Amazon spending

[davebarnes]

I am just trying to spend more with Amazon so Jeff and MacKenzie can afford to get divorced.

 

[Another Reader]

I have much better luck with Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, Chewy, and Target for shipping. Why? Because they use known, trusted companies to ship, not some unemployed guy in a car trying to moonlight. The only problem I have had is someone at the Target warehouse did not pack liquid laundry detergent correctly once. One of the jugs leaked. That was messy. Target's response? We will send you another shipment immediately. 50 pound boxes of unassembled metal shelving units? Target got them on my porch on-time and undamaged.

Customer service at these companies is outstanding relative to Amazon.

 

[FireFool]

Interesting. I've found the exact opposite. Big box stores are usually way behind the times, especially with things like electronics and LED lighting, which are always changing.

I check Amazon for the reviews, product descriptions and customer Q&A's. More often than not, I buy it there because it's cheaper, too. Most days it's quicker to get 2-day delivery than to put it on my list for the next time I'm near the store.

I'm always game for piling on a big corporation, and Amazon certainly fits the bill. But they got that way by offering a good product, good prices and good customer service. I suspect they'll eventually go the way of all corporations and lose sight of their customer's needs. But meanwhile, it's hard for me to bash them.

I agree with you in that despite my best efforts to find an alternative source for the products I'm ordering from Amazon, most times their prices are lowest coupled with their leadership in delivery speed. I keep looking on my purchases though because I do fear Amazon's size and want to try and help some level of competition to them. As it is I see Amazon slipping in monitoring 3rd parties for counterfeit products and also not controlling fake reviews. But in the end, like most consumers, price is first and foremost.

 

[FireFool]

I have much better luck with Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, Chewy, and Target for shipping. Why? Because they use known, trusted companies to ship, not some unemployed guy in a car trying to moonlight. The only problem I have had is someone at the Target warehouse did not pack liquid laundry detergent correctly once. One of the jugs leaked. That was messy. Target's response? We will send you another shipment immediately. 50 pound boxes of unassembled metal shelving units? Target got them on my porch on-time and undamaged.

Customer service at these companies is outstanding relative to Amazon.

I haven't ordered much from Target, although I do presently have an on-line order with them outstanding (they didn't have enough of what I wanted to purchase in their store). I just have to comment that Target, at least in my area, has completely abandoned customer service in the B&M stores. I was there shopping day before yesterday and the shelves were only 1/3 stocked and there was only one staffed register. I'll also add that I was able to purchase product on their on-line site for cheaper than what I would have paid in their store. Having to check your phone for on-line prices while shopping at the same company's store does not create customer trust and/or loyalty. Despite the store having been "re-formatted" to their new lay-out I walked out of there feeling like I was walking out of K-Mart - poorly run, poorly stocked, visually unappealing lay-out, lower quality apparel, untrustworthy and likely on their way towards chapter 11. I used to really like shopping Target, not any more ...

 

[kgtest]

Did you know you can generate an Amazon order history report? You set the date parameters: https://www.amazon.com/gp/b2b/reports

I initially reviewed my Quicken Amazon transactions, but actually thought it was less that I'd have guessed. The Amazon report confirmed that my Quicken accounting was accurate.

I'll just say that I see a little room to trim our budget here.

I was able to cut mine by 2/3 this year. Somewhere someone started a 2017 Amazon spend thread and I remember I posted something like $6,000-7000 spend...this year $1900


I've used the method of leaving it in the cart 24hours before I purchase it. Even simply overnight is enough to resist the urge.



The downside is only ordering 57 items across only 34 orders, offsetting the now $119/yr adds an additional $2.08 to each item ordered or worse, $3.50 added cost to offset membership fee PER ORDER!+
Starting to rethink the service vs value. None of those items needed to be rush delivered, even if one or two did it would still likely be cheaper than $3.50c
We do use prime but not very often.



Anyone else thinking of cancelling??

 

[BrianB]

2018 total: 87 line items for $2457.20 total.
2017 total: 78 line items for $3996.62 total.

In justifying the $119 annual price do you also consider the extras:
-Movies & original video programs (on tablet or thru Roku or smart TV),
-Commercial free music (played through our home system or in the car),
-Free downloadable books and magazines

We download movies and music and books for travelling, so even if we don't have wi-fi we have entertainment.

BrianB

 

[Another Reader]

I just went out to get the mail. Standing by the recycle bin, I watched a young lady in a white Toyota Corolla toss a package from Amazon, Frisbee style, from the driveway two doors down onto the walkway to the house. Hit the bushes on the edge. I know it was Amazon, because she had thrown a package on a porch across the street and one door down a minute before and I can see the package from my driveway. At least she got out of the car to make that toss.

If I had had my cellphone, I would now be posting the video on Nextdoor...

 

[REWahoo]

I'm fortunate to live in the sticks, not in an urban area like Another Reader, where Amazon apparently hires the homeless, drug addicts and gang members to distribute (not necessarily deliver) packages. Everything we order from Amazon is delivered by one of the "big three": UPS, FedEx or USPS.

