Anybody else fed up w/ Amazon's bias for Prime customers?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by JimW, Nov 27, 2015.

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  1. JimW

    JimW In the Process of Becoming Thread Starter

    Location:
    Charlottesville VA
    I haven't been happy w/ Amazon making some products (w/ special pricing) available only to Prime members. But w/ giving them a 30 minute headstart on lightning deals, that's pretty much the last straw for me. Their deals haven't been as good these last couple years for Black Friday- and the few that are good deals are now unavailable b/c they get snapped up by Prime members before others even have a chance.

    I know they want to entice people to join Prime, but it feels more like coercion. While they still have some good deals, most of their offerings anymore are not at good prices (I'm talking music and movies/TV, as that's mostly what I look at). So, I think I'm done w/ Amazon- even though there are still good prices on some things. Power corrupts- and they've gotten too big and corrupted and I don't care to support that anymore. I'm also afraid this is just the beginning of heavy-handed moves...
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  2. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    It's not true, just hype. I am a Prime member, and last night I compared several "early" announcements to times announced on Blu-ray.com, and they were exactly the same.
     
  3. JimW

    JimW In the Process of Becoming Thread Starter

    Location:
    Charlottesville VA
    The times announced on blu-ray.com are the times for Prime members; everyone else has to wait 30 minutes.
     
  4. mikeyt

    mikeyt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Yeah, I also get annoyed by the "Prime Only" price drops they occasionally do. A while back I placed an order for an electric toothbrush and I'm pretty sure there was a glitch where it was supposed to be prime only but it didn't actually show and let me add the item to my cart. I ended up having to wait a month to receive it, b/c after I placed my order it got corrected and all the stock ended up being constantly sold out to Prime members. I eventually got it and at they honored the price, but I mean, it was an annoying wait.
     
  5. Alternative4

    Alternative4 One of These Days I'll Get an Early Night

    Location:
    New Zealand
    If you are just after black friday deals. Sign up for the free 30 day prime trial.
    Just make sure you click to the do not renew box before the 30 days are up.
     
  6. ashlee5

    ashlee5 Senior Member

    Non-Prime members do enjoy a brief period of "exclusivity" before the paying members are offered the sale price on Amazon as the price drop always happens before an item becomes Prime only.

    :wave:
     
  7. PHILLYQ

    PHILLYQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn NY
    It's not coercion, c'mon. It's just like if you want the presale on concert tickets you have to have the right credit card, etc. Amazon charges $100/year and delivers the streaming movies/music, fast shipping and deals for those that pay up. If you want the deals, pay up. If not, well...
    It's just business, folks who pay up get a better deal than those who don't. It's in just about every industry.
     
    powerq, ARK, drivingfrog and 7 others like this.
  8. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Agree 100%. It's not a social contract, it's a business model.
     
  9. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    People who pay for subscriptions, membership, membership upgrades etc are always going to receive special services otherwise what woul be rhe reason to pay up. This is just a very common and simple business practice one which we have the option to participate in. We are not being excluded when we choose not to join.
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2015
    ARK, lv70smusic and PHILLYQ like this.
  10. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    I didn't even look this year, last year, I thought the consensus was that a lot of the so-called Black Friday deals on Amazon were pretty lame. I've been a Prime member pretty much from the get-go, largely for the free shipping, then they added other features, including movie streaming, a digital storage locker for music (I think, I don't really use that) and other perks. I know its now what- a hundred bucks a year?- but since I get a lot of stuff from Amazon, from standard issue vinyl to lightbulbs and common hardware, to more expensive stuff, like a good camera, flat screen tv and other crap, it is worth it to me. Once they start doing meals, I won't have to leave the house. Pathetic, I know. :)
     
  11. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    As a Prime member...No, no, I'm not fed up.
     
    ARK and Jamey K like this.
  12. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    this. hell, i sometimes forget that prime involves quicker shipping as it's no longer even the primary draw for me. i'm in it for the streaming services. i pay roughly the same for netflix and amazon has more to offer.
     
  13. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Prime is for chumps. My daughter has it. I was excited to sample the streaming service, imagine my surprise. Same drivel as everyone else, film-wise. They sell 8 million movies, but only let you stream the same crap you'd find on Crackle. And their browser for finding content is about a slick as Crackle. I basically stopped shopping on Amazon when they stopped offering decent customer service and shipping when they decided you were going to pay for good customer service with Prime. F 'em.
     
  14. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    You don't get the same customer service as a non-Prime member? To me, that alone is worth $100. I get so frustrated with bad customer service...
     
  15. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I cannot go into Costco to save money on Fage Greek yogurt unless I pay an annual membership fee, but that's Costco's business model. Sometimes there are perks (including special pricing) available to people who pay annual fees to businesses, and Amazon is by far not the only company to operate this way.

    I must say that I have yet to see one deal on Amazon this holiday season that's attracted me -- Prime member or not. Well, that's not entirely true. Amazon was selling the Google Nexus 6 phone (64GB model) for only $259 very early in the morning on black Friday and I would have bought one had I not already bought it at a much higher price a few months ago. Guess enough people snapped that up since even though it was listed as a "deal of the day" and not a lightning deal, the deal was already gone when I checked back a couple of hours later.
     
  16. PHILLYQ

    PHILLYQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn NY
    Amazon Prime made my Christmas shopping much easier and actually bailed me out this year. My wife wanted something and told me I could get it in a local store. Went to the store, eyeballed every shelf and they didn't have it and it was 12/22. Hit Amazon, and I got it on 12/24!
    My son and my wife both used it, so Prime has already paid for itself through free shipping.
     
  17. serge

    serge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    love prime..totally worth it! I don't stream anything but prime is worth it for me just for the shipping...
     
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