still a good deal.

About as much as how much I spend on prepaid Tracfone refills :)
 
Yep - had it since they started Amazon Prime. It was super great when we were full-time RVing and had an unpredictable travel schedule. When we got the house we still appreciated the quick free shipping convenience, and we use Amazon for a LOT of staples that we used to buy in a supermarket. We started using some of the video streaming over the past year. And we've saved quite a bit via the 3% cash rewards VISA over the past two years.

So - it was a great deal and they didn't raise the price for a long time. We're already renewed through Jan 2015.

Happy to keep it, especially since we dropped our cable subscription last month.
 
I'm curious on the staples comment. What sort of things do you get? I recall once checking them and it didn't seem like the pricing was competitive with our local grocery stores. Certainly sounds like it would be convenient.
 
pb4uski said:
I'm curious on the staples comment. What sort of things do you get? I recall once checking them and it didn't seem like the pricing was competitive with our local grocery stores. Certainly sounds like it would be convenient.
Click to expand...
Some are items we can't get locally. Some are simply much cheaper in bulk.

Just some examples:
  • Tom's of Maine Lavender bar soap - good price for 6 count. Regular item.
  • Village Harvest organic brown jasmine rice - 6 30 oz bags. When it's a good price.
  • We're ordered various canned goods and condiments at times.
  • Spanish smoked paprika.
  • Dried porcini mushrooms.
 
If you think about it, this is the first price increase in the nine years since they started the program. Yes, the "add-on item" stuff is a watering down of the benefits, but they've added a lot more items and Prime video streaming to boot -- and a 25% price increase over 9 years isn't really all that excessive.

When I first heard the proposed $119 trial balloon last month, I was pretty sure they were just positioning themselves to announce an eventual bump to $99 and make it look like they "listened to their customers" about the pricing. Sure enough. Negotiating 101 -- always ask for more than what you expect to get so you can compromise to where you want to get to.
 
pb4uski said:
I'm curious on the staples comment. What sort of things do you get? I recall once checking them and it didn't seem like the pricing was competitive with our local grocery stores. Certainly sounds like it would be convenient.
Click to expand...

I get a 6 box pack of Twinings darjeeling tea bags (20 to a box) for $18.99. Not sure what each box costs at Safeway?

Otherwise, my list of things from Prime is somewhat similar to Katsmeow's and others'--stuff I need where the price is right on Amazon and getting it in two days is fine.

Like several commenters, I really don't like to go shopping. However, like W2R, I do like to get deliveries! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: W2R
REWahoo said:
Here's how to continue to get Prime for $79 - at least for a while.

For new memberships the price is still $79 until mid-April.

If you are an existing member, until the price goes up you can purchase an Amazon Prime Membership Gift Card for $79 and specify the future delivery date of the gift. Our membership just renewed and I'm purchasing a Prime gift card for DW, with a delivery date the day after our membership expires next February.

Hey, 20 bucks is 20 bucks...
Click to expand...

I did this but sent the gift to myself. 20 bucks is 20 bucks, as you say.
 
I'm sort of torn about the increase as I feel like it's sort of a luxury service for us. We don't use the instant video because we also have Netflix (currently more streaming movies available). We don't use the free book library because I think you need a Kindle for that. Having said that, the 2-day shipping has been really nice, but as I say, not really necessary. If I think about it for a few days I'll likely just forget about the whole thing and I'll be obliviously happy again. :)
 
Doing the math, at $99/year (which comes out to $8.25/month) is still a great bargain. Back in the days of w*rk, I'd spend more on that just on vending machine snacks :)

IMO, it's a question of is the $99/year a worthwhile splurge? For me, yes it is as I like to know that when I order a package it'll arrive in two days. The only drawback is when ordering something not on Amazon the wait can feel like an eternity :(
 
I hate to go shopping as well, buy almost everything online but I don't see any advantage for me with prime, I get what I order most of the time in 3 days ( versus 2 for prime ) with standard free shipping anyway. I can generally beat the price on amazon as well, especially computer hardware. One thing I have found is for items not being sold directly by amazon is to go to sellers website directly, many times the same thing is cheaper on their own website than what it is listed on amazon for.

Now free overnight or nextday might entice me.
 
panacea said:
I'm sort of torn about the increase as I feel like it's sort of a luxury service for us. We don't use the instant video because we also have Netflix (currently more streaming movies available). We don't use the free book library because I think you need a Kindle for that. Having said that, the 2-day shipping has been really nice, but as I say, not really necessary. If I think about it for a few days I'll likely just forget about the whole thing and I'll be obliviously happy again. :)
Click to expand...

Although I don't use it note that you can get a program to read Kindle books on a PC or Mac, from amazon. Here is a link to the PC version:
Kindle for Windows 8: Read eBooks on Your Windows 8 Device - No Kindle Device Required
So you don't need a Kindle.
However I prefer physical books, so Amazon is great for them.
 
meierlde said:
Although I don't use it note that you can get a program to read Kindle books on a PC or Mac, from amazon. Here is a link to the PC version:
Kindle for Windows 8: Read eBooks on Your Windows 8 Device - No Kindle Device Required
So you don't need a Kindle.
However I prefer physical books, so Amazon is great for them.
Click to expand...
I have the kindle app on my nook and my home PC, but I am pretty sure you have to actually have a Kindle to get the free for reading books. (I also have a Kindle Fire, but my DD "borrowed" it. I don't like it for reading anyway.)
 
Hermit said:
I have the kindle app on my nook and my home PC, but I am pretty sure you have to actually have a Kindle to get the free for reading books. (I also have a Kindle Fire, but my DD "borrowed" it. I don't like it for reading anyway.)
Click to expand...

No you don't. I have the desktop app and no Kindle device and I read only the free books.
 
No Prime for me, but I hear the reasons 'for', and some sound pretty convincing.

Recently Amazon caved into the state of North Carolina and started collecting state sales tax, which put Amazon a knotch back against Walmart (which does, of course, have an NC physical presence). Walmart has shown some less expensive prices, very reasonable shipping costs, and they have even delivered stuff in one day, since they have DC's that are close by.

So not only am I not a Prime customer, I'm buying less from Amazon lately. They do have the edge on selection, especially with the independent sellers. But then we're getting into eBay territory.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Reconciling micro observations with macro trends? (is the economy really doing well?)
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Koolau
Koolau
K
asset location and allocation
Replies
13
Views
896
Montecfo
M
T
Looking to be FIRE'd in a few years...or sooner
Replies
12
Views
1K
Surewhitey
S
K
2022 Personal Financial Report Card
Replies
14
Views
1K
Dtail
D
H
Moving from stocks to bonds - how?
Replies
17
Views
2K
pb4uski
pb4uski

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom