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Amazon Prime membership fee going up to $119 a year in May

Just a head's up for those of you who don't like to leave the house.

Oh and their profits have doubled in the past year.

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by Anonymousreply 255June 25, 2018 1:39 AM

Op eats shit!

by Anonymousreply 1April 26, 2018 10:24 PM

When they fuck do they plan to stop? When it hits $300? Somebody give these assholes some competition already.

by Anonymousreply 2April 26, 2018 10:25 PM

Amazon has you by the balls, so you may as well pay up.

by Anonymousreply 3April 26, 2018 10:27 PM

Don't we already pay like $110 or something. I am not paying more in order to rent texbooks from them.

by Anonymousreply 4April 26, 2018 10:28 PM

I decided to let my shit lapse last year and they started taking like two weeks to ship my packages. I bit the bullet and re-signed. Motherfuckers.

by Anonymousreply 5April 26, 2018 10:29 PM

Amazon Fresh?

Amazon Prime?

Worth it!

by Anonymousreply 6April 26, 2018 10:30 PM

You forgot Amazon Rape.

by Anonymousreply 7April 26, 2018 10:33 PM

I want one of those Amazon stores where they make Bahn Mis

Hmmmmmm

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by Anonymousreply 8April 26, 2018 10:33 PM

They have 100m amazon prime members

by Anonymousreply 9April 26, 2018 10:35 PM

[quote]Somebody give these assholes some competition already.

Amazon has plenty of competition. It's just that Amazon has created so many brainwashed idiots that think that it's the cheapest and most convenient option even though there are tons of viable options that beat it by a country mile. I've been shopping at eBay, Newegg, Edward R. Hamilton and various other offline and online retailers without missing a step for years but people are literally thinking that unless they're shopping at Amazon, they're getting ripped off and inconvenienced. Some of them are so brainwashed, they think it's less convenient and cheaper to just pick up a $5 USB cord on their way home from work than it is to spend an extra $25 of stuff they don't really need just so they can get the cord shipped for free to their house in two days.

What's so frustrating about this slavish devotion to Amazon is that there's been a deluge of counterfeited goods and third party sellers from God-knows-where on the site, not to mention fake reviews up the wazoo. Even eBay is more trustworthy at this point. But people are still worshiping at the altar of Amazon. Unbelievable.

by Anonymousreply 10April 27, 2018 3:37 AM

I will definitely be canceling before my free trial expires.

by Anonymousreply 11April 27, 2018 3:42 AM

What R10 said.

by Anonymousreply 12April 27, 2018 3:43 AM

I would gladly pay $119 a year if it meant that I could choose which delivery carrier they used to delivered my packages.

by Anonymousreply 13April 27, 2018 3:44 AM

R6: Yep!! Plus, orders delivered in 2 days, tax free!

by Anonymousreply 14April 27, 2018 3:45 AM

Our company will be using your increased fees wisely. Namely, to produce more original Amazon Prime Video that you'll never watch.

by Anonymousreply 15April 27, 2018 3:53 AM

"Actually, your fees will be used to help subsidize Trump's next election, as we did in the last. Thank you for shopping Amazon". - George Orwell.

by Anonymousreply 16April 27, 2018 4:01 AM

This is one of the rare cases where we get a better price in Canada. (We're generally screwed blue on, well, pretty much everything.) For as long as I've had Amazon Prime, I've paid only $79 a year. I just checked the status, which said that I'll be charged $79 again in January 2019.

Thinking about it, though, maybe it should cost less. A lot less. Too often I've seen shipping info along the lines of "Want it in 9 days? Order within the next three hours and select 2-day shipping. Or pay $6.99 and select 1-day shipping, which will only take 8 days." Bah!

by Anonymousreply 17April 27, 2018 4:16 AM

FUCK Amazon. I was going to order something and then noticed it was "available exclusively for Prime members". I didn't know this situation existed, obviously I don't have Prime and I don't plan to.

by Anonymousreply 18April 27, 2018 4:58 AM

[quote]What's so frustrating about this slavish devotion to Amazon is that there's been a deluge of counterfeited goods and third party sellers from God-knows-where on the site

Yes, one really needs to learn how to recognize the telltale signs of Chinese sellers on both Amazon and eBay, and then avoid like hell. Unfortunately some of them manage to slip through through even when you do know the signs. Some of the Chinese sellers on eBay have absolutely shocking amounts of negative feedback - we're talking tens of thousands of negatives per month - yet they are still allowed to sell. It's absurd.

{quote]FUCK Amazon. I was going to order something and then noticed it was "available exclusively for Prime members".

I think this is a situation we are going to see more and more often on Amazon, especially with the resistance to the rising cost of being a Prime member. Thankfully third-party sellers will probably take up some of the slack, but it's still irritating as hell.

by Anonymousreply 19April 27, 2018 7:11 AM

They could raise it to $200. It's the best money spent ever,

I don't like to leave my house, so the luxury of deciding what I want/need one night and having it arrived one and a half days later is fantastic. I just received a super heavy shipment of sports drinks and juices which must have weighed 35 LBs. God only knows what that cost to overnight if I was paying.

Thanks Amazon. Don't ever leave me.

by Anonymousreply 20April 27, 2018 7:39 AM

I just don't order enough from them anymore, and the entertainment programming is unknown to me-at the old rate, $8.00 a month certainly seemed worthwhile, but I've never signed on. Most of my electronics purchases are through Newegg, who use the brilliant OnTrac system, I seldom wait more than two days for any shipment out of their California store. A' used to have a lot of leverage in their favor before they started charging sales tax. Newegg doesn't charge taxes in the state of my current residence.

[quote] "Want it in 9 days? Order within the next three hours and select 2-day shipping. Or pay $6.99 and select 1-day shipping, which will only take 8 days." Bah!

Haha, so true, R17. My "free shipping" Brother 3-in-1 printer was on day thirteen when the postal carrier came trundling through a foot and a half of fresh snow to deliver it. At 8:00PM! I felt so bad for the carrier, but she laughed it off. All the delays were internal-their warehouse isn't that far from my house.

R19 I've had nothing but good experiences with Chinese eBay sellers. the only time I had a problem, the seller was quick and polite about amending it. Shipping of course takes forever, but that's understood. It's better than ordering from the stateside sellers importing the same goods, marking them up many times over, shipping the goods late, all the while boasting of being a USA seller. In all honesty, I've never purchased big ticket items from ANY eBay sellers, unless it's through an authorized vendor-getting warranty service on eBay goods can be difficult, if not impossible.

by Anonymousreply 21April 27, 2018 8:12 AM

On eBay I only buy from US sellers and never from anyone with less than 100% approval rating.

by Anonymousreply 22April 27, 2018 2:26 PM

eBay needs to overhaul their interface if they want to be a true Amazon conpetitor.

by Anonymousreply 23April 27, 2018 2:30 PM

R10 I still bargain shop off other websites and the stores don't carry anything anymore. Amazon gives me more choices and saves me the hassle of having to drive around and deal with mall parking. I also love the fact that you can return stuff without any hassle.

by Anonymousreply 24April 27, 2018 2:34 PM

The problem is they are often late now and will no longer offer any compensation.

by Anonymousreply 25April 27, 2018 2:35 PM

[quote] eBay needs to overhaul their interface if they want to be a true Amazon conpetitor.

eBay needs to quit raising their seller fees.

by Anonymousreply 26April 27, 2018 2:37 PM

Another with R10 . Horrible experiences with Chinese sellers. Clothes supposedly for adults but sized for dwarfs, apparently, and cell phone covers that don't fit. I always return what I don't want, but mailing back to China or Thailand wasn't worth it so I won't buy from them. And counterfeit makeup and accessories. R10 please list anymore online sellers you use.

by Anonymousreply 27April 27, 2018 2:39 PM

FIne with it.

by Anonymousreply 28April 27, 2018 3:08 PM

[quote]please list anymore online sellers you use

I don't really have many more than that. For the most part, I just use the online site of any brick and mortar retailer (so, for example, Target, Sears, Home Depot, etc.) or order direct from the vendor/publisher itself (for example, order Nikon, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic stuff directly from their online sites or go directly to Taschen for Taschen books). Almost all the major brands, book publishers and labels have an online site where you can order directly, plus free shipping on $25 or above, free pickup and special online-only discounts. So, if you want to wean yourself off Amazon, get into the habit of looking up and shopping at a major product line, publisher's or retailer's e-commerce site instead.

But if you're looking for more off the beaten path places and hidden gems:

General: Google Express. I actually hate Google with a passion but I've tried this a couple of times and it's pretty good. You can get items from warehouse clubs without being a paid member.

Books: Edward R. Hamilton (it's a flat $4 S and H fee no matter how many books you order; this is where I get all of my coffee table books for 60-80% off) Dover Publications Taschen

Computers and Photo Newegg (this is the place to go for all your computer peripherals, hardware, etc.) B & H Photo Video Adorama

by Anonymousreply 29April 27, 2018 3:13 PM

Ugh, dunno what happened to the formatting in R29 but I'll try again:

General:

Google Express. I actually hate Google with a passion but I've tried this a couple of times and it's pretty good. You can get items from warehouse clubs without being a paid member.

Books:

Edward R. Hamilton (it's a flat $4 S and H fee no matter how many books you order; this is where I get all of my coffee table books for 60-80% off)

Dover Publications

Taschen

Computers and Photo:

Newegg (this is the place to go for all your computer peripherals, hardware, etc.)

