Octopus Overlords

I haven't been able to convince myself that paying for a Prime membership is worth it. Here are the benefits and my responses.

1) Free shipping: I get this anyway since I bundle my purchases to reach the $50 threshold.
2) Amazon Video streaming: I am more than happy with just having Netflix.
3) Over a million songs: I am happy with the music I currently have or can get it through other free sources like YouTube.
4) PrimeDay deals: I don't buy that much stuff so I am not tempted by discounted items I don't really need.
5) Early access to Lightening deals: see above response.
6) Over 800,000 e-books: this is tempting except I don't own a Kindle.

So, why would I pay $11 a month (i.e., $132 a year) for this service? Did I miss anything?

Moliere wrote: 1) Free shipping: I get this anyway since I bundle my purchases to reach the $50 threshold.

Free 2-Day shipping. They started slowing down free non-prime shipping more and more. It used to be that I would get free stuff next day before I had prime... it eventually got to the point where it was 5-7 days, which was longer than I wanted to wait.

Moliere wrote: 2) Amazon Video streaming: I am more than happy with just having Netflix.

I don't have Netflix. My kids use the Amazon Prime Video stuff.

Moliere wrote:So, why would I pay $11 a month (i.e., $132 a year) for this service? Did I miss anything?

$99 a year.

Easy to justify for me on these two items.

Moliere wrote:So, why would I pay $11 a month (i.e., $132 a year) for this service? Did I miss anything?

You can get Metamucil and Vics Vap-o-Rub mailed to you on a subscription basis via Amazon Prime Pantry. I would assume this is of interest to someone in your age bracket?

If you have to dig through line-by-line and figure out if it's worth it, I'm guessing it isn't. The overlap between Netflix and Amazon Streaming isn't as high as it used to be, so I find value there. Additionally, as someone that lives in the hill country of NJ, 2-day shipping on things I'd likely need to drive 30 minutes (or more) to obtain is worth it. I'm also constantly being roped into children's birthday parties, so two clicks (and two days) later I have a gift.

I mean...you don't even own a Kindle. You're not really in the target audience here.

coopasonic wrote:Free 2-Day shipping. They started slowing down free non-prime shipping more and more. It used to be that I would get free stuff next day before I had prime... it eventually got to the point where it was 5-7 days, which was longer than I wanted to wait.

I'm patient. I can wait 5-7 days.

coopasonic wrote:$99 a year.

$11 x 12 months = $132. Where are you getting $99? The free trial is only 30 days so I am not counting that.

Smoove_B wrote:I would assume this is of interest to someone in your age bracket?

I fit right into the bell curve of the active OO members.

Smoove_B wrote:The overlap between Netflix and Amazon Streaming isn't as high as it used to be, so I find value there.

I'm sure there are plenty of additional shows and movies I could watch on Amazon. The problem is that I already have so many entertainment options that my discretionary time is limited.

Smoove_B wrote:I mean...you don't even own a Kindle. You're not really in the target audience here.

Every couple of months I browse for one, but never end up buying it. I get so many books from the library that buying them hasn't been a priority.

Moliere wrote:

coopasonic wrote:$99 a year.

$11 x 12 months = $132. Where are you getting $99? The free trial is only 30 days so I am not counting that.

If you pay annually it's $99.

Moliere wrote:

coopasonic wrote:$99 a year.

$11 x 12 months = $132. Where are you getting $99? The free trial is only 30 days so I am not counting that.

Deets

At the end of the Amazon Prime free trial or your chosen membership period, your card will be charged automatically for the next membership period.

If you choose to be charged on a monthly basis, your membership charge will be $10.99. If you choose to be charged on an annual basis, you will be charged $99.

I just received an Amazon Echo for my birthday. It's pretty cool, but what takes it to a level of pure awesomeness for me is that Prime gives me access to their digital music collection.... which means, I can just say, "Alexa, play album Moondance by Van Morrison", and there it is. Around 90% of what I asked for is there. For instance, my 5 year old wanted to have a karate battle with me the other day, so to heighten the experience, I said, "Alexa, play "You're the Best Around" from the Karate Kid soundtrack". That ruled.

The only problem is that the 5 year old now has commanded her to play "Imperial March" from Star Wars about 1000 times over the past week.

Captain Caveman wrote: I said, "Alexa, play "You're the Best Around" from the Karate Kid soundtrack". That ruled.

Wow. I never really understood the draw to the Echo, but I could envision a day where entering the house means I get to walk into that song or Stan Bush.

Captain Caveman wrote:The only problem is that the 5 year old now has commanded her to play "Imperial March" from Star Wars about 1000 times over the past week.

Then don't let the kiddo hear you say "Alexa tell me a joke." Ugh.

Smoove_B wrote:

Captain Caveman wrote: I said, "Alexa, play "You're the Best Around" from the Karate Kid soundtrack". That ruled.

Wow. I never really understood the draw to the Echo, but I could envision a day where entering the house means I get to walk into that song or Stan Bush.

Hmmmm, entrance music. I may have to get one just so I can do that.

My entrance would of course be this.

