Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Bought mine from Wal-Mart. :)

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

:thumbsup:


I love VUDU, so they get my money.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I am amused at the way this ten page, 360-post "Complaining about Amazon" thread has suddenly turned into a "How dare you say anything bad about Amazon" thread.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Once upon a time I was a shopper that constantly compared pricing across various vendors to find the best deal. Then for several years I turned into a primarily Amazon exclusive purchaser for the convenience of one-stop purchasing and their customer service, even though they didn't always have the lowest price. With all these changes geared against non-Prime members I've changed once again. For Blu-Ray/DVD purchases I have consolidated down to two other vendors, computer supplies another vendor and so on.

Last year I spent over $6000 at Amazon using free shipping. This year I am on track to spend an equivalent amount online, but to-date only about $100 has gone to Amazon and that is mostly due to pre-orders from before the changes went into effect. I would hardly call myself an infrequent purchaser and I have no need or interest in Prime. Amazon policy once gained my business almost exclusively and now recent policy changes have lost it. It is Amazon's right to set policy as they see fit, but I doubt their intent was to lose customers that spent $1000's each year. It will be interesting to see if they continue in this fashion all the way to potentially being a members only shopping outlet like Costco or Sam's Club. Only time will tell as to whether these changes prove to be the right move based on whether they gained more Prime members to offset those they lost.

Why So Blu?, no one is questioning that Prime is appealing to many, but for those others they want to vent over these policy changes. If the venting bothers you just ignore/don't read it. It's a byproduct of Amazon's decision and isn't going to go away because you might be irked. I'm betting you have vented from time to time.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Of course. It just seems like we've talked about this before and it repeats itself yet again. That's all. Hell, I used to be anti-Wal-Mart for years until I looked closer at the items and services I was interested in and then made the decision to give them my money. 2-week early windows for new releases, VUDU, lower prices on media, etc. I converted big time.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

People will stir the pot from time to time, but like all things it will pass. I use Amazon to maintain my wish list, and i will purchase from the marketplace when their prices plus shipping are below Amazon. I don't even attempt to make the free shipping anymore. Other than that I just buy elsewhere. It was frustrating initially, but life's too short to worry about things one has no control over, especially when other options exist.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I don't know whether or not you confused me with zyzzle, but the problem is that I very firmly believe that people have the right to their opinions, and should be able to express them. Certainly on matters such as this. AND in a thread such as this. Have you read the thread title? It's specifically for people who want to complain. Have you given any thought to creating a thread titled something like "The praising Amazon thread" and focusing your efforts there?

I think that we all know that you're not bothered. And you have every right to that. That's great. But others can be irked. They have the right to be irked. They have the right to their opinions and should be able to express them. Certainly in a thread like this. It doesn't matter whether or not Amazon will ever hear of it, or change their policies, or anything else.

This is a good indication that you might need a break from reading whatever zyzzle, and perhaps others with whom you disagree, say in this thread. Perhaps avoid the thread itself? Or even the subforum? The forum? Or the entire internet? New posters appear and maybe they want to talk things through for what is the first time for them? Or a new policy is enacted and old posters want to rehash the topic? Maybe they have more time now to discuss existing policies? Or it's affecting them in a way that it didn't before? Whatever. There don't have to be reasons and there shouldn't have to be reasons.

I saw an IMDb board that this reminds me of once. Where an entire group of people had discussed that tv show enough that they had no real interest in doing so any longer, but they also liked each and didn't want to leave. So any discussion of the tv show that that board was for was discouraged (on a good day). That was wrong. So is telling any person who has anything negative to say about Amazon in any way, in a thread specifically for that purpose, that they should quit Amazon and stop posting about it is just as wrong.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Nothing wrong with venting, this is the complaining about Amazon thread afterall. I only felt the need to comment when I see some of the stuff zyzzle throws out acting as though Prime members are sheep and blindly following Amazon.