B & H Photo Video

Adorama

by Anonymousreply 30April 27, 2018 3:15 PM

[quote] Ugh, dunno what happened to the formatting in but I'll try again:

I'm curious how do you create breaks between sentences on DL? I can never seem to find any info on it.

by Anonymousreply 31April 27, 2018 3:20 PM

I ordered a pack of ice tea, you can't get peach ice tea in my area and when it came the tea was plain ice tea in a glass canister marked PEACH ICE TEA. Amazon wouldn't take it back or offer credit, all I could do was leave a bad review. It's not so bad as I can still drink it but it is a bit worrisome that they would sell deliberately mislabeled tea.

by Anonymousreply 32April 27, 2018 3:20 PM

r31

Double space

D

O

U

B

L

E

S

P

A

C

E

by Anonymousreply 33April 27, 2018 3:21 PM

R31, I just double space on keyboard.

by Anonymousreply 34April 27, 2018 3:22 PM

Thank You.

by Anonymousreply 35April 27, 2018 3:22 PM

oop. didn't work..

by Anonymousreply 36April 27, 2018 3:23 PM

Double

Space

by Anonymousreply 37April 27, 2018 3:24 PM

ok. I hit the RETURN button twice and it worked. Before I used the space bar,

by Anonymousreply 38April 27, 2018 3:24 PM

If only you weren't forced to sign up for this....

...oh wait a minute

by Anonymousreply 39April 27, 2018 3:27 PM

I have Prime, but I enjoy waiting a bit longer for stuff and getting that $1 in digital credit for songs, books, movies lol.

by Anonymousreply 40April 27, 2018 3:28 PM

$20 more, not really a deal breaker.

by Anonymousreply 41April 27, 2018 3:29 PM

I price shop and I usually order my paper products from Walmart and have them shipped with their "free two-day shipping" on orders over $35.00. They're usually late but I expect it at this point. They tried a $49.00 two-day shipping which failed miserably because they couldn't deliver the order in two days. They also hate giving the customer free shipping so they'll show you the lower price you will pay if you pick up in the store. Fuck them and their higher "if shipped" price.

As for Amazon, they're number one because they meet deadlines and their customer service is unparalleled. If a price is higher from one of their sellers I'll leave it in my cart until a lower price is available or shop around.

by Anonymousreply 42April 27, 2018 3:30 PM

I play the Netflix game and use someone else's Prime account for the few purchases I make with them, which is very rare. For all it's faults, Walmart was local and could give communities job opportunities, after destroying the local businesses; Amazon will destroy the local business/Walmarts leaving people jobless. I'm turned off by the company and resist paying for membership. Just us a friend's account.

Not defending Walmart, but I see the forests from the trees with online shopping.

by Anonymousreply 43April 27, 2018 3:32 PM

Literally 95% of my retail spending is on Amazon. This is nothing given the savings (lower prices, no sales tax sometimes, no driving somewhere etc.).

by Anonymousreply 44April 27, 2018 3:34 PM

[quote]$20 more, not really a deal breaker.

This begs the question, what future price increase amount WILL be a deal breaker? Some hermit up thread said he would gladly pay $200 for Prime.

by Anonymousreply 45April 27, 2018 3:38 PM

I paid the $99 for a year a few months ago and recently realized I wasn't getting a whole lot out of it. Raising the price confirms I won't be renewing. I can order almost everything I need online from vitamin shops or chain stores and not have to wait for Amazon's slow non-prime shipping.

by Anonymousreply 46April 27, 2018 3:39 PM

R45, pricing is very complex, but I'd bet there's no deal-breaking price above $300 in today's money.

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by Anonymousreply 47April 27, 2018 3:43 PM

I don't like it but I plan to keep it. It's not just the free shipping (which I do use quite a bit) but also prime video. I watch a ton of those shows and so does my mother who shares my account. It's $10 a month which is what Hulu costs without the retail benefits. It sucks but I won't leave

by Anonymousreply 48April 27, 2018 3:47 PM

To add to the list someone else upthread already mentioned, I like Vitacost for vitamins and supplements and organic items. I used to use Drugstore . com but when Walgreens bought them out their prices skyrocketed. Pharmapacks is a company that sells on eBay and Walmart and they are cheap and usually free shipping, and they're pretty good too.

Then I use a lot of chain stores for online shopping, like Petsmart, AutoZone, Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Brookstone, Company Store, etc. And you can use EBates at many of those stores and get a tiny percentage back, which does add up.

by Anonymousreply 49April 27, 2018 3:48 PM

The kicker is that you're basically just giving Amazon more profits because — wait for it — it is not Amazon who pays for the shipping, it is you, the buyer, paying for "free" shipping in higher unit prices or less profit for the independent third-party sellers. First, Amazon cares little about making profit on any individual item. The reason that their prices on items are not so much higher than anywhere else is because they are not trying to make a profit on selling you goods. Amazon's profit center is in web services which has made more $ than the retail operation since day one. When you see something priced below competition on Amazon, that is by design.

For instance, if Amazon is the seller, they've bought from the manufacturer directly and negotiated the wholesale price down because of the volume they can buy all at once. So, they'll charge you $1.05 for what they paid $1, whereas your local mom-and-pop has to charge you $1.30 to make enough to pay for their physical store, their employees, utilities, and all of the other costs of doing business. But because Amazon can sell millions of an item when the local hardware store can only sell dozens, they can make it up in volume. And, they have literally $billions in investor capital, have never paid a dividend, and reinvest every dollar of profit in growth. It is a fine model for a startup, not one for a business that is 20+ years old.

Second, Amazon treats their employees (at least the ones in the fulfillment centers, the vast majority) like shit. They found it cheaper to pay for an ambulance and two EMTs to sit outside to treat employees for heat stroke than it is to air condition the warehouses. They make employees stand in line to leave the workplace — on their own dime, it is not paid time in any way — to be searched before leaving the premises. The SCOTUS declared this legal when the Department of Labor said it was not.

When it came out that working at Amazon was a nightmare and Bezos went around saying that was not the Amazon he knew, that was a lie. They drive their employees at all levels extremely hard. They believe in the approach that everybody is up for evaluation at all times by anyone and everyone. Make an enemy at Amazon, and they can ruin your career there, anonymously (so yeah, don't make any enemies unintentionally).

We need either a serious competitor to Amazon to come along, or the government should step in an regulate Amazon in a meaningful way. Walmart is not a serious competitor; they've basically thrown away $billions on the purchase of Jet and have no idea what they're doing (and the irony is that they have been complaining that Amazon is an unfair competitor!). Alibaba is still talking about coming to the US, and has been leasing and buying space in key locations around the country, but they are still years away from being a real threat to Amazon.

That's not to say that Amazon is all bad. They have almost single-handedly saved the post office. They have created wealth. They have filled a niche.

However, Amazon is, in two words, too big. Consumers will rue the day that Amazon became too big to fail. Remember, you read it here first.

by Anonymousreply 50April 27, 2018 4:05 PM

I rarely use Amazon anymore. For the amount I order, I have not thought Prime was worth it for the last two increases.

I have used Walmart lately and also have ordered appliance parts directly from Home Depot -- cheaper than other online e-tailers because my parts are sent promptly to a local store that is nearby.

by Anonymousreply 51April 27, 2018 4:07 PM

Soon there won't be exploited employees in the warehouses. They're going to automate everything. I'm looking forward to that. No more exploitation.

by Anonymousreply 52April 27, 2018 4:07 PM

R11, if you're already in a free trial period you will be billed the regular $99.00 yearly rate after the free 1 month trial, even if it's after the price increase to $119.00. That is if you have them bill you for the year rather than by the month. Those who pay for prime monthly pay $156.00/yr. for the service.

by Anonymousreply 53April 27, 2018 4:10 PM

How much do you pay for cable?

by Anonymousreply 54April 27, 2018 4:11 PM

I love Amazon Prime for the movies and TV they offer. I got rid of cable a couple months ago and went with DirectTV Now streaming service. With the Roku on my TVs I can stream all the Amazon Prime content directly to my TV. Well worth the price, even after the increase.

by Anonymousreply 55April 27, 2018 4:12 PM

I don't feel like I HAVE to watch television.

by Anonymousreply 56April 27, 2018 4:15 PM

That's nice. I don't quite know what that has to do with the discussion, but it's nice.

by Anonymousreply 57April 27, 2018 4:30 PM

I haven't watched jack shit on Prime because everything I want to watch costs more money than the Prime membership itself. I'm not going to pay $119/year plus an extra $5/month per channel of things I want to watch, plus another $20 or whatever per season of a current show that's released only on Amazon.

by Anonymousreply 58April 27, 2018 4:31 PM

Someone has to subsidize that slooow, non-member, free shipping.

by Anonymousreply 59April 27, 2018 4:40 PM

You can still pick the slow option as a prime member. Then you actually get credit. But the credit is unpredictable and you can't choose what to get. Once I was offered $2 in music (worthless), another time I was offered $5 in groceries, which I thought was a good deal. The product didn't even arrive as slow as they said

by Anonymousreply 60April 27, 2018 4:43 PM

Fuck all the lazy, spoilt asshole who made Dr. Evil (aka Jeff Bezos) the richest man in the world. Fuck them all.

by Anonymousreply 61April 27, 2018 4:44 PM

Who the hell wants something slow? I want it NOW!

by Anonymousreply 62April 27, 2018 4:45 PM

R1 = Jeff Bezos

by Anonymousreply 63April 27, 2018 4:46 PM

[quote]I'm not going to pay $119/year plus an extra $5/month per channel of things I want to watch, plus another $20 or whatever per season of a current show that's released only on Amazon.

I have never been a member, so I didn't know that the Amazon shows are an extra charge. So the membership is basically for (faster) shipping?

by Anonymousreply 64April 27, 2018 4:47 PM

R64 The prime library is free of charge for members. That has a bunch of shows like The Americans, old HBO shows, the Man in the High Castle, etc. There are many other shows outside of the prime library that cost extra money.

by Anonymousreply 65April 27, 2018 4:51 PM

Yes daddy. I'll pay whatever you want

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by Anonymousreply 66April 27, 2018 4:54 PM

Which shows do you have to pay for then? Amazon new shows, I assume, are included in the membership.

I am not a member, because I know I'd be ordering things just to "get the most out of my membership" and not because I need them.

by Anonymousreply 67April 27, 2018 4:54 PM

People share Prime benefits.

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by Anonymousreply 68April 27, 2018 4:55 PM

I cancelled.

by Anonymousreply 69April 27, 2018 4:57 PM

Yes anything produced by Amazon is free R67, like Transparent or Man in High Castle. The also have all HBO and FX shows one season behind what's current. The rest of their free selection is a random hodge podge of things. I can't find a pattern to it. Just whatever they acquire right to I presume. You can choose to search for only free shows in the menu and I can usually find something there.

by Anonymousreply 70April 27, 2018 4:57 PM

I just checked mine and it's still at $99/year.

by Anonymousreply 71April 27, 2018 4:59 PM

Wow they have some nerve. I stopped being a Prime member when they upped it from $79 to $99 at the exact same time they began charging sales tax in my state. That made it a real no-brainer! $120/year? LOL thanks for the belly laugh, Amazon!

by Anonymousreply 72April 27, 2018 5:02 PM

[quote]eBay needs to quit raising their seller fees.

eBay actually lowered their seller fees a couple of years ago to 10% across the board. Amazon charges way more...sometimes upwards of 20% in some categories. And yet people eat it up!

by Anonymousreply 73April 27, 2018 5:03 PM

You never know. If there's a huge backlash they may just bring the price back down like they did on the free shipping for order over $25.00. That went up many months back but a few months ago they brought it back down to $25.00.

by Anonymousreply 74April 27, 2018 5:06 PM

Yes Amazon wants to put the sellers out of business long term so they can get their customers to buy from them directly. Ebay doesn't sell anything directly so no incentive to hurt the sellers.

by Anonymousreply 75April 27, 2018 5:07 PM

R66, I pay for this "daddy."

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by Anonymousreply 76April 27, 2018 5:10 PM

I tried Prime hoping to get old British mystery shows but it was something like $5 extra a month, plus several episodes kept showing up as unavailable at random times.

by Anonymousreply 77April 27, 2018 5:15 PM

I really don't get how they can get away with upping the price AGAIN when they've eroded the value of Prime in so many ways. First is their lowering the free shipping threshold to $25. That's not hard to reach. Then there are the incessant 'Add-On' items that still require a $25 minimum to ship--even with Prime. Then there's the bullshit "Prime Pantry" items that require a separate $5.99 shipping charge. Then there's the sales tax they're now charging in nearly ever state (that used to be their huge competitive advantage IMO. Now it's gone.) So...why the fuck am I gonna pay MORE money for less? Answer: I'm not. I think Amazon's going to find that breaking the $99 psychological barrier is gonna blow up in their faces. And from reading the comments on various articles about this price increase, I'm seeing almost nothing but anger.

by Anonymousreply 78April 27, 2018 5:18 PM

Same R46. This news reminds me I need to cancel.

by Anonymousreply 79April 27, 2018 5:23 PM

Prime is going to expand even more.

Expect a checking account with no minimums, fees, and ATM fee refund (like Schwab).

by Anonymousreply 80April 27, 2018 5:26 PM

[quote]I just checked mine and it's still at $99/year.

You might want to re-read the thread title.

by Anonymousreply 81April 27, 2018 5:32 PM

R76: just started watching this. One season in a week. It's really good. Looking forward to future binges.

by Anonymousreply 82April 27, 2018 6:14 PM

[quote]As for Amazon, they're number one because they meet deadlines and their customer service is unparalleled. I

totally incorrect, if you go to Amazon's own forums or a site light reddit, you can see that Amazon is now more often than not, consistently late, their shippers are lackluster and their customer service no longer will offer you can compensation on late items, though you paid for it, through the Prime membership.

by Anonymousreply 83April 27, 2018 7:52 PM

I can only speak for my personal experience, but only once in 6ish years of Amazon prime did something ever come late. While I've gotten something arriving in one day instead of the promised two 5 or 6 times. The time my item was late I wasn't offered any compensation (but I also didn't call customer service t try to get any)

by Anonymousreply 84April 27, 2018 7:59 PM

If your membership doesn't expire until after the price hike, can you pre-renew at the lower price now?

by Anonymousreply 85April 27, 2018 9:09 PM

I get free shipping from Target (with the Red Card) but neither they nor Walmart has the enormous selection that Amazon does.

by Anonymousreply 86April 27, 2018 9:10 PM

[quote]totally incorrect, if you go to Amazon's own forums or a site light reddit, you can see that Amazon is now more often than not, consistently late, their shippers are lackluster and their customer service no longer will offer you can compensation on late items, though you paid for it, through the Prime membership.

I'm just talking about myself here but this has been my experience. It's why I let Prime go a few months ago. Not only did multiple - like at least 15 - items arrive late in the past year but it seems that they randomly choose a shipper that, unless I get the item delivered to work, will leave items wherever they please. The shipper could be UPS, USPS, USP to USPS and then you, FedEx or even Amazon themselves -- there is also another random service they'll sometimes deliver by. You never really know until it arrives.

by Anonymousreply 87April 27, 2018 9:16 PM

[quote] If your membership doesn't expire until after the price hike, can you pre-renew at the lower price now?

Don't know about that. You'd probably have to talk to Amazon about that. I'm inclined to doubt it. But as I said above, those who've joined already and are still in their free trial month will be tilled at the current rate of $99.00 even if their trial ends after the price increase.

by Anonymousreply 88April 27, 2018 9:29 PM

Amazon Prime is MARVELOUS!

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by Anonymousreply 89April 27, 2018 9:36 PM

R83 I understand that I am coming across as a paid Amazon shill, but I truly am not.

I am a total shut-in(by choice not physical disability) and I order stuff nearly every day. I have never received a shipment late, but I frequently receive them earlier than expected. I still can't get over the fact that I get Sunday deliveries. And for the person upthread who ordered the pea tea, something is off with your story. Amazon is so great with returns for ANY reason, I don't believe they would not take back or exchange the tea.

Once I notified them that I had not gotten something which registered "left on front door step" on the FedEx tracking page. I swore up and down that I had not gotten it and they sent me another of the same item. 6 weeks later I found the item stuck under a chair by the door still boxed as it arrived. I was mortified and so I wrote letters of apology to the seller and to Amazon, and of course I reimbursed the seller for the second item.

by Anonymousreply 90April 27, 2018 9:53 PM

[quote]I am a total shut-in(by choice not physical disability) and I order stuff nearly every day.

H O A R D E R

by Anonymousreply 91April 27, 2018 10:26 PM

I think the delivery issues depend largely on the shipper, and sometimes the choice of shipper is due to your location. Up until some time last year, nearly all of the stuff I ordered from Amazon came by UPS or by UPS and then transferred to USPS. I have bought numerous things lately, and nearly 100% of them have been delivered by Amazon Logistics. But I'm assuming that service is not available everywhere. One thing that's cool about them is that you can track the exact location of the delivery vehicle once it leaves the local office. And they tell you how many stops the driver has before he/she reaches you.

by Anonymousreply 92April 27, 2018 10:32 PM

I just checked and my membership expires TOMORROW, and I'll only be billed $99 for the next year. For once in my life I had good timing!

by Anonymousreply 93April 27, 2018 10:36 PM

R10, not necessarily. I'm not driving all over creation to try to find some store that carries something one day but not the next. I stopped Pirme for 2-3 years several years ago. At that time, I was not tracked so hard and I could comparison shop online. Now , you are followed so all merchants charge nearly the same and Amazon will undercharge by a few pennies. The reason I stopped prime last time is that there were periods where the price would go up 2-3 dollars over a couple of months on an item and it would happen across a number of times. But, just before Prime was supposed to expire, the prices would drop the same way. Just pissed me off. That said, I agree with R113. I've had a horrible time with the post office delivery lately. I recently was able to speak with a supervisor who wasn't full of shit. He had a good idea and things have improved, at least in the short term.

Whoever said no taxes is wrong. They do collect tax, depending on the item and the seller. And I paid $99 for my prime renewal in January, but they tacked on $7.xx in taxes. The $119 is quite a jump, considering that I don't use some of their services.

by Anonymousreply 94April 27, 2018 10:55 PM

I believe one big criteria to how Amazon chooses a carrier is the size of the item. The larger the size the more apt they are to use UPS. I get a ton of stuff through the USPS and UPS Surepost (where UPS carries it all the way from Amazon to the local post office of the recipient and then the USPS delivers it). The only time I've had a delivery by Fed Ex. is if they fucked up so bad they felt they needed to do an overnight at their expense.

by Anonymousreply 95April 27, 2018 11:11 PM

[quote]If there's a huge backlash they may just bring the price back down like they did on the free shipping for order over $25.00. That went up many months back but a few months ago they brought it back down to $25.00.

They only brought that back down because Walmart did it first.

What we are currently seeing is the birth of an unregulated monopoly. Wait until you see what happens once Amazon has driven all of its competition out of business.

by Anonymousreply 96April 27, 2018 11:12 PM

You might start to see a lot of "sharing." Even now, I order stuff for other people and have it delivered to their house; they reimburse me.

by Anonymousreply 97April 27, 2018 11:14 PM

I find Prime to be worthless. Every time I order something they ask me if I would like standard shipping instead of 2-day shipping for $1 digital credit. So I always say yes and the items always come quicker than their estimate of 5 days anyway. So now I have a lot of digital media credits on Amazon to rent movies. But it's not worth it because I basically pay $99 to get $15 in movie credits.

by Anonymousreply 98April 27, 2018 11:19 PM

You have to not understand what the word monopoly means to call Amazon one. There are more companies that let you order things online then there are brands of shampoo or any other household product

by Anonymousreply 99April 28, 2018 1:28 AM

Only Trumpette deplorables call Amazon a monopoly.

by Anonymousreply 100April 28, 2018 1:49 AM

Like Walmart, Amazon treats its employees like shit.

by Anonymousreply 101April 28, 2018 2:05 AM

Amazon is at the start of being a monopoly. They keep expanding into more and more areas and driving other similar businesses out of business by underselling their products, sometimes at a loss to themselves. They are currently doing to Walmart and Target, etc., what Walmart did to the brick-and-mortar stores. Anyone who can't figure out where this is headed price and market-wise are just pretending to be ignorant so they can sit on their couch and order milk instead of having to go all the way to the store on the corner. There were all kinds of people who had problems with Amazon's business practices and the corporate path they were taking way before Trump started pouting about Bezo's newspaper calling him on his bullshit.

by Anonymousreply 102April 28, 2018 4:08 AM

*Bezos's

by Anonymousreply 103April 28, 2018 4:10 AM

Seeing as how we still have not only Walmart and target still, but also Ebay, overstock.com, and other online retailers, i don't think Amazon is an existential threat

by Anonymousreply 104April 28, 2018 4:22 AM

Do you understand the concept of time, R104?

by Anonymousreply 105April 28, 2018 6:28 AM

Sort of on topic. I noticed that Whole Foods tends to go out of stock on items (I've never had that experience before Amazon took over). I went to my local WF store and they were out of a few varieties of bulk coffee beans. And some simple things, like Rishi tea bags, they don't sell anymore. Maybe it's just bad management at my local store.

by Anonymousreply 106April 28, 2018 6:34 AM

My whole foods has stopped carrying ground chicken thigh meat that they grind in the store. That was one of the last things I had to buy at Whole Foods. I don't think I'm going back.

by Anonymousreply 107April 28, 2018 6:55 AM

Note to self: start guaranteeing one-day delivery on ground chicken thigh meat.

by Anonymousreply 108April 28, 2018 7:07 AM

Right before it went up from 79 to 99, they had special whereby you could buy a gift membership at the 79 price and gift it to yourself and get the new year at 79 while everyone else paid 99. Betcha they offer that special again...and you're in for another year. Meanwhile you get 'used' to the new price increase coming up in a year. Rinse, repeat.

by Anonymousreply 109April 28, 2018 7:25 AM

If you have a EBT or Medicaid card, you can get Amazon Prime for $5.99 per month.

by Anonymousreply 110April 28, 2018 8:20 AM

I guess Jeff needs more money for steroids.

by Anonymousreply 111April 28, 2018 9:24 AM

If that's what it's for r111 I really don't mind paying it

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by Anonymousreply 112April 28, 2018 11:05 AM

R91 You don't know how close to right you are. I can't help but laugh at myself for being so transparent.

I was a hoarder of sorts...not like the ones on the TLC and A&E shows, but I had a lot of the symptoms. My hose was a mess and because of my dislike of people, I would never get stuff fixed because I didn't want people coming in. Well, that's all changed. The attorneys who control my trust have installed a permanent housekeeper, and someone from their office comes over once a week to see that things are tidy and uncluttered. I never collected stuff like the poor guys on the shows, and I still don't. My daily shipments are just the staples and stuff that normal people buy at Target and Publix.

by Anonymousreply 113April 28, 2018 11:43 AM

HOUSE not hose^^^^^^

by Anonymousreply 114April 28, 2018 11:44 AM

[quote]How much do you pay for cable?

Who PAYS for cable?

by Anonymousreply 115April 28, 2018 11:58 AM

One good thing about Amazon is that it is very profitable. Bezos reinvests all extra money in new businesses. So it's generating a lot more value than other similar companies are where the family is just hoarding a bunch of the profits for themselves

by Anonymousreply 116April 28, 2018 11:59 AM

[quote]so they can sit on their couch and order milk instead of having to go all the way to the store on the corner

The problem with people like me (and millions of others) is that Walmart came in and destroyed the variety of products we could get in town, by driving out all the local businesses. The little international food stores and specialty shops disappeared about 10 years ago, as did the local pharmacies which used to have a good selection of items. We don't have corner stores anymore, not like in big cities. We have one area of town with a Walmart, a Walgreens, and some grocery stores among the fast food places... and we have 12K more people than we did a decade ago when we had more vibrant shopping areas. People literally pack up on Fridays and drive their entire families to a metropolis 2 hours away just so they can fucking shop. We can't do that because of work.

Online is now the only place I can get relatively common items like nasal rinses I actually need, the iron supplements I'm prescribed, or things like Torani syrups that I just want. I'd ask the local Kroger to order these things like they used to and they'd do it once and never again.

All that said, the price increase plus the fact that the last three things I ordered from Amazon were damaged before they even got put in the box equals no more Prime for me. I can't return stuff unless I use UPS and it, like everything else in town, has downsized so that there's only one UPS office that will take packages and it's 10 miles away. All that work to fix THEIR mistake?

I can't feel sorry for Walmart because it was their predatory business practice that lead to this in the first place. I'd be happy to go back to buying locally like I used to but I can't.

Hell, there's no reason for most of us in the Midwest to even leave our fucking houses anymore. You have no idea how bad it is. And that's what Amazon is taking advantage of.

by Anonymousreply 117April 28, 2018 12:03 PM

[quote]You might start to see a lot of "sharing." Even now, I order stuff for other people and have it delivered to their house; they reimburse me.

People on eBay buy a Prime membership and then sell Amazon items and pocket the profit.

They'll list something like storage containers on eBay for $20 including shipping. Someone buys it, so they order on Amazon for $15 with free shipping, send to the person who bought it on eBay, then pocket the $5 difference they made without having to do anything except spend 60 seconds on Amazon ordering a storage container.

by Anonymousreply 118April 28, 2018 12:06 PM

There's an episode of Reply All about that R118. It's called the worlds most expensive watch or something.

Reply All is a podcast that does journalism on internet stories. The have shadowed online bounty hunters, uncovered huge illegal money making schemes, that kind of stuff. It's cool. And I think both the hosts are gay

by Anonymousreply 119April 28, 2018 12:10 PM

R102, not only is Amazon underselling, it's relying on third party counterfeiters and pirates as suppliers to screw over businesses and manufacturers. There are entire categories of products that are stocked with fakes by counterfeiters but "fulfilled by Amazon." For example, none of the Samsung ear buds or headphones are real, and after Birkenstock pulled its stock because of the vast number of fakes, Amazon tried buying Google AdWords with misspelled versions of the company brand, in some ploy to trick Google buyers into purchasing counterfeits. It also tried recruiting Birkenstock vendors to sell, in an attempt to go over Birkenstock's head.

Another thing Amazon did was encourage indie designers and product makers to sell at its site, then invite thousands of dodgy Chinese sellers to pirate their items. These designers and product makers have been fighting tooth and nail to deal with the problem but Amazon has turned a blind eye. Not only that, it didn't even made the process of filing claims against offenders so difficult that most have been forced to accept defeat.

Wal-Mart is evil but Amazon is far worse than it ever was. Liberals who are slobbering over the company in defense of it because King Cheeto attacked it are the textbook example of "useful idiots." Bezos is as evil as Trump. In some cases, he's worse. Trump is like the raging alcoholic spouse who punches and slaps you but you at least know what's coming and you know what he's about. But Bezos is the gaslightighting child abuser who convinces you that getting hit is a sign of love and also manipulates everyone around him into thinking that he's a loving guardian and that you got your bruises from the playground bully. Do not trust Amazon or Bezos. At all.

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by Anonymousreply 120April 28, 2018 12:19 PM

I'll check that out, R119, thanks. I didn't even know people DID that until I went looking for a specific design for a fabric storage container (the design was the dreaded trellis! Ich bin ein frauen!) and could only find it on eBay. Turned out there must have been one on Amazon because the seller just bought it from there and had it shipped to me.

by Anonymousreply 121April 28, 2018 12:20 PM

You mean the fake products from China I get every so often from Amazon aren't because the sellers are sketchy, but because Amazon INVITES them to be sketchy? Oh for fuck's sake, I had no idea.

by Anonymousreply 122April 28, 2018 12:22 PM

More on Amazon's huge counterfeiting problem (see link). The article is from 2016 but it's more relevant today than when it was first written. Amazon is using an even shadier tactic than Wal-Mart. Whereas Wal-Mart undercut businesses by importing cheap Chinese versions of American made products, Amazon is happily working with and even stocking its warehouses with genuine counterfeits (oxymoron, I know), and are enabling the counterfeiters by making it too expensive and time consuming for designers and businesses to take the offenders down.

Don't buy Amazon's excuse that it's a victim of the counterfeiting problem. Inviting bad actors onto platforms has been the playbook of many Silicon Valley companies for a few years now. It's why Facebook and Twitter allowed disinfo agents to buy ads on their networks and why Google turned a blind eye to child abusers, pedophile rings, hoaxers and fake newsers on YouTube until the MSM exposed them. They've become so greedy they don't care who they're getting money from or who is bringing in business.

