100 Million Prime members (disclosure: I'm one.)

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hopefully, pretty much everyone can make a distinction between the reduction of birth-related mortality and the mind-blowingly crucial importance of instant gratification?????

But they are both DELIVERY ISSUES!!
I though it was an inspired comparison.

Buuuutttt seriously,

I agree with just about everything you ranted said.

My point was not that consumers should expect instant gratification about everything, but that a company should be held to their commitments. If instant gratification is what they are promising consumers, then they should be expected to live up to the promise, or to stop promising.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ApK

If instant gratification is what they are promising consumers, then they should be expected to live up to the promise, or to stop promising.

It all depends why you choose 2 day delivery. Mostly, I think, you only NEED it when you procrastinate. I always use 2 day delivery, knowing full well that I don't even need the item that fast (think about reordering fish food once I open the last container, for example). Sure, the credits they offer for slow shipping would add up over time, but then it is nice not having to wait on a shiny new toy.

Today I was in Walmart. Running low on rechargeables. No problem, they ALWAYS have some in stock. Except when they don't (today). Only have the packages that comes with another useless (to me) charger. Asked when they get stock back in - not even later this week, or next week. Seriously? And you wonder why I order a pack on Amazon coming Friday while still in the store. *shrug* Even if it takes Amazon until next week it will beat my local Walmart.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

It all depends why you choose 2 day delivery. Mostly, I think, you only NEED it when you procrastinate. I always use 2 day delivery, knowing full well that I don't even need the item that fast (think about reordering fish food once I open the last container, for example). Sure, the credits they offer for slow shipping would add up over time, but then it is nice not having to wait on a shiny new toy.

Today I was in Walmart. Running low on rechargeables. No problem, they ALWAYS have some in stock. Except when they don't (today). Only have the packages that comes with another useless (to me) charger. Asked when they get stock back in - not even later this week, or next week. Seriously? And you wonder why I order a pack on Amazon coming Friday while still in the store. *shrug* Even if it takes Amazon until next week it will beat my local Walmart.

^This is right on the money. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over a day being late, anything could have happened most likely weather related.

Sometimes I will get something the next day which is a nice surprise, but mostly I get it within two weekdays time 99% of the time. So it's not worth it getting upset over the other 1% when it might come in a day or two late.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

^This is right on the money. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over a day being late, anything could have happened most likely weather related.

Sometimes I will get something the next day which is a nice surprise, but mostly I get it within two weekdays time 99% of the time. So it's not worth it getting upset over the other 1% when it might come in a day or two late.

It can be a big deal if you have to be there to sign for the delivery or if it's raining and it's a package that you don't want to get wet, especially if it simply doesn't show up rather than they notify you in advance it's going to be late. For the most part I don't care if it takes two days or three days. I do very much care if it's not delivered on the day that they said it was going to be. The last package that I had delivered came on a rain day and the cardboard package was soaked. Fortunately, it wasn't electronics that would be ruined if it got wet.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm not sure I like your tone, young lady.
You seem to be suggesting that even though the state of the art has advanced tremendously, people should be satisfied with the same performance of days gone by.

I agree. Not that I get bent out of shape when my 2 day order takes 3 or 4 days (rare, and rarer still that it would matter). But I don't judge Amazon over the standards of mail order delivery from my childhood.

Amazon is my store. My wife and daughters laugh at the non-stop packages that arrive at our door. They go shopping for what they need/want, I order from Amazon. Not because I'm lazy or procrastinating. Amazon is usually my 1st choice of "where do I go go buy anything I want".

Fortunately for me, I haven't had any of the delivery problems some of you have.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by leebase

I agree. Not that I get bent out of shape when my 2 day order takes 3 or 4 days (rare, and rarer still that it would matter). But I don't judge Amazon over the standards of mail order delivery from my childhood.

Amazon is my store. My wife and daughters laugh at the non-stop packages that arrive at our door. They go shopping for what they need/want, I order from Amazon. Not because I'm lazy or procrastinating. Amazon is usually my 1st choice of "where do I go go buy anything I want".

Fortunately for me, I haven't had any of the delivery problems some of you have.

