Amazon Subscriptions

[TromboneAl]

I don't know if this is new, or I just noticed it recently. With some "supply" type purchases, you can save a little money by choosing a subscription -- the item will be automatically ordered for you on a periodic basis.

1. You can cancel at any time, so is there any mechanism to prevent you from just ordering with the subscription and then canceling?

2. Sometimes it seems you can't order something one time, but must order fia a subscription. For example, for me this page only allows a subscription:

http://www.amazon.com/Brew-Rite-Cof...M7X8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327434715&sr=8-2

 

[REWahoo]

It's been around for a while Al.

I've ordered several items using the subscription to get an extra discount, then cancelled the subscription after the item was shipped - didn't even wait for delivery. Not a problem.

 

[ziggy29]

1. You can cancel at any time, so is there any mechanism to prevent you from just ordering with the subscription and then canceling?

Only your own inertia, which is what they are hoping for...

 

[FUEGO]

I have done this probably a couple dozen times to get the 15% savings and free shipping without having to spend $25. Never had any problems even though I would classify what I am doing as "abusing the system" although I do not recall reading anything in their terms and conditions preventing me from doing what I am doing.

I just did this over the weekend for some generic vitamins/supplements. Time to go cancel the S+S subscription!

Speaking of amazon, I also figured out you can buy postage stamps for slightly below market prices. Good way to burn up amazon.com gift card balances if you have them (like me).

 

[TromboneAl]

OK, thanks.

Speaking of gift cards, I've found problems with using ShopSafe with Amazon, because some purchases are Amazon and some are Amazon Marketplace. My solution is to buy myself gift cards, and leave a balance. Not many people do this, apparently, because there is no way to just add money to your gift card balance. You have to email yourself a card number.

 

[farmerEd]

I use it for everything I can. Can't really beat the price. Its also nice for things that need to be done on a regular basis and you want a reminder, for example, I have new water filters show up every two months - so I replace them wether they need it or not. batteries for the smoke detectors come every 6 months like clockwork - nice reminder to just do it and not procrastinate.

Besides that, *anything* I can order from amazon I do, the UPS driver is pretty much at my house everyday.

 

[REWahoo]

... the UPS driver is pretty much at my house everyday.

<hijack> A nearby small town named the UPS driver who delivers to everyone in town "Citizen of the Year". He doesn't even live there. </hijack>

 

[Alan]

<hijack> A nearby small town named the UPS driver who delivers to everyone in town "Citizen of the Year". He doesn't even live there. </hijack>

... and his name is jack?

 

[REWahoo]

Yes. His first name is thread...

 

[TromboneAl]

And relevant to this

Memory-a spoof by Pam Peterson - YouTube

that Walt34 posted, I was wondering this morning why my coffee filters hadn't arrived yet, and I found that they were still in my Amazon cart.

 

[travelover]

I signed up for a free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime this December and send gifts like crazy with free shipping, then cancelled at the end of 30 days. Another abuser of the system.

 

[GrayHare]

Anyone else sense that quality of service from Amazon is slipping lately? I've purchased from Amazon for years, but within the past 6 months several problems have cropped up, and remain unresolved: 1) for an increasing % of items, clicking on Add to Cart fails and instead only replots the page, 2) an item is quoted at a particular price but arrives with a bill showing they instead charged a higher price, and 3) an increasing % of items are arriving late. I've reported it to Amazon but receive either no reply, or an automated one, and the problems do not get fixed.

 

[W2R]

Anyone else sense that quality of service from Amazon is slipping lately? I've purchased from Amazon for years, but within the past 6 months several problems have cropped up, and remain unresolved: 1) for an increasing % of items, clicking on Add to Cart fails and instead only replots the page, 2) an item is quoted at a particular price but arrives with a bill showing they instead charged a higher price, and 3) an increasing % of items are arriving late. I've reported it to Amazon but receive either no reply, or an automated one, and the problems do not get fixed.

Haven't had any of these problems at all. If anything, the quality of service for me has been getting better and better. Things are arriving faster than expected, and in surprisingly perfect shape, no website problems (even during the holidays), and billing is as expected. Maybe our experiences are just data points on opposite sides of an Amazon quality-of-service bell curve.

 

[ERD50]

Anyone else sense that quality of service from Amazon is slipping lately? I've purchased from Amazon for years, but within the past 6 months several problems have cropped up, and remain unresolved: 1) for an increasing % of items, clicking on Add to Cart fails and instead only replots the page, 2) an item is quoted at a particular price but arrives with a bill showing they instead charged a higher price, and 3) an increasing % of items are arriving late. I've reported it to Amazon but receive either no reply, or an automated one, and the problems do not get fixed.

No, I think they are as great as always.

One area where I feel they have gotten 'sleazy' though - if you sort by price, you get a bunch of stuff show up @ $.01 or $.99, and $10.99 shipping. No way to sort including shipping.

I can select 'free shipping' but occasionally, a price with shipping is better than the free shipping.

Other than that, they get a LOT of my business.

-ERD50

 

[Nords]

I don't know if this is new, or I just noticed it recently. With some "supply" type purchases, you can save a little money by choosing a subscription -- the item will be automatically ordered for you on a periodic basis.

1. You can cancel at any time, so is there any mechanism to prevent you from just ordering with the subscription and then canceling?

2. Sometimes it seems you can't order something one time, but must order fia a subscription. For example, for me this page only allows a subscription:

Al, here's a startup that's nipping at Amazon's heels while hoping not to get crushed by them:
NetPlenish | We Shop. You Save. |

They promise to find you the best deal each time, they ask you to approve each purchase before they make it (or delay it for another week/month), and they're usually able to undercut Amazon by a few pennies.

Until Amazon throws down the gantlets and offers free shipping until 2014. Or buys Netplenish. Nobody's sure which will happen first. But in the meantime Netplenish is attracting a lot of investor interest.

 

[DayDreaming]

I've been using Amazon's 'Subscribe & Save' for a couple of years. As others have said, there's no problem using it for one delivery, then canceling. But, 'Subscribe & Save' gives you a lot of flexibility so if I think I may order again, I keep the subscription active. Amazon sends an email reminder before my next scheduled delivery, and if I don't really want it, I can just click 'skip this delivery'. Or if I want it sooner I can go to my account on Amazon and click 'send extra shipment now'. It's a pretty nice system.

One thing to watch out for is that if you have something setup for regular delivery, the cost of each shipment is based on their current prices (of course). If you subscribe to some item because the price is really great, the cost of your 2nd delivery may not be so great. When you get the email reminder from Amazon that your next 'Subscribe & Save' will be shipping soon, it tells you the current price, and it also tells you the price of your last shipment - so you can easily decide if you want to let this shipment go through, or skip it.

 

[easysurfer]

Well, I ended up signing up for a subscription as to get the discount plus I do need regular shipments of a product. Can beat the 5% savings on each shipment.