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by Anonymousreply 123April 28, 2018 12:48 PM

Posting from overseas and I have had nothing but good experiences. Not to say I fully endorse Amazon though as my last transaction showed their laziness. I purchased a blu ray from them that was listed in stock, only after I had been through checkout did it suddenly state it was out of of stock. That was bullshit as it was some low brow slasher that had been released for months and I doubt they sold ten copies of it in a couple of hours. Anyway I purchased it on a Thursday and they didn't ship until Monday. It did arrive before the due date, but when you advertise ship immediately, fucking ship immediately.

I've noticed that shitloads of online shops now won't ship at all on Thursday or Friday. Lazy cheap asses.

Though the true crime of Amazon is Amazon Uk. Avoid at all costs. Used to be great but they use Asendia which is nothing but a cunt company for shipping.

by Anonymousreply 124April 28, 2018 1:23 PM

I hate what Amazon has done to people's minds. eBay now pressures sellers to ship items NOW! NOW! NOW! because God forbid some vapid twat in Topeka has to wait more than 48 hours to receive their item (which they also wanted for dirt cheap). Bitch, you'll get it when you get it. I ain't Amazon.

by Anonymousreply 125April 28, 2018 1:33 PM

I know this isn't available in all areas yet, but the ability to return Amazon stuff to Kohl's is one of the best improvements they've made. You can take something there--not even packaged or boxed--and they ship it back to Amazon for you for free. And give you a discount coupon to use at Kohl's to boot.

by Anonymousreply 126April 28, 2018 4:25 PM

I realized when I looked through my Amazon order history that most of what I ordered in the past year or two was not some absolute necessity. (Plus, as a non member I have to wait to accumulate $35 worth of stuff, which makes me buy things I can find locally.)

Going out to buy a carton of milk once in a while, having a quick chat with the person at the cash register, is not a bad thing; whoever complained about it upthread.

I stopped buying books on Amazon and resumed going to small bookstores. My local bookstore is tragic; their literature selection is minuscule. So I go to a nice one further away, spend an hour browsing books (saw Rebecca Miller doing the same this week), talk to the staff about recommendations. At least it's an experience I remember unlike putting "items in my cart".

We've becoming so isolated from ourselves and then we wonder why we're feeling low or depressed, or why are we irritated by people when we are around them. It wouldn't be so bad if people still read books, but the majority of our down time is spent (wasted) browsing the internet. The information comes in so much volume that we can't properly digest it, so we don't think about anything in depth.

by Anonymousreply 127April 28, 2018 5:44 PM

Despite common perception. Book reading has not dropped significantly over the last decade. About 3 in 4 Americans read a least a little for leisure

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by Anonymousreply 128April 28, 2018 6:00 PM

And my last three Amazon deliveries have been fucked up So fees go up, profits increase and customer service goes down

Capitalism will always fuck you right in the ass.

by Anonymousreply 129April 28, 2018 6:00 PM

I had a fucking sofa sitting on my driveway the other day. I caught the UPS driver before he left. WTF ? I asked him to kindly take it back as. I hadn't ordered it even tho it had my name on it.

Amazon is no longer reliable.

by Anonymousreply 130April 28, 2018 6:16 PM

I'm not seeing the argument for Amazon being a monopoly. Or exactly what you think federal regulators could do.

Both Walmart and Target have been posting sales increases. So much for driving competition out of business.

What product is Amazon the only seller?

Monopolies are abut markets for distinct categories of product.

by Anonymousreply 131April 28, 2018 6:25 PM

Amazon Drive was an even bigger FU to their customers. They offered me a year of unlimited storage for my birthday, and then $60 a year thereafter for unlimited. Then, a year or two later after I spent all that time mirroring my hard drives, they sent an email saying they would charge that amount for each terrabyte and automatically delete stuff off the cloud if it was over quota. So, yeah, this type of move doesn't surprise me.

by Anonymousreply 132April 28, 2018 6:38 PM

[quote]Monopolies are abut markets for distinct categories of product.

Or distinct categories of service. Amazon provides a unique service of selling EVERYTHING you might want, and shipping ALL of it to your home. Maybe Walmart can match that? Barely.

by Anonymousreply 133April 28, 2018 6:42 PM

R133 there are many other online sellers though. Like eBay. Being clearly better than your completion does not make you a monopoly I'd your competition stays in business. And Amazon has plenty of competition. They're just the best at what they do

by Anonymousreply 134April 28, 2018 6:48 PM

That's debatable that they're the best. I too have experienced the slowing down of receiving packages because I'm not a Prime Member. And I've been shopping there since the early 2000's. Do they not realize that many longtime customers aren't Prime members?

by Anonymousreply 135April 28, 2018 6:51 PM

So why can't I make on line purchases from other stores on my Fire?

That's a bit OTT.

by Anonymousreply 136April 28, 2018 6:51 PM

r136 Your Fire doesn't have a web browser?

by Anonymousreply 137April 28, 2018 6:52 PM

R134 I'd say their original programming is pretty shoddy on the whole (Netflix offers better original programming) and the video interface actually lags behind it's competitors such as Apple which offers more 4K content and extras. I've never owned a Fire Device but browsing or sorting your video library on an android capable device isn't that intuitive. They also still consolidate reviews for unrelated products, their movie database isn't as good (surprising since they own IMDb, perhaps the most comprehensive entertainment database in the world) and they regularly scrub or bury their product reviews. They also recently got rid of all their discussion forums while no one was looking which had several years worth of content and are said to be the prime reason why IMDb shut down their message boards. So no, they are not the best at what they do. They do know how to price aggressively, but even then that proves to be just another bait and switch.

I'm surprised they did this move quite frankly instead of trying to beef up content for their channel subscriptions.

by Anonymousreply 138April 28, 2018 6:59 PM

[quote]Despite common perception. Book reading has not dropped significantly over the last decade. About 3 in 4 Americans read a least a little for leisure

I should elaborate on what I said before, which is, we don't talk about books in daily conversation. We talk about TV shows (that we stream on line), sometimes films (that we stream on line). Books are not our companions anymore; smartphones and laptops are.

by Anonymousreply 139April 28, 2018 6:59 PM

[quote]I too have experienced the slowing down of receiving packages because I'm not a Prime Member.

That's deliberate. They could of course ship it out faster, but they think they can inconvenience customers into ponying up the $120/year. Never reward this type of business practice.

by Anonymousreply 140April 28, 2018 7:43 PM

It seems with the opening of additional Amazon warehouses there's more confusion, not more efficiency.

by Anonymousreply 141April 28, 2018 8:10 PM

R124 you'd be surprised how many items go to out of stock status in the split seconds between you starting your order and clicking "place order". If it's a good deal it happens all the time.

by Anonymousreply 142April 28, 2018 8:31 PM

R134, it takes time to drive entire companies out of business, especially the giant ones. Amazon is moving into every single market for every type of item and service and then underselling their competitors by taking losses and using some underhanded business practices. Walmart and Target have been able to withstand them so far but companies like Sears, Macys, Toys R Us, etc., haven't. Now that the medium sized businesses competing with Walmart, Target, and Amazon are falling, the head to head competition between the giants is starting. Some of you are so stuck in the moment you can't seem to extrapolate out to the ultimate endgame for Amazon...total market control of everything.

by Anonymousreply 143April 29, 2018 1:25 AM

Sure, Jan.

by Anonymousreply 144April 29, 2018 3:06 AM

I was very skeptical of the tinhat "Amazon is taking over" theory until 5 minutes ago.

Apparently in order to snag the Luddite elderly and other tech- phobics, they are now selling on QVC. They are currently doing an all electronics show. I wonder if they are mulling over the possibility of buying the on air shopping channels?

by Anonymousreply 145April 29, 2018 3:18 AM

Some of you are trying to simplify "monopoly" down to the board game. In short a seller must have done something improper which not only allows them to dominate the market but also the improper conduct has eliminated competition to such an extent that if the seller raises prices the consumer hs no where else to go.

Amazon has about 4% of all retail sales in the US. I'm not sure how you make the case a seller has a monopoly when they only have 4% of the market.

by Anonymousreply 146April 29, 2018 7:32 AM

Amazon should start paying their employees fair wages so the don’t have to collect food stamps.

by Anonymousreply 147April 29, 2018 8:04 AM

Probably not in my lifetime, but eventually there were be no brick and mortar stores. Seems like every time I am looking to buy something I have to buy it online and shipped to store.

by Anonymousreply 148April 29, 2018 2:16 PM

I've worked a lot harder for a lot less than Amazon pays.

by Anonymousreply 149April 29, 2018 2:42 PM

I just cancelled. I have until May first to finish Mozart in the Jungle.

by Anonymousreply 150April 29, 2018 2:44 PM

A few things I do to try and avoid fakes and ripoffs. 1. Try to buy from Amazon.com directly if it's an expensive or name brand item, it's no guarantee against getting swindled but it may reduce the odds a bit. 2. Use the website Fakespot to find out if all those glowing reviews about a product are real or fake reviews written by bots. 3. Use the Chrome extension Honey it will tell you if there are any discount codes or coupons available for a specific item and you set it to track a product and alert you when the price drops.

by Anonymousreply 151April 29, 2018 2:53 PM

[quote]Try to buy from Amazon.com directly if it's an expensive or name brand item, it's no guarantee against getting swindled but it may reduce the odds a bit.

No.

If you want to buy an expensive brand name item, buy directly from the retailer itself online. Do not buy from Amazon. Amazon has started stocking its warehouse with Third Party Items and will surreptitiously leave the impression that you're buying directly from Amazon itself when what you're doing is buying an item that was sent to its warehouse by any Tom, Dick or Harry.

by Anonymousreply 152April 29, 2018 3:00 PM

Ya I just have never experienced even a little of what you guys are talking about on Amazon. Not trying to be insulting but maybe you guys are ordering the very absolute cheapest items? I usually browse 3 or 4 and find one with good reviews. You can even see comments about the shipping speed in reviews. Iv'e never gotten something damaged, only once gotten something late. And I've made some pretty big purchases on Amazon. Pieces of furniture and kitchen appliances.