I think complaining about Prime exclusive items is perfectly valid, especially for a release like Star Wars. I don't really know what Amazon gains by making a title like that Prime only shortly after release, or loses by making it available to everyone.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

What I found interesting about the Prime exclusive concept is what they did with the Peanuts movies. I recall it being about $20 during pre-order, then at release they reduced it to around $15 but made it a Prime exclusive, then after a week they opened it back up to everyone at around $13. What is that about? If I was a Prime member and bought it thinking it was a deal by being exclusive i would have to question Amazon's business practice to immediate reduce it even lower after the exclusive tag was lifted. Doesn't make much sense.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ebook_20160417

Prime now available at $10.99 per month for those who don't want to part with $99 all at once.

If you want streaming video only, it's $8.99/month.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

And it will be $1 cheaper than Netflix's service when they raise their prices next month.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

The new monthly full Prime plan has caught my interest. For my purchasing habits, it will be beneficial for me to purchase one Prime month for mid-November through mid-December. I purchase a lot from Amazon during the Christmas season, so the $10.99 cost should benefit me after two Amazon transactions. In the past, I just used the free trial they offered to my account.

For the rest of the calendar year, I don't purchase anything from Amazon, so the annual membership won't benefit me.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Many Prime and Amazon customers are sheep and Amazon expressly tries to capitalize on this fact... I think you overestimate the average customer's lack of knowledge in money matters and economic sense...

Now, with Amazon offering a "monthly service" for Prime, the cat is really out of the bag, and the elephant's no longer in the room: Amazon is absolutely trying for a monthly pay-as-you-go system, which seems to be the increasingly hip thing for companies to do these days, ie Microsoft, Apple, et al.

It means the most profit (ie, residual, guaranteed, income: profit!) for very little ongoing effort.

Milking us after having weaned us. Smart move, Amazon!

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Fair enough.

It really is a simple concept. I'm sure that a lot of the people that like to bitch and whine (not referring to you MLB) about anything Amazon does will jump on the prime deal for black friday and the holidays. But then again, they will probably just bitch and whine about Amazons "lack" of black friday deals in recent memory.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

We went out to a play on Friday night with some friends and I ordered the movie version of the play on DVDs for them as gifts. Ordered Tuesday and they got to UPS in Minneapolis on Friday morning... I received notice there was a transit delay. Package arrived Monday. Meanwhile, another DVD I ordered in the same order said it would arrive Monday (stock issue) but showed up Saturday.

I don't think it's Amazon's fault but it was a bummer because my friends are from out of town. As for UPS, I wouldn't even begin to know how to lodge a complaint or at leat an inquiry. If I'd known they wouldn't be able to have their DVD that night, I would've just shipped it straight to their homes.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

When were these dvds supposed to arrive? How were they shipped?

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Ordered Tuesday, shipped Wednesday, arrived in town Friday, received notice of delay on Friday, delivered on Monday. Shipped via UPS.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

When were they supposed to arrive? And how were they shipped? Ground, 3-day, etc?

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

-ohbfrank-

And many of us aren't sheep and get more then our money's worth for Prime as I and others have broken down in the last few pages, so again the point is your generalizations are often baseless.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I have no use for Prime and have pretty much taken my business elsewhere, but I have to agree with you about such generalizations that have no basis in fact. It's a poor excuse for trying to make a point.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Certain video games, such as Grand Theft Auto V, will now only be available to Amazon Prime members.

http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/gta_5/...deo_games.html

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

What is Microsoft charging monthly for? XBox Live? Isn't that annually? is there a monthly option? If so.... so? Are you talking about Office 365? Because you can always just buy something like Office 2016 Home and Student and be done with it. Office 365 is an annual (not monthly) subscription, and it includes free upgrades to the latest version of Office, 1TB of OneDrive space, and 60 free Skype minutes per month (and other stuff, but that's the big ones). It's more compelling for me, but it might not be for you. Am I "wrong" somehow?