Apparently, some of you--for all I know, most of you--obviously missed the point of my post, which, at its heart, had NOTHING to do with "standards from childhood" and had everything to do with the absurdity of adjudicating anything other than damn fast food on the standards of instant gratification.

Hitch

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Apparently, some of you--for all I know, most of you--obviously missed the point of my post, which, at its heart, had NOTHING to do with "standards from childhood" and had everything to do with the absurdity of adjudicating anything other than damn fast food on the standards of instant gratification.
Hitch

Did I reply to YOUR post? So...should you assume that I was speaking to your post (4 pages back from the one I replied to).

So, I went looking for your post and NOW have the following to say.

Sucks to be you. Really. I don't live on a dirt road and whether FedEx, UPS, PO or some random dude in an uber car (yep, I get those types to)...my Amazon packages come to my door. Sometimes, I get an email with a picture of my package sitting on my door step. I always get some kind of alert letting me know my package has arrived. My Echo Dot's light up to tell me my orders have shipped or arrived (Echo read my alerts).

I also enjoy Prime Reading, Prime movies/tv shows, and Prime Music.

But WERE I YOU....I'd be very unhappy with Amazon delivery and I'd very much wonder if I should continue paying for Prime.

Oh...and there's a WholeFoods 15 minutes from my house and I'm interested to see what kind of "bargains" I'll get (considering that WF is pricey as hell normally).

I'll keep your story in mind should I desire to relocate to rural America (whence I come from). High speed internet is another "could I possibly live without"? (My family still doesn't have access)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by leebase

Did I reply to YOUR post? So...should you assume that I was speaking to your post (4 pages back from the one I replied to).

No, you replied to ApK's post replying to me, saying that you agreed. Perhaps I misread your intent? Perhaps you were referring to someone else's childhood??????

So, I went looking for your post and NOW have the following to say.

Sucks to be you. Really. I don't live on a dirt road and whether FedEx, UPS, PO or some random dude in an uber car (yep, I get those types to)...my Amazon packages come to my door. Sometimes, I get an email with a picture of my package sitting on my door step. I always get some kind of alert letting me know my package has arrived. My Echo Dot's light up to tell me my orders have shipped or arrived (Echo read my alerts).

I also enjoy Prime Reading, Prime movies/tv shows, and Prime Music.

But WERE I YOU....I'd be very unhappy with Amazon delivery and I'd very much wonder if I should continue paying for Prime.

Oh...and there's a WholeFoods 15 minutes from my house and I'm interested to see what kind of "bargains" I'll get (considering that WF is pricey as hell normally).

I'll keep your story in mind should I desire to relocate to rural America (whence I come from). High speed internet is another "could I possibly live without"? (My family still doesn't have access)

And, that STILL wasn't what my post about instant gratification was about.

YES, I said that Amazon was, IMHO, violating the terms of their Prime Contract with their rural users, through neglect, which I am 99.99% sure is deliberate, because it saves them money. NO, I don't think I'm "entitled" to have something in one day, or whatever. I think I'm "entitled" to whatever it is that I'm paying for. (Which, to me, means that I should be able to order something larger than a breadbox, and STILL get it to my DOOR, not the PO 30 miles away.)

The world of Amazon has become quite difficult to navigate, in terms of delivery times, because it's quite easy to buy an object from S. Korea, let's say--which can take 6-10 weeks to arrive. I do it all the time. {shrug}. I don't set my hair on fire over the HORRIBLE delay. I mean, I'm an adult. If I need something that badly, distance or not, I get in the damned car.

To me, the delivery times are just...a symptom of something else. (Which was my point.) BUT, as this thread isn't about that, I'm just going to stop now. Even a salmon knows when to stop swimming uphill.

Hitch

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

^This is right on the money. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over a day being late, anything could have happened most likely weather related.

Sometimes I will get something the next day which is a nice surprise, but mostly I get it within two weekdays time 99% of the time. So it's not worth it getting upset over the other 1% when it might come in a day or two late.

