Amazon Prime - do it?

[MiniLove]

Tell me your experiences with Amazon Prime. Is it worth it? How often do you use it? What do you typically buy with it? And do you watch any of the tv shows? For example, I looked up How I Met Your Mother, but it didn't seem like it was free for Prime Members. Other benefits? Hassles?

Thanks!

[Deleted]

I use netflix for my tv shows, and my purchases are almost always over $25, so I don't really have a use for prime. I get packages pretty quickly even with free super saver shipping- its never the 5-7 days they say it is.

If we didn't love netflix so much, I'd look into it further.

[honeybee]

I got a free six month trial for being a student. The two day shipping is fantastic. We're gonna re up for a year since its only $40 for students but only since it will cover a crazy amount of wedding purchases and then this christmas as well.

[cjeanette]

While the kids and I use the free prime streaming here and there I wouldn't buy the membership for that. We have Netflix and Hulu Plus which are superior. I have the prime for the 2 day free shipping. That makes the membership worth it to me. The streaming is just a perk, more options for the kids really.

[Brie]

We love it and buy stuff with it at least weekly.

For us, the main benefit is that it saves us time and eliminates trips to places like Lowe's, Petsmart and Target, so I really just have to go to the grocery store. We buy pretty much everything on there--our crib mattress, dog and cat food, deodorant, razors, laundry detergent, books, etc.

[Deleted]

My student membership automatically renewed and we use it so much that I didn't bother canceling. We purchase things weekly and it was seriously a life saver at Christmas.

[womet]

We think it is worth it. The free 2 day shipping is great. I ordered some new flip flops last week on a Tuesday at ~8pm. And they were waiting for me on Wed when I came home from work. You can't beat that.

I also justify it because I don't have to go to the mall at Christmas time, so my stress level is dramatically reduced and I end up spending less than if I went to the mall.

[cheese]

We had it free when we were doing amazon mom. Since our subscription was up, I haven't missed it. I have only placed one order (over $25 so shipping was free) and it came pretty quickly. I don't order enough online to justify paying for it.

[gt7301b]

I spend more money on Amazon now that I have Prime.

[Deleted]

We have saved a lot on hopping in just a few months...but my husband buys at least one book a week. I shop a lot moebon Amazon since we got Prime.

[dexteroni]

We only use it for shipping, but we more than get our money's worth. It enables us to order one book or one other small item without having to spend $25. Last week I ordered an $8 paper towel holder for the laundry room because they had the exact thing I wanted and I didn't feel like searching a bunch of stores for it. It's especially handy at Christmas because I don't have to compile a few items to get free shipping; I can order each thing as I find it. The standard shipping might not take the full week, but Prime shipping is always only two days. And sometimes if I order early in the day and the item is coming from a nearby distribution center, it arrives in one day. And if I definitely need something to arrive the next day, the $3.99 overnight shipping has saved my procrastinating ass on more than one occasion.

I don't use the streaming. I checked it out when they first announced it but the selection wasn't very good, and we're Netflix customers. Maybe it's improved now but it's not something I'm compelled to try.

[blueshirt2003]

I use it and will likely keep buying the subscription annually. I use it mostly for gifts and then random items but not household items or food.

I do watch some of the shows but not enough to get rid of Netflix Streaming.

[Brie]

May 23, 2012 10:26:55 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

I spend more money on Amazon now that I have Prime.

Me too. But I spend a lot less at Target and other stores.

I'll also echo the love for it at Christmas. I haven't set foot in a store to Christmas shop in two years and just ship my gifts directly to our destination so I don't have to fly with them. It's awesome.

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 10:34:02 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

The smartphone app is awesome also. I'll remember we are running low on PB in the carpool lane, and bam, just like that I have PB on the way.

you don't need prime to use the app.

[MiniLove]

Awesome. I live in a metro area in the midwest and Amazon shipping has never been a problem before. I have package acceptance where I live so that's no problem. I'm going to do the one month free trial and see how it goes, then will likely renew.

Another question: it says you can share the membership with up to 4 others in your household. But I've heard of people outside of households sharing accounts before. So if my brother (who does NOT live with me) wanted to split a membership with me, is that possible?

[dutchgirl678]

I got free prime membership for a year for signing up for Amazon Mom and ordering baby related products (a car seat or two will do it). But that didn't include the video streaming. We buy enough off of there that paying for Prime is worth it. We get diapers there and most electronics. Our PS3 should be able to play the video stream but we just haven't tried it yet.

[dexteroni]

I live in Ohio and I actually did have an issue with one of their alternate shippers a couple years ago. It was a company called Prestige, and every single package they delivered arrived between one and three days late. I complained about them to Amazon and they haven't delivered anything here in a long time, so hopefully Amazon has stopped using them.

[Lissa]

Yes, you can share the Prime account with others, but only the primary account holder has access to the videos and ebooks.

[dexteroni]

May 23, 2012 10:49:58 GMT -5 MiniLove said:

Another question: it says you can share the membership with up to 4 others in your household. But I've heard of people outside of households sharing accounts before. So if my brother (who does NOT live with me) wanted to split a membership with me, is that possible?

I've sent stuff to my mom and sister's addresses in the past without issue. And a couple times I've used my sister's credit card number, also without an issue. So based on that, you could probably share between addresses, although I don't know that it's technically permitted.

[aspentosh]

I love it for the free shipping and cheaper prices. I also watched a few TV shows on it, but not sure I'd get it just for that.

[Deleted]

FTR, I placed an order last night. I just got a ship notice now that it will be delivered tomorrow. 2 days, for free, without prime.

Depending on where you live, prime just may not be worth it. Its rare I get things longer than 3 days.

[peachdragon]

I use it all the time. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so it is worth it to me. The returns are great, too.

Sent from my PG86100 using ProBoards

[aspentosh]

May 23, 2012 11:20:17 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

FTR, I placed an order last night. I just got a ship notice now that it will be delivered tomorrow. 2 days, for free, without prime.

Depending on where you live, prime just may not be worth it. Its rare I get things longer than 3 days.

You're definitely right. Even before prime I'd get things in 2-3 days.

[Deleted]

I got Prime a month or so ago. I had a wonderful weekend of streaming a few weeks ago and all but forgot about it after that. I probably will use it more this summer since there won't be anything new on TV. I just haven't had a lot of time to watch much TV lately I guess.

We do buy a lot of stuff on Amazon, although it seems to go in spurts. I like Prime because in the past I'd want to buy 1 $15 item on Amazon and end up finding a second item for at least $10 to get free shipping. I figure now I can just buy that 1 $15 item and it is probably cheaper overall than buying extra stuff just to meet some minimum.

I also wanted it for the Kindle lending library, but I'm disappointed in that so far. There are few books I have heard of on the list and most of them I've already read and own (such as the Hunger Games and Water for Elephants). There are a lot of "lendable" books that have been free or on the 99 cent sales in the past and so I already have a lot of those too.

So in conclusion (lol) I do think it is worth it if you order a lot of stuff on Amazon. I don't know that I'd buy it just for streaming or Kindle but the three perks together make it worth it.

[angnshaun]

May 23, 2012 11:30:49 GMT -5 peachdragon said:

I use it all the time. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, so it is worth it to me. The returns are great, too.

Sent from my PG86100 using ProBoards

Same, i also have a Roku and get a ton of free movies on the prime membership