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Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

ExileOnDaytonStreet said:
Mrs. EoDS today proposed Amazon Prime for the free video service and the free shipping on stuff.

I'm not sure what to make of this, it's $79/year for what looks like limited (but not negligible) amounts of shows and free shipping (note: shipping, not discounted goods).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_v4_sib?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200444160

Does anyone have experience with this? Is it a rip? Is it somehow valuable?
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I use it, not the streaming service, but for the free 2 day shipping. If you have a functional .edu address, you can get it for 40 bucks a year.

Here's a link for it: Prime for 40 bucks a year with a .edu email address.

Looks like the streaming benefits don't kick in until after the free trial turns into a pay subscription, but I wonder if you sign up, then just email costumer service to change to a regular pay subscription for full benefits, if that would work.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

I got free streaming during my trial period (it's how I watched the first 3 seasons of Justified, for example).

It's a good deal if you order a lot of stuff from Amazon that you need quickly. The discounts are hit or miss, depending on what you buy (for me, it's DVDs and books, and there were some great deals). However, if you don't NEED the 2-day shipping, and are comfortable with just ordering enough to get free normal shipping to begin with, I guess I wouldn't go with Prime.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

I have it and am pretty happy with it.

Honestly, we probably got our money's worth on the streaming because a lot of kids shows my son likes are on it. I've got enough TV series saved on my Watchlist that I'll probably never make it through them all. We still have cable, and I don't know if there's enough on Prime to cut that cord completely(if you didn't care about live sports/new TV), but I think it's a nice supplement, and a lot cheaper than Netflix.

The free shipping is nice too. We did probably 75% of our holiday shopping through Amazon and it worked great with the free two-day shipping.

My only (minor) complaints would be: 1. We stream through whatever the Sony equivalent of a Roku is, but if you want to search for/add anything, you pretty much have to do it through the computer. 2. Even on the computer, searching for stuff on Prime can be a bit of a pain, and is mostly trial and error(mostly error). 3. I noticed a couple weeks ago when I had to buy a part for my microwave that I could buy it for $5 from a couple retailers and pay $5 shipping, or buy it for $10 from the one Prime-eligible retailer. Not sure how often that happens though.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Wouldn't shop without it.

I order all sorts of things, 2-3x per month. Usually, things aren't urgent, but it works out to something like a $2.50 flat fee for 2nd day shipping, no $25 minimum. That works for me. At least 3-4x per year, something will be a bit more urgent, and the $3.95 next day delivery is pretty nice.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

amherstblackbear said:
Wouldn't shop without it.

I order all sorts of things, 2-3x per month. Usually, things aren't urgent, but it works out to something like a $2.50 flat fee for 2nd day shipping, no $25 minimum. That works for me. At least 3-4x per year, something will be a bit more urgent, and the $3.95 next day delivery is pretty nice.
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This definitely complements what I mentioned for purchasing.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

I have Prime, and I like it. I shop from Amazon all the time, so the two-day shipping is nice. Most times it's not necessary, but other times it's worked out very well for me - like this coming Friday where my brother just invited me to use his wife's ticket to the outdoor Gopher game and I don't have cold weather clothes for being outside standing around for some 7 hours.

If you have a Kindle, you get access to Amazon's lending library. You're limited in the number of books you can borrow, but it's still a free book to read.

While the Prime streaming video library can leave something to be desired, it's been constantly expanding and isn't so bad anymore. I'm more of an advocate for the shorter and more certain shipping timelines.
 
I have it for the shipping. But I bought the wife a new hdx so I got her old one, now I use it for books and videos too.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

I'm a big fan of Prime. I got sick of having to bundle orders together to get the free super saver shipping, I think the free 2 day shipping is worth the $80 a year we pay (split that amount over all of our orders and it is a very reasonable shipping charge). The streaming is an added bonus and they have things that aren't available on Netflix.

I have a friend that lives in New York City and household goods are so expensive near her she orders everything she can from Amazon (things like paper towels, dish soap, etc). When our young one was in diapers we would buy the "7th Generation" baby wipes by the case from Amazon. There are still a few other household goods we buy regularly on Amazon (especially environmentally friendly products, which we seem to be able to get much cheaper online).
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

BassAle said:
I'm a big fan of Prime. I got sick of having to bundle orders together to get the free super saver shipping, I think the free 2 day shipping is worth the $80 a year we pay (split that amount over all of our orders and it is a very reasonable shipping charge). The streaming is an added bonus and they have things that aren't available on Netflix.