Amazon's pre-order guarantee.
 

Not a complaint per se, but I had pre-ordered a book which was released April 5th, shipped on the 9th, and arrived on the 11th. Late last night (the 22nd) I was notified and refunded the Pre-order price protection amount of $4.32.

Which seems a lot later than they usually refund, unless I am misremembering?

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I'd ordered an item last Saturday night with the free economy shipping. The delivery window was April 22-27. It entered the "Shipping Soon" stage on Monday, but it sat unchanged all week. It was then updated to "Expected to ship on April 22", but that passed. This morning it changed to "Shipping Today", but nothing had shipped by this evening.

At 10PM, I contacted customer service to ask what was going on. I knew there was no way I'd have the order by April 27 when it hadn't even shipped yet. The told me they discovered "a problem that was preventing your order from shipping", but they had corrected it now. I received a shipping notice three minutes later showing a scheduled delivery for Monday. I guess they just upgraded me to Two-Day shipping to try to speed up the process? Doesn't mention anything on my account page, but they obviously have ways of pushing an order out the door asap.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

I believe orders go "Shipping Soon" so fast to discourage shipping rate changes as well as price matches if an item drops before its actual ship date.

Re: The complaining about Amazon thread
 

Why is it impossible to get proper international shipping from European Amazon sites!? I ordered a couple blu-rays on the 13th from Amazon UK. The 6-10 day shipping option estimated delivery at June, and the 2nd more expensive option is 5-10 days and did the same. I complained and they did the 5-10 day, but it still comes bullshit UPS Mail Innovations (i-parcel). It finally showed up, but it took 3-4 days from the time they created the tracking number to the time they actually handed it over to i-parcel. WTF is that!?!??! If I pay $15 shipping on an order from play-asia or another Japan site I use, I get my order in 4 days!!! Last time I ordered from Amazon JP, I got my order OVERNIGHT. Europe needs to step up their fucking game. What does it take to get proper UPS/FedEx Eco!? Hell, I'd settle for Royal Mail at least. I made another order, and it shipped ASENDIA. What the shit is that!? Grooves inc used to ship German releases ok, but their inventory is lacking compared to Amazon DE.


What I really want to know is why they refuse to ship games to the US, especially now that they're region free anyway this generation! It can't be a legal issue, because I've gotten games from Zavvi, so WTF is it? Another bullshit policy they refuse to change. Just like not being able to actually choose your shipping carrier after all these goddamn years. Amazon DE ships games to the US, but not UK or JP. Assclowns.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

The same could certainly be said for Best Buy! Wish I could corner the market on something I don't like and then pull it away altogether!

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

I can't see them dropping the service altogether. They can just make it their last priority, or go to straight third-party sellers. Just provide the platform and rake in the commissions.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

I consider Amazon an unreliable source for media at this point. I have ordered a number of items in the recent past that ended up being cut-outs with slash marks through the bar code, repackaged and/or damaged goods. Unless it is a relatively new release, purchasing is a gamble. Yes, you can return and ask for replacement if you can understand the accent of the CSR—but do it enough times and they won't let you order any longer. I will only order from them when its something I just can't pass up—and that's rare these days. I will occasionally order from marketplace sellers because I can ask them specific questions about the items they are selling. But Amazon is no longer my primary source for media. I consider paying $100 for Prime a joke. That's my opinion and others may disagree. But I find their practices akin to extortion. I have no doubt that they sit on product for days when you elect "free shipping" even when it's in stock. That does not sit well with me and I think they have grown way too big for their own good. Just like Walmart, I try to avoid Amazon whenever I can shift purchases away from them. I look forward to reading future articles in the business journals heralding their decline—mark my words, it's coming.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

I think the studios and media suppliers have given Amazon far too much power as the de facto sole retailer for many niche labels. There are no healthy alternatives left to compete with Amazon. Brick and mortar stores stopped servicing the bottom 80% of the media market, which gives Amazon monopoly pricing power and the attendant service that goes along with a monopoly.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

What labels are you referring to? As far as I can see, Best Buy carries all the same movies as Amazon. I've never come across anything I want that Amazon has and Best Buy doesn't, unless of course it's an Amazon exclusive (which are rare fortunately).

