drq2

Amazon Prime, is it worth it? Right now I am trying it and for the most part I think so. As long as I buy more to save me in tax then it cost. Or does it get old and you go back to shopping at the stores?

Trevor

I don't understand this part. You "save" on tax even if you order everything on Amazon but don't have Prime. And you don't really save in either case, since tax is required to be paid in any event in most states. But I digress...

To me, it's a very simple equation. How much would you pay in amazon shipping if you didn't have Prime?

I only order about 12 things a year where shipping would not be free, as I almost always total $25 or more (where shipping is free anyway). Those 12 orders at ~$3 each equals $36. Prime is not worth it to me.

Unless slightly faster shipping is worth anything to you, just do the math. How often do you make small orders? It takes about 27 normal $2.99 charges before the normal $79 fee would save you any money.

PopcornBandit

I actually just started my Prime membership after debating for a couple of days . I don't regret it thus far. And free two-day shipping and release day delivery is pretty sweet.

drq2

Yes it's $79 a year. The major problem I have even if I get the free shipping or the cheapest shipping they have to offer is. I have to go to the PO and stand in line for no less then a hour. The PO here is trying and making a statement. You will WAIT. That a side. I have seem to really like the idea of it coming to my house, not having to drive a 40 mins, wait another hour (has been more then 2 and sometime less then 30mins).

I have ran into some great deals where it was worth it for me to hit the buy button. Then again I never buy anything on sale to save money to buy other items to save that money (IE: Free Shipping over $25.00 when I really only wanted one thing at $9.49).

fumanstan

Saving on tax is a big reason why I do a lot of purchases on Amazon. Prime on top of that is great because of the fast shipping, especially for someone that likes getting movies and what not on release day. Being able to share the Prime membership with family members is a nice bonus to to help split the cost.

And yeah, the convenience of having to not hunt for other stuff to buy to get you to the free shipping mark is nice. I've ordered tons of one-off purchases like movies and comic books in my Gold Box in the $10-20 range without having to think about it.

dx23

By the way, if you are a student or have a university email, you can get Amazon Prime free for a year.

EdTheRipper

I've had Prime for a few years now and love it. This is actually my third year with it. I definitely get my money's worth with it. Here's how my ordering breaks down annually.

2005: 4 orders
2006: 3 orders
2007: 12 orders
2008: 69 orders
2009: 56 orders
2010: 35 orders (as of 7/25)

Notice a trend? With prime, I have no qualms about placing single item orders because I know the shipping isn't costing a thing.

jjcool

32 orders so far this year.
33 in 2009
7 in 2008

Definitely changed my buying habits. Totally worth it for me, as I only paid $40 for prime, split with a family member. Getting free 2 day shipping is great, and receiving stuff on release day can't be beat. Couple that with good prices, and not having to worry about a minimum you need to reach and it is a no brainer.

drq2

I'm not really sure on who much I spent before or how many orders. But so far this month I have order or on their way about 73 order. One thing I have been buying a lot of single items. If it was not the prime I would have only about 10 if that much.

I was putting a computer together last week. Beside the prices being really great they had a i7-980 for $289.99 WTF!!!! hit buy send, yup it was the right one. That by itself is worth Prime (The money I saved).

I also have had some big things come and go back. It was nice to have them at my door step.

Viper187

I rather enjoy Prime. I'm an impatient person. I hate their free shipping policy that allows things to wait days before being shipped, and I really don't like USPS anymore. I definitely order more being able to get the fast, free shipping with no minimum order. I don't know if I want to pay the $80 again in October or not because I intend to move in the spring and will have less money. I'm tempted to do it one more year anyway though. It paid for itself last year at Xmas time alone. Every time a deal popped up I ordered. No worries about shipping cost adding to the bill or hitting the $25 mark. I just wish UPS would start delivering on Saturday everywhere. It's stupid they don't. The occasional FedEx delivery on Saturday is always nice though. Problem is the FedEx idiots were refusing to come in my driveway last winter, even on the same day UPS brought me something else and had no problem making it in here. Yes, it's a 1700 foot driveway. Yes, it's covered in snow. Deal with it. I still think all mail and parcel delivery should be 7 days a week by now. It's 2010 for christ sakes. Why won't people come off this Sunday shit? It's bad enough when a holiday falls on a Sunday and the pricks take Monday off too.

drq2

Did I read that right you said "Comic Books"?

hindolio

im not trying to be a smarty pants, but with prime you dont have to go to the post office? you mean because its sent ups?

so any regular bulky mail, you do have to go to the post office? yikes!

drq2

UPS and Fedex comes to my home, US Mail that one is a joke. All this woman does is bitch $46,000 a year (its a route). Hmmm

Yes I have to go to the post office for everything but my reg mail.

Superdaddy

My wife and I easily receive over 100 packages a year from amazon, maybe 120-130 is more like it. We have been Prime members for four years. Yes, we get a lot of small orders which helps defray the cost, but even if all we did was place larger ones we'd probably still pay for Prime.

I like the release-day delivery for my books, CDs, DVDs, and BDs. We also like knowing, with 99% certainty, when something will arrive as we buy a lot more than media on amazon. Household items, baby formula, etc...