Even when you go 3rd party you van see seller reviews. There is so much variety I never have to go with someone less than like 96% positive reviews

by Anonymousreply 153April 29, 2018 3:04 PM

I meant if you aren't familiar with the retailer R153 I should have clarified.

by Anonymousreply 154April 29, 2018 3:05 PM

No worries R154, but even when i'm not familiar with the retailer I only buy from a retailer that has amazing reviews and products that have more than 4 stars. I read over 15 reviews including seeking out the bad ones. There are sections where people can publicly ask the retailer and each other questions about an item and you can read those to see if people say the shipping is bad or the item is damaged. And I have never had a bad experience on Amazon doing that. Sometimes my method excludes items that are $5 or so cheaper but what I get is usually still much cheaper than brick and mortar prices. And I had a greater selection

by Anonymousreply 155April 29, 2018 3:11 PM

[quote]Not trying to be insulting but maybe you guys are ordering the very absolute cheapest items?

You think Chanel is "cheap"? (See link)

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by Anonymousreply 156April 29, 2018 3:46 PM

It's also worth mentioning that Amazon is the only digital retailer that won't let you download your purchased videos for offline viewing. If they were really the best at what they do, they should show that they give a damn about improving their service before raising their prices.

by Anonymousreply 157May 3, 2018 4:53 AM

no. fuck these cunts. they treat their workers like shit and they have patents already for a wristbands which their employees will wear, it will track workers' movements. --------- Amazon has patented designs for a wristband that can precisely track where warehouse employees are placing their hands and use vibrations to nudge them in a different direction.

The concept, which aims to streamline the fulfilment of orders, adds another layer of surveillance to an already challenging working environment.

When someone orders a product from Amazon, the details are transmitted to the handheld computers that all warehouse staff carry. Upon receiving the order details, the worker must rush to retrieve the product from one of many inventory bins on shelves, pack it into a delivery box and move on to the next assignment.

The proposed wristbands would use ultrasonic tracking to identify the precise location of a worker’s hands as they retrieve items. One of the patents outlines a haptic feedback system that would vibrate against the wearer’s skin to point their hand in the right direction. The result? Human workers can fulfil more orders – until robots develop the dexterity to replace them altogether.

A less generous interpretation would be that the wristbands provide Amazon management with new workplace surveillance capabilities that can identify the workers wasting time scratching, fidgeting or dilly-dallying.

Amazon already has a reputation for turning low-paid staff into “human robots” – working alongside thousands of proper robots – carrying out repetitive packaging tasks as fast as possible in an attempt to hit goals set by handheld computers.

This month, the 24-year-old warehouse worker Aaron Callaway described having just 15 seconds to scan items and place them into the right cart during his night shifts at an Amazon warehouse in the UK. “My main interaction is with the robots,” he said.

In 2016, a BBC investigation found that agency workers making Amazon deliveries reported defecating in bags, speeding and falling asleep at the wheel as they desperately tried to hit ambitious delivery targets issued by an Amazon logistics app.

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by Anonymousreply 158May 3, 2018 5:20 AM

Amazon warehouse workers.

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by Anonymousreply 159May 3, 2018 5:28 AM

From the article in R158, In 2016, a BBC investigation found that agency workers making Amazon deliveries reported defecating in bags, speeding and falling asleep at the wheel as they desperately tried to hit ambitious delivery targets issued by an Amazon logistics app.

Shitting in bags so they can hit delivery targets! Fucking hell!

by Anonymousreply 160May 3, 2018 5:31 AM

What R10 wrote is very true, I know people who buy everything on Amazon, and pay way too much money for it when they could just as easily buy things in a local store. One narcissistic woman I know, when her grandchildren who live nearby were visiting her for a weekend, bought them coloring books, markers, colored pencils, etc. on Amazon and paid more, and had to wait for the orders, than if she just bought them from a local dollar store or local arts and crafts store.

R117, what do you mean about how living in the Midwest is so bad that there's no reason for anyone to leave their house at all? I know it's flyover land but it can't be that bad, isolated, or dangerous? I have friends who live in the Midwest but even the ones who live in rural areas or smaller cities/towns go to larger cities on weekends.

I have ordered things on ebay, like certain brands of tea that were not expensive, and at the time not available in stores, and then some random person who was not associated with USPS, UPS, or any sort of delivery service but with amazon dropped it off the next day which was odd to me. Now I see random people getting out of cars and delivering amazon packages to all of my neighbors' homes. I know that amazon now wants to be able to have delivery people drop orders off in the trunk of your car or inside the door of your home but I'm not sure who would actually let them do this?

I mainly use Amazon to buy used books and they used to be great with having very accurate descriptions of the condition of the book, but then drop shippers came in and a lot of times books that on the site that claim to be "like new, or very good" wind up having lots of damage to them. I also have ordered books and they never arrive. This did not happen when I first started buying books on there in the early 2000s.

I also have ordered DVDs on amazon back before streaming services became available, and I had only one seller who did not send the DVD I had ordered but I was refunded.

by Anonymousreply 161May 16, 2018 5:52 AM

[quote]I will definitely be canceling before my free trial expires.

Which is why the price went up. People with no intention of buying it are using the trial. The trial is only intended for honest people who might actually buy it.

by Anonymousreply 162May 16, 2018 5:57 AM

[quote]The problem with people like me (and millions of others) is that Walmart came in and destroyed the variety of products we could get in town, by driving out all the local businesses.

Bullshit, you see the same claim about Woolworth in the early 1900s, driving out all the local businesses. They said the same thing about A&P too. Where are Woolworth and A&P today?

by Anonymousreply 163May 16, 2018 6:00 AM

This is crazy. I can get introverted at times, especially if I'm working but I would not want to work at an amazon warehouse alone, without any other human co-workers, and under these strict quotas.

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by Anonymousreply 164May 16, 2018 6:02 AM

[quote]You mean the fake products from China I get every so often from Amazon aren't because the sellers are sketchy, but because Amazon INVITES them to be sketchy? Oh for fuck's sake, I had no idea.

Amazon is pretty good about pulling these sellers when they are reported. The problem is they do little pro-active policing, due to legal issues. The thing is American law will put the onus on policing if you start doing it. If you don't do any pro-active policing the burden of proof is not with the venue.

But you're right there are so many fakes it's overwhelming. This is why certain things like Razor Blades (the #1 counterfeit item) and SD cards (#2 counterfeit item) should never be purchased from Amazon or any place that doesn't have a stellar reputation for policing such things. And even then you can never be too sure.

by Anonymousreply 165May 16, 2018 6:05 AM

They're gone R163, I remember at two of the local malls I grew up at there were Woolworth's stores, but they closed decades ago.

My dad who is in his early 80s tells me how he and my grandparents would buy stuff at A&P stores and how in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s they had great coffee, tea, and fruit cake with pecans on it.

by Anonymousreply 166May 16, 2018 6:08 AM

R165 when I first heard about fake items being sold on amazon and now ebay I was not surprised. I've heard this happens with video-gaming systems, mobile phones, shoes, and other products.

by Anonymousreply 167May 16, 2018 6:09 AM

Woolworths going out of business after 120 years doesn't mean they didn't hurt local businesses, r163. And their stores were often local franchises, not just big box stores or online megastores owned by one company.

by Anonymousreply 168May 16, 2018 6:10 AM

Is it R162? They have to know that a lot of people who sign up for the trial will not pay for it or keep paying for it, but they know that many will. I have never used prime or signed up for a trial of it, but a friend of mine did and likes it, but he's in grad school, so wouldn't it be free or a lot less expensive?

I don't know anyone who is so lazy that they would buy an Amazon dash button? If I want a product like laundry detergent, or some cleaner I go to a store and buy it, and buy them in small amounts when they are on sale and use coupons.

The Alexa commercials are annoying, and it's sort of disturbing how amazon wants to use drones to deliver packages. Yeah I know people want their orders, but can't people be patient?

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by Anonymousreply 169May 16, 2018 6:21 AM

I don't care if their employees have to shit in bags--I want my nail polish and I want it NOW!!!

by Anonymousreply 170May 16, 2018 6:29 AM

I just looked the EBT/Medicaid is max 48 mos but thanks to the upthread poster!

by Anonymousreply 171May 16, 2018 8:13 AM

My city's recreation dept. is offering an excursion to visit an Amazon fulfillment center. Here's their description:

[quote]Have you ever wondered what happens on Amazon after you click BUY? Come see the process inside buildings that are as big as 28 football fields and have enough steel to build the Eiffel Tower almost 2x over.

Think it would be worth a visit?

by Anonymousreply 172May 16, 2018 5:56 PM

Yes R172, but don't be surprised if during the tour the employees all say how they love working there, etc.

Which city are you from if you don't mind me asking? I am in Philadelphia and Amazon was at one time considering opening up here, but it looks as though that's not going to happen which I am OK with.

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by Anonymousreply 173May 16, 2018 6:00 PM

R173 I'm in the LA eastern suburbs. The description doesn't say where the fulfillment center is located, but based on the location of the included lunch that follows the tour, I'm assuming it's somewhere in the Inland Empire (western San Bernardino or Riverside counties.) There are literally thousands of warehouses and similar facilities out that way.

by Anonymousreply 174May 16, 2018 6:22 PM

Huge new discounts at Whole Foods for Amazon Prime members with the Whole Foods app.