 

[Another Reader]

I'm fortunate to live in the sticks, not in an urban area like Another Reader, where Amazon apparently hires the homeless, drug addicts and gang members to distribute (not necessarily deliver) packages. Everything we order from Amazon is delivered by one of the "big three": UPS, FedEx or USPS.

Yes, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the Amazon delivery people from the porch pirates here...

While you have some of those folks down there, politeness is still a Southern trait. Do unto others and all that...

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have much better luck with Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, Chewy, and Target for shipping. Why? Because they use known, trusted companies to ship, not some unemployed guy in a car trying to moonlight. The only problem I have had is someone at the Target warehouse did not pack liquid laundry detergent correctly once. One of the jugs leaked. That was messy. Target's response? We will send you another shipment immediately. 50 pound boxes of unassembled metal shelving units? Target got them on my porch on-time and undamaged.

Customer service at these companies is outstanding relative to Amazon.

I have had very few issues (two I think in the last two years?) with anything Amazon related. Deliveries in ATL were sometimes by 1099 contractors in their car, but nothing was damaged. Since moving west to "Fly Over Country", the AMZN deliveries have been in shiny new AMZN marked Mercedes vans (as well as USPS and UPS) and the drivers have been very professional. The only annoyance is that the UPS guy likes to ring the door bell and get the dogs all spun up.

The couple of issues I have had with Amazon were quickly resolved with the chat feature.

As far as the OP's subject of pulling up your order history...yeah, no. I did that once and well, sometimes ignorance is bliss. I can tell by the large number of broken down AMZN boxes in our garage that we are doing our part to make sure there is plenty for Jeff to split with his soon to be ex.

 

[Sunset]

You folks are BIG spenders.
I only spent $278 at Amazon. DW has her own account , but probably not much more in total.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

There must be a lot of prime members in my local area. I have never joined prime, and have no problem accepting the 5 to 8 business day time frame for free shipping. But, it has never in over a decade, taken that long. In fact, no matter what day is given as the expected delivery date in the confirmation e-mail, the package has always arrived within three days, often only two or even one, even if it is a weekend day. I'm assuming they have so many prime packages to deliver, as a matter of expediency, mine just gets tossed on the truck anyway, as there are so many trucks going out here, at least two per day can be seen in my little subdivision f thirty three homes.

Only had one complaint with Amazon in fifteen years of ordering. One time a feline product was delivered in place of a canine one of the same type. Got a refund, and then placed the order with the seller directly at the Amazon employee's suggestion and got an extra of the product for free without my asking. They did not want the feline product back and at the time I had no use for it, so donated it to a rescue. So, apart from having to find the number to call, it was as hassle free as a complaint can be.
The only drawback of Amazon for my situation is that very few of the veterinary medical supplies, both prescription and no prescription are on Amazon, and if they are, there is so little demand apparently that prices are often ridiculous.

So for those type products I use either Vets First Chioce or ThrivingPets.com


As far as spending goes, I only spend from $500 to $1200 per year on Amazon so far. have not purchased any big ticket items there yet.

Don't know if anyone noticed yet, but you can get a spreadsheet with items listed in addition to the one with the order totals.

 

[Ronstar]

I haven’t totaled my Amazon spending - I’m afraid to. Prime makes it too easy to buy stuff. I went to our local UPS store yesterday. Dozens of amazon boxes stacked in there - returns I guess,

 

[Katsmeow]

Last 2 years are fairly consistent. In 2017, I had about 112 orders for a total of around $6700. For 2018, there were a few less order (about 105) and the total was around $6400.

Back in the day we mostly bought books from Amazon. That is now a small percentage. The two largest categories are probably groceries (pistachios, Quest bars, Flapjacked mighty muffins, etc.) and pet food and cat litter.

 

[Another Reader]

I picked up my new all-in-one printer at Best Buy at noon yesterday. Used my rewards and a cash back credit card for a little more off the price. Staples would have had it on my porch today, but I needed the fax function immediately. Amazon? Did not sell the printer, had lots of other sellers at higher prices. One week delivery.

Almost no groceries I buy are cheaper at Amazon. I don't shop at Whole Paycheck. Haven't seen my neighbor yet to ask if she got her package that was frisbee'd into the landscaping next to her walkway. If Amazon disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't miss it one bit.

 

[kgtest]

I haven’t totaled my Amazon spending - I’m afraid to. Prime makes it too easy to buy stuff. I went to our local UPS store yesterday. Dozens of amazon boxes stacked in there - returns I guess,

Aha, I got sick of returning in 2017. Even though its super easy, I have the printed slip and UPS essentially just lets me drop and run, and it's only a mile from my home..or I could have the UPS guy pick it up at my place if I really wanted.



But yes, I have had to return plenty, whether an inaccurate ad listing, product doesnt work as designed or faulty, or late shipping.



Often times if you click the little Available form other sellers link the item can be had cheaper.

