Amazon Raises Free Shipping Minimum to $35 - Page 4

Sregener · 10-23-2013, 06:08 AM

I have a Roku 3 combined with 10Mbps fiber, and I've had no issues at all with streaming, even during the "peak" evening hours. When I was using my Panasonic Blu-Ray player to stream, it was rare that I got HD, but it still almost always worked without a glitch.

I saved 1/3 of my annual Prime membership by using the lending library to borrow one Chess Informant. Your mileage may vary.

If you find yourself frequently adding items to your cart to get free shipping, Prime will likely save you money.

ProfCrash · 10-23-2013, 06:17 AM

Netflix stalls on us and shuts down randomly. We have not had that problem with Amazon.

And it bears repeating, Amazon Prime with subscribe and save is awesome. Big savings, if you shop smart, and free delivery. Toss in Amazon Mom and you get an extra 5% off. So yeah, we love Prime.

kennyc · 10-23-2013, 06:54 AM

Prime Rules, Walmart Drools!

Rizla · 10-23-2013, 07:38 AM

There were accusations that Amazon would put their prices up once they'd undercut and put their competition out of business.

tubemonkey · 10-23-2013, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizla

There were accusations that Amazon would put their prices up once they'd undercut and put their competition out of business.

My general response to price increases I don't like is to boycott the product.

In the case of $35 minimum orders, I'll wait until I have more than $35 before I order. If I can't wait, I'll consider getting the item elsewhere or getting a friend with Prime to order it for me.

Higher shipping minimums tend to curtail impulse buying for cheaper items.

Catlady · 10-23-2013, 08:20 AM

Well, Amazon just lost one order because of the new minimum. I was looking at a tote bag with a price of $28, checked eBags where the same item had the same price with free shipping over $25, and ordered from eBags instead.

tubemonkey · 10-23-2013, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well, Amazon just lost one order because of the new minimum. I was looking at a tote bag with a price of $28, checked eBags where the same item had the same price with free shipping over $25, and ordered from eBags instead.

Amazon thanks you

Canuck_in_Japan · 10-23-2013, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elemenoP

That's interesting. Do they have Amazon Prime anyway? What are the benefits? Faster free shipping?

Hardly any benefits at all as we don't get to take advantage of all the digital offers. That's why I don't get it. I guess if you have it you can pre-arrange when then package will be delivered which is pretty convenient and the shipping is probably next day rather than 2nd day. You also might get some added discounts when you subscribe to buying a product. Not enough for me to drop the $40 per year.

BearMountainBooks · 10-23-2013, 09:49 AM

I saw this yesterday. Bummer. I always waited to order until I had 25 worth of goods or rounded it out with books. Lately I've been finding cheaper used books on other sites though so had kind of stopped shopping for those at Amazon. They changed prices on one of my subscription items too and now it's probably cheaper for me to buy it at my local store (especially if it goes on sale. I'll be watching a lot more carefully.)

Shrug. The last time I mailed a package--and relatively LIGHT package it cost me 12 dollars. And that wasn't priority, no insurance. I have been flipping out every time I have to mail stuff. I'm making my Dad a whole batch of soap to take next time I go because mailing it to him has gotten too expensive. I wonder how many bars he uses per month...

tubemonkey · 10-23-2013, 12:17 PM

Another option for free shipping that's available for many B&M stores is free ship-to-store.

DiapDealer · 10-23-2013, 12:32 PM

This all feels a bit like bitching because the people on the parade float started thowing less free candy to the crowd.

Offering less for free is not the equivalent of "raising prices" (no matter how badly some might wish it to be so).

AnemicOak · 10-23-2013, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Another option for free shipping that's available for many B&M stores is free ship-to-store.

True, but depending on how far you need to drive (gas/mileage) and the time involved it may or may not be a better deal than paying a shipping fee. It all depends on what the item is.

Many places started the $25 free ship deal after Amazon started it. It will be interesting to see if any of them now raise it to $35.

