Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Now with $35 minimum for free shipping (for those of us who don't have Prime) it'll be even harder to find enough stuff to buy to get free shipping.

Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

WTF. When did this happen?

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

As of yesterday, according to their site.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Well, fuck.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

No wonder. I was too tired to figure out why my order last night didn't qualify for free shipping. I left everything in the cart and went to bed. Looks like I'll be holding out now til the BF deals start. I guess they're trying to push more and more shoppers to try the Amazon Prime service.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

+1

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I would also expect the cost of Prime to go up in the near future, possibly before Black Friday.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Well, that's a big bucket of suck. It's gonna cause a HUGE decline in my impulse purchasing, which is better for my wallet if not my id.

Prime just doesn't appeal to me. 80 bucks a year for two-day shipping isn't enticing when I was getting five-day shipping for free. And Machete don't stream.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Damn! That royally blows! I have Prime now (well, my Dad does, so I'm enjoying his benefits) but he wasn't planning on renewing. Now he just might...

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

It'd be nice if they keep it at $80 and the $35 minimum is a way to entice people into Prime.

Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

I had Prime for a several months. Sometime last year they had a deal where if you signed on for a trial of Prime you got a sizable discount from your order (and you could cancel before the trial ran out). I ended up paying the $80 and seeing how much I liked it. While 2-day shipping was nice, their regular "free" shipments to me always came quick too (often just 2-3 days). I wasn't impressed with the streaming selection (Netflix is much better IMO, and its hard to justify paying for both). The whole thing didn't seem worth it to me.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Well that sucks, I guess it's time to get Prime.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I'm still riding out the student prime membership, but will pay the full membership once it expires. With the free (mostly) 2 day shipping and the prime videos, I think it's worth it. I also don't have cable or Netflix, so not paying for those services helps with the cost of prime. Also, no sales tax for me :)

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I must have just got in under the wire for the $25 free shipping. Late Monday night I was looking at a CD ($23) to buy and it was out of stock. Clicked on the "5 New From..." page and it came up with an Amazon store listing but it said free shipping with $35 purchase. Went back to the main page (which still said $25 free shipping) and added it there along with a $5 item from my wish list and got the free shipping.
I'm considering getting a new Kindle around Thanksgiving which automatically gives you a month of free Prime shipping (which would last through Christmas). When that runs out I'll have to make a decision on whether to bite the bullet and pay for Prime. Having a minimum order for free shipping has saved me a lot of money because it cuts down on my impulse buying. I'm hoping they offer some kind of deal for new Kindle owners to keep Prime at the end of the month trial.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Yes free shipping with $35 and now have to pay TAX.

This is why I always want B & M stores like Best Buy, Fry's etc to stay in business - so there is a decent pressure on Amazon.

Now more and more B & M stores are matching Amazon online pricing ( if it sold by Amazon not 3rd party) I just bought small (work) projector from Best Buy and they happily matched the Amazon price - no calling manager nothing.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I was a student prime member, and I got in on the thing where they offered you the ability to extend up to 4 years for $40 per year, but the first year just expired, and now they want proof of enrollment to extend it.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Yeah, Amazon is gonna start charging tax for my state on 11/1, since we're opening a new distribution center late next year. I think they should wait until it opens before charging tax. I'm highly bummed about this...

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Well if they already have an office and/or some type of presence in the state, they get to charge you now.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

They don't, yet... But they may have started construction on the building, so I guess that's enough...

Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Looks like Amazon just bumped up the free shipping threshold to $35. That's what I'm seeing clicking through a few items today. If anyone's posted this before, feel free to delete this.

re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

It's been talked about in several other existing Amazon threads, including the BD Bargains one. Probably better suited for discussion here, though.

I'm disappointed, but I'm not as upset as others seem to be. With every retailer, I evaluate total cost (tax, shipping, gas/travel) when making a purchase. Certainly this means I'm less likely to purchase things on occasion from Amazon, especially if I don't have multiple items allowing me to reach the $35 threshold. I'm still happy to have a free shipping option, especially when it's usually a very quick service and I'm rarely in a hurry to receive the things I order.

re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

It's in the general amazon thread in this subforum.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

As one who has paid taxes on Amazon longer than I can remember, it's not that big a deal once you realize your packages start arriving faster with a distribution center in your state. I have Prime and depending on when I order, sometimes I get things the next day.

It's a trade off, but I still save time and gas going to a store and dealing with moronic employees.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Another bargain thread derailed...

