# Amazon prime is well worth the cost for me



## Lon (Aug 21, 2016)

I just renewed my Amazon Prime membership for $99 USD and figure it is a real bargain when you consider the savings in gasoline, parking,time & convenience. I just ordered EZO lower denture liner, a decrotive wall clock, Veggie Stix, Ink cartridges for my printer. All will be delivered to my front door on Tuesday and tonight I will watch a Movie on Amazon Prime. I have discovered that all the things that I might buy at Target, Costco, Walgreen's I can order for the same price or less through Amazon.

The denture liner was ordered because of a tip from another member that was posted here on our forum.


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## debbie in seattle (Aug 21, 2016)

My husband and I were just talking about that today, as I sat there ordering hairspray.   I've discovered the used books I can buy instead of new, love that, considering the price of books today.  My husband, Mr. Hates to Shop, has been known to order shoe laces on Amazon with his Prime membership.


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## tnthomas (Aug 21, 2016)

I like Amazon, but just today found a charge of $106.92 on my credit card statement, I was _steamed_, because I did not place an order for Amazon Prime.  Evidently they used some subtle trickery to get authorization, during some recent purchase activity.

I can see that Amazon Prime would be wonderful, for those desiring the added services, but this experience just soured me on Amazon, broke the trust.


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## Don M. (Aug 21, 2016)

Amazon is just one of many online venues that increasingly spell doom for traditional retail stores and shopping centers.  As more and more people discover the savings and convenience of online shopping, running to the store is going to be a thing of the past.  I have been buying online for 15+ years, and have saved hundreds, perhaps thousands, over the years.  If its not something I need right away, I Always go online.  Generally, the shipping costs are no more, or even less than the time and gas consumed by hitting the stores.  My favorite venue is EBAY, and it is rare that I cannot find an item I need there, at a savings of 30 percent, or more.  

I have looked at Amazon Prime, but the kinds of things I usually buy can be found cheaper at other sites....especially when you factor in the Amazon fees.  For example, I ordered a mower lift from Harbor Freight, for my riding mower, and it cost $96 delivered.  The same item on Amazon is $135....and over $200 at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 21, 2016)

I buy things on Amazon now and then, but have no interest in paying for Prime.  On many items you can get free shipping without it.  Thomas, if they pulled that on me I'd be furious, that's a lot of money!  I'd likely never shop there again and put a stop of the credit card payment at least if I could.  They have one of my credit cards on my account, but it's never been used for anything I didn't actually order from there.


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## Bobw235 (Aug 21, 2016)

We tried it, but cancelled at the end of the trial period. We were mainly interested in the video offerings, but it wasn't worth it to us to spend the money just for that. I do order from Amazon quite a bit, but don't mind waiting a few extra days for free shipping.


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## Pappy (Aug 22, 2016)

I save money just on the books I read. It adds up fast and I read for free. Have been a prime member for two years now.


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## Ken N Tx (Aug 22, 2016)

Lon said:


> I just renewed my Amazon Prime membership for $99 USD and figure it is a real bargain when you consider the savings in gasoline, parking,time & convenience. I just ordered EZO lower denture liner, a decrotive wall clock, Veggie Stix, Ink cartridges for my printer. All will be delivered to my front door on Tuesday and tonight I will watch a Movie on Amazon Prime. I have discovered that all the things that I might buy at Target, Costco, Walgreen's I can order for the same price or less through Amazon.
> 
> The denture liner was ordered because of a tip from another member that was posted here on our forum.



I have not got the Prime as I can usually wait for the 3-5 day shipping or find the free shipping offers..

On the EZO liners, I have added a how too video to help..Let me know how you like them..
.
https://www.seniorforums.com/showthread.php/23706-Loose-Lower-Dentures


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## bluebreezes (Aug 22, 2016)

I get that Amazon Prime is a money-saver for some, but I didn't find that to be a good deal at all.

When I looked at adding the cost of $99 to what looked like savings on items from Amazon, it came out less for me to shop locally. I don't mind a trip to the store and being on my semi-retired schedule, I can go when it's not crowded. I get what I want with no added cost without waiting for it. Where I live many times the Amazon shipping was a hand-off from UPS to the Post Office, so would always arrive later than the stated date. 

Although Amazon has a good book selection, I much prefer the local library and to put holds on new releases (books and movies) via their online (and state-wide) catalog. I'm into a frugal and simple living lifestyle, and Amazon Prime doesn't provide any benefit for me.


