Amazon Offers 2-Day Shipping For $79/Year 325
stevejsmith writes "Amazon.com has announced their Amazon Prime service. For $79, you get free two-day shipping on all items, upgradeable to overnight shipping for $3.99 per item. The offer applies to most media (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) and can be shared among "up to four family members living in the same household." Apparently the only way they will enforce this family-only sharing clause is by mandating that your "family members" know your birthday."
Family Members (Score:5, Insightful)
The service is limited to family members living in the same household, that means goods will(should) always be delivered to that one address, and I don't see many people can abuse it.
Enlighten me please.
Re:Family Members (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd be pretty pissed if I payed $79 a year for "free" shipping and I couldn't have my sister's christmas presents delivered to her in LA as well as my wife's delivered to my home in NC.
Re:Family Members (Score:4, Informative)
Because it says "family members living in the same household".
Re:Family Members (Score:2)
Work address (Score:2)
Re:Work address (Score:5, Funny)
I can go buy my 1300 pound shipped JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank [amazon.com] happly knowing that shipping will run me $79!
Re:Work address (Score:2)
Re:Family Members (Score:2)
Amazon Prime? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Amazon Prime? (Score:2)
Re:Amazon Prime? (Score:3, Funny)
"Wait 'till you get inside! Cozy, yet surprisingly roomy!"
"I'm into leather. Heated seats, too..."
"It's very pleasant in the rear--I could spend all day there!"
"I enjoy sex with motor vehicles!"
(uh--scratch that last one.)
Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket items (Score:2, Interesting)
This particular upgrade wasn't just for geocaching but more for actual navigating. My fiancé needed to use autorouting to get around town with her sister dress shopping and autorouting would be the best way. What a great ex
Re:Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket it (Score:2)
Re:Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket it (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket it (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket it (Score:2)
Re:Free shipping is the way to go on big ticket it (Score:2, Funny)
Amazon Prime? (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps he is the UPS truck to Optimus's tractor trailer?
M
Re:Amazon Prime? (Score:2)
Sparkamus Prime (Score:2)
Good for university students (Score:5, Interesting)
That would never work! (Score:5, Funny)
Erm... Yeah... Nevermind.
Re:Good for university students (Score:2)
Bad for me -- At least, it will be bad for the bank account when my wife hear's about this...
Re:Good for university students (Score:3, Insightful)
Sure, a lot people would figure it out for themselves, and post it as a comment themselves, but is it really right for /. to post it in the actual article header?
small book stores (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder if this rate deal covers the "used" 3rd party books.
Re:small book stores (Score:2)
Don't think so. (Score:4, Informative)
YMMV.
Uh... (Score:2)
Re:Uh... (Score:2)
Retail special orders in 2 days, with no commitment to purchase.
Stores don't use this sort of thing to make money, they use it to earn customer loyalty. The customer knows they can get books of the internet. The store's there to let them touch and feel, and hopefully offer someone who has read it to talk to.
They get all their books in one place, and if they decide they don't like the book once it's in there hands, they can refuse. The store has a wider selection, and can always resto
Re: (Score:2)
Re:small book stores (Score:3, Informative)
That said, what you said is absolutely right. It's just covered in a different part of the terms & conditions:
Prime members are entitled to free Two-Day shipping and $3.99 per unit One-Day shi
Uh Oh (Score:5, Funny)
Know my birthday? (Score:4, Funny)
Doesn't seem that great (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Shhhhh! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Shhhhh! (Score:2)
Re:Shhhhh! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Shhhhh! (Score:3, Insightful)
At the same time, I know this deal would be terrible for a person like me - Most of the things I buy are mo
Re:Doesn't seem that great (Score:3, Informative)
What a deal.
And this is the "introductory special price" (Score:5, Informative)
Your $1500/year assumption also assumes that the price will stay $79/year. Their ad calls this a "special introductory price". The worst thing is that unless you pay enough attention to cancel before hand, they will charge the next non-special, non-introductory fee to your credit card in exactly 12 months without any notification to you. From the Terms and Conditions [amazon.com]:
They don't provide (AFAICT) any option to buy just one year. By purchasing Amazon Prime you are giving them permission to choose any price and charge it to you next year. They may also "in our discretion change these Terms ... or any aspect of Prime membership without
notice to you ... YOUR CONTINUED MEMBERSHIP AFTER WE CHANGE THESE
TERMS CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE CHANGES." So they can change their terms without telling you, then you automatically accept if you don't immediately notice and cancel. Great!
