I think I might cancel. I’m not watching ads and I’m not going to pay the extra $3/mo to opt out. I don’t know if I’d end up paying more than the subscription cost in shipping though…
Looks like Amazon wants to close off this year with yet another rent-seeking episode. Thankfully I don’t use Amazon, but my parents still pay for Prime specifically for their streaming service, so this is going to be very annoying for them :/
It is super easy to cancel. You even get a partial refund if you want it gone today. Wait a couple months and see if you really miss it. Join the piracy gang. Ultimately, you are the product and Internet streaming has turned into cable TV. Take back what little privacy you have left.
Prime is SGD2.99/month in Singapore (~USD2.26). For that you get free next day (sometimes same day) shipping, Prime Video, Prime Gaming, access to buy Amazon Fresh groceries, and probably other stuff I’m forgetting. Singapore also has low import duty which means access to a lot of Amazon US products which also come with Prime shipping, albeit they usually take a week or two to deliver.
It’s very obviously predatory pricing and I assume one day it’ll go through the roof like it has in the US but it’s interesting that Amazon can do this, right?
Curious, where in Singapore do you live? Last time I tried Prime, it usually took a few days for them to ship my stuff, even with Prime listings that were fufilled by Amazon SG. To be fair, it was a year or so ago, so maybe things have changed, but I thought that next-day shipping was only a US thing 🤷♂️
I’ve lived on both the East and West sides and have always had next-day shipping regardless, at least since 2021 anyway. There have been a few items that have taken 2-3 days - particularly recently with the holidays - but that’s been the exception, not the rule. I’ve even seen same-day shipping for a few items recently but I think that’s charged.
It’s unusual pricing as Singapore (rather notoriously) has a high cost of living and a lot of wealthy people kicking about. Usually digital service costs are comparable to US/European prices. There are a few other online shopping options (eg Lazada and Shoppee) that could be regarded as incumbents with likely higher market share, hence my suspicion on the predatory pricing, just as you say really.
I don’t even pay for prime for streaming. Watched a movie or two on there when it was something I wanted to see and found out it was free on Prime. Otherwise, I use it for the expedited shipping. I did briefly cancel in 2021, but the spouse complained. We split it now anyway, so it’s cheaper. Overall, though the quality of products offered on Amazon has gone way down hill. If the product is something that doesn’t need to be quality, it’s fine, but if you’d have to replace the item if it is not quality, you’re better off skipping Amazon. The value proposition is declining.
I had mine cancelled and reupped cause I literally buy things I need randomly and sometimes never hit the free shipping. Most of my stuff is farm related fixing things, so I definitely hit the price I pay…still really annoyed that it’s $140 a year now, but I get my money out of it…
This is one of many reasons why I’m selling my Kindle Paperwhite and getting a Pocketbook Ink Pad 3 Color. Amazon is the Apple of retail, which drips down to even the ebooks. I do, however, have to consider my wife’s comfort when ordering stuff, but otherwise, ready to pull the plug on Bezoz and his gang.
Regarding the shipping cost:
Just collect things to buy until you are over the treshold. Helped me with overbuying stuff I don’t even really need.
If you are moatly in it for the shipping: Just stop. You give them more money through that than paying for shipping.
Hearing about this got me to reevaluate whether I needed Prime and I ended up cancelling altogether. Just a heads up, if you cancel mid-subscription (I was on the yearly plan) you get the option to cancel service immediately and refund what you didn't use. I was supposed to re-up in May and ended up getting $63 refunded.
The real trick is you cancel AND shop elsewhere. We get most of our necessities locally now at normal retail and I’ll occasionally put an Amazon order together when I need something specific and I’ll spend enough for free shipping.
I missed shopping there at first, but so much of their inventory is junk now; I feel like I actually get better quality from traditional retail. The $140/yr for Prime feels like free shipping but it obviously isn’t.
Between living in a smaller town and never ending supply chain/distribution issues: If I need something I can’t get at the local store, it is a bare minimum two hour ordeal. I can usually justify that on a weekend but if my mouse dies and I need one now? Suddenly I need to figure out what else I can grab to get free shipping or if I need to just eat the costs and overnight it.
I have been doing the math and will likely stick with amazon prime. Admittedly, I increasingly don’t bother to even watch the amazon shows I like (the boys and reacher) because I have increasingly become spoiled by a proper blu ray or UHD (… ripped to my plex).
Oh, your computer mouse. Anyway, I just paused my membership in the hopes that my spending habits improve. We’ll see how “emergencies” get handled without the shipping benefits.
I’ve literally never streamed a single video from prime and don’t plan to. The deals for prime members and shipping alone save me more than the yearly cost. The instant their yearly cost outweighs shipping fees I’ll cancel in a second.
Lol needlessly downgrading all the customers instead of increasing their price. Can we just make subscriptions track inflation metrics so I at least know how fucked I am on average?
Right? If it just went up a bit I wouldn’t have blinked an eye. Ads on something I (technically my dear husband) already pay for just pisses me off. It feels like they’re holding ad-free viewing hostage
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