Has Amazon Prime been blowing it for you lately? (buying, live)

[timberline742]

Who cares about packaging being dinged? It's going to be thrown out / recycled anyway.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Makes me wonder if USPS taking that contract was due to them needing the money, or Amazon throwing them a big enough bone they couldn't say no.

It's a bit of both. Negotiated Service Agreements for the USPS are nothing new when it comes to their largest customers. They must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission. Much of that junk mail that clogs our mailboxes pays a postal rate below even bulk mail rates.

Originally Posted by wror

Try the alternative and see how that goes for ya. Walmart

I'd put Walmart in the same camp as Amazon. They are a big box retailer driving local businesses out. If anyone will challenge Amazon's distribution model it is Walmart.

I do try and patronize alternatives when possible. We are fortunate to have several excellent book and toy stores in Cambridge that are price competitive, and willing to special order. In terms of hardware type items, it is challenging. When my local store has a price upwards of 40% over what I can get on Amazon, I just can't pay the tax. I find the same with pet supplies and food. Amazon does get a lot of my business in terms of electronics. It's touch to beat their combination of price and hassle free returns. Also, there isn't really anywhere local to buy this stuff. Best Buy already helped kill off the Mom & Pops. In terms of shoes, I am guilty of looking only online at Zappos/Amazon. In general I am willing to pay a tax to shop local, but when the price difference creeps beyond 10% it gets tough to justify.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by GeePee

I don't mind these types of places going down. It's when they encroach into more localized services that i get a little concerned.I'm not sure if they still do it, but I recently ssaw them pushing house cleaning.

The house cleaning, installation services, etc. is just a service where Amazon is acting as a middle man. Local companies sign up to get the leads and pay Amazon for it.

Originally Posted by wror

Try the alternative and see how that goes for ya. Walmart

Bought an auto light bulb. The package was crushed
Bought a coffee maker. The coffee maker package had a 3 inch dent in the side. The maker was either a display or a previous return.
Bought a TV, looked like someone took a broom stick and plugged a hole into the box.
Than 2 1/2 3 weeks waits on items
Than if you search for say household lights or something, books or cat5 cables might come up on the search.

Amazon Rocks!

WalMart is the WORST. I avoid the place at all costs. I bought a halloween costume there for my kid this year and my wife didn't like it. I don't find myself near WalMart often so it wasn't until the day after halloween that I was able to return it. I didn't have my receipt so they tried to offer me 1/3 of what I paid because it was now on clearance. Meanwhile, every other store on the planet can look up your receipt in the blink of an eye. After some complaining they were able to get a manager over and he somehow looked up my receipt but it was a slow and awkward process to do so.

Originally Posted by porterhouse

It's a bit of both. Negotiated Service Agreements for the USPS are nothing new when it comes to their largest customers. They must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission. Much of that junk mail that clogs our mailboxes pays a postal rate below even bulk mail rates.

That's a service offered by USPS called "Every Door Direct Mail" or EDDM for short. It's not a negotiated rate. It's a service that USPS offers. The mail piece needs to meet certain size requirements to participate and the piece needs to go to every household on the carrier's route. So, I'm guessing they see some savings on the simplified processing of this mail which they pass along to the person mailing the piece.

https://www.usps.com/business/every-...irect-mail.htm

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I do try and patronize alternatives when possible. We are fortunate to have several excellent book and toy stores in Cambridge that are price competitive, and willing to special order. In terms of hardware type items, it is challenging. When my local store has a price upwards of 40% over what I can get on Amazon, I just can't pay the tax. I find the same with pet supplies and food. Amazon does get a lot of my business in terms of electronics. It's touch to beat their combination of price and hassle free returns. Also, there isn't really anywhere local to buy this stuff. Best Buy already helped kill off the Mom & Pops. In terms of shoes, I am guilty of looking only online at Zappos/Amazon. In general I am willing to pay a tax to shop local, but when the price difference creeps beyond 10% it gets tough to justify.

I do try and shop local at times, but I agree with you that sometimes the price difference can be significant and it's hard to justify that. Also, sometimes I just don't have the time.

[GeePee]

As far as pricing goes. I have found that mostly a quick google search will yield cheaper results to a lot of the stuff Amazon has. It's then i have to assess if the price of shipping and time door to door is worth the cost savings. I would have to say that I have chosen other online retailers in about 40% of my recent online purchases. I remember when i first became a prime member in 2009 and I would literally get packages just to test their shipping claims. They almost always astounded me with their speed and reliability. I wouldn't even consider using another online retailer back then. Not so much these days. I do really like their Prime Kindle free books, and TV streaming. the customer service is always top notch too, so I cannot justify canceling. But it's nice to know they do have some real competition

[GeoffD]

So how do you claim a free month of Prime when something shows up late? Now that Prime is $100, it's worth it if it's only a couple mouse clicks.

[BostonMike7]

I'd say my biggest rival to my use of Amazon...is Ebay.


Usually before I hit click on Amazon, I stroll on ebay and see if someone has the item cheaper. Usually I can find it a bit cheaper with free or cheap shipping. I lose out on speed of delivery but sometimes it doesn't matter. I've had no issues with not getting something, and have returned a few items or had them replaced without hassle.


Now, I wouldn't order something like a major piece of electronics from a non-name Ebay seller. Items I would buy are cheaper items I don't intend to ever need a warranty for. For instance, my kid requested a specific lego kit for his bday. I check Amazon, and check Ebay and find it's $5 cheaper new from a seller there. No tax either. Shipping might take a week...but if I plan ahead of time this is rarely an issue.


I hate to say it, but other than home improvement stores, or other niche items, I rarely visit retail stores these days.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

So how do you claim a free month of Prime when something shows up late? Now that Prime is $100, it's worth it if it's only a couple mouse clicks.

Contact Amazon via phone or chat (https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us/). They purposely bury that link. I prefer chat as I find some of their offshore reps can be tedious to communicate with. I find it most effective to contact them once something is late using a 'where is my stuff' inquiry. You can simply tell them you pay for Prime for 2 day guaranteed delivery and ask if they can extend your membership to compensate for the missed service commitment. I have never had an issue; once or twice they had to ask a supervisor. I usually will pull up a chat when I am listening on a business conference call, or doing something else where I can multitask. It's a pretty easy process. The last time I paid for Prime was January 2017, and my next renewal is now July 2018 so it is a decent savings.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

ask if they can extend your membership to compensate for the missed service commitment

I don't think I've ever even had to ask. When I complain that my shipment is late they usually offer me a free month or a $5 courtesy credit. I had a package that was supposed to arrive right before Christmas and because of the delay it was arriving after Christmas. They gave me a $20 credit in that case.

I agree with you 100%. They really make it hard to find the page where you can contact a customer service rep.

[CaseyB]

My package was shipped around 1 PM today and it's already at the Stoughton warehouse! I guess I'll be getting it tomorrow then.

It's good to know that complaining is worth it.

[wror]

Without exactly checking, over the years i have ordered about 75 items from Amazon. They have never messed up an order and i have been 100% satisfied with items i bought.
Plus you get Amazon Prime video, better than Netflix and Hulu combined.