Monday, October 12, 2015

Amazon Prime

A few weeks ago, Amazon offered Prime at a discounted rate of $67, in honor of the 67th Emmy Awards.  This is about 1/3 off, and I had plenty of Discover Cash Back dollars....so we went ahead and got.

The main motivation for doing this is to try and make less trips to the grocery store/Walmart/Target.  I just don't have time.  Trying to figure out when I have time to go stresses me out.  Walmart and Target are about a 15 min drive from home, in a direction that I never go in....unless I am going to those stores.  There is a Target near the office, but again, in the opposite direction from where I need to be.  I know none of this is really a true PROBLEM in the scheme of things. But my anxiety levels have been through the roof lately, and the idea of not going to the store was worth the cost.

Speaking of cost....I did price compare alot of the things that we buy.  Probably 75% were about the same as the local store.  The other 25%...I will go to the store for those.  Example:  Swiffer Wet Jet solution.  It was twice as much on Amazon.  Um, no.  But things like cat food...they were the same price.

I ordered a few things right after we got it, and it was fine.  It came in 4 boxes, on 2 separate days.  I was highly confused why something I ordered 2 of, came in 2 separate boxes.  But whatever.

Since then, I haven't learned the timing of it.  I realize too late that I need something (like, I was down to 1 roll of toilet paper, for 2 bathrooms, and 3 people...one of which tends to use alot!).  I can't order that on Saturday and it says it won't be there until Wednesday.  So I need to figure out WHEN I need to order things.

I am still trying to figure out PrimePantry.  I understand that you get a box for a flat shipping rate.  But if I am paying for shipping....doesn't that negate the idea of free shipping?

I have not used the streaming service yet.  I know I need a little Fire Stick thing to get it to work on the TV, but I haven't even looked into it.  We will most likely be cutting the cable when we move, so this is sort of a first adventure into all of that.

Those of you who use Prime....how do you use it (everyday items, gifts, streaming, etc)?  Do you find it worth the money?  Any tricks of the trade?

18 comments:

  1. If you have an Xbox 360 or Xbox One (maybe even on PlayStation, I don't have one of those so no idea) you can stream Amazon Prime TV shows and videos. That is about all we use it for, to be honest. And even then Netflix or Hulu are used first.

    We really should take advantage of it more, and likely will with the holidays coming up. We live almost 2,000 miles from family and won't be traveling home for holidays this year.

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    1. No Xbox for us. We have a first generation Wii, which I know can stream Netflix down the road (unless it is too antiquated by then).

      I have always tried to get free shipping at the holidays, so that isn't new to me. But I also don't like to be locked into only ordering from there.

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  2. I love Amazon Prime! But I'm confused why you can't order on Saturday? they do ship out on Saturdays (which should at least put your delivery day as Tuesday). In fact Saturday afternoon I ordered 2 things. They were supposed to show up today...one box showed up yesterday - on a Sunday! It wasn't even 24 hours and a box was delivered. The other will be here today.

    I haven't yet figured out the Prime Pantry thing either or the subscribe and save program.

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    1. Oh you can order on Saturday. ....but at least for my stuff it said Wednesday for delivery. I assumed that since Sunday and Monday this week were non business days, that put 2 day shipping at Wednesday. ...too long to wait for toilet paper. Lol

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  3. I LOVE Amazon prime! We also live far from any big stores. Working full time and having a little one requires a lot of planning. A big chunk of our "emergency fund" is in our cupboards. I always have a full something (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, detergent, etc) on the shelf and when that is taken off the shelf I immediately open my amazon app and scan it into my cart. Once a week or so i place an order for the items in my cart. Mostly so the UPS guy doesn't judge :) This has relieved SO. MUCH. STRESS. Running out of essentials seriously made me loony. Once we got a system in our house it's so much better. And I've found that for many things prime is actually cheaper. We also use the streaming. Fire TV is kinda like netflix, but included in your subscription so kinda free. Would turn off cable if it weren't for a couple channels my hubs loves. We also have the free time tablet for the kiddo. 2 yr no questions asked warranty and entirely safe content sold me on it. I realize now i sound like an amazon junkie... but seriously it has made our life so much smoother. One last thing. I use it also for gift ideas. When i hear someone mention how much the love something/wish to have someday i get on my phone app and add it to my wish list. Then when the next birthday/holiday come around i order it or look at the list for ideas while shopping elsewhere. You are going to love it!

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    1. Thanks for the thumbs up. Like I said...I am still working on the system. Some things confuse me...for example....why is my hair conditioner the same price as the store, but the shampoo isn't or isn't available with regular Prime, only Pantry.

      It has only been 3 weeks, so I am still learning.

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  4. As you noted, not everything is offered via Prime. I've been using it since shortly after the program began and love it. Also, even things that are labeled Prime, the vendors you are buying from do not always ship on weekends, hence your experience with ordering on Saturday and not receiving until Wednesday.

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  5. I like the 2 day free shipping for stuff I was planning on buying on Amazon anyway. Plus there is no $35 min purchase to get the free shipping which without prime is just standard shipping anyway.

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    1. We were never huge Amazon people outside of the holidays. But if I am buying stuff I was going to buy anyway ...let's give it a go.

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  6. I love Amazon Prime! I have an older version of the Kindle Fire and I stream movies on it there or our Xbox 360. Also, if you have an IPhone, you can download their free music app and stream music as apposed to purchasing it (kind of like Pandora without commercials) - only thing is it's best to use either at home or where there is free WiFi or you get charged for data usage.
    I haven't bought any groceries from them as of yet. I have seen quite a few bloggers that do and have great success though it does sound like you have to plan well in advance for the things that you need.
    Good luck!!

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    1. No Kindie or iPhone. But it seems I can stream things on my Galaxy 6. The grocery thing will take some planning. I am trying not to stockpile before the move, but I also run into the problem of a kid telling me they are out of something!

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  7. I've been a Prime Member from the beginning and I love it. We're 8 miles from town, and it's not much of a town, and 15-20 miles from any real shopping so it's a God send. I use Prime Pantry some, yes you par $5,99 (I think) for each shipment, I use it for heavy things I don't want us to carry, we have 14 stairs going up to our house and it's a pain. Prime Pantry gets delivered to our doorstep.
    We just got the Amazon Fire Stick and I changed our Netflix plan to streaming, so we'll see how that goes.

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  8. Love, Love, Love Amazon. I buy 90% of my christmas on there. Mainly because I hate going to stores, and have the time it is cheaper. I buy some groceries and toiletries on Amazon. The key to saving ALOT of money is subscribe and save + coupons. If you can wait a bit, you can get killer deals. I rarely pay more than $1.50 for shampoo or conditioner. There are lots of websites that will show you good deals. one i use is shopthehotdeals.com. You can also stream by hooking up your computer to your TV if you have an HDMI hook up on your laptop and TV. I love Amazon Prime for TV, and for free music. I can't live without it now!

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  9. Love Amazon Prime!! Been a member for over 2 years. Love being able to listen to music, watch movies, and the free shipping... worth every penny.

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  10. I think you'll like Subscribe and Save better than Pantry :)

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