 

[enginerd]

$7,952.24 was my total for 2018...oof that hurt. But then I looked closer and realized that it doesn't include returns. And also I ordered some stuff with the business credit card. That that puts my actual spend around $6,000 which isn't too bad considering a had quite a few big purchase. Two sets of bunk beds, new light fixtures for most of my first floor and basement, a new in-ground basketball goal and most expensive of all...all of our Christmas presents.

 

[Philliefan33]

My Amazon spending in 2018 was $3600 for 98 orders. There were at least two large-ticket items, a laptop and a water filter system for the mountain house that totalled about $800. The rest would be for household consumables, some clothing, some tech gadgets or accessories.

Thirty of those deliveries were to the mountain house. Living there over the summer, it is much more convenient to buy from Amazon because the nearest Staples or Target is a 45 minute drive away.

I love the convenience of shopping from home and having things show up on the doorstep. I don't know if I spend more at Amazon than I would if I went to a store such as Target, but probably not. I think I end up with more impulse buys at a brick & mortar store than I do online.

 

[Another Reader]

My Amazon spending in 2018 was $3600 for 98 orders. There were at least two large-ticket items, a laptop and a water filter system for the mountain house that totalled about $800. The rest would be for household consumables, some clothing, some tech gadgets or accessories.

Thirty of those deliveries were to the mountain house. Living there over the summer, it is much more convenient to buy from Amazon because the nearest Staples or Target is a 45 minute drive away.

I love the convenience of shopping from home and having things show up on the doorstep. I don't know if I spend more at Amazon than I would if I went to a store such as Target, but probably not. I think I end up with more impulse buys at a brick & mortar store than I do online.

Newsflash: All these stores have websites you can shop and will ship your purchases to your door. And their free shipping is actually free and not dependent on whether you are a paying Prime customer. In my case, I wanted to verify that this machine did NOT have a touchscreen so I went to the store.

 

[RobbieB]

I had 62 orders at Amazon in 2018. Plan to order more this year!

 

[rmcelwee]

I know I saw this thread pretty late but I downloaded my spreadsheet and found that it has mistakes. I bought a $21 SSD drive for my wife's computer a week ago and then it had a flash sale for $17 so I bought myself one as well. Both showed up on the spreadsheet as $21.

FWIW, 140 Amazon purchases since 2010 and only 20 of them are above $20. Looks like I have only been buying small things.

 

[tb001]

I know I saw this thread pretty late but I downloaded my spreadsheet and found that it has mistakes. I bought a $21 SSD drive for my wife's computer a week ago and then it had a flash sale for $17 so I bought myself one as well. Both showed up on the spreadsheet as $21.

FWIW, 140 Amazon purchases since 2010 and only 20 of them are above $20. Looks like I have only been buying small things.

Are you looking at the list price or purchase price. On the sheet I downloaded it had two columns. And they don’t account for multiple purchases, so I needed to multiply amount by purchase price to get to true spend.

I also found that some of our amazon spend wasn’t reflected in the file they provide. IIRC, it didn’t include membership fees and a couple of other categories. I spent hours trying to reconcile our amazon spend vs Amex payments to amazon.

 

[rmcelwee]

Are you looking at the list price or purchase price.

Yes, both columns are the same (list = $39.99, purchase = $21.99). The 2nd one was a 24 hr flash sale and I only paid $17.99 for it.

 

[TDub]

I was able to cut mine by 2/3 this year. Somewhere someone started a 2017 Amazon spend thread and I remember I posted something like $6,000-7000 spend...this year $1900


I've used the method of leaving it in the cart 24hours before I purchase it. Even simply overnight is enough to resist the urge.



The downside is only ordering 57 items across only 34 orders, offsetting the now $119/yr adds an additional $2.08 to each item ordered or worse, $3.50 added cost to offset membership fee PER ORDER!+
Starting to rethink the service vs value. None of those items needed to be rush delivered, even if one or two did it would still likely be cheaper than $3.50c
We do use prime but not very often.



Anyone else thinking of cancelling??

Yes, I’m considering it for the exact reasons you listed. We rarely watch Amazon Prime streaming, never use Prime Music, and the quick shipping is a nice-to-have but really not necessary.

I actually think our annual spending would go down if we dropped Prime and weren’t so tempted to hit the easy button every time we thought of something we needed.

Edit to add: But then...we’re LBOM, so does it really hurt to have this nice-to-have during our busy w*rking years?

 

[sgstaley]

houzz?

I haven't bought anything from Amazon since the Instant Pot in 2017 or maybe it was Black Friday 2016. Their prices are too high and lots of items are out of date. I do better comparison shopping through other companies. Chewy, Target, and Staples are among the retailers' boxes that appear on my porch.

I just bought a blanket from a company called houzz. It was $30USD cheaper than on Amazon.com.
I use Chrome browser (when I don't mind being tracked by Google) and use a plug-in called "Wikibuy." It searches the internet for a better price as you peruse the Amazon site, then notifies you of a better price. I would say that it is 90% accurate.