Amazon Prime

Discussion in 'Online Retailers' started by K E Gordon, Sep 14, 2016.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Even if you do not participate in Prime Day, you can still save a lot on almost everything and have it delivered right to your doorstep by ordering it from Amazon. Most of the time, it is also tax free, so you save even more, even if it is the same price as (for example) going to Walmart.
    Plus , the selection is HUGE ! !
    You can usually find a lot more of any kind of item than you can at even the large stores.
    Amazon also sells refurbished items at great savings. We bought a Hamilton Beach BrewStation coffeemaker that sold new for about $65, and only paid about $24 for it as a refurbished/guaranteed one from Amazon. We have had it over two years, make several pots each day, and it works great still.
    For items that you use all the time, like paper towels and toilet paper, you can order in bulk and save, plus put it on what Amazon calls "Subscribe and Save" , and they send it out on a regular basis and it is even cheaper that way.
     
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  2. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    I'm sure you're right but but for most things I still like the box stores.
     
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  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    It is that time again, and Amazon Prime Day starts at 3 PM this afternoon. I have no clue why it does not start first thing in the morning, but that is what it said on my app this morning.
    Last week, Evelyn and I went to Whole Foods, and Amazon has a special for Prime members that if you spent $10+ at Whole Foods, then you got a coupon for $10 on Prime Day.
    Naturally, I spent over the $10 and have my coupon, so I have doubled my money once i order something today.
    We usually don’t get any of the specials that the have for Prime Day, but it looks like my discount is good for anything, so I can use it on anything whether it is on special or not.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    The last couple of years, I was not very impressed with Amazon Prime Day, so I hope this year is better.
     
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  5. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Amazon has some really great deals for readers today !
    If you subscribe to the Kindle first, each month they give you a selection of six new books and you can choose one for free each month. It doesn’t cost anything to do this, you just have to be a Prime member.
    If you subscribe today, or even if you are already subscribed to this Prime benefit, today, you can get all six books for free !
    Also, there are a lot of Kindle books on sale, and if you buy one, then part of that purchase price also counts towards your next Kindle purchase.
    Kindle also has a special on the Kindle Unlimited, today only.
    It is normally $9.99 per month for this feature (which is too much money for me to spend each month), but if you sign up today, the first three months are only 99 cents .......what a bargain ! You can cancel at any time, so I am going to use my three months and read as many of the books as I can, and then cancel before the price goes up.
     
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  6. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
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    That's a good deal.

    My daughter put a bunch of stuff in her cart but so far nothing in there went on sale.

    She has kindle unlimited ...just told her what you wrote...she said that's a good deal.

    She also said the site was crashing in the beginning.
     
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  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It's a good time to buy a Kindle.
     
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  8. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    The mobile site seems to be overloaded still, @Chrissy Cross , and the regular website is not much better. I went to amazon smiles, which is what I always use when I order anyway, and that site is working just fine.
    I like Amazon smiles because they will donate to the charity of your choice each time that you purchase something from Amazon. I have our local free health clinic as my designated charity, and you can choose just about any charity that you want to use. It costs the same whether you use the regular amazon website or the smile one, but I like that Amazon will make the charity donations.

    https://smile.amazon.com/?tag=bitc-catch-pczz-pzz-us-20
     
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  9. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Has anyone noticed that shipping and delivery dates have really diminished with Amazon Prime lately? I have had Amazon Prime since they started it, I think, and one of the things that I liked most about Amazon, besides its good selection and great customer service, is how quickly things arrived. However, that hasn't been the case for the past several months.

    Typically, when I order something now, it will immediately give me what always used to be their standard arrival date, within two or three days. But then, if I check my orders the next day, they will have readjusted them, some showing a range of about two weeks as an estimated arrival date. Others will show that I am supposed to receive it the following day, but I know I won't because they haven't even shipped it yet. They will have readjusted those dates the next day, pushing them back by a day or two.

    I don't think I have received anything within two days in the past several months. The best they have done for me is about four days, and far too many orders don't even ship within four days. The delay seems to be on their end because the orders will show that they haven't even shipped.
     
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    We have noticed that, too, and even with the Prime shipping, orders will arrive late, or we will get a notice that the shipping date has changed.
    Saturday, I was looking at shampoo, and the smaller bottle was prime, but didn’t arrive for a week. The larger size bottle was also Prime, and is supposed to arrive tomorrow, which is a 3 day delivery. I really wanted to try the smaller bottle first and see if I liked that shampoo; but since the larger one came with faster shipping (and was cheaper per ounce), I went ahead and ordered that.
    It seems like the 3 day shipping is about as fast as we get anything nowdays.

    Maybe it is because Amazon is doing so much expanding, and they just haven’t gotten everything finished yet, as far as more distribution centers. Even with the slower delivery, it is still about the best deal around when you are ordering online. Walmart offers some things on free delivery, but not as many as Amazon Prime does, and even the free ship-to-store option usually takes 5-7 days to arrive.
     
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I rarely order anything that isn't prime but that two-day shipping no longer seems to be the norm.
     
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  12. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I think you are correct, Yvonne. Amazon is expanding so rapidly they are having trouble keeping up, and I think they are trying to keep the shipping costs down. We are delighted with Amazon. It has been a godsend for us. We have difficulty finding a lot of stuff, and it almost always involves a long drive. Delivery with no additional charges, even if it takes two weeks is still good for us. Many times, especially if the companies have contracts with UPS, the charges exceed the value of the item ordered, often by multiples. I tried to order a watering can from a California company. The item was $18 dollars, but the shipping was $56 dollars for standard shipping, not express. Most things I need are available from Amazon at reasonable prices and no additional shipping costs. Occasionally I run into something that I cannot get because it is not shipped "outside the United States". I ordered a small Ham radio from Amazon, but they wouldn't ship it here for that reason. When visiting our daughters in Seattle, I ordered the same thing and received it overnight. Perhaps when Bezos gets more warehouses in the East, the service will improve for you.
     
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  13. Terry Page

    Terry Page Supreme Member
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    The shipping times have been improving over the last year in the UK, there are lot of items on Same Day delivery up until 9pm now, and in the major cities they are offering a 2 hour service, but of course compared to the US we are a tiny island ;)
     
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  14. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Well I accidently signed up for the Amazon Prime trial when selecting my shipping preference. I have to make sure that I cancel before the trial ends. In the meanwhile I've been watching Amazon Videos.
     
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  15. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    We use Amazon so often, I don’t know what we would do without the Prime account ! Bobby watches the prime videos, I use prime reading, and then there is the free book each month. It used to be called Kindle First, because it comes at the first of the month; but they changed the name and I don’t remember what it is called now.
    Amazon also has a low-income plan, that is just $6 a month, about half of the regular price, and with all of the same benefits. All you need to qualify is a medicaid card or an EBT card.
    Between that and our low-income internet ($10), we save quite a bit of money.
     
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