Amazon Prime !!!!

Soldato
Joined
30 Dec 2004
Posts
3,421
Location
Worcestershire
I selected the 30 days trial and cancelled five minutes later with no problems whatsoever, over the next 30 days I ordered several items which all came next day. It's now expired with an offer of one week for 99p
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2009
Posts
17,192
Location
Aquilonem Londinensi
I know what you mean somehow managed to get signed up for Prime again so just took advantage ordered some stuff and cancelled before they charged me. For the umpteenth time. If they ban me from prime I'd be fine with that I never asked for it in the first place <shrug>

What really bugs me though is every time I want to view orders or make an order they insist on sending an SMS text with a "link" to "tap". Not a simple OTP its a bloody long 20 plus series of letters and letters URL and oh, I don't have a smartphone so have to type the bloody thing in manually on my keyboard!

I have OTP via SMS but it's only 6 numbers and for browsers that haven't been previously saved...
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Mar 2003
Posts
56,822
Location
Stoke on Trent
I have two mates who consistently post anti Amazon memes on Facebook and after a couple of years of it I finally gave in.
In one post I just said 'I agree with you, during 2020 I've given my money to around 50 small businesses' so he came back and said that he commended me for keeping small businesses afloat.
I then replied that all these 50 small businesses are on Amazon and he came back confused because he really thought Jeff Bezo owned a big shop that sold everything :)
 
Soldato
Joined
16 Aug 2009
Posts
7,753
I have OTP via SMS but it's only 6 numbers and for browsers that haven't been previously saved...

Seems to expire after a certain time I can login to the site fine with regular password and that password is stored in broswer but as soon as its comes viewing orders its 'we've sent a message to your phone" etc. Odd that you get sent a simple OTP though.
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Feb 2006
Posts
29,263
Location
Cornwall
Yeah I have ordered enough that I know how to avoid the 'free postage', 'get a 30 day free trial'

I don't really want to spend 70 a year for quicker shipping. Not worth it for me.
Ditto.

I also don't understand how people "need" next-day delivery...

Standard delivery is only a couple days at most. What's with the rush that everybody appears to be in?

£70 a year to have my items a day or two earlier? Lol, no thanks.

But then I hardly buy anything from Amazon.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 May 2005
Posts
4,899
Agree with OP the whole membership cancellation experience is not great. It is very hard to find what you accidentally sign up to and even harder to find the page to unsubscribe.

I usually just call amazon itself to get the subscription I don’t want cancelled. Although finding the amazon number is a bit tricky at times.

however Prime is epic value. You can share it with 2 other people or accounts. And you get free next day delivery, amazon TV, music and photos. I am sure you get preferential treatment in return like money is rebated straight to you as soon as you drop off your parcel at post office.

the after care services is second to none. This is really the reason why amazon will ultimately win out against high street. If high street offers the same shopping experience as amazon then it wouldn’t be in such a dire situation as it is today.

the only things I buy from high street are Kebab, Fish n Chips, glasses and weekly grocery. I love fresh cooked kabab and out of fryer fish and chips. Take away is no good for me as far as those are concerned.
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Jun 2007
Posts
9,066
Location
extremes.spacious.indelible
Cancelled my Prime a few years ago now.

Amazon is great for cheap Chinese stuff like phone charging cables, various leads/connectors, but as mentioned having to sift through hundreds of cheap rubbish to find something which offers a good price to quality ratio is a chore.

Also, i've found a huge amount of the time that Amazon is more expensive than just googling the product and buying from either the manufacturer/retailer themselves or a reseller, even with extra postage costs added.

Most places use a courier these days, and outside of pandemic times, waiting for a few days for something isn't the end of the world.

I too worry that one day we'll have no other choice than to purchase cheap Chinese tat and have the choice of paying more for a real good quality item that will last :(
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Feb 2006
Posts
29,263
Location
Cornwall
Cancelled my Prime a few years ago now.

Amazon is great for cheap Chinese stuff like phone charging cables, various leads/connectors, but as mentioned having to sift through hundreds of cheap rubbish to find something which offers a good price to quality ratio is a chore.

Also, i've found a huge amount of the time that Amazon is more expensive than just googling the product and buying from either the manufacturer/retailer themselves or a reseller, even with extra postage costs added.

Most places use a courier these days, and outside of pandemic times, waiting for a few days for something isn't the end of the world.

I too worry that one day we'll have no other choice than to purchase cheap Chinese tat and have the choice of paying more for a real good quality item that will last :(
Uh oh, you're in for it now. A lot of people here don't take kindly to being told Amazon isn't always the cheapest shop for everything :p

Amazon is best shop. You like. You buy Amazon Prime. Bezos love you long time.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Mar 2003
Posts
56,822
Location
Stoke on Trent
I also don't understand how people "need" next-day delivery...