I have a friend that lives in New York City and household goods are so expensive near her she orders everything she can from Amazon (things like paper towels, dish soap, etc). When our young one was in diapers we would buy the "7th Generation" baby wipes by the case from Amazon. There are still a few other household goods we buy regularly on Amazon (especially environmentally friendly products, which we seem to be able to get much cheaper online).
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I've found that this is actually a great use of Prime. I'm at the point where I basically purchase all of my household goods - that I don't need right now, anyway - off Amazon using Prime. It saves you far more money than you spend on Prime in the first place if you use it enough and factor in the streaming that's available.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Rimbaud said:
I use it, not the streaming service, but for the free 2 day shipping. If you have a functional .edu address, you can get it for 40 bucks a year.

Here's a link for it: Prime for 40 bucks a year with a .edu email address.

Looks like the streaming benefits don't kick in until after the free trial turns into a pay subscription, but I wonder if you sign up, then just email costumer service to change to a regular pay subscription for full benefits, if that would work.
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I'm on the Prime trial this month, and it looks like I can buy/rent movies and TV. Haven't tried it yet because I'm considering buying a Roku box.

The student Prime membership is good for four years once you verify your student status. I have an .edu email, but as an employee, so I'll have to pay the full $79 annual membership once my trial expires. I still think that it will be a good deal when compared to Netflix.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Red Cloud said:
I've found that this is actually a great use of Prime. I'm at the point where I basically purchase all of my household goods - that I don't need right now, anyway - off Amazon using Prime. It saves you far more money than you spend on Prime in the first place if you use it enough and factor in the streaming that's available.
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Yep. It's definitely a saver in this regard.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

SteveP said:
I'm on the Prime trial this month, and it looks like I can buy/rent movies and TV. Haven't tried it yet because I'm considering buying a Roku box.

The student Prime membership is good for four years once you verify your student status. I have an .edu email, but as an employee, so I'll have to pay the full $79 annual membership once my trial expires. I still think that it will be a good deal when compared to Netflix.
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I'm using my UofMN .edu address from 12 years ago. Not sure if I had to verify my student status a few years ago when I signed up for it.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

We are loving Prime for the streaming as well as monthly subscriptions for household stuff like diapers and TP and dish soap, and snacks. A lot of it is cheaper than Wal-Mart, plus they give an extra 20% off if you order about 5 or 6 things per month. With the free shipping and limiting my Wal-Mart runs I'm a big fan. Another added discount: Amazon Mom. You can have this regardless of gender or parental status.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

We did the trial before Christmas and the faster shipping was nice to have things in time for the holidays. Didn't try the free streaming. But, most of the time when we order something, it's fine to wait a few more days, so we don't have a need for it really. But, I can see it being worthwhile for some folks.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Bob Gray said:
We did the trial before Christmas and the faster shipping was nice to have things in time for the holidays. Didn't try the free streaming. But, most of the time when we order something, it's fine to wait a few more days, so we don't have a need for it really. But, I can see it being worthwhile for some folks.
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I did the same thing. I don't have any use for the streaming, so didn't keep it, but I can see it'd be a good deal if you use the streaming. I only order from Amazon maybe 6 times a year, so it wasn't worth it just for the shipping benefits.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

jen said:
I did the same thing. I don't have any use for the streaming, so didn't keep it, but I can see it'd be a good deal if you use the streaming. I only order from Amazon maybe 6 times a year, so it wasn't worth it just for the shipping benefits.
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We've actually done the one month trial a few times, so if you wait awhile, you can get the quick shipping again. And the other thing that's nice is you don't need the $35 minimum for free shipping, though we have a few things we order regularly, so that's not a big deal, just handy.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

Another advantage is this: anyone who has access to the account can use it, and you can have multiple delivery addresses and credit cards attached to it. We use Amazon enough that the free shipping is worth it (but note not everything you buy through Amazon is eligible). Our daughter and son-in-law don't use the free shipping much, but they use the streaming in lieu of having cable. And our son and daughter-in-law use both.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

We were fairly frequent Amazon shoppers for several years. Had no problems with anything and really enjoyed the experience. Things have changed slightly though-the free shipping option went up from $25 to $35 and although we made frequent purchase we often did not get to that level. Secondly, and more important to us was the fact that Amazon now charges 7% sales tax on items shipped to our home address here in NJ. Whether that should be the case or not is an entirely different question and i am sure everyone has an opinion about it. But the fact remains that it has added significantly to our costs and we find that we are ordering a bit less. We are normally not in any special hurry to receive our order-and i must admit that Amazon's shipping is usually so quick that items arrive ahead of schedule. We have thought about Prime membership but as of yet have not added it.
 
Re: Amazon Prime: Does Anyone Use It?

We had the sales tax implemented here in Arizona last year. But, I've found that it's not always applied. It appears that if your sale is fulfilled directly by Amazon, you pay sales tax, but if your sale is fulfilled by another vendor, then sales tax is often not charged.
 
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