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Old 04-27-2018, 10:45 PM
 
164 posts, read 117,841 times
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I wish there was an alternative.
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Old 04-28-2018, 05:33 AM
 
Location: NNJ
15,026 posts, read 9,995,810 times
Reputation: 17159
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe View Post
But, this is where they trick you. The price seems cheap, but the price actually includes shipping.

So, if you can order online and pick up in store from say Walmart or Home Depot, you'll save a LOT of money.

Nobody ships anything for free. And a $10/month membership fee that supposedly includes unlimited free shipping is a hoax.

Take the time to comparison shop between the actual cost of an item at somewhere besides Amazon, and the actual shipping cost or the option to pick up in store - and you'll discover that Amazon isn't such a great deal after all.

Then, look at how Amazon nickels and dimes you on everything, such as movies you want to watch, that aren't included in Prime, and shows you want to watch that require a subscription to Starz, or whatever, and then look at how much you would spend if you just paid for that subscription separately without an Amazon membership - and you'll discover that Amazon isn't cheaper.

People have just become lazy. They still assume that Amazon is the best deal out there, but they're wrong.

People really need to be afraid of companies who want a complete monopoly of every service you need. This is scary. Beyond just a monopoly on say, gasoline. This is a new conundrum for this era, and we need to be really careful about letting it happen.
You are not factoring the value of time and gas. Factoring in wear and tear on vehicle, its even more favorable. I have done the calculation and do the comparison, its still a savings. You also have access to more competing brands so you can have a more favorable balance between price and quality.

I am essentially outsourcing the task to spend more time doing the things i want to do... like spending time with family.

As for movies.... If you access premium channels or movies anywhere else, you would be paying for those as well... if i paid those seperately, instead of Amazon, i would end up spending more on shipping, time and gas. My time alone is worth more than access to movies and premium channels. I dont watch much tv nor movies anyways.

For home repair maintenance tasks, i go to my local hardware store. About 2 miles away. Closer, everthing is there, and the smaller footprint means i am in and out quickly. Find myself going back and forth on those tasks....

Even at a low wage you are trading in 1 to 2 hours of work a month for several hours a month making trips and shopping at stores.


If i recall, the last increase was back in 2013. Most goods and services from any other company do experience an increase of price over that time period. They did not have a mass exodus when they went from 79 to 99 back then.

You also dont realize that amazin is a marketplace that hosts many sellers... so even within Amazon.com there is competition.

Last edited by usayit; 04-28-2018 at 06:07 AM..
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Old 04-28-2018, 05:52 AM
 
Location: NNJ
15,026 posts, read 9,995,810 times
Reputation: 17159
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundaydrive00 View Post
Do you mean between different households?
Its one prime membership per family. To help my low income friends, i use my membership to order stuff for them and ship directly to their address. They use their own nonprime account and create public wish lists which i have added to my account. They text me, i take all the items they list and put in an order...
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Old 04-28-2018, 05:59 AM
 
Location: NNJ
15,026 posts, read 9,995,810 times
Reputation: 17159
Quote:
Originally Posted by GolfingCat View Post
I wish there was an alternative.
I agree...

Btw, Globally, Alibaba will surpase Amazon within the next couple years in terms of size and valuation. Its just a ,atter of time before they start competing here as well. If you think Amazon is agressive..... we havent seen anything yet.
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Old 04-28-2018, 06:14 AM
 
Location: NNJ
15,026 posts, read 9,995,810 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Columbia Scientist View Post
I was planning on letting mine expire before they announced the rate hike. I realized that with the free two day or same day shipping, I was buying stuff just to buy stuff at times.
Friend of mine has the same problem. Then again she also impulse buys at the mall too...

I advised here to put things into a seperate list that are not needs but have attracted her attention... then let it sit there unpurchased for a minimum of 1 week.... deletes the list every week. Usually she looses interest in the item by then..
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Old 04-28-2018, 06:16 AM
 
3,670 posts, read 7,138,513 times
Reputation: 4269
Well I'm about to move to a more rural area (15-20min to a grocery store and not even a good one) with a baby on the way so I don't see myself canceling my membership anytime soon. I use the music and video feature from time to time. Now that the price is going up I'm going to try to use more of the features.

I am guilty of buying stuff just to buy stuff too...some of it is crap I regret buying. I used to do the same thing at stores though before I started using Amazon in 2012.

I have like 30 items in my cart saved for later to watch the price go up and down lol. This one cashmere dress has ranged from $75 to $375 in the past couple months.
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:25 AM
 
Location: Island of Misfit Toys
5,066 posts, read 2,844,916 times
Reputation: 4533
Quote:
Originally Posted by usayit View Post
You also dont realize that amazin is a marketplace that hosts many sellers... so even within Amazon.com there is competition.
That's not competition, the 'zon gets a piece of everything on the site. It's actually a bit of a fraud because the 'zon will undercut marketplace prices to sell stock, even at a loss. The machine doesn't care about profit, only a functional monopoly.
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Riverside Ca
22,146 posts, read 33,250,209 times
Reputation: 35433
If a buck or two a month makes your decision not to renew a membership you’re probably better off not shopping there anyway.

So how many of you “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore” indignant posters have bought a superfluous add on for a few bucks. Some trinket or food item that was later tossed out or wasn’t fully eaten.

And ultimately most will just pay it. It’s just like a credit card. Sure a few people pay their cc off at the end of the month and reap the percent back or miles or points. But the majority of cardholders don’t. And credit card companies know this. They don’t care about the 1% of their members that pay their cards off every month. They make too much money from the ones that don’t

For what amazon offers I have no issue with $20 a year more. The time I save not to mention lower prices and not having to go to a store to buy it and free shipping makes it worth it to me.

Last edited by Electrician4you; 04-28-2018 at 10:07 AM..
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:48 AM
 
385 posts, read 320,630 times
Reputation: 1578
Amazon can charge what they wish . . . I wish that Amazon employees didn't have to rely on food stamps: https://theintercept.com/2018/04/19/...housing-wages/

If increase was going to higher wages, that would be one thing . . . but it ain't going there, but into a huge pocket.
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Old 04-28-2018, 10:00 AM
 
Location: NNJ
15,026 posts, read 9,995,810 times
Reputation: 17159
Quote:
Originally Posted by JonasW View Post
That's not competition, the 'zon gets a piece of everything on the site. It's actually a bit of a fraud because the 'zon will undercut marketplace prices to sell stock, even at a loss. The machine doesn't care about profit, only a functional monopoly.
Every retailer gets a piece of every item sold.... It doesn't matter whether it is online or brick store.

Monopoly? Probably should look up what that means. Oh probably should look up what fraud means too
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