Standard delivery is only a couple days at most. What's with the rush that everybody appears to be in?

Virtually every item I have ever bought comes with P&P unless I make a purchase I don't want and get it over £20.
It became a good idea after a lot of purchases that it would work out cheaper to have Prime.
Obviously this is only worth it if you order a lot.
I have very rarely had a next day delivery with my purchases.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Jan 2018
Posts
14,766
Location
Hampshire
I also don't understand how people "need" next-day delivery...

Standard delivery is only a couple days at most. What's with the rush that everybody appears to be in?

£70 a year to have my items a day or two earlier? Lol, no thanks.

But then I hardly buy anything from Amazon.

Its called convenience, its not just £70 for the delivery either, you also get the Prime TV.
 
Associate
Joined
31 May 2007
Posts
1,086
I think prime is just about worth it but a lot of stuff being sold on Amazon is cheap tat, other things are often priced higher than elsewhere to cover the “prime” delivery etc, so you have to be clever about what you order.

I often wonder if the Prime next day delivery subscription is just a mental trick to convince you to buy everything from there
 
Caporegime
Joined
13 Jan 2010
Posts
32,586
Location
Llaneirwg
Because I don't need my stuff next day I often get Ali express or use ebay.

Picked up a branded usb c Pd / data cable from ebay from argos for 3.99 last week.
And a right angle magnetic connector from Ali for 2 pounds delivered.

Amazon is no longer the price king. Its getting more like a UK hub for Ali express type stuff.
And there is certainly more tat and false reviews (the best thing about amazon) now.

I'm finding I'm buying less from amazon as time goes on. They are basically a fulfilment centre.

Had a 5 pound voucher from them and it excluded fulfilled. So can't really use it. Nothing I want is sold by them

Sometimes a flash deal will come on something I want and even then its sometimes been increased the week before.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Posts
16,555
I'm a big Amazon fan, and more than happy to support an efficient business model who takes customer service seriously (well, more so than pretty much any other UK retailer).

That said, the process of signing up for Prime, and then cancelling it, is a nightmare. It's actually recently been in the news.

My take on it, is that the cancellation process should match the signup one (ie, if you can signup with 1-click, then you should be able to cancel with 1-click).
 
Caporegime
Joined
13 Jan 2010
Posts
32,586
Location
Llaneirwg
I'm a big Amazon fan, and more than happy to support an efficient business model who takes customer service seriously (well, more so than pretty much any other UK retailer).

That said, the process of signing up for Prime, and then cancelling it, is a nightmare. It's actually recently been in the news.

My take on it, is that the cancellation process should match the signup one (ie, if you can signup with 1-click, then you should be able to cancel with 1-click).

Thi .
It's not as bad as those other subscription models like one month free beer then having to cancel. I never do those anymore. As Its so hard to cancel
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Jul 2004
Posts
13,535
Location
Surrey
I'm a big Amazon fan, and more than happy to support an efficient business model who takes customer service seriously (well, more so than pretty much any other UK retailer).

That said, the process of signing up for Prime, and then cancelling it, is a nightmare. It's actually recently been in the news.

My take on it, is that the cancellation process should match the signup one (ie, if you can signup with 1-click, then you should be able to cancel with 1-click).

For what it's worth I totally agree with that... the volume of dark patterns online (ie opt IN to this, now opt OUT of that) is unacceptable.

I don't even understand why Amazon would need to do this, a customer duped into signing up won't be a happy one, it's entirely possible to cancel even by freaking out at someone at Amazon which takes resource and if your offer is good enough which I think consensus here suggests it probably is there should be no fear of customers leaving.

Similar thing when I tried to cancel an icloud subscription. That was literally the devils work all for something like 59p a month.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2005
Posts
16,555
Because I don't need my stuff next day I often get Ali express or use ebay.

Picked up a branded usb c Pd / data cable from ebay from argos for 3.99 last week.
And a right angle magnetic connector from Ali for 2 pounds delivered.

Amazon is no longer the price king. Its getting more like a UK hub for Ali express type stuff.
And there is certainly more tat and false reviews (the best thing about amazon) now.

I'm finding I'm buying less from amazon as time goes on. They are basically a fulfilment centre.

Had a 5 pound voucher from them and it excluded fulfilled. So can't really use it. Nothing I want is sold by them

Sometimes a flash deal will come on something I want and even then its sometimes been increased the week before.

Amazon no longer needs to be the cheapest. They have already achieved their primary goal. Cementing themselves as the go-to retailer, where you know the item will come next day, and if you don't like it, you can easily return it (free collections). It's super quick and easy. People will happily pay for that service. Hell, just look at the number of people paying for prime!

Everyone else has missed a trick, where they have been on a race to the bottom trying to constantly lower costs. They didn't even need the financial backing to look at a prime based sub either. If they had actually cared about the customer, they would have been in a far better position.
 
Back
Top Bottom