So one year after the price increase...

[bbodb1]

and another Prime Day has come and gone, how many TUG'gers are still holding Amazon Prime memberships?

I have to admit I gave strong consideration to dropping when the annual fee was increased last year but I did not. One thing I have tried to do over the last year was actually track our utilization of Amazon resources. Listed in no particular order, our utilization was something like this:

Amazon Music: used just about everyday BUT this segment of Amazon membership is perhaps the most consumer UNFRIENDLY aspect of Prime Membership. If you enjoy a particular song (or songs) too much, they disappear behind a 2nd paywall. If you try and build custom libraries, a good number of these songs will be targeted for moving behind the 2nd paywall as part of an effort by Amazon to extort more money from the consumer. Grade D-

Amazon (shopping): the basic ordering functions, free shipping, etc. No matter how much I've tried, I cannot find any items we use on a regular basis to order from Amazon. For all of the effort by Amazon pushing us toward subscription based ordering of items, it just does not work for us.

BUT

Where we did find usefulness in Amazon shopping this year was with those one time purchases. Comparison shopping sometimes found the lowest cost on Amazon and the free shipping helped in that calculation.

BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY

For reasons OTHER THAN damage or incorrect items ordered, Amazon has been exceptionally good to work with when it comes to product returns. That is a definite positive for Amazon and it keeps us looking on Amazon when we need an item. Grade A

Amazon Photos: We use photos as a defacto backup for all photos taken on phones, and other mobile devices. The daily journals that pop up and offer the opportunity to look back at your photos taken on that day in previous years is an excellent feature. In our experience, this is the most useful feature of Amazon. One thing we will need to do soon is make a backup of all photos on Amazon for safe keeping. I say that NOT because I think Amazon will lose our photos as much as we cannot get back to the originals of the photos anymore. I always like having TWO separate copies of all photos - just in case. Grade A

Amazon Streaming: You have to give Amazon credit for one thing - there is a lot of material on their streaming service. Not too much of it good that we have found (yet) but in all fairness it seems we are at a crossroads in how we peruse and view television these days. The fact that Amazon streaming is also fairly portable (it is easy to use away from home) is a positive as well. If the quality of content would just improve.... Grade B

Overall as we start another membership year, I can say our satisfaction with Amazon improved this year.

What about you? How are you using your Amazon Prime membership one year after the price increase? Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?

 

[klpca]

It pays for itself in free shipping. Everything else is just gravy, imo. At least I can see the value. Not so much with our cable provider who thinks that providing access to 300+ channels that we never ever use and not letting us customize our account is somehow worth the cost.

 

[dioxide45]

I am intrigued by Amazon photos. My wife being a photographer, we have a ton of photos. Perhaps well over 1TB. Unlimited sounds great, but how unlimited is unlimited? With high utilization will they start a new paywall to access the photos I have already uploaded? I have been turned off in the past with other unlimited photo options because often they were reduced quality. It seems that with Prime, you get unlimited full resolution of photos and 5GB of video. Now that I have over 500Mb/s upload with ATT Fiber, I could see Amazon Photos as a worthwhile option for backup.

 

[DaveNV]

^^^ What Katherine said.

I just checked my order history. I have ordered 38 different items from Amazon this year, most of them one at a time. Even if I didn't do anything else with it (like watch videos or whatever) my Prime membership has more than paid for itself.

Dave

 

[SteelerGal]

It’s worth it for us. We do subscription delivery, streaming, and music. Amazon is at our house at least once a wk.

 

[pedro47]

We enjoyed it and we will kept it. We can order something today and will have it by Tuesday (no driving to the mall, no gas costs and no traffic problems).

 

[turkel]

I have it but less valuable as an NorCal resident. I ordered hubby a rash guard for our upcoming trip. Ordered an XL as he didn’t want it too tight. Well it was too big. So I exchanged for a smaller size. Even as a prime member there was no free shipping to exchange the item.

Checked using my address in SoCal multiple free options. Too bad we would have been too late to return.

Every movie we have searched for on Prime cost $3.99 and up. Have never once used. I am starting to conclude Amazon is a beast I no longer want to feed.

 

[bbodb1]

^^^ What Katherine said.

I just checked my order history. I have ordered 38 different items from Amazon this year, most of them one at a time. Even if I didn't do anything else with it (like watch videos or whatever) my Prime membership has more than paid for itself.

Dave

Dave,

I think I recall you noting something about the ease of returns in another thread awhile back - did you say Kohl's would now accept / ship Amazon returns?
On my return item yesterday, the Amazon rep I chatted with was unaware of this.

 

[bbodb1]

It’s worth it for us. We do subscription delivery, streaming, and music. Amazon is at our house at least once a wk.

Out of curiosity, SteelerGal - what items work for you in a subscription basis?

 

[bbodb1]

We enjoyed it and we will kept it. We can order something today and will have it by Tuesday (no driving to the mall, no gas costs and no traffic problems).

Pedro,

Are you making one time purchases (non recurring items) that frequently?

I'm asking this not to be nosy as much as I'd like to hear what others are finding and buying because if it costs less through Amazon, I'll definitely want to check that out!

 

[controller1]

Dave,

I think I recall you noting something about the ease of returns in another thread awhile back - did you say Kohl's would now accept / ship Amazon returns?
On my return item yesterday, the Amazon rep I chatted with was unaware of this.

There are ads currently running on TV stating Kohl's accepts Amazon returns.

 

[JohnPaul]

Lots of good stuff on Prime Video. Currently bing watching Perry Mason which I love.