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## Butterfly (Aug 22, 2016)

I don't order enough stuff to make it worth the cost -- or if I do, I group things so I get the free shipping anyway.


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## tnthomas (Aug 22, 2016)

SeaBreeze said:


> I buy things on Amazon now and then, but have no interest in paying for Prime.  On many items you can get free shipping without it.  Thomas, if they pulled that on me I'd be furious, that's a lot of money!  I'd likely never shop there again and put a stop of the credit card payment at least if I could.  They have one of my credit cards on my account, but it's never been used for anything I didn't actually order from there.



Oh yea, I was plenty mad.  Got the charge squashed immediately.    I'll still shop Amazon, but will keep a close eye on them.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Aug 22, 2016)

I have prime from when I got my kindle. I sort of got snookered into it. Didn't realize I had to cancel after the free trial. My fault really, should have read the fine print. I will cancel when the year is up. I never needed an item to be delivered that fast. I'm willing to wait a couple of days. Also noticed the prices for items are sometimes more than other stores. As far as books. I now have my library in town hooked up to the Kindle and have all the books I want. Probably more than I could read in a lifetime.


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## bluebreezes (Aug 22, 2016)

tnthomas said:


> I like Amazon, but just today found a charge of $106.92 on my credit card statement, I was _steamed_, because I did not place an order for Amazon Prime.  Evidently they used some subtle trickery to get authorization, during some recent purchase activity..



What about removing that credit card from your account? That way there'd be no surprises in the future.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 23, 2016)

I was on Amazon.com trying to find a good shampoo for color treated hair and I saw one for 13.99.  I put it in my cart and then saw that I had to order several other items that added up to 49.99 so I cancelled it and went to Walgreens.com and got 2 huge bottles of Herbal Essence color safe shampoo for a very very reasonable price plus they gave me an instant coupon for $4. off of 2 bottles.  I will continue to go to Walgreens.com but not Amazon.com  I can't do what they want me to and can't afford to pay their prime charge either.  I need a new camera but will probably go to Best Buy or Walmart offline when I have the money.


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## Lethe200 (Aug 30, 2016)

Actually, Wal-Mart sells quite a bit on Amazon. I've bought several items which came in Wal-Mart boxes. Makes sense, Amazon's website is a lot easier to use than Wal-Mart's.

We're Prime members and use it constantly. Where we live traffic ranges from so-so to hideous. We live in a major metropolitan area but locations are spread out over a wide area. Even though retired, I have better things to do than travel to four or five different stores trying to get everything on my shopping list. 

Amazon is just one of the delivery-to-your-doorstep services we use. Our public libraries are a disgrace; it's almost impossible to get any good books from them, let alone e-books. When we want a book we want it yesterday, LOL. Some of the library e-books have waiting lists for titles that are literally dozens of names long - and each person can keep the e-book 2 mos. Many don't get returned at all, so the library has to purchase another e-copy to lend out. 

Plus, we were using a Barnes & Noble sponsored charge card for several years. We ended up with over $4K of free gift cards from bonus pts during that time - we put most of our daily expenses on a card and pay it off every month. Those cards bought us a lot of books! But we have switched about 80% to e-books now. Most of what we buy from Amazon is drugstore or specialty items.

The e-books I've been buying are through the BookBub service, which allows you to select different genre and receive an e-newsletter listing publishers' special discount prices on books. Many series, for example, will have the first few books put out in e-book form at reduced prices or even free, to try and hook you on a new (to you) series. Because many of these discounts only last a certain amount of time, it's easy to miss them. A lot of them are only worth reading once and deleting, but I have found at least a dozen or so authors I would never have found without the BB service. It works with all types of e-readers, not just Kindle: you set the type of e-reader you have, and the newsletter gives the link to each book that's for sale.

We are eligible for both video and audio streaming, but we don't use them much. Spouse prefers Netflix and downloads what he wants to see. I'm not as hooked on TV so don't watch as much as he does. What I do like is the cloud back-up. Much easier to use than Google's although sorting is best done BEFORE uploading. Prime members currently get unlimited back-up storage. 

We recently upgraded two of our computers to Win10 and used Amazon Cloud for back up before taking them into the shop we use. Easy-peasy peace of mind, worked great.