I hate it when companies try to pull this. Forcing an annual set fee on people is bad enough -- but to raise the price arbitrarily and still charge people's card without notification is outrageous. This is the kind of thing sleazy porn sites do (or so I hear :).
There may be some advantages to this program, but I certainly won't sign up until they let me buy ONE YEAR at a known price. None of this blank check nonsense.
-Fyodor
Concerned about your network security? Try the free Nmap Security Scanner [insecure.org].
Re:And this is the "introductory special price" (Score:3, Informative)
When you see the renewal on your credit card statement just call them up and ask for a refund (supposin you don't like the service). Most intelligent merchants will honor such requests.
Why? Because if they don't you can chargeback the transaction and seeing that this was a card not-present transaction, you're about gauranteed to w
Last Time... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Last Time... (Score:2)
Re:Last Time... (Score:2)
Under the current system, you do get pretty much everything within two days of shipping but that can take a while if you don' pay for multiple shipments.
Re:Last Time... (Score:2)
It's a big country, and it sucks if you are in logistics.
WTF?? "For $79, you get free" (Score:5, Funny)
It's amazing how marketing has managed to distort the English language. Hey, I'll work for Free/Hr.
Not a bad deal if you always want it NOW (Score:4, Informative)
I scanned my orders from 2004 and I spent $95 on expedited shipping costs, so for me, it might be a good idea.
Re:Not a bad deal if you always want it NOW (Score:4, Insightful)
Gas, wear and tear on your car, the car payment itself, and driving time are not free.
Plus, some people live in the sticks.
This should be in shop.slashdot.org (Score:5, Funny)
Two-day shipping (Score:4, Insightful)
I once used two-day shipping with USPS, they lost the package, and found it again two weeks later. They kindly told me that two day shipping does not guarantee two-days to get there. I asked what the two-day shipping meant then, and I got a trout look.
Does two-day shipping price really mean anything?
Re:Two-day shipping (Score:2)
Do you live in a warehouse??
Re:Two-day shipping (Score:2)
Birthday clearing houses (Score:2)
Birthdates are the new serial numbers.
The small print (Score:5, Interesting)
The free shipping/$3.99 overnight is only available if you purchase directly from Amazon. i.e. it is not available if you purchase from third party Amazon Marketplace or zShops sellers.
For many items, Amazon is actually competing with third party sellers that are selling on their site. This new service might be the incentive necessary for many people to not buy from third party sellers, but to only buy from Amazon which will result in more money for them. That could be one of the reasons behind introducing Amazon Prime.
Re:The small print (Score:2)
Re:The small print (Score:2)
Re:The small print (Score:2)
Not bloody likely considering the fees that Amazon charges both to the seller and for S/H on each order (of which they keep a portion--it is not 100% passed thru to the seller). Either way Amazon wins.
The New WalMart (Score:5, Insightful)
People are making jokes about this, but this idea could change some of the methods of online/webbased stores. Just think, without having to worry about shipping charges _at all_, then I wouldn't have to worry about making a $5 order for a little kitchen gadget. I wouldn't have to run to the store for something, just go online, and it will be here in a couple of days.
This should really increase the sales of some of their smaller items. If I've got to get a couple new drill bits for this weekend's project, I can just click and get it and not have to run to Home Depot.
This is a cool idea if it makes the consumer think first about ordering online, and not as a second or third choice.
Re:The New WalMart (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The New WalMart (Score:2)
Please, we are called "customers".
Re:The New WalMart (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I would love that. There's a lot of stuff that I need or like but don't need right away (actually, mostly anything outside of groceries).
The problem here is, however, that Amazon still has to pay for the shipping. And even if they can bri
Re:The New WalMart (Score:2)
Re:The New WalMart (Score:2)
You must not live in California.
Re:The New WalMart (Score:2)
I don't get it... (Score:2, Interesting)
Supersaver arrives in 2 days half the time anyway (Score:3, Insightful)
Considering that, I think you would have to order huge amounts of items per year for this to be worth it.
Re:Supersaver arrives in 2 days half the time anyw (Score:2)
Re:Supersaver arrives in 2 days half the time anyw (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm sure this depends on where you are. Typically if I use their Supersaver shipping, it's a real crapshoot. Typically, when I do Supersaver, it ends up getting shipped via Airborne/DHL. This has two problems:
Re:Supersaver arrives in 2 days half the time anyw (Score:3, Interesting)
This service is for the continental US only (Score:2)
Amazon Prime? (Score:3, Funny)
Who cares about shipping... (Score:2)
Here's another annoying feature I found (this one at B&N). I ordered a LOT of books (about 15) and took the free 3-day shipping. They had to break the order up into 3 shipments at different times (over about 4 weeks). EVERY SINGLE TIME they "shipped" (gave me my tracking number) on a wednesd
incontinent bastards... (Score:2, Interesting)
*sigh*
Oh well, I'm sure hope these work-provided mai-tai's can ease my pain.