 

[Panina]

Having prime delivery is worth the membership. There are so many items I can’t find in local stores that I can find easily on Amazon with quick delivery.

 

[bizaro86]

I buy one off items fairly regularly. Two things came to our house so far this week.

New burners for my bbq grill were $29.99 for a 4 pack on Amazon. My local Lowe's and BBQ store were both $19.99 for 1. My bbq has 4 burners, two of which broken, so I'm replacing all 4.

My son saved his money and bought a large Lego set. $50 on Amazon, $79 everywhere else.

 

[isisdave]

UPS Store now will PACK and return items for free. Amazon sends you a barcode; you just take the item to UPS store and display the barcode. They give you a recepit, and pack and ship. The amazing thing is your return is credited the instant UPS scans the code, not when the item finds its way back to wherever.

Regarding free shipping for returns: normally, "I changed my mind" won't qualify, but "not as advertised" always will, and that can include "your idea of XL is not my idea of XL". Also, call them up and ask for credit; you'll usually get it. Also, for inexpensive items, they occasionally say "keep it, donate it, or throw it away." We place 100+ orders a year, so we may be getting some kind of privilege here.

 

[dioxide45]

There are ads currently running on TV stating Kohl's accepts Amazon returns.

I think you can also use an Amazon lockbox to do returns. Steinmart has them in some of their stores.

 

[DaveNV]

Dave,

I think I recall you noting something about the ease of returns in another thread awhile back - did you say Kohl's would now accept / ship Amazon returns?
On my return item yesterday, the Amazon rep I chatted with was unaware of this.

Yes. Kohl's accepts returns to send back to Amazon. It was easy to do.

This link from the Kohl's website describes how to do it: https://www.kohls.com/feature/amazon.jsp

Dave

 

[Snazzylass]

Nope! When I lived 3 exits past the end of civilization, I found value in the Prime Membership - both shopping and streaming.

I do not renew when the price increased. Seems I had a free trial for 30 days and I did enjoy some of their streaming content. Generally, if I buy something, it's super easy to get free shipping and quickly! Music? yeah, another fee. I definitely do not want Alexa.

What am I missing? Nothing!

 

[PcflEZFlng]

What Katherine, Dave, Panina and SteelerGal all said about the free delivery paying for itself. We have goods delivered to us all the time. The convenience and time/gas saving is so worth it, and neither of us like shopping at stores. Even long before the internet, we used mail order (or by phone) as often as we could!

 

[Ken555]

I’ve been a Prime member since day one, and the value has only increased. A small annual increase in the membership fee is inconsequential to me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[SteelerGal]

Out of curiosity, SteelerGal - what items work for you in a subscription basis?

I have toddlers so lots of diapers. Also I get vitamins, Landry products and hair and personal care products. Easier to have it delivered instead of remembering during our monthly Costco run.

 

[AnnaS]

I am still one of those people that does not order much on-line. As with Costco, you really need to know your prices. They are not always less money but are great for convenience. Walmart and Target are pretty good with prices/delivery time frames too.

I have had someone order from me with Amazon Prime once or twice. I might eventually give in and pay for Prime/just want it to be worth it.

 

[presley]

I don't think I'll ever get rid of mine. I buy stuff from them just about every day. I rarely use any of the other benefits.
Here's an example of what I got this week from Amazon Prime:

Face cradle covers for my massage table
Industrial strength dishwasher detergent
3 X 5 index cards
Pencil Sharpener
Rash Guard
Wall Clock
Remote Doorbell

I live within 5 miles of a Costco and Target and I have a WalMart 2 blocks away. I absolutely hate shopping. I haven't been to WalMart in many years. I probably hit up Target once or twice per year and Costco about once per month. I use Amazon Prime close to daily. Anytime I am out of something or I need something for home or our business, I just order it on the spot. I usually have it in a day or two. It could take me a lot longer than that to find time to go to the store to buy it and the stores let me down often and don't have what I want.

 

[DaveNV]

I don't think I'll ever get rid of mine. I buy stuff from them just about every day. I rarely use any of the other benefits.
...

Anytime I am out of something or I need something for home or our business, I just order it on the spot. I usually have it in a day or two. It could take me a lot longer than that to find time to go to the store to buy it and the stores let me down often and don't have what I want.

I completely agree with you. And you live in a major urban area, with a lot of local retail options. Those of us who live in smaller communities don’t necessarily have those options.

My small town has a Mall that is nearly empty, so buying options here are greatly reduced. Despite my allegiance, Costco does not have everything. Rather than drive all over trying to find that needed item, it’s easier to hit Amazon, use Prime, and have exactly what I need in a day or two. The price of the membership is easily offset, IF you use it. I do. Spouse shares the account, so our usage is even higher.

Dave

 

[turkel]

We have a neighbor that literally gets a daily delivery. We joke she’s broke and has a serious shopping problem.

Hubby says the UPS man had withdrawals when his ex moved out.

I try not to shop on amazon not only do I not have the room in the tiny home but I hate paying the amazon credit card bill just to place another order and have another bill.

I have found not everything on Amazon is cheaper.

Kohl’s does offer free returns. No Kohl’s within 30 mins of where we are up north. UPS is sometimes free sometimes not. I no longer trust that returns will be free. So no more ordering an item I am not 100% sure on.

Customer service sucks at Amazon the effort I had to go to reach them last time I needed to was a 4 hour tour. Sometimes Amazon is the only place I can find what I need so I will use them just not as much as I used too. I also believe they are effecting local retailers and I don’t want my only option to be Amazon in the future.