Amazon Raises Free Shipping Minumum

[sweensdv]

Looks like Amazon raised the minimum order from $25 to $35 in order to qualify for free shipping on certain orders. I guess I'm not really surprised as shipping has to be a huge expense for them. On the other hand, it may well cause some people to rethink placing smaller orders with them. I know that it will for me as Amazon is also opening a distribution center here in WI soon and will start charging sales tax this month making that advantage disappear.

[TB Roye]

They just opened a distribution about 50 miles from and will open a second about 10 miles from that. The got pressured into this and agreed to charge sales tax on CA purchases also. The only good thing is it helped the unemployment picture in those 2 cities. I will still use them for Christmas shopping as I have Prime and hate going out to the malls and traffic and the rude people.


Tom

[LCHIEN]

i use Amazon Prime. Share it with some family members - I think you can share it with four others - gives you prime 2-day shipping free on all orders and some other benefits as well (like streaming videos free).

I find it handy to not have to think about shipping costs - just order stuff when I need it no matter how much. Of course, you have to stick with Amazon stocked items and not the external vendors.

Amazon Prime infor and free trial.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/signup/videos?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=25346067008&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=888638397589087181&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_86lvrg263w_b

[LCHIEN]

some (I think) overzealaous member reported my endorsement of Amazon as SPAM.

First I was replying with a solution to the original's poster problems or complaint about paying Amazon shipping costs - this might be a solution.

Second I have no direct financial interest or ownership or relation to anyone working for Amazon. I may own some mutual funds that in turn own Amazon stock but I couldn't tell you which or how much.

THird, this is NOT a promotion for Amazon any more than many of the other posts saying how a product has performed well for them.

Wiki defines "Electronic Spamming is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages (spam), especially advertising, indiscriminately." Further "A person who creates electronic spam is called a spammer"

This is not unsolicited, the OP discussed shippping costs which this addresses directly. It is not indiscriminate - its a single post on a single forum thread with a clear indication of who sent it. I resent being called a spammer.

If any other moderator disagrees with me you may delete this post. I sure hope you guys know me better than to accuse me of spamming in my own back yard. It never even crossed my mind that this might be beneficial for Amazon, but was thinking along the lines that I could share a good service.

[Stytooner]

Nope.
Those were my thoughts exactly Loring.
Definitely not spam.

I gotta say that I am pretty adept at searching the web for prices when I need some type things. Amazon typically comes in with the lowest price. How could anyone not like getting a lower price?

I did recently sign up for prime, (last 4 months) and it has already paid for itself in shipping costs alone.
I don't even watch any of the other perks like streaming shows and movies.

[sweensdv]

Just to set the record straight, I don't have a problem or complaint with the increase as you stated. My intention was to bring this fact to the members attention, nothing more. It was a little overzealous of you to label my posting as me having a problem or a complaint.

[LCHIEN]

" it may well cause some people to rethink placing smaller orders with them. I know that it will for me"

sounds like a small issue being raised to me. Is an issue a problem or complaint? I guess that's a matter of opinion. If you prefer however, I will say I was responding to an observation.

My initial point was I can place a $3.00, $5, $10 or $20 order with amazon and have it delivered in 2 days with no thought of shipping cost to me other than my membership fee which is prepaid.

My other point is reporting posts to the moderators for other than blatant and real problems is both petty and counterproductive. Please do not abuse it, use your ability to report posts with proper discretion.

[leehljp]

Looks like Amazon raised the minimum order from $25 to $35 in order to qualify for free shipping on certain orders. I guess I'm not really surprised as shipping has to be a huge expense for them. On the other hand, it may well cause some people to rethink placing smaller orders with them. I know that it will for me as Amazon is also opening a distribution center here in WI soon and will start charging sales tax this month making that advantage disappear.

Someone either mentioned the increase on this forum or another forum a few weeks ago, so this post didn't surprise me. Shucks, I couldn't take the shipping charges BEFORE this increase. Quite often I order something for less than the minimum and have for some times. But, Like Loring and Lee mentioned, Prime has been a big cost saver for me and I share it with my family in three States, and I don't worry about minimums. The combination of one payment and the two day shipment is more than worth it to me.

[chopnhack]

They are building a warehouse here in florida as well, which means I will have to start paying sales tax soon enough...

I too saw the shipping hike and likewise think it was inevitable. It will certainly change my shopping habits with them. As I do now, I generally put things in my shopping cart and let them sit until I meet the minimum or find that I don't really need them for one reason or another. Helps to reduce the impulse buying

What we fighting about? Was a post deleted/altered or something?

[dbhost]

I too used to just put things in my shopping cart until I hit the minimum for free shipping. However with Amazon prime, I can get streaming media to my Wii, my PS3, and my computer, sadly though, no Android client even though Kindle runs on a variant of Android... Go figure.

Between the free 2 day shipping, free streaming media, and no minimums, Prime has been worth it to me, although I must admit it took me a LONG time to come to that decision...

Amazon raising the minimum doesn't seem like the most customer friendly move, but it might just be a smart business move. Only time will tell for sure.

[Cochese]

I too used to just put things in my shopping cart until I hit the minimum for free shipping. However with Amazon prime, I can get streaming media to my Wii, my PS3, and my computer, sadly though, no Android client even though Kindle runs on a variant of Android... Go figure.

Between the free 2 day shipping, free streaming media, and no minimums, Prime has been worth it to me, although I must admit it took me a LONG time to come to that decision...

Amazon raising the minimum doesn't seem like the most customer friendly move, but it might just be a smart business move. Only time will tell for sure.

That's why. They want you to buy their Android tablet.

[BigguyZ]

I have the Fire HD 8.9, and it's a good tablet. But you're right, a reason I went with them initially was to use Prime natively. However, any android tablet with Flash can use Amazon's website and Prime through that (in desktop mode).

Glass just cracked on my HD 8.9, so I may be upgrading soon. If the Nexus 10 comes out soon with a decent price, I may just go to that over the HDX version. Either way, I don't knock Amazon and their kindle fire tablets- they're great for what they are.

[lrr]

I seem to always find thing I want, so the raise to $35 is a minor annoyance. However, all the posts about Prime have opened up my eyes. I had no idea you could share!

[vaking]

I also did not know you could share prime even though I have it myself and use it a lot. I no longer have Netflix. I have an LG smart TV and their recent firmware upgrade added Amazon Prime streaming movies. It is nice to be able to watch streaming video from Internet without any additional boxes, just the TV. I got disappointed in Netflix awhile back when they started to load up on shows rather than movies. I am a fan of movies, I don't watch anything repetitive.

[BigguyZ]

Where is the info noted about sharing Prime? Do you mean you can have 3 users on the same account log in at once, or do you mean one Prime membership can be used by 3 completely separate accounts?