Some places, all Prime offers is free shipping. not two days free or same day delivery. Typically it takes a week. Those are places where ground delivery isn't an option and shipping runs $10-30 per package for everything, most often over $20. In those places Prime is even more valuable as many retailers (cough*Best buy* Cough) refuse to ship anything to those zipcodes.

Not everybody lives in a coastal megapolis.
Different living standards, different tradeoffs.

[DiapDealer]

All I know is that my shipping address hasn't changed. And my Prime shipping service went to pot literally overnight. I went from consistently getting packages two days after I ordered, to about 5 days - 1 week on average. I don't get bent out of shape over a day or two here and there. But when suddenly everything I go to buy (and I only buy things that are in stock and fulfilled by Amazon) suddenly says Free Shipping and not Free Two-Day Shipping (and the delivery estimates are for a week out), something has gone badly wrong (though my address shows it still qualifies for free two-day and free one-day shipping). My Prime Two-day Free Shipping Service has flown the coop entirely. And they want me to start paying $20 more for it.

I'm done. I've called and emailed until I'm blue in the face.

[fjtorres]

According to CBS NEWS (via MSN) you can get up to $800 a year out of Amazon, via Prime.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...comeexperience

They also say:

Yet the full value of a Prime membership may not accrue to some consumers, especially those who live in rural areas. Even though Amazon is expanding its fulfillment centers to speed delivery to more corners of the U.S., some rural customers complain about unreliable two-day shipping, said Lindsay Sakraida, director of content marketing with DealNews.
On top of that, expanded delivery services like Prime Now are available only in big cities. Forget it if you're in, say, Lincoln, Nebraska.
"Deciding whether Amazon Prime is worth the cost can depend greatly on where you're located in the country," Sakraida said. "For urban dwellers, Prime shipping and perks tend to be much sweeter."
On Wednesday, Amazon said it would expand its Prime discount to all its Whole Foods Market 365 Stores, adding 121 more Whole Foods locations in 12 states. Prime members receive 10 percent off sale items and discounts on other products. But that discount is useful only if you happen to live near a Whole Foods location.

More at the source.

[Deskisamess]

We don't live in a rural area, but since the first of the year, my Amazon orders are taking 7-10 days, and all have been Prime. I know it's 2 business days after shipping, but It never used to take 4-6 days for items to ship after the order was put in.

Then most orders are UPS handed off to the post office, which adds another day.

We've been prime members for 6-7 years I think, and while we make use of the other benefits, I am not ordering near as often now. Between the lousy packaging, no more option to leave shipping comments from the order page, and slower and slower delivery, lets just say the Bloom is off the Rose.

[Catlady]

I placed an order yesterday, asked for no-rush shipping, and was given a delivery date of June 8. The item shipped yesterday evening and it's now due to arrive tomorrow. This is typical of my experience as a Prime member.

[GlenBarrington]

I have to laugh at how much Amazon makes over the Whole Foods Prime discount, Most Americans don't live anywhere CLOSE to a Whole Foods market, and never will, no matter how much the WFM chain expands. WFM is mostly a coastal chain with a few stores in the biggest interior cities.

The truth is, the value of Prime varies greatly with where you live. I've not had trouble with deliveries, and I have high speed internet, Prime video and other digital purchases are fantastic. But the whole move to selling groceries, and their same day delivery, is completely irrelevant to my life.

If I want/need same day delivery of groceries, I'll call Schnucks or County Market. They'll arrive in a panel van and not some guy with a key to my door, so I'll need to be home, the food stocks are selected off the same shelves that the in store customers use.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

The truth is, the value of Prime varies greatly with where you live. I've not had trouble with deliveries, and I have high speed internet, Prime video and other digital purchases are fantastic.

Nobody is disputing this (that I know of). What I (and others) are complaining about is that the level of service has changed. It was great for years (like your experience) and then it wasn't anymore. I hope you never have to experience the same, but that might be what it takes for people to get the message. That's what it took for me. I WAS you several months ago: no trouble with Prime deliveries whatsoever, high-speed internet, fantastic Prime video experience. Then my Prime delivery service started sucking. Suddenly and consistently.

The truth is: the value of Prime varies. Period. It does not only vary based on location. Forget location. In my case it just varied over time: from great to horrible.