Roy28

I'm about to place an order for 3 box sets from Amazon (Sex and the City 4, Frasier and Cheers). In the past I've always used the free shipping and have gotten everything in a reasonable amount of time - the orders usually sit in limbo for a few days, but only take about 3 - 4 days to get here after they actually ship.

In this case, since box sets count as one title, upgrading to standard shipping would only cost around $5. When you choose standard shipping, do they actually ship it faster, or is there really no difference? Would standard shipping go out by Priority mail, or would they still use media mail?

Thanks for any info.

Roy

eau

So far all my Amazon orders were shipped free and arrived here pretty fast. They were usually sitting in limbo for a couple of days and then 3-4 days for USPS to do its job. They were mostly shipped by media mail. Sometimes by priority mail when the orders were expensive (like a $50 boxset). Anyway, media mail and priority mail take the about same time for me. The fastest I got was when I placed two orders on 4/8 and they arrived on 4/12.

I guess if you don't mind waiting for an extra 1 or 2 days, then save your $5 and go for the free shipping.

NitroJMS

I'm made multiple orders with each and never noticed a significant difference between the two. Some of my more expensive free shipping items like my Buffy box sets even came by UPS.

Variable697

I used free shipping on the Truffaut box set and it came a week after I ordered it. I was pretty satisfied.

kitkittykat

I think the big difference is that with standard shipping the order will be shipped out within 24 hours after you placed the order as long as it isn't around Christmas time or the item is one that doesn't typically ships in 24 hours. The last time I paid for standard shipping the item was sent out within 12 hours instead of the 2 to 4 day wait that is typical with the free shipping. Be aware it can take longer at Christmas time. It took amazon up to two weeks to get around to one of my free shipping orders just because it was Christmas time. All my items were the type that were suppose to ship in 24 hours. I called them on it. They told me they were shipping everything out first that wasn't free shipping, and that is why it took so long.

I also noticed with free shipping the type of item you order makes a difference on how fast it arrives. When I order large or heavy kitchen items they are shipped UPS ground which is actually fairly quick. When I order books or CDs they are sent either media mail or standard which takes a few days longer than UPS. For me as long as the item is in stock ( states in description "usually ships in 24 hours" ) it takes only a week after I order it to get it by UPS and about 1-1/2 weeks when it is sent by postal