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by Anonymousreply 175May 16, 2018 6:29 PM

I do not worship at the altar of Amazon.

by Anonymousreply 176May 16, 2018 7:50 PM

Could this price hike be in reaction to the just passed but opposed by Amazon Head tax in Seattle?

by Anonymousreply 177May 16, 2018 7:53 PM

I need Man in The High Castle Season 3 already. They're being ridiculous. It was supposed to be out in winter 2017! Charge me $119 but (a) give me my damn show and (b) don't ban be for returning things without telling me there's some mystery limit. (b2) If you are imposing a return limit, stop selling improperly described shit with fake reviews.

Oh wait, monopolies can do whatever the fuck they want. Walmart bought Jet.com but they'll never catch up.

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by Anonymousreply 178May 16, 2018 7:54 PM

Yep, that threat of being banned for returning shit is a huge reason I avoid buying from Amazon. Why should I shop in fear??

by Anonymousreply 179May 16, 2018 7:59 PM

I've decided to cancel my Audible subscription to save money.

by Anonymousreply 180May 16, 2018 9:05 PM

that doesn't make sense to me R179. You're worried that the next item you return may cause Amazon to suspend your account. So you stop ordering from Amazon. So you suspend your account yourself in anticipation of Amazon suspending your account? Why not just wait until Amazon suspends your account?

by Anonymousreply 181May 16, 2018 11:14 PM

I don't think $119.00/yr is that bad. With the speedy delivery and all the free programing you get with Prime it's more than worth it.

by Anonymousreply 182May 16, 2018 11:21 PM

Free programming?? You paid $119 + tax for it!

by Anonymousreply 183May 16, 2018 11:57 PM

Does net neutrality have any affect at all? In the past few months, both Amazon and Netflix raised their prices, and Amazon even tried lowering their video bandwidth without consulting their customers. Such bullshit!

by Anonymousreply 184May 17, 2018 12:35 AM

In other words, why are we working so hard to protect a law that does nothing to stop tech companies from regularly price gouging their customers?

by Anonymousreply 185May 17, 2018 12:39 AM

[quote]I have until May first to finish Mozart in the Jungle.

Don't bother with season 4. Just don't even start it. Season 3 isn't much better, but there is no reason to watch season 4. They lost their way.

by Anonymousreply 186May 17, 2018 12:56 AM

[quote]Free programming?? You paid $119 + tax for it!

I pay for the programming. It's the shipping that's free.

by Anonymousreply 187May 17, 2018 1:00 AM

Would someone recommend favorite programs on prime video please?

by Anonymousreply 188May 17, 2018 1:06 AM

I've yet to find anything I want to watch on Amazon Prime.

by Anonymousreply 189May 17, 2018 1:09 AM

Just tonight I went to buy something with Prime and was told it was only free shipping if I spent $25. I hope that was some kind of mistake.

by Anonymousreply 190May 17, 2018 1:19 AM

[quote]Would someone recommend favorite programs on prime video please?

Bosch

Goliath

by Anonymousreply 191May 17, 2018 1:31 AM

If you spend $10 in shipping a month then that's the end of the decision. Just look at your old orders. I've spent more than that in the last few years, even at Amazon rates (which I can only guess at based on the few returns I did - about 30-40% off UPS rates at retail). They will ship huge, heavy things & still you pay nothing basically. So, as bad as it seems, it's probably worth it.

But they need to bring back the man in the high castle already!! What the hell? Why aren't they even saying anything? I check the nerd blogs like every few weeks & nothing. I really liked that show.

by Anonymousreply 192May 17, 2018 1:55 AM

r190 there's some items that are "Add on items" and only ship after you spent a certain amount - like $25. I forgot how much it was.

It sounds like you ran into that.

As far as I can tell (and I've only ordered one of those items once or twice) you can't even pay for those items to be shipped. They're add-on only. It's almost always very small things...a packet of dog treats or paperclips, etc.

by Anonymousreply 193May 17, 2018 1:57 AM

Target has the same thing. I get free shipping because I have a Red Card, but many items are marked "ships only with a $25 order."

by Anonymousreply 194May 17, 2018 2:04 AM

R190...I saw that about spending more but when click to order I get the free 2 day shipping

by Anonymousreply 195May 17, 2018 2:21 AM

"Add-On" items didn't used to be a thing. That's what Prime was for! But no. Now Amazon wants MORE money for less value. GTFO of here with that shit.

by Anonymousreply 196May 17, 2018 2:47 AM

[quote]"ships only with a $25 order."

If that's for Prime members than that's really fucked up.

It's either free shipping or it's free shipping above $25. Amazon needs to advertise properly.

by Anonymousreply 197May 17, 2018 4:27 AM

All your Prime memberships will now pay for Amazon's new tax in Seattle.

Countdown to another rise in shipping and/or Prime fees.

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by Anonymousreply 198May 17, 2018 4:38 AM

r197 That was for Target, not Amazon. And there's no fee involved (for the free shipping or the credit card.)

by Anonymousreply 199May 17, 2018 4:45 AM

never been, never will

by Anonymousreply 200May 17, 2018 4:46 AM

It's almost always small things that are not cost effective to ship. Like cheap things that would be the same price to ship. I mentioned dog treats because they're like $4 for a bag and are add-on only because shipping would be $3-4 so prime does NOT allow this to be shipped without $25.

If you do not have prime, they will still refuse to ship this item to you until you spend $25. This is $4.99 and $4.95 to ship on chewey... or you can pick it up at petco for $5.19 - but that requires leaving your house....

I just put add-on items in my cart and "save for later" until I have enough stuff and add it back. Yes, amazon is squeezing every last dime out of your Prime membership (they have to get it for $10/mo in shipping or they lose). It is not advertised up front, that some items will not be shipped to you in 2 days if they are cheap. It's kind of random what is add-on though.

The best thing about prime is you can get big bulky things like air filters and vacuum cleaners which would be crazy to ship - and it's free. It's not even baked into the price because target has the same vacuum cleaners and they're the same price. I am getting annoyed with all the boxes amazon uses lately so I buy more at target now & just pick it up. My main issue with target was always stocking problems. But now that they have online order / pickup - it's just easier than dealing with amazon a lot of the time.

There are a lot of things that are SO hard to find without amazon now. Basically all of radio shack - all those adapters, cables, etc... none of that is at best buy (or 3x the price). Even best buy employees tell you to check amazon. They do have to fix their fake review problem though. Fakespot.com helps to an extent, but it's not perfect.

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by Anonymousreply 201May 17, 2018 6:11 AM

It wouldn't cost Amazon $4 to ship those dog treats. They pay ridiculously low bulk postage rates compared to what you or I would pay.

by Anonymousreply 202May 17, 2018 9:51 AM

[quote]There are a lot of things that are SO hard to find without amazon now. Basically all of radio shack - all those adapters, cables, etc..

I find a lot of that stuff on eBay, often at better prices and with free shipping. (Definitely a much larger selection.) Unfortunately, a lot of it ships from China and can take a month or more to show up.

by Anonymousreply 203May 17, 2018 4:21 PM

Isn't the cost to ship from China really high?

by Anonymousreply 204May 17, 2018 5:41 PM

[quote]Isn't the cost to ship from China really high?

Perplexingly, no. I've ordered cables for $.99 (including shipping) that were shipped directly to me from China! How they're able to do that is beyond me.

by Anonymousreply 205May 17, 2018 6:39 PM

r204 It's almost always free, at least for small items. (Obviously it's factored into the selling price.) And they use the slowest possible method, which is obviously the cheapest.

by Anonymousreply 206May 18, 2018 3:38 AM

I watched "Ladies In Lavender" on Prime last night. Lovely movie.

by Anonymousreply 207May 18, 2018 11:22 AM

Is there a limit in availing their free trial? i think i've done twice so far.

by Anonymousreply 208May 18, 2018 11:57 AM

God you guys are cheap. If you're not willing to spend $120 a year, you must give almost nothing to charity.

by Anonymousreply 209May 18, 2018 12:12 PM

People bitch about everything but they don't frame their assessment in light of their other spending. What's you cell phone bill? Cable? Budget for eating out? Budget for terrible food that's basically sugar, like bread and pasta? If you're spending almost nothing on these things, what the duck are you doing in this thread? You don't exist in this economy so STFU.

You're "penny wise pound foolish" assholes who bitch about everything and can't see substantial value in anything.

by Anonymousreply 210May 18, 2018 12:17 PM

Substantial value lol

by Anonymousreply 211May 18, 2018 3:39 PM

R179 You won't get banned for returning stuff you've ordered that you don't want, that's not as the seller/site advertises it, etc. Just don't make a huge habit of it and don't do it with every single order.

I don't use Amazon prime as I don't order that many things from Amazon that often, I don't watch their serialized TV shows, etc.

by Anonymousreply 212May 18, 2018 5:43 PM

[quote]You're "penny wise pound foolish" assholes who bitch about everything and can't see substantial value in anything.

Do you think that all people share the same values?

I don't share yours, for example.

by Anonymousreply 213May 18, 2018 6:01 PM

If you live in Florida you get 10% off at Whole Foods with Prime.

by Anonymousreply 214May 18, 2018 8:36 PM

Yeah, but you have to live in Florida. Not worth it.

by Anonymousreply 215May 18, 2018 9:08 PM

R209 R210 People are not bitching about the price increase in itself but the fact that it's becoming a trend for companies to charge more even without offering a greater value to the customer. In the age of net neutrality, there is no excuse for large companies to increase their prices so often, especially if they become lazy due to lack of competition. This is exactly why people say we need net neutrality in the first place, but people could point to predatory behavior by Amazon as proof that it doesn't work.

There have also been numerous posts in this thread that explain how Amazon's poor implementation of their video service when compared to other services.

by Anonymousreply 216May 19, 2018 6:43 AM

[quote]There have also been numerous posts in this thread that explain how Amazon's poor implementation of their video service when compared to other services.

