Amazon Prime "No Rush Shipping" changes

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Haven't these details changed? There's no mention anymore of credits expiring December 31, and now it sounds like the credit can be used on any e-book or physical book--before, wasn't it only e-books? Now it sounds at least marginally more attractive--I've placed three orders in the past week, and if I'd known I could use the credit on a "real" book, I would've passed on rush shipping.

The email I got told me the credit was only good until 12-31.

[drawbars]

There are requirements that make the deal a bit less attractive.

1. The credits aren't cumulative. One credit per book.
2. The credits don't occur at purchase, but when the item SHIPS.

I haven't been able to test this -- it wouldn't be the first time that a customer support rep gave me misinformation -- but that's what I was told today. I've used the No Rush Shipping 3x in the past two weeks, and decided to buy a (Kindle) ebook. I was surprised to see that I only got $1 off, so I contacted Amazon, and was told, "Only one credit per book." Kind of a shame: I use Prime for both business and personal, and I could use the slow shipping method 50-60x a year, but I'll rarely buy 50-60 books over the same period.

Today, I decided to buy another book, and got no credit. That's when they mentioned that since my second No Rush order won't ship until tomorrow (and the third in a few days), I don't have any credits right now.

It seems to me that the process is supposed to be a mutual exchange between the customer and Amazon: they get lower shipping costs, and we get free books. But if there are a ton of restrictions, I'm inclined to go back to just using Prime as a shipping accelerator. At least that way, I can see the benefits.

[John F]

Originally Posted by drawbars

There are requirements that make the deal a bit less attractive.

1. The credits aren't cumulative. One credit per book.
2. The credits don't occur at purchase, but when the item SHIPS.

I haven't been able to test this -- it wouldn't be the first time that a customer support rep gave me misinformation -- but that's what I was told today. I've used the No Rush Shipping 3x in the past two weeks, and decided to buy a (Kindle) ebook. I was surprised to see that I only got $1 off, so I contacted Amazon, and was told, "Only one credit per book." Kind of a shame: I use Prime for both business and personal, and I could use the slow shipping method 50-60x a year, but I'll rarely buy 50-60 books over the same period.

Today, I decided to buy another book, and got no credit. That's when they mentioned that since my second No Rush order won't ship until tomorrow (and the third in a few days), I don't have any credits right now.

It seems to me that the process is supposed to be a mutual exchange between the customer and Amazon: they get lower shipping costs, and we get free books. But if there are a ton of restrictions, I'm inclined to go back to just using Prime as a shipping accelerator. At least that way, I can see the benefits.

I purchased a pbook 10/9, I had 2 credits, and they were both applied. Maybe they changed the policy? If so, I'll stop using the slower shipping.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by John F

I purchased a pbook 10/9, I had 2 credits, and they were both applied. Maybe they changed the policy? If so, I'll stop using the slower shipping.

I don't think the policy was changed, I think drawbars only had one credit available at the time of purchase because the other orders hadn't shipped yet.

[Catlady]

The trouble is that the specifics don't seem to be spelled out anywhere, so it's hard to decide if waiting in order to get a dollar book credit is worthwhile or not. I'm looking at a specific somewhat expensive hardcover I will probably buy as a Christmas gift; if I could pile up several credits toward it, I'd be happy to forgo rush shipping on some stuff I'm ordering. But not if only one dollar could be applied to it. I want to see the details in writing, not just take the word of some customer service person!

[drawbars]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The trouble is that the specifics don't seem to be spelled out anywhere, so it's hard to decide if waiting in order to get a dollar book credit is worthwhile or not. <snipped>

Agreed. Purple Lady's suggestion may be right (I only got one credit because the others hadn't posted), but that's not what the customer rep told me. I can't find the full details online, yet based on this thread, it seems that the offer changes from time to time.

Actually, AZN has plenty of shipping/cost problems to fix, and No Rush compensation is 'small potatoes,' I suppose. One of my No Rush items is officially late -- i.e., beyond the delivery window -- and I've received an apology email from AZN -- but No Rush ship dates aren't guaranteed. And I ordered five of another item the other day, which came in two Prime shipments from different warehouses; the second box was 5-10x as big is necessary, and shipped FedEx 2-day!

One last irony -- assuming that the one can actually use several credits at once: The AZN rep spent extra time with me, taking down my feedback, which was, "You guys should really allow a customer to use multiple credits on one book. I usually buy more things than I read books." I even gave her concrete examples from my buying history. She thanked me for my suggestion, and promised to forward it along. She couldn't be certain that AZN would use my idea, but ...

[drawbars]

I just wanted to update my experience, since my original post quoted mis-information from Amazon.

I've started my Christmas shopping, and decided to try the No Rush Shipping concept one more time. I bought two more items, and anyone keeping score would know that I already had two (belated) shipping credits from the process. Yesterday I bought a Kindle book for $11.48, but was charged $7.48 -- proof that the multi-discount benefit still works.

And proof that Amazon isn't keeping their customer service reps informed about the details, either.

Sorry for any confusion that I caused.

[mitford13]

Ugh. Got two promo codes this morning and both expire November 15. 10 days is ridiculous, I'm going back to 2-day Prime. And I'm peeved.

[sharphamster]

Originally Posted by mitford13

Ugh. Got two promo codes this morning and both expire November 15. 10 days is ridiculous, I'm going back to 2-day Prime. And I'm peeved.

Huh - mine expires next year [2015] on Nov 15th.

Can't blame you for being ticked off.

[mitford13]

Originally Posted by sharphamster

...Can't blame you for being ticked off.

Well, thank you for not saying: "check your receipt, dunderhead!"
But yeah...double checked the email and it is 2015.

Need Roseanne Roseannadanna emoticon...
'Never mind.'

[ApK]

Originally Posted by mitford13

Well, thank you for not saying: "check your receipt, dunderhead!"
But yeah...double checked the email and it is 2015.

Need Roseanne Roseannadanna emoticon...
'Never mind.'

I believe you mean Emily Littela:

[mitford13]

Just not my day, is it...


Gonna stop posting now...

[ApK]

Originally Posted by mitford13

Just not my day, is it...


Gonna stop posting now...

Hmm...I was going to ask for restaurant recommendations in Arlington, since we're heading to DC tomorrow, but maybe I shouldn't.....

[Catlady]

Well, shoot. I placed several orders again last week; the last info I had was that the promos expired December 31, so I didn't bother opting for the credits.

I don't understand why Amazon doesn't let us know when they're changing terms to make the choice more attractive; don't they want us to choose no-rush shipping?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I don't understand why Amazon doesn't let us know when they're changing terms to make the choice more attractive; don't they want us to choose no-rush shipping?

If they allowed these credits to be used on all digital content, then I'd use slow shipping.