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Ergo, Amazon is no longer a bargain. QED.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Post a deal and get it back on track instead of adding fuel to the fire.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

They started charging sales tax by me last September when construction on their distribution center out here started. It didn't open until last month.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Here in Indiana, our Governor in 2007 struck a deal with Amazon - open a distribution center here and we'll hold off on doing anything about sales tax. Amazon now has five centers in Indiana including Amazon's larges in the US just 30 miles north of Indy. Well, times have changed, an the deal was revisited this year. The State House pushed through legislation to rescind the waiver, but the State Senate delayed action. Our new Governor and Amazon came to a comporomise - no tax through the end of 2013, but starting in 2014 Amazon will collect sales tax on in-state purchases.

So we'll be paying 7% more come 1/1/14. But with so many local warehouses stuff ordered here shows up extremely fast. The tax is/was inevitable, but because we had the waiver for 7 years we got and will continue to benefit.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Indiana has had a use tax for several years. Yes, this will force people to pay sales tax but you were supposed to report it on your income taxes anyway. :shrug:

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Lots of states have Use Tax, but most people don't bother paying it.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I definitely subscribe to the full-cost model. Time is money and dealing with clowns and lines and returns has a 'hassle cost' to it as well. On top of that, with my purchases, Prime is a complete no-brainer of a decision.

Over time, I do get the sense that *some* folks aren't Prime members because they can't afford the upfront cost of the program. I sympathize. However, for those folks, the more obvious question becomes ... isn't there better things to be doing with their hard-earned cash than purchasing DVDs and the like?

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

Well, maybe they can afford DVD's and the like right up until an $80 surcharge is added to the cost.

As I've said before, Prime doesn't offer anything to me. I was happy with the free shipping and I don't stream (and there doesn't appear to be anything on Amazon or Netflix that would entice me to). So all the extra $80 would do is lessen whatever deals I was getting.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Prime seems like a no brainer to me. I happen to split it with two other people, so I only pay around $30 a year. Big thing for me is not having to build an order to get free shipping. I can jump on these bargains as they are posted and not worry about having to have filler items ready to go. Makes their Black Friday shopping even easier.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

No doubt.

I don't want to make this into any deal, but you're making my point. If someone is THAT close to what they "can afford" they really are completely kidding themselves on their budget. Again, too many people are simply operating paycheck to paycheck with too much personal consumption in the mix. There, I said it.

Re: Amazon Blu-ray Discounts and Deals Thread #5
 

I love Prime - worth it, imo!

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

It's an extra eighty bucks that they can't spend on actual product in exchange for slightly faster shipping. It doesn't seem very practical to me, regardless of one's budget.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Each to his own. In my case, it's nice to get something delivered before another week on the road. Also, as mentioned, individual deals become individual deals not dependent on finding something else for the order or mucking up Black Friday opportunities. I also enjoy the free offerings in Amazon Video. But, again, perhaps neither the purchase of Prime or DVDs (to the degree some seem to be buying them) should be in the mix for some.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Mark me as another Prime subscriber who really values the service. It's cheap for what it is - I tend to overnight or 2 day online purchases anyway. Sometimes overnight/same day service has been a life saver or just convenient.

Have netflix, but Prime video is a little bit of icing and also, Kindle lending library is great.

Death and taxes, folks. I took advantage of that no tax stuff while I could too, but it's not something worth complaining about. You aren't entitled to not pay them were applicable.

Does this mean that the add on item threshold will raise to $35? That would be a bummer. I use Amazon for a lot of my household items because I can get them much cheaper than in the city.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

While I'm disappointed, prices do inevitably go up, so I'm not surprised that Amazon eventually raised their free shipping point by $10. Probably 2/3 or more of my orders cost more than that anyway, so it's still something I can work with.

Concerning Amazon Prime, transit time is just not my main concern. As long as it arrives intact, that's usually good enough. (I've sometimes waited 8-9 weeks for European purchases.) A "Prime Light" that offered XX free shipments of my choosing for a lesser fee could be intriguing, but $80 for Prime seems like wasted money. What I've love infinitely more is an annual $25 fee that magically makes all Marketplace and Fulfilled by Amazon sellers grade and describe their products 100% honestly, according to my standards. Being able to place an order, knowing up front exactly what's arriving, would be a huge time saver and well worth the cost.

Re: Amazon raised free shipping minimum to $35
 

Factor that $80 against all the crap that you dont really need that you get to bump your orders over the free shipping threshold, how much you spend on shipping in a year for orders that arent over the free shipping order threshold, and the deals that you miss out on because you are trying to piece an order together to get free shipping. When it was $80 a year, that was less than $7 in shipping a month. That's somewhere between one and two orders a month with shipping.