Bye, bye Amazon.....

[cpaharley2008]

Mr. Bezos greed finally hit me when Amazon charged me $124 yearly fee last month for shopping with them. I cancelled my membership (still cost me $63 penalty as I have used Prime exclusively for shopping and had several charges pending) but going forward, no more fees. Maybe it is personal but paying a fee to shop someplace just irritates me. But we will see what the future holds. Rant over and hopefully others have a different view.

[WillyB]

Just to get an idea of how wealthy Little Rocket Boy is see how long it would take you and your Great-Great-Great-Great Grand Children to spend a "mere" ONE BILLION DOLLARS at a paltry $1,000 Per Day.

In case you need a job Little Rocket Boy does offer $16.00/hour.

I'm done now.

[Iowa Dave]

Good morning Jim,
I’m not an Amazon member. I do have a little problem with shipping charges on some items. I needed a little spring clip for a fertilizer spreader that only seemed to be available from the manufacturer. It cost about $.85. The shipping was going to be $11.00. I called the company and worked my way up the line. Was told they couldn’t budge. So I made my own and it works just fine. I ever offered to send them a self addressed stamped mailing envelope, nope.

Conversely I wanted to buy about a dozen specialty brass nuts and bolts from an outdoor supply house. I was at a show where they had a booth. But they were out. The owner told me he’d send them to me for the started price. I thought that was decent and ended up buying a razor knife from him too. The bolts were $.40 each. So I gave him my address and a $5 bill. They came in about two weeks.

There are good people and there are jerks. Many times I don’t care who is cheapest, I deal with local small operations because I’m treated better and they know what they are doing. Vote with your dollars I always say.
Iowa Dave

[Fender]

I take it you don't shop at Costco either!

[HABBERDABBER]

"Did you hear about Jeff Bezos and the bridge? The Amazon billionaire’s new superyacht, under construction in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is so big that the city might have to partially take down a historic bridge so that it can reach open water. "

from : Wonking Out: Are billionaires making out like bandits?

Paul Krugman, NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/w...am-bridge.html

A local Rotterdam leader said bowing to Bezos was a “bridge too far,” as he issued a stern rebuke to some of Amazon’s reported business practices.

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Mr. Bezos greed finally hit me when Amazon charged me $124 yearly fee last month for shopping with them. I cancelled my membership (still cost me $63 penalty as I have used Prime exclusively for shopping and had several charges pending) but going forward, no more fees. Maybe it is personal but paying a fee to shop someplace just irritates me. But we will see what the future holds. Rant over and hopefully others have a different view.

I hear ya. Just a cost-benefit calculation for me: I like the two-day shipping (sometimes even one-day), when I suddenly need something I can't find in the local hardware store. I also like 'free' streaming of some old shows and movies on Prime (but of course they charge for many, too). But I don't like supporting Bezos and Amazon's politics, and so I'm on the verge of cancelling Prime.

Lately I've been trying to find other good sources on line, e.g. Alibris.com for books instead of Amazon. The problem is, Amazon is sorta the Sears, Roebuck of our day—a clearing house for practically anything you might need, plumbing, electrical, etc. The others just haven't gotten the knack of building websites. Where is the Montgomery Ward of the Internet?

[WillyB]

970 calories of low fat/low sodium/low sugar/non-processed nutrient dense food, plus free refills, for $1.50.

Costco, Building Healthy Americans!

[cpaharley2008]

Never been to Costco, perhaps they are a regional thing. We have a Sam's Club which may be similar....

[Centex]

For me, annual 'shopping club membership fees' are a matter of case-by-case payback evaluation. I shop based on product and bottom-line total delivered cost, I'll pay a 'membership fee' only if/when I see payback in that on that basis.

• Amazon's doesn't pay back for me, I haven't seen that the direct-purchase benefit of 'free' or 'quick' shipping is a competitive advantage for me; I've no interest in any of the other 'benefits' (streaming, etc) they offer (so, never paid for Amazon 'membership')
• No Costco near me, and rarely see deals there that are of interest, though I did join and drive once just to try-out their hearing aids department (didn't end up buying there so let the membership lapse).
• I do pay for Walmart's membership; the payback for me is in elimination of the delivery fee for weekly groceries I order for delivery to my Mom from a store near her.

I don't begrudge Bezos', Walton's, or anyone else's billion$, IMO that's just the market system at work, consumers don't have to participate in enriching those folks if they don't want to.

YMMV

[brroberts]

I mostly agree with Iowa Dave. We don’t have prime, and still never pay shipping at Amazon; although, I’m sure Jeff is still making money. We do have a Sam’s basic membership which, for us, does pay for itself. We prefer Costco, but it’s too far away. I too have made parts when you can’t get them or shipping is crazy. As a wake up, I sure wish they wouldn’t take the bridge apart, but I’m pretty sure Jeff will pay them enough to do it.