ApK · 10-23-2013, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

True, but depending on how far you need to drive (gas/mileage) and the time involved it may or may not be a better deal than paying a shipping fee. It all depends on what the item is.

Many places started the $25 free ship deal after Amazon started it. It will be interesting to see if any of them now raise it to $35.

Who else has it? As someone mentioned above, I've seen many places with a $40 or $50 free shipping deal, but can't recall seeing a $25 deal other than Amazon.

tubemonkey · 10-23-2013, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Who else has it? As someone mentioned above, I've seen many places with a $40 or $50 free shipping deal, but can't recall seeing a $25 deal other than Amazon.

Best Buy is $25. By contrast, ToysRUs is a whopping $79.

BearMountainBooks · 10-23-2013, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Best Buy is $25. By contrast, ToysRUs is a whopping $79.

In early days there were a few clothing type places that matched the 25 dollar -- sierra trading post, a place I used to order my woolies from and so on. These days most places are 50.

I still view it as the price going up. I wasted enough "add this to get free shipping" when it was 25 and had stopped bothering to order very often. I ordered one too many books that were on my "borderline" list to fill out an order.

Unless I have a more expensive item, it will generally mean I can find the product cheaper elsewhere or wait.

Though it's noticeable, it's not a huge deal. I already shop around quite a bit. If I ordered a lot from Amazon I'd have just signed up for prime so that shipping wasn't an issue.

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10-23-2013, 06:08 AM	#46
Sregener Addict Posts: 239 Karma: 1664052 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 4NT	I have a Roku 3 combined with 10Mbps fiber, and I've had no issues at all with streaming, even during the "peak" evening hours. When I was using my Panasonic Blu-Ray player to stream, it was rare that I got HD, but it still almost always worked without a glitch. I saved 1/3 of my annual Prime membership by using the lending library to borrow one Chess Informant. Your mileage may vary. If you find yourself frequently adding items to your cart to get free shipping, Prime will likely save you money.

10-23-2013, 06:17 AM	#47
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Netflix stalls on us and shuts down randomly. We have not had that problem with Amazon. And it bears repeating, Amazon Prime with subscribe and save is awesome. Big savings, if you shop smart, and free delivery. Toss in Amazon Mom and you get an extra 5% off. So yeah, we love Prime.

10-23-2013, 06:54 AM	#48
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,930 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2 & PW, Onyx Boox Go6	Prime Rules, Walmart Drools!

10-23-2013, 07:38 AM	#49
Rizla Member Retired Posts: 3,183 Karma: 11721895 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2	There were accusations that Amazon would put their prices up once they'd undercut and put their competition out of business.

10-23-2013, 08:20 AM	#51
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,423 Karma: 52734361 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Well, Amazon just lost one order because of the new minimum. I was looking at a tote bag with a price of $28, checked eBags where the same item had the same price with free shipping over $25, and ordered from eBags instead.

10-23-2013, 09:49 AM	#54
BearMountainBooks Maria Schneider Posts: 3,746 Karma: 26439330 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Near Austin, Texas Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard	I saw this yesterday. Bummer. I always waited to order until I had 25 worth of goods or rounded it out with books. Lately I've been finding cheaper used books on other sites though so had kind of stopped shopping for those at Amazon. They changed prices on one of my subscription items too and now it's probably cheaper for me to buy it at my local store (especially if it goes on sale. I'll be watching a lot more carefully.) Shrug. The last time I mailed a package--and relatively LIGHT package it cost me 12 dollars. And that wasn't priority, no insurance. I have been flipping out every time I have to mail stuff. I'm making my Dad a whole batch of soap to take next time I go because mailing it to him has gotten too expensive. I wonder how many bars he uses per month...

10-23-2013, 12:17 PM	#55
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,851 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Another option for free shipping that's available for many B&M stores is free ship-to-store.

10-23-2013, 12:32 PM	#56
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,880 Karma: 207000000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	This all feels a bit like bitching because the people on the parade float started thowing less free candy to the crowd. Offering less for free is not the equivalent of "raising prices" (no matter how badly some might wish it to be so).