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

If we're talking BB B&M vs. Amazon...

You must like a lot of the mainstream stuff more. Otherwise... I don't know the BB site much. It's an iffy site too.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

Why would anyone compare a B&M to Amazon (an online store) without taking into account the B&M's website as well? That makes no sense to me.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

I haven't had that experience.

I think it's always been pretty clear that if you're ordering free shipping, your stuff won't ship right away. Pay for two-day shipping (or Prime) or wait for free shipping--that's not a conspiracy theory.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

Well, you are fortunate. I recently received three cut-out titles that they distributed on behalf of a third party seller. Nowhere was it indicated that these items were inferior or marred in some way.

No , you are incorrect. It's not as you put it, "a conspiracy theory," it's their practices. I'm speaking from many years of experience. In the past, when I ordered DVDs, HD DVDs and then Blu-rays from Amazon, this was never the case. In fact, one of the reasons I never found it necessary to pay for "prime" was that things arrived quick enough for my needs. So this policy change is fairly new and it's basically extortion. They offer "free shipping" as long as you purchase $50 in merchandise—presently double most other online retailers—okay, fine. But to sit on product that is "in stock" for many days with no good reason other than to motivate you to pay for "prime" is a joke. They don't want my business any longer—that's quite okay with me—there are far better sellers in the marketplace and buying direct from individual distributors tends to be a better experience overall. In my opinion, Best Buy and, believe it or not, Deep Discount do a far better job in servicing their customers. In fact, I get rewards from Best Buy and as an "elite member," fast, free shipping. I've shifted my purchasing to Best Buy because they appreciate my business and they do not charge me for the pleasure of buying from them. This is a "prime" example why it's better to spread your money around. Buy from the retailer with good pricing—not the SOBs who simply price match when prompted. Why people continue to be apologists for Amazon's shoddy practices is beyond me.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

Were they "and Fulfilled by Amazon" or were they simply third party sellers? I have had problems sometimes from third party sellers, but not when "Fulfilled by Amazon."

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

I'll agree that the Amazon of today isn't what it once was but I think overall they're still decent. I know with pricing they were once more competitive and would often price match preemptively rather than us having to ask. Overall I think they still price things decently though. I haven't had many issues with my items arriving in good shape either. I received one of my Scream Factory Blu-ray's last week and the plastic on the actual case is torn and will have to be replaced but that's not a common thing for me. I guess also aside from this last Scream Factory sale I haven't had issues with my items shipping either. The stuff I ordered in the last sale was marked out of stock when I ordered so while a tad irritating I knew beforehand that it may be a while.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

Other than the shipping (which is a total rip off in most cases) & the sales tax (which they have no control over), I'm still ok with Amazon.

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

Third-party seller can be a different experience from Amazon direct. :shrug:

So you're telling me I'm incorrect because I don't know what your personal experience has been? What the fuck ever, dude. Before I got Prime I would place my orders via free shipping, and I'd wait a few days before they shipped. That was supposedly to prioritize paid and Prime shipping, but I wasn't in a rush so I didn't care. Now if you were getting the equivalent of two-day shipping without paying for it, then that's great. And if they suddenly changed their policy for you, so now they're the devil, I say whatever. :shrug:

Re: Amazon discounts and deals on Blu-ray
 

About 1/3 of 3rd Party items fulfilled by Amazon have been crap ime. "Factory Sealed" without any shrinkwrap at all, or clearly sliced open, etc. Always that way. I just dispute, return, and get refunded.

With Free Shipping based on whatever the minimum orders are, then it currently takes a few days to a couple weeks for me. Has been that way for a couple years, before that they briefly experimented with taking a month or more.