For years, Amazon has been charging an annual fee of $79 for Amazon Prime membership, which includes free two-day shipping on many items and access to a library of streaming movies and TV shows at no extra cost. For people who take advantage of both aspects of the service, it’s a pretty good deal at under $7/month, but is that all about to change? [More]
amazon prime
Is This 2,550-LB Wide-Belt Sander Now The Heaviest Thing That Ships For Free On Amazon?
By 1.7.14
UPDATE: No, it appears the sander has already been beaten by a few other contenders. Let’s just say lathes are really, really heavy.
Complain About Late Deliveries To Get Free Amazon Prime
By 12.26.13
Amazon Prime customers may feel frustrated that they pay the $79/year fee only to find that their packages are still subject to the same delays as everyone else. But Prime members who carefully monitor their purchases can score free extensions on the service if a package is not delivered on time. And even if you’re not a Prime member, you can still get a discount if a guaranteed delivery date is not met. [More]
That’s Not Santa At The Door On Christmas Day: It’s FedEx
By 12.26.13
There were probably a lot of printed-out photos standing in for gifts under Christmas trees across the country. A combination of huge last-minute demand, retailers’ promises of Christmas delivery, and bad weather meant that many gifts that were supposed to arrive on the last business day before Christmas didn’t. Lots of people were disappointed. Joseph was one of them. Then…there was a modern miracle. [More]
Amazon Going After Costco, Sam’s Club With ‘Pantry’ Bulk-Buying Service
By 12.13.13
For years, Amazon has been selling certain household goods, like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and cereal, that are the bread-and-butter for warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club, but the online retailer has had trouble competing because of the shipping costs. That may change next year with the reported launch of something called Pantry. [More]
No Binge-Watching Amazon’s New Original Shows
By 11.4.13
Many a Netflix subscriber has lost a weekend to binges of the streaming service’s original shows like House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, and the fourth season of Arrested Development, and Amazon Prime users have certainly done this with many of the TV shows available included in its streaming library. But for some reason, Amazon won’t be feeding this binge impulse when it launches its first slate of original programming later this month. [More]
Ontrac Takes My Amazon Package On Weeklong Vacation, Delivers It Alongside Replacement
By 9.12.13 — Updated: 5.7.14
We hear wonderful things about Amazon Prime…except from readers who live in parts of the country served by smaller shipping carriers like Ontrac and Ensenda. Reader Z. recently reported a package missing, and Amazon sent a replacement. Ontrac brought both the original package and the replacement on the same day…a week after that original shipment was supposed to arrive. [More]
Amazon Expands Grocery Delivery Service, To Offer $299 ‘Prime Fresh’ Subscriptions
By 6.10.13
After several years of testing grocery delivery service in Seattle, the online retailer has expanded its AmazonFresh program to Los Angeles. Customers in the L.A. area will also be able to try out Amazon’s new “Prime Fresh” plan that offers same-day or overnight service of groceries and other items. [More]
The Heaviest Item On Amazon To Qualify For Free Shipping: A 1,509-Pound Gun Safe
By 11.29.12
When shipping is always free after an annual fee, who’s to say where Amazon Prime members will stop shopping? Sure, the company is betting that most members will be shipping smaller, everyday items — but what if you wanted to ship something super heavy, say, a 1,509-pound gun safe? Well, that would be free, too, even though it’d probably cost Amazon a tidy sum to ship. [More]
So I Guess UPS Has Just Stopped Delivering To My House?
By 10.10.12
Since signing up with UPS My Choice a couple months ago, Consumerist reader Stephanie has seen her UPS service slow down, first delivering 2-day packages on the third day, and for the last few weeks, simply not delivering at all. [More]
Netflix CEO Calls Amazon Prime Videos A “Confusing Mess”
By 9.27.12
In the time since Amazon launched its streaming video service — which includes a library of free movies and TV shows for members of Amazon Prime — it has grown to become a competitor for Netflix, especially after that company angered many customers by doubling the subscription rate for customers who wanted to keep receiving DVDs by mail. But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says he’s not worried about Amazon, and in fact, he’s not quite sure what they’re offering consumers. [More]
Good Morning! It’s OnTrac With Your Amazon Package Wakeup Call
By 8.22.12 — Updated: 5.7.14
It’s 8 A.M. Consumerist Standard Time. Time to get up! Don’t worry if you’re still feeling groggy, though. If you live in an area where OnTrac delivers Amazon packages, put some pants on. It’s entirely possible that your local delivery person could be at your door any minute now. At least that’s what happened to Richard. Today, that’s not much of a problem: you might even be on your way to work by then. The problem is that OnTrac stopped by and pounded on his doorbell on Saturday morning, rousing him and his neighbors. [More]
Delivery Guy Thinks This A Wise Place To Hide My Amazon Package
By 6.22.12
Imagine you are delivering a package to someone’s house and you want to leave it in a place where it won’t get stolen or damaged. We don’t know what ideas you might be coming up with, but we’re hoping this isn’t one of them. [More]
Do Amazon And Netflix Inflate Their Streaming Libraries?
By 4.17.12
When you read that Amazon offers 17,000 “movies and TV programs” in its streaming library, and that Netflix has 60,000, what do you assume that figure means? Sure, a movie’s a movie, but what constitutes a TV program? Using Amazon’s math, a “program” is a single episode of a series, meaning that the entire run of “24” counts as 192 programs. Is this a reasonable way to count videos, or is it misleading? Fast Company’s stance is clear: they think that both companies are using this trick to inflate their total program count and make their services look more impressive than they are. [More]
Amazon Instant Video Hitches A Ride On PS3 To Hit More TVs
By 4.4.12
Access to Amazon Instant Video’s streaming library has been a nice perk to signing up for Amazon Prime. But the service was never particularly useful to many customers who like to sit back on their couch and watch stuff on TV rather than stare at a computer screen. Now Amazon has cut a deal with the PS3 that draws it closer to competitors Netflix and Hulu Plus, which both stream on the Wii and Xbox 360 in addition to Sony’s console. [More]
No Last-Minute Diaper Orders For You, Amazon Mom Members
By 1.20.12
Many of our readers with kids are fans of Amazon Mom, a program that provides some Amazon Prime free-shipping benefits and an additional 15% savings on subscriptions to products that babies consume a lot of, like diapers and wipes. That’s all ending next week, and you have to subscribe to Prime to continue with the program. Is that worth it? That’s up to you and your family, and depends on how much you spend at Amazon every year. Reader Krystal was surprised when she visited Amazon to get in one last diaper order before the program changes…and saw that the site wouldn’t let her. [More]
Ensenda Still Not Doing So Well With The 'Send' Part
By 9.14.11
Chad just signed up for Amazon Prime, and the only choice for shipping in his area was regional delivery service Ensenda. He happened to be home when the package was expected, and received a text message notification that his package had been delivered. Perhaps it had, but not to Chad’s house. [More]
Vizio Takes Advertising Broken Amazon Streaming Very Seriously
By 8.23.11
Perhaps it was naive of Josh to assume that his Vizio Blu-Ray player came with free Amazon.com video streaming. It’s listed as a feature of the player, Amazon is one of Vizio’s “Internet apps,” and the Amazon logo is featured on the product box and on Vizio’s site for the product. All that doesn’t mean that Amazon streaming actually works, though. [More]