How is it poorly implemented? And really, you need to work on sentence structure.

by Anonymousreply 217May 19, 2018 11:47 AM

R217 There is no edit button on DL. It is what it is.

Amazon recently tried cutting their bandwidth which caused in an outcry among digital and prime customers. Cutting down on bandwidth when your service hosts 4K content is the wrong impulse. They eventually changed it back only after getting flooded by emails from angry customers.

Sorting your library and watchlist is counter intuitive as well. The app regularly times out if you have too many items on your queue. Content you purchase can't be downloaded for offline viewing. Filmmakers have reported wrong aspect ratios or sound mixes of their films. The list goes on and on. The point remains that if you have so much room for improvement, you try improve your service to at least justify a price increase.

by Anonymousreply 218May 19, 2018 10:32 PM

R185 - I don't think you know what price gouging means. Look i t up.

R218 -no vendor has to justify a price increase by increasing its service. Quite simply that isn't the way our economy works.

by Anonymousreply 219May 19, 2018 10:54 PM

R219 They don't have to, no, but the customer has every right to bitch about it if they feel they are not getting any added value.

by Anonymousreply 220May 20, 2018 2:19 AM

R157: you can download purchased videos. I watched an episode of the recommended French series Barbara's Law on a recent plane trip.

by Anonymousreply 221May 20, 2018 2:51 AM

Yet another reason Amazon can go fuck itself. Got this message when I updated Amazon Music Player.

"Your music storage subscription which enables you to import up 250,000 songs will expire on [end date]

After this date you will not be able to renew your subscription or upload more songs."

by Anonymousreply 222May 21, 2018 5:35 AM

Boy, I'm glad I still have patience. I don't need my orders the next day. I don't mind waiting a week if need be. I'd rather put that $119 towards the actual order.

by Anonymousreply 223May 21, 2018 5:41 AM

Why can't you renew your subscription, r222? Does this mean you will no longer be able to access music you paid for?

r223, I'm sure you are morally superior to the rest of us in every way, not just in terms of patience.

by Anonymousreply 224May 21, 2018 10:03 AM

Agreed R223, I've had things shipped by Amazon and I would never pay for prime. I am not sure why people are so impatient?

by Anonymousreply 225May 21, 2018 10:22 AM

They've got y'all right by the pussy

by Anonymousreply 226May 21, 2018 10:25 AM

[quote]I would never pay for prime

I do it for Bosch. I've liked other Amazon Prime Video projects, including Goliath (season 2 in June) and the first two seasons of Mozart in the Jungle. If it weren't for Bosch, though, I would not have Prime. (Hated Man in the High Castle, FWIW.)

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by Anonymousreply 227May 21, 2018 10:27 AM

I threatened to cancel Prime and now I pay only $5.99 a month for it.

by Anonymousreply 228May 21, 2018 10:27 AM

10% of at Whole Foods all over the nation soon. Florida is just the first market.

by Anonymousreply 229May 21, 2018 12:30 PM

I was pissed about that, r229. I have a party to shop for this weekend.

by Anonymousreply 230May 21, 2018 12:36 PM

Yeah, they need to test it first so they went with Florida.

by Anonymousreply 231May 21, 2018 12:38 PM

Because no one else in the country would respond to 10% off.

by Anonymousreply 232May 21, 2018 12:41 PM

R232, yeah I don't know why they needed to test it in one state first. But if it didn't work, that would have been bad. Too bad they chose shitty Florida.

by Anonymousreply 233May 21, 2018 12:43 PM

So you bought $200 of groceries this past weekend and you didn't get 10% off. Big fucking deal. You're going to get the discount soon and for years moving forward. Just don't tip your regular escort that extra $20 this week.

by Anonymousreply 234May 21, 2018 12:45 PM

Whole Foods prices are much more expensive for the same organic products than you can find in other grocery chains. I only go to into Whole Foods when Trader Joe’s runs out of crumpets.

Also, the annoying false friendliness of the Whole Foods employees is definitely not worth 10% off.

by Anonymousreply 235May 21, 2018 1:31 PM

[quote]Whole Foods prices are much more expensive for the same organic products than you can find in other grocery chains.

Not always, where I live. And there are things I buy there that are non-organic and cheaper. Best price in town for St. Andre. I don't buy it anywhere else. And it goes so well with their Italian bread.

by Anonymousreply 236May 21, 2018 1:34 PM

Bezos enemies are my enemies.

by Anonymousreply 237May 21, 2018 1:36 PM

Why, r237? And who?

by Anonymousreply 238May 21, 2018 1:36 PM

R220 - of course they do, who said they couldn't?

by Anonymousreply 239May 23, 2018 3:56 AM

To the guy who threatened to cancel and got 5.99 a month are you in the low income group?

by Anonymousreply 240May 23, 2018 7:36 AM

r77, try Acorn TV, Britbox or MHZ choice.

by Anonymousreply 241May 23, 2018 12:47 PM

Re: net neutrality

[quote]In other words, why are we working so hard to protect a law that does nothing to stop tech companies from regularly price gouging their customers?

Because I have direct control over my Amazon membership so if I don't like what they do I can cancel it. But what if Comcast, the only real high-speed provider in my area, decides that they want to throttle back Amazon unless Amazon is willing to pay twice the normal fee? Amazon either capitulates, and raises its prices, or they accept the throttling and I get poorer service. Either way, I'm screwed and I have no control since Comcast is the only game in town.

Even worse, the more likely scenario is that companies like Amazon and Netflix pay the top-tier prices, passing the costs on to their customers. A competitive service, which cannot afford those prices, has to accept second-tier, which makes it unlikely that they will ever be able to successfully challenge Amazon or Netflix. So the big boys get locked in to their positions, becoming effective monopolies, and we pay the price.

So yes, we still need net neutrality.

by Anonymousreply 242May 23, 2018 3:13 PM

r228

I threatened to cancel my membership and Benzos had his Guatemalan nanny beat me up

by Anonymousreply 243May 23, 2018 3:31 PM

R242 - good point. It is clear people throwing around "net neutrality" in this thread don't know what "net neutrality" means.

by Anonymousreply 244May 24, 2018 6:24 PM

R244 I understand that it would most likely get worse by repealing net neutrality but the casual observer will just see that even with it in place, companies can still raise their prices for arbitrary reasons. In other words, there are still too many barriers for entry for competitive services. I think there is still the fantasy that these companies will have to capitulate to customers if enough of them jump ship.

by Anonymousreply 245May 25, 2018 12:17 AM

R245 - what does Amazon Prime have to do with net neutrality?

by Anonymousreply 246May 25, 2018 9:49 PM

See r184 and r185, who brought net neutrality into the discussion, R246.

by Anonymousreply 247May 25, 2018 10:17 PM

I am not saying I'm anti net neutrality, but I am saying that it has proven to be inadequate in controlling monopolies on the internet. I can see why there are certain people who would rather see the whole system collapse than have 5 companies control the internet. At some point, paying customers, who get roped in by incremental price increases, will notice drastic price increases and simply say "Fuck You" and withdraw completely. Who thinks that these companies will simply take in stride that they could be potentially losing billions in subscriptions and ad revenue by pissing off their customers?

by Anonymousreply 248May 25, 2018 11:29 PM

One advantage that emerging services have is that they can usually operate at a loss while investing in technology and customer acquisition while companies such as Amazon have to report profit increases year after year, even if they have to do so by artificial means such as how movie studios inflated their profits by increasing their prices and added premium features (such as 3D) that no one asked for.

by Anonymousreply 249May 25, 2018 11:47 PM

R249 - I thought Amazon was infamous for being unprofitable?

It was actually based on that profitability that made me wonder if the former Prime fees were actually too low considering how much you could have shipped for one flat annual fee vs. individual UPS fees (even heavily discounted). The thought behind Amazon's strategy was that it was set up to be very low for one purpose only - customer acquisition (very expensive and very difficult online, where your competitor is a click away - not a drive away). There are a number of articles on it but this one just came up on top.

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by Anonymousreply 250May 25, 2018 11:50 PM

Just like Aunt Martha's Old-Fashioned Salad Dressing. "We lose money on each sale, but we make it up in volume."

by Anonymousreply 251May 26, 2018 12:22 AM

Net neutrality simply means all websites are given the same speed access to the destination. It has nothing to do with a website throttling if they want to.

For example, under net neutrality, RoadRunner.com, Coyote.Com and DL.com all must be given the same access speeds.

Without net neutrality, your ISP can make a deal to deliver Roadrunner.Com at higher speeds, for a fee.

However even with net neutrality, Roadrunner.com could charge their users more for higher bandwidth. It's about the ISP not the website.

Another example, landlines like ATT must provide full equal access to anyone using their phone carriers. Some chatlines exploit this by routing their calls to rural areas, where a surcharge is permitted to provide telephone service to thinly populated areas. (The chatline and local phone company split the fee).

But ATT still bears the cost of paying that fee. Now with VOIP, services like Google Voice refuse to connect you to the local rural carrier because they don't want to pay the fee. Under current law, Google can do this because it's not a utility. ATT for the landlines, is and must provide equal access.

ATT and others say this is unfair to them. Either they should be allowed to discriminate or Google and other VOIP carriers should be bound by the same standard.

by Anonymousreply 252May 26, 2018 12:36 AM

What do you normally watch, R189?

by Anonymousreply 253May 26, 2018 1:04 AM

try reading the thread R247

by Anonymousreply 254May 27, 2018 1:59 AM

Which United States city will amazon pick? Atlanta?

by Anonymousreply 255June 25, 2018 1:39 AM
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