So a leap year returns the best value (Score:2)
Good way to make money - order stuff for others. (Score:2)
You make a killing.
Not a bad idea, but who needs it? (Score:3, Interesting)
These days it seems that you order online if you want a good price, and you go to the store if you want it quick.
I personally calculate shipping into the price, and compare. It seems there's always 1 place that offers free shipping these days. I'll wait an extra day or 2 for free shipping.
I got a LCD TV from Amazon.com. Did free shipping. 48hrs after I ordered UPS was at the door. Yea, that's right. 48hrs, and free shipping.
In most cases I found it's well under a week.
IMHO I would never pay extra for shipping. Want me as a customer? Think free.
If they let me pay $x a year for all the shipping for a year (unlimited shopping and no shipping)... I would consider that.
But not to make shipping faster. Never. And I'm sure I'm not alone.
Customer retention (Score:2, Insightful)
Loyal customers already do most of their shopping @ amazon, so this offer will just be a way to save on shipping costs. The biggest impact is on customers that make a significant number of their purchases online, but not exclusively at Amazon. An offer like this might be enough to push them over the edge to become Amazon exclusive shoppers.
OK... (Score:2)
Great... (Score:4, Funny)
Bugger (Score:3, Informative)
"Products are eligible for Prime ONLY IF..." (Score:4, Informative)
eh?
silly (Score:5, Funny)
Re:wtf? (Score:2)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:2)
Naturally. It's like insurance, so if you really order a lot of items, you're subsidized by the vast majority who don't use up the whole $79. More importantly, they get your $79 _now_ and can use it for other purposes as you gradually deplete it with shipping costs, kind of like how the post office sells stamps
Re:Hmm.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:2)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:2)
People still play the lottery..
Re:Hmm.. (Score:4, Insightful)
What you're missing is that they've locked you in as an Amazon customer. You'll be much more likely to order from them and get your $79 worth than to compare their prices at BN, Powells, your corner used book store, etc. You're staying loyal to them and paying them for the privilege. And if you don't stay loyal? Well, they've still got your money. It's a double whammy.
Note that I'm not being critical. It's really a brilliant move, marketing-wise. Like the $15 annual discount cards they've always pushed at the brick-and-mortar stores, but at a much higher price and with a much higher break-even point for the benefit. If they make a killing with this, they deserve it. (And if the customers scoff and they lose their shirts, then clearly they deserved that too.)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:2)
the person who gets it and never uses it
the person who gets it and whores it to no end
and prob others
now the person who uses it to no end, well, amazon wants them, they are purchasing more, which is more profit. it is the old adage of "getting people in teh store" and selling
Much money for them (Score:2)
I mean, if you pay them the $79 why would you order something from someplace else? Let's say a book you'd buy is $5 cheaper at B&N. Well, when you add on shipping, it's really not any cheaper than it would be from Amazon. So then you buy it at Amazon.
Furthermore, let's say you do buy lots of stuff to get the most for your money. As long as the margin on each item is gr
Re:Much money for them (Score:2)
Uhhh... (Score:2)
They're still making money on the books. Most companies would kill to have such a "problem," and I imagine they number themselves among them.
Re:Hmm.. (Score:2)
Peer review (Score:3, Funny)
As everybody here knows, Slashdot adheres to a strict peer review standard for each and every one of the submitted stories. It is just impossible that your story would be rejected unfairly.
Ok. Maybe that was just a dream I had last night.
Re:Peer review (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This is news? (Score:2)
I disagree. It's a marketing ploy, but it's not just a marketing ploy. For those of us that labor in the e-commerce world, this is just one more step towards the average Joe (you know, the guy that will have Linux on his desktop RSN) thinking Online First, Drive To Mall Second. That's a good thing for every nerd that likes our economy to invest in bandwidth, more 'puters, software, and geeks to run it all. More online business is good for th
Re:Forgot to mention PER YEAR (Score:3, Informative)
"Amazon Offers 2-Day Shipping For $79/Year"
Re:Forgot to mention PER YEAR (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:And I always thought amazon US would be all fre (Score:2)
Exactly--the US is slightly larger than Germany; hence, it takes more time and money to ship things.