We both work full-time, have two kids, and do 90% of ALL our shopping on the internet. I literally go to stores for anything maybe once a month, if that. I actually felt strange walking into a Best Buy yesterday...haven't been in one in a year or two. If we bought everything in stores that we get from amazon, we'd probably spend more in gas than the $79 membership fee.

So in determining if Prime is for you, there are different factors to consider: can you defray the cost by making small orders? If not, does the convenience of faster delivery help out your lifestyle, or do you just want it for a luxury? (There is nothing wrong with that; like I said my wife and I would probably keep our membership no matter what).

If you think these things are worth $79 a year, go for it. If not, stick with FSSS.

tdoane78

It saves me money, anything to keep my wife from going to Target for "one thing" and leaving with "$100+ worth of things" :-)

-Tim

fumanstan

Yes. Lately trade sets, which are always a few bucks off retail price.

hindolio

if that is the case, and if you do purchase a lot from amazon, id say it might be well worth just the time and frustration going prime.

a po box is prolly not an option i guess since that itself will cost more than prime. that is, unless you order a lot online.

sorry, but your situation just kinda sucks

fujishig

The problem with Prime is... that I now spend way more on Amazon than I ever did before Prime.

bunkaroo

If your packages get delivered via UPS or Fedex, it is worth it.

Unfortunately, they have taken to using dishonest couriers from many areas including mine (Chicago suburbs).

I went through this with them last summer after being a Prime member for almost 3 years. Like many of you, I was spending a ton with Amazon and did all my media and holiday shopping with them. Then they started using A-1 Courier who would subcontract out to shady couriers. Look up the threads on A1 - quite the eye opener.

A month or two ago one of our members here who lives further south in the suburbs reported he was receiving is Prime packages via UPS. I was hoping this meant Amazon finally got the hint. They didn't.

I signed up for the free 1-year subscription for students to see if things had changed. I get my ship notices yesterday, and the shipping method is listed as ENSENDA. Great, another shipper I never heard of. On the plus side their site was better than A1's, and the tracking worked.

So about a half an hour ago both packages show Delivered. Well there no knock on the door or doorbell ring, and a thorough search of the house's exterior and mailbox revealed no packages.

I called Ensenda, who then transferred me to a company called United Delivery Service ( didn't know I was being transferred to another company until I heard the hold message). I proceed to tell the person who answered, who sounds like one woman working in a small office judging by the greeting, that I have two Amazon packages marked as delivered and I was sent to her company. She tries to transfer me to their Amazon "specialist", but I stop her and ask if I am being sent to voicemail.

She says she's not sure if the girl I need to talk to is there. I reply it doesn't matter that it's Amazon - I have two packages that one of their drivers claims were delivered, and they weren't, so please get a hold of the driver. I go on hold and a few minutes later she tells me he's walking them up to the door now. Of course I ask if it's customary for their drivers to scan packages as delivered when they have not been delivered. She says it wasn't that big of a difference between the scan time and the delivery time. Wow. I politely told her I disagree and I will make sure to let Amazon know what their practices are in this regard.

So their goes Prime again. I would warn anyone in the west burbs of Chicago especially to think twice about using Prime, This UDS place has a location in Addison so they like cover a fairly decent radius from there if they cover Naperville. Meanwhile our member in the south burbs was probably out of their range and spared.

dsa_shea

If I can spend 79 bucks a year and save myself a couple of visits to the slow as shit post office while getting my stuff in two days it is well worth it. I signed up in April and will likely renew when next April rolls around. I hated being home when the postman came to deliver a package and rather than having him come to the door and see if I'm home he would instead leave me a notice forcing me to go to the painfully slow Post Office. Instead UPS and Fedex comes and just throws the shit on my porch and I'm happy as hell.

dsa_shea

I wonder if you had not called if you would have ever seen those packages. They could just claim that they set them on your porch and leave it to you to file a claim.

MJG87

I will only ever pay for Prime again if they drop the dumb tax rule in NYC. Newegg has done it so why can't Amazon?

bunkaroo

Exactly. The guy did not seem happy when he dropped them off. At the very least his dispatch knows the shenanigans he pulled - if they even care.

RoadToPerdition

I've had Prime for 2 or 3 years now and, as most of you probably know, when you place an order, it defaults to "FREE Two-Day Shipping" and to ship the items separately for faster shipping. I've never had this happen before and don't particularly mind it in this case, but I just received two completely separate orders in the mail today in the same package. They were placed several days apart. I find this kind of strange. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you think Amazon will start doing this to cut back on costs? It's kind of the point of having Amazon Prime, so that the orders ship out individually as soon as possible...

Nth Power

It seems to be hit or miss with these couriers depending on the area. Maybe I've been lucky, but I've gotten ONTRAC courier a handful of times here in Southern California and I haven't had a problem yet. The packages actually get to me next day instead of two-day which is nice, but I'm still more comfortable with UPS or FedEx. That said, I've never had any problems with any Prime shipment (and I've had a lot) other than the rare one that gets held up for some reason, so it's totally worth it for me.