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For me it's not entirely about price, but convenience.
I just search for say "spatula" and up come all the different types.... I never would have seen that type of selection without driving all over town, PLUS there are great comments from people have bought the item. They bring up stuff I would never have thought to ask.
I always joke about the double shopping high.... you get one when you order, and one when it arrives!
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There is really nothing free in the marketplace--let's face it...
But Jeff Bezos can negotiage a better rate out of FedEx than I can for two day shipping
If I font need it that quick I can always choose the later delivery and get bonus money
He gives WalMart a run for the money
The lowest compared to what? I have found ebay to beat their prices on almost everything I buy, which are usually books, ironically enough since they started out as a bookseller, although I always buy used books. I also save money on jewelry and some pet supplies and medicines. Ebay's shipping is much faster, the same day or the next day in most cases. Walmart.com beats their prices on my hygiene items and beauty products...
I buy things on Ebay (have sold some too). Especially - when it comes to buying - soap and shampoo from UK sellers that I can't find here (on Amazon or elsewhere). Also sometimes an "old timey" item to replace something I've broken or has died. Like an old piece of china. Or - most recently - my favorite electric knife (dating back from the 70's).
Overall - the internet is the ultimate world wide mall IMO. Amazon is the multi-thousand pound elephant in the room. But there are many other places to buy various things as well.
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...Totally agree with you on the Costco parking. What a headache! I can't believe my wife still goes there once a week. It has been proven that Prime members tend to spend far more money on Amazon than non Prime members. I wonder if that's just because they feel obligated to shop on Amazon because they are paying to shop there. I'm not saying Prime isn't worth it to you or anyone else. Everyone has a right to choose how to spend their money, but your gift cards, Prime membership purchase, and the one Generator don't really count as an argument for purchasing Prime since they aren't Prime purchases.
We go to Costco once a week or so. The parking isn't so bad - except perhaps for certain days during the recent holiday season. If you're retired - why don't you go with your wife?
I don't feel obligated to buy anything at Amazon because of my prime membership. But I often find it very useful. Like when I needed those small torx screwdrivers. After some research - I found out I needed them to dismantle and destroy about 6 old computer hard drives that I wanted to discard. In all honesty - I got more than my money's worth out of my prime membership just reading the reviews of this kind of product on Amazon - and buying the most highly recommended one. For less than $10. Suppose I could have gone to my local Ace Hardware and tried to have the guy who usually sells fertilizer explain it to me . IOW - I think of Amazon as more than a store - it's a community of users as well.
OTOH - I find other retailers equally impressive. I really like Best Buy these days. It will match Amazon prices. Has free shipping. And you can demo things in bricks and mortar stores. Especially useful when it comes to things like speakers. Robyn
We use amazon prime several times PER WEEK.
I honestly don't know how they can afford all our small free shipping orders.
We're reconnecting our audio and tv setup after switching providers and find we need some small extra connector. After 15 minutes researching options, we found the exact connector we require, priced it out online, found it comparably priced on Amazon for $6 and change and it will be at our door in two days, free shipping. Good deal.
And stuff like this comes up for us all the time. Love it.
We used to buy stuff like that at our local Radio Shack. But now that our Radio Shack is gone - our last purchase was a bundle of a half dozen high quality ethernet cables for peanuts on Amazon Prime. Robyn
I am a pretty new subscriber. I got it mostly for the streaming video/TV/movies. I use it a lot and the shipping thing is a bonus for me. If you average out the cost, it's pretty much the same as Netflix. I didn't get a 'deal' but I know the subscriptions are usually discounted once a year. I will be watching for this!
I haven't subscribed. I put my Amazon orders in chunks of $35+ so I usually qualify for free shipping anyway. That shipping isn't fast, but I rarely need fast. Most of the people I know who are Prime members use the streaming service. I don't really think I need that at the moment (I'm a sports fan and a reader, so that takes up most of my free time.) I spend my membership money at Costco and I know for sure that is financially worth it to me as I buy gas for my car there.
I've come here with questions before, and you guys always answer thoughtfully. When I asked about hearing aids, I got some good advice, with pointers to Costco, and we are going to follow up there after DH has his eye surgery.
But about Amazon Prime: do you have it, and do you like it? Has it been useful to you, and is it worth the up front cost of $100? I know some family members who do use it extensively to buy things. I am not sure about the streaming, but I do know they buy certain things that way. Part of my question concerns pricing. We do pay to shop at Costco, but we have confidence that we aren't paying too much for anything--in fact we feel that we usually we get good deals.
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, do you feel you get good value? It looks like you can buy a multitude of things that way, although not everything in the world.
Any insight about this? Thanks in advance!
I have it and love it....for the streaming video services. I have a Roku. Rokus have channels. One of the channels is Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime has a lot of tv shows and movies that a subscriber can watch for FREE. I LOVE it. Not as much as Netflix, but I love it just the same. Prime and Netflix cost about the same: about $8.50/mo. (Amazon requires payment for 1 yr in advance).
The movies & tv shows it has are a little different from Netflix. It'll have some newer stuff, but still free. Amazon is also producing its own original tv shows, now. There are also a lot of movies/tv shows for fees, of course (I only watch the free stuff, though). Things I've watched on Amazon: The whole Downton Abbey series was on Amazon Prime for free, Interstellar movie, all Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes, etc. Amazon just added a new feature to its video channel: Prime members can now pay like $5 a month to have "add-on" channel subscriptions, like Starz, Showtime, AcornTV, etc.
As for the shopping, I don't find that Prime is a good deal. It used to be, but no more. The reason is because I will buy things marked "Prime," where I get faster shipping and free shipping, because I'm a Prime member, BUT IT'S THE SAME PRICE AS A NON-PRIME MEMBER PAYS WITH SHIPPING. In other words, the "Prime" price might be $20.00 with free shipping, while the non-Prime price is $16.00 with $3.99 shipping cost.
The only advantage of Prime now is that the shipping is faster sometimes.
But since I like the movie/tv channel, I feel the whole thing is a good package.
I don't feel obligated to buy anything at Amazon because of my prime membership. But I often find it very useful. Like when I needed those small torx screwdrivers. After some research - I found out I needed them to dismantle and destroy about 6 old computer hard drives that I wanted to discard. In all honesty - I got more than my money's worth out of my prime membership just reading the reviews of this kind of product on Amazon - and buying the most highly recommended one. For less than $10. Suppose I could have gone to my local Ace Hardware and tried to have the guy who usually sells fertilizer explain it to me . IOW - I think of Amazon as more than a store - it's a community of users as well.
You know you can read reviews without being a Prime member, don't you?
I've come here with questions before, and you guys always answer thoughtfully. When I asked about hearing aids, I got some good advice, with pointers to Costco, and we are going to follow up there after DH has his eye surgery.
But about Amazon Prime: do you have it, and do you like it? Has it been useful to you, and is it worth the up front cost of $100? I know some family members who do use it extensively to buy things. I am not sure about the streaming, but I do know they buy certain things that way. Part of my question concerns pricing. We do pay to shop at Costco, but we have confidence that we aren't paying too much for anything--in fact we feel that we usually we get good deals.
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, do you feel you get good value? It looks like you can buy a multitude of things that way, although not everything in the world.
Any insight about this? Thanks in advance!
Oh good Lord yes. I've had for 3 years at least...pays for itself every year. I buy more on Amazon than any other store.
I like their customer service also. If an order is not correct, they will make sure the customer is taken care of.
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. IOW - I think of Amazon as more than a store - it's a community of users as well.