[elongest]

I canceled my Prime. In Va. delivery was reliable. (1-2 days) I could work on projects and the wait was not too bad to deal with. I moved to Fl. and it was like I was put on permeant Amazon Day. It was taking a week to get all my items. Can't blame it on transportation they would wait to pull the items a day or two before delivery. I haven't missed Prime. You still get still free delivery with $25 orders with Amazon. I buy local or with other vendors now. I have found Home Depot has excellent delivery times and if you have issues just return the item to the store. (For me three blocks away.) I also find Automotive parts are even cheaper buying from the dealer in a lot of cases.
Good By Amazon Prime for me.
Eddie

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Maybe it is personal but paying a fee to shop someplace just irritates me.

This was my thought about Amazon Prime from the beginning. I've read that there are one billion Prime subscribers worldwide. So Amazon has convinced a billion people to pay them extra in order to make it easier to buy more stuff from Amazon. I didn't see the appeal.


However, I guess a Costco membership could be considered as the same idea, but unlike with Amazon you need a Costco membership in order to shop there. I got one to buy tires at Costco and came out ahead, so it was worth it. It is my understanding that Costco makes most of its money from membership fees.

[Donna D.]

I love Prime! I just checked, 17 orders in the last three months. I don't order food through Amazon, although I could. It's been really great the past couple of years. For instance, I've had zero interest in going store shopping for vitamins. The last order was for three bottles of an OTC medicine I take daily. It was $3 cheaper per bottle than I can get it locally AND I didn't have to go anywhere to get it.

I've been a member since 2005. Last year, I got a special deal via e-mail... pay a year in advance and the price stays the same. I'm still paying $99 a year. Cheap compared to time and fuel for me. YMMV

[cpaharley2008]

I was spending maybe $400/month avg with Amazon. No more....

[Mike G]

You have gotten me thinking. We originally took Prime membership because of the streaming service to the tv more than anything; my wife wanted that. So we bought a Roku and subscribed to Prime. Certainly it was cheaper than cable. But I just asked my wife how much she watches Prime nowadays, and the answer was "hardly at all." The Roku brings in plenty of other stuff that she prefers to watch.

Next fall when the next renewal rolls around, we may drop Prime. Yes, I like the free shipping; it probably encourages me to buy more than I otherwise would, though. And others (such as WM) tend to have the same prices and availability on most items.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by WillyB

970 calories of low fat/low sodium/low sugar/non-processed nutrient dense food, plus free refills, for $1.50.

Costco, Building Healthy Americans!

First time I ever heard a hot dog referred to as "non-processed." As for "nutrient-dense," take that soda pop... I could eat lunch there every day and build up my waistline for cheap!!

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Mike G

First time I ever heard a hot dog referred to as "non-processed." As for "nutrient-dense," take that soda pop... I could eat lunch there every day and build up my waistline for cheap!!

Sad thing is, it's a really good hot dog.

My doctor jokes about how Costco's $1.50 Hot Dog Deal put his friend, the cardiologist, daughters through college.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by brroberts

As a wake up, I sure wish they wouldn’t take the bridge apart, but I’m pretty sure Jeff will pay them enough to do it.

It's just a lift bridge that goes nowhere. Neither end is connected to anything. No biggie just lifting the center span out for a short time. Small price to pay considering all the local employment it provided. Too bad the deck structure looks so ugly, they should have have taken design lessons from Jongert.

I've never joined Cosco because like others I'm not going to pay to shop. And as for Amazon we do order lots of stuff from them. No prime for us and the funny thing is that we usually get stuff about the same day that we would have if we had Prime. We've never had to wait as many days as the listing says for non Prime buyers.

Ron

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I was spending maybe $400/month avg with Amazon. No more....

Sure you're not shooting yourself in the foot? My Costco Executive Membership costs $180/year, yet I get two checks for my spending that average $1500/year.

Just did a valve cover job on my 2001 Avalon and I bought all the parts needed and then some to take to the mechanic. Just the gasket set itself at Autozone was $10 more than Amazon. I bought several other items just in case the mechanic needed it and am returning what he didn't use- and Amazon pays shipping back. I buy oil & air filters too; Bosch hepa- $13 Amazon; $26 Autozone. The Expedition & Tansit use the same Motorcraft oil filter; 3 from Amazon are $2 less than 2 from Autozone, and didn't have to drive 8 miles roundtrip.

A lot of the stuff I needed for the van conversion just wasn't available at the Ace Hardware or Home Depot- like a gland where the solar cable penetrates the roof. Not even an electrical supply had them nearby. One of the better deals was two key fobs that look identical to the OEM Toyota: $27 for Two! Compare that to anything local- would be about 10 times that. To each their own; works for me.

[Iowa Dave]

I was working out of my regular department in the packing house in the early 80’s. I was assigned to “domestic sausage” I loaded the grinder with 500 pounds of meat and some spices off of a “menu” sheet. Out came the ground meat into tubs with wheels on the the bottom. I pushed them into the cooler. That was the beginning of processed meat. In Junior High I read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. My experience in later life wasn’t quite as bad as The Jungle but she wasn’t all that pretty either. Raise your hand if you’ve spent 8 hours with a ten inch butcher knife held head high cutting pecker cords off of the face of a ham at 642 hogs an hour. Paints a picture don’t it?
Iowa Dave