Moliere wrote:I haven't been able to convince myself that paying for a Prime membership is worth it. Here are the benefits and my responses.

1) Free shipping: I get this anyway since I bundle my purchases to reach the $50 threshold.
2) Amazon Video streaming: I am more than happy with just having Netflix.
3) Over a million songs: I am happy with the music I currently have or can get it through other free sources like YouTube.
4) PrimeDay deals: I don't buy that much stuff so I am not tempted by discounted items I don't really need.
5) Early access to Lightening deals: see above response.
6) Over 800,000 e-books: this is tempting except I don't own a Kindle.

Triggered.

coopasonic wrote:

Captain Caveman wrote:The only problem is that the 5 year old now has commanded her to play "Imperial March" from Star Wars about 1000 times over the past week.

Then don't let the kiddo hear you say "Alexa tell me a joke." Ugh.

Or mom jokes or fart sounds.

To be honest, the only Prime benefit that I absolutely can't live without is the free 2-day shipping.

- Video streaming is nice as an alternative to Netflix, but not essential.
- Don't use their streaming music service - I prefer Google Play, though I may have to revisit Prime Music since it would be free for me.
- PrimeDay deals - PrimeDay was a joke last year, don't give a crap
- Early access to deals - meh
- E-books - I've actually never used the lending function of this, though I do occasionally take advantage of the $1.99 deals for Prime members. They also have a nifty monthly (?) program where you can get free unreleased books, and I've taken advantage of that quite a bit.

DAT SHIPPING THO! The thing that's nice about it is not only the 2-day speed, but the fact that if I really want that Blu-Ray that's on sale for $5 I don't have to come up with $45 worth of junk I don't need to get the free shipping. You can just buy random dirt cheap stuff and never worry about it (unless you're super anal about destroying the environment with unnecessary packaging and transportation).

The Meal wrote:Prime Day homework: Sign up for Amazon’s Visa Rewards Card to save $30 on $150 + get a free $50 gift card

See, now getting the $30 discount + $50 gift card practically pays for the first year of Prime. Maybe I can even buy a Kindle as my purchase to qualify for the $30 discount.

My favorite part about Amazon Prime is that damn near everyone in my family has it so I can use the Amazon Household feature and get the free 2 day shipping without having to pay a damn thing. Huzzah!

Moliere wrote:

The Meal wrote:Prime Day homework: Sign up for Amazon’s Visa Rewards Card to save $30 on $150 + get a free $50 gift card

See, now getting the $30 discount + $50 gift card practically pays for the first year of Prime. Maybe I can even buy a Kindle as my purchase to qualify for the $30 discount.

Bear in mind, those looking to take advantage of this deal must apply and receive approval for the credit card prior to this Saturday to be eligible:

Amazon.com wrote:To be eligible for this offer, you must be an Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card member. Customers who apply and are approved for this card after July 9, 2016, will not be eligible.

Moliere wrote:I haven't been able to convince myself that paying for a Prime membership is worth it. Here are the benefits and my responses.

1) Free shipping: I get this anyway since I bundle my purchases to reach the $50 threshold.
2) Amazon Video streaming: I am more than happy with just having Netflix.
3) Over a million songs: I am happy with the music I currently have or can get it through other free sources like YouTube.
4) PrimeDay deals: I don't buy that much stuff so I am not tempted by discounted items I don't really need.
5) Early access to Lightening deals: see above response.
6) Over 800,000 e-books: this is tempting except I don't own a Kindle.

So, why would I pay $11 a month (i.e., $132 a year) for this service? Did I miss anything?

Nope, that's it (and I would add that even including 4 and 5 above are being generous as "benefits"). Prime is definitely not for you.

What is the point of this? If you don't want Prime service, don't buy it. Do we need to know that you don't want it?

RunningMn9 wrote:What is the point of this? If you don't want Prime service, don't buy it. Do we need to know that you don't want it?

The point is to advertise the upcoming PrimeDay for those that didn't know about it and to get the community's input about whether I should become a Prime member based upon my understanding of the benefits.

I much prefer Prime Music to Google Play - if I want to listen to radio (i.e. random songs), I'll listen to Pandora. Prime lets me listen to the whole album, in order, which is important since a lot of what I listen to is concept albums.

Moliere wrote: 1) Free shipping: I get this anyway since I bundle my purchases to reach the $50 threshold.

Also, for some items (presumably, stuff stocked close to you), if you spend more than $35, you can get next day shipping.

And, if you're not in a rush, you can choose no-rush shipping, which will sometimes give you $1 digital credit that can add up.

2) Amazon Video streaming: I am more than happy with just having Netflix.

I dropped Netflix some time ago, though I figure I'll probably resubscribe for a couple of months here and then to expand my viewing options.

Keep in mind that if you have a Fire, you can also download movies/tv shows to watch on the go/when wifi is down.

And of course, while there is an overlap between the two services, many shows/movies are only available on one or the other.

3) Over a million songs: I am happy with the music I currently have or can get it through other free sources like YouTube.

Although it's not available on prime, I like amazon's cloud option, allowing me to store all my music online.

