Amazon Shipping

[Cavebear]

Agreed.  Historically, in-stock items would arrive on the first day of their delivery window, with an immediate notification that it was on its way.  Now, some of my holiday gifts may arrive late at the recipients: I didn't even get notified they'd shipped until the day after the first day of the delivery window.

As for Prime: no way, no how, simply because of the over-aggressive way they've marketed it.  I once had four interruptions between putting an item in my cart and getting to the actual payment asking me if I was really really really really REALLY sure I didn't want Prime.  I ended up cancelling the order, buying it somewhere else for slightly more, and sending them a note that they just lost business because they were being spectacularly rude to their customers.  I got an apology and a $10 credit, and the Prime-pushing seems to have backed off a little since then, but I don't shop Amazon as much as I used to.  A lot of times nowadays, I'll go on Amazon more to get a precise part or model number, and seek the item somewhere else.

Well, I like AmazonSmile Prime.  I order a lot through Amazon, and Smile donates to my favorite cause - American Atheists.  And I save about $400 a year in shipping.  It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

[trdsf]

Well, I like AmazonSmile Prime.  I order a lot through Amazon, and Smile donates to my favorite cause - American Atheists.  And I save about $400 a year in shipping.  It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

If it makes financial sense to use it, by all means use it.  It doesn't for me, and I've come to resent having Amazon shove it down my throat at every opportunity.  You'd think at some point they'd give up.  They won't, of course, but I don't expect rational behavior from corporations.

[SGOS]

As for Prime: no way, no how, simply because of the over-aggressive way they've marketed it.  I once had four interruptions between putting an item in my cart and getting to the actual payment asking me if I was really really really really REALLY sure I didn't want Prime.  I ended up cancelling the order, buying it somewhere else for slightly more, and sending them a note that they just lost business because they were being spectacularly rude to their customers.  I got an apology and a $10 credit, and the Prime-pushing seems to have backed off a little since then, but I don't shop Amazon as much as I used to.  A lot of times nowadays, I'll go on Amazon more to get a precise part or model number, and seek the item somewhere else.

I have to confess I have an emotional reaction to their Prime marketing strategy also.  In addition, I don't buy enough from Amazon to make Prime financially practical.  Others may or may not, especially if two day shipping is that important to them.  But for me, I can't save money with Prime.   A couple of months ago, probably by not reading carefully enough during the checkout process (which is something Amazon marketing is designed to exploit), I somehow signed myself up for a one month free trial of Prime.  Not a biggie.  It didn't cost me anything, and I cancelled it right away so that at the end of the month I wouldn't be automatically charged for a year.  I first tried to cancel the whole order, and I cancelled the order just fine, but was unable to cancel the free trial, but it did automatically officially expire at the end of the month because I notified them the day of the order to cancel Prime. 

I want to have user friendly control over the way I buy things.  I don't like them defaulting to more expensive shipping rates when I'm not looking, although I am cautious during the checkout.  One time, I made a mistake during checkout and backed up to the previous page to delete an unwanted item, which was easy enough, but when I went back to checking out, they had cancelled out my shipping choice and defaulted back to the higher rate, which I didn't notice until after I had placed the order.  All the defaulting for some mysterious reason, always ends up in Amazon's favor.  My term for this is "chickenshit," so I just try to be extra careful to avoid getting nicked.  But sometimes they slip one by me.

[Cavebear]

If it makes financial sense to use it, by all means use it.  It doesn't for me, and I've come to resent having Amazon shove it down my throat at every opportunity.  You'd think at some point they'd give up.  They won't, of course, but I don't expect rational behavior from corporations.

Well, I also have some SERIOUS ad blockers.  So that saves my sanity a bit.  AOL hates it and Statcounter makes me refuse to whitelist them every time.  But is does make life easier.  I never buy anything just because it is advertised.  I'm a real Consumer Reports type.  Ads don't get me engaged at all, but they do clutter the screen, so I block them.