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## Ruthanne (Aug 30, 2016)

I guess if you have the money it can work for you.


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## Ameriscot (Aug 31, 2016)

I get Amazon Prime UK because it's the only way to watch the Starz programme, Outlander.  We do love the free shipping on most items as well as we use Amazon a lot because of our location.  And most prime items come in a day or two.


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## bluebreezes (Aug 31, 2016)

I'll add a new story about Amazon, a good experience. A few days ago I placed an order for a few items I couldn't find locally, and used the free shipping option which was going to be 5 to 8 days without Prime. I was fine with that because I don't urgently need the items. When I received the email order confirmation, it said the estimated receive date would be September 9 - 13. Again, that didn't bother me. 

Yesterday I got the shipping notification and I'll receive the items tomorrow on 9/1. So sometimes, but not predictably, using the free standard shipping is a good deal because you'll get the items sooner than the estimate.


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## NancyNGA (Aug 31, 2016)

I've had the same experience choosing the free shipping option, more than once.  Most recently on a book.


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## Ken N Tx (Sep 1, 2016)

bluebreezes said:


> I'll add a new story about Amazon, a good experience. A few days ago I placed an order for a few items I couldn't find locally, and used the free shipping option which was going to be 5 to 8 days without Prime. I was fine with that because I don't urgently need the items. When I received the email order confirmation, it said the estimated receive date would be September 9 - 13. Again, that didn't bother me.
> 
> Yesterday I got the shipping notification and I'll receive the items tomorrow on 9/1. So sometimes, but not predictably, using the free standard shipping is a good deal because you'll get the items sooner than the estimate.





NancyNGA said:


> I've had the same experience choosing the free shipping option, more than once.  Most recently on a book.



..We have 2 Amazon fulfillment centers in our state close to me..


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## Ameriscot (Sep 1, 2016)

Ken N Tx said:


> View attachment 31771..We have 2 Amazon fulfillment centers in our state close to me..View attachment 31772



There's one just across the loch from us - a 20 min ferry trip.


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## AprilSun (Sep 1, 2016)

It's cheaper for me to NOT have a Prime account. I don't mind being patient and then I can I use the free shipping option. If I had a Prime account, I would be spending more than what I do now so it just wouldn't pay for me to have it!


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## terry123 (Apr 27, 2017)

I put stuff in my cart and then go through Ebates to actually purchase as you get a % that is mailed to you in the form of a check.  Right now I have over $10.00 in my account that I will get later on.  Every bit helps.  I also wait for the free shipping as it always comes a few days earlier than the email says.  Will not pay for prime as there is not anything I can't wait on.


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## Pappy (Apr 27, 2017)

Four days ago I purchased a smart watch, which turned out to be smarter than me, and could not get it to work. Long story short, no questions asked and i returned it. As soon as my mailman picked up the return package he scanned it and within a few minutes my refund was issued to my account. Can't beat that for service.


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## Ken N Tx (Apr 27, 2017)

I did the Prime because of the movies streamed to my Roku..


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## Anomaly 73 (Apr 27, 2017)

I try to shop locally being in a rural area. I use the web for purchases that would be difficult here. I ordered 60 three year old white pine seedlings on a spring clearance. With gas and time, it would have cost me twice as much to do it traditionally. But, I must say; I'm alarmed at the exponential pace of change. Alvin Toffler wrote "Future Shock" in 1970 and while he was dead on regarding the world chaos resulting from too much change too fast, ironically...he never envisioned the internet. It may just provide the means for accelerated social adaptation...we'll see.


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## Moofies (May 1, 2017)

I love Amazon Prime.  You are correct when you say the prices are great.  Got a stroller for my dachshund who is 14 years old now and doesn't quite have the stamina for long walks anymore and I still do.  The stroller was sold for $110 in PetSmart and other pet supply stores.  I got it for $37! ! ! !  He just loves it.  I have gotten a lot of craft supplies of top quality for 1/3 of what Michaels or Hobby Lobby costs. I get my organic vitamins for less than half what I was paying at Earth Fare...not to mention I had to travel 45 miles to the store (live rurally). They are put on autoship so should I get busy and forget they still arrive on time.  FREE SHIPPING makes a huge difference, too.  The shipping costs on other sites can be outrageous.  I have no TV (no satellite, cable, or local antennae services) and Amazon Prime entertains me endlessly.  So convenient and easy.


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