4) PrimeDay deals: I don't buy that much stuff so I am not tempted by discounted items I don't really need.
5) Early access to Lightening deals: see above response.

Yeah, I don't really use that.

6) Over 800,000 e-books: this is tempting except I don't own a Kindle.

That's not prime, that's Kindle unlimited (something separate, with a different subscription). That said, prime does offer one free new book a month (Kindle First or something like that). Also, you don't need a kindle to read a kindle book (you can read on your computer, tablet, phone, etc using the kindle app)

So, why would I pay $11 a month (i.e., $132 a year) for this service? Did I miss anything?

There's also some photo service (I've never used it), and some products only available to prime members (certain products, the whole prime pantry thing, etc). Also, if you preorder or buy a new (within 2 weeks old) physical video game, you get 20% off, IIRC.

Just a note that if you do have an actual Kindle (doesn't work with Kindle apps), you can also borrow one book a month through the Kindle Lending Library. I tried that for the first time tonight and I'm kind of kicking myself I haven't been doing it. Wound up borrowing one of the next books in the fantasy series I'm reading that I was just about to spend 7 or 8 bucks on.

Thanks I guess, and no, you shouldn't get Prime. Because you don't want it.

Defiant wrote:
Also, if you preorder or buy a new (within 2 weeks old) physical video game, you get 20% off, IIRC.

I have saved $36 this year just pre-ordering 2 xbox games for my son and Civ VI for me. $12 off each game.

gilraen wrote:I much prefer Prime Music to Google Play - if I want to listen to radio (i.e. random songs), I'll listen to Pandora. Prime lets me listen to the whole album, in order, which is important since a lot of what I listen to is concept albums.

I use Amazon Music over Google Play only because all my old CD's I burned and converted to digital are uploaded there, but since Google Play bought Songza (by far my favorite non-premium music service), it's much improved over what it was. I think they bought them in the past 6 months or so, so it might be worth checking out.

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

Moliere wrote:

The Meal wrote:Prime Day homework: Sign up for Amazon’s Visa Rewards Card to save $30 on $150 + get a free $50 gift card

See, now getting the $30 discount + $50 gift card practically pays for the first year of Prime. Maybe I can even buy a Kindle as my purchase to qualify for the $30 discount.

Bear in mind, those looking to take advantage of this deal must apply and receive approval for the credit card prior to this Saturday to be eligible:

Amazon.com wrote:To be eligible for this offer, you must be an Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card member. Customers who apply and are approved for this card after July 9, 2016, will not be eligible.

Approved yesterday and already received my $50 gift credit. Combined with the $30 discount on Tuesday will just about pay for the Prime service.

I think you can still share your prime service with up to 4 other people. Almost my whole extended family gets the benefit of 2 day shipping based on my subscription. I don't charge them for it, but you could ask for a kickback to cover your cost if they find it valuable enough.

And I'm now a Prime member. The Pantry program looks promising, even more so if I can take advantage of the promo that waives the shipping.

Also, I was happy to see they have 1235 comedy albums available for streaming. Now I wait until Tuesday to buy the Kindle Paperwhite. Is it worth paying an extra $20 to avoid the Special Offers ads?

Moliere wrote:Is it worth paying an extra $20 to avoid the Special Offers ads?

Nope. They are completely unobtrusive unless you really hate seeing advertising when the kindle is sitting on the night stand/desk/whatever. None of it shows up while you are reading.

General consensus is that the ads are unobtrusive and tend to be focused around book recommendations.

And don't forget about the wonderful world of Amazon Dash buttons!

FWIW, you can also very easily remove the Soecial Offer ads from your Kindle for free.

Isgrimnur wrote:General consensus is that the ads are unobtrusive and tend to be focused around book recommendations.

I only see them when I open the cover for the half-second before I swipe to unlock it. Or they're in a small area at the bottom of the home screen when checking your library for a new victim. And once in a blue moon one catches my eye in that half second and I check it out. So yeah, unobtrusive is a good word.

I get an ad for games on my lock screen. That is the only place I notice the ads. Some of my free games have ads also but I stop all this by turning off my wifi. I turn it back on when I need to do something online.

Anonymous Bosch wrote:FWIW, you can also very easily remove the Soecial Offer ads from your Kindle for free.

Menu is laid out differently than described above but I am going to try this, we'll see if it is successful.

Lassr wrote:

Anonymous Bosch wrote:FWIW, you can also very easily remove the Soecial Offer ads from your Kindle for free.

Menu is laid out differently than described above but I am going to try this, we'll see if it is successful.

they just pointed me to paying the $15 to get rid of the ads. So it did not work.

Relying on the kindness of customer service agents is not 'very easily'. I imagine there was a new policy put in effect shortly after that article went up. Or refresher training if there already was one.

I rarely see the ads because I 1) turn off my Kindle fully between uses and 2) on connect to WiFi if I want to download something (so ads rarely update). Definitely not worth paying extra to remove them.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I rarely see the ads because I 1) turn off my Kindle fully between uses

I didn't think you could turn off the Kindle, just put it in screensaver mode.