Anyone use Amazon WITHOUT Prime?- what's it like?

[mangochutneyjar]

My prime is due for renewal in June. I feel a bit annoyed at paying £95 because half the time, my items dont actually arrive the next day, they're often 2-3 days late anyway. Also, they advertise items as being prime in the search but when it comes to payment it often turns out they arent.

Does anyone use Amazon without Prime and how do you find it?- delivery times etc. Thank you :)

This is also me. I loath the social/ economic consequences of shopping with Amazon, so I only buy from them if I can’t really really can’t avoid it. No prime - I manage fine.

Party also because years ago, I had a Kindle and when I disputed a payment they suspended my account and that included my access to the books I had been reading on my Kindle. Amazon is a monster, destroying businesses and livelihoods, reducing tax receipts worldwide. Take one look at the shiny, pumped up Bezos and ask yourself why you are making him richer and richer.

I think it's an absolute bargain and have no complaints about its service or the cost.

It's fine. I'm happy to wait 2 days

Agreed. I even pay a few quid a month extra for ad free programmes, for me it's worth it.

I like being able to send things to other addresses from my Prime account. So far I've sent emergency school fete supplies to DD who lives in the middle of nowhere, biscuits and hot chocolate sachets to grandson shut in at uni during lockdown, champagne to friends after their surprise wedding. It is easy.

@TeaAndStrumpets

I like being able to send things to other addresses from my Prime account. So far I've sent emergency school fete supplies to DD who lives in the middle of nowhere, biscuits and hot chocolate sachets to grandson shut in at uni during lockdown, champagne to friends after their surprise wedding. It is easy.

Yes I like this too and use it a lot. 🌹

I don't usually need stuff the next day, so don't really mind if it's 2-3 days. I sometimes end up buying random crap to make it up to the £25 free postage, but usually there's something else that I need or would have brought elsewhere anyway.

It's fine. The few physical things I order still arrive very quickly. I mostly buy Kindle books, so Prime not relevant.
My husband has Prime, so we get the TV via his account. There's just no need for both of us to pay for it.

I'm with @Teentaxidriver and avoid when at all possible. I do have a Kindle (a present from someone else) but no longer use Amazon for any other purchases. I don't miss it and have rediscovered shopping. The Marketplace takes a huge cut from smaller businesses, and I'd rather buy from them direct. The economic, market, monopoly and environmental impact of Amazon is beyond huge.

I don't have Prime but when I've needed something urgently for the next day it's usually been possible to find an option on Amazon with next day delivery available (although it might be £2-3 delivery charge). Otherwise there tends to be a free standard delivery option.

If you need items urgently on a regular basis (or order unusual things where there may not be many sellers) it might be worth it for you, otherwise you can probably get by without it. It might be worth checking back over orders for the last 12 months to see how many were truly urgent and how many you could have waited an extra couple of days for.

This is a really handy option but just to note that you can send to any delivery address whether you have Prime or not.

Oh that is good to know@Winterjoy and useful if I ever stop Prime. So far I have used it for the next day delivery service. It seems to work really well round here.

I don't have prime, we order and things arrive in two to three days sometimes sooner. I gather stuff in my cart till I have £25 or more and get free shipping.
I usually opt for the free month of Prime sometime nearer to Christmas. Then cancel it before they charge me.

I stopped paying for Prime when they added ads to Prime Video. Don't miss it at all. I've been watching things on All 4 and itvX, admittedly with ads, for free.

Since I'm no longer logged in every evening to stream films and box sets I don't spend so much time browsing Amazon for retail therapy, so my credit card bill is down by around £200 a month. That really shocked me when I noticed it.

I manage without prime, probably a year now since I cancelled.

I think I buy less, have to wait sometimes until I need a few items which can be annoying but I’m used to it.

Stops some really impulsive purchases!

If I was desperate, ds2 has prime but haven’t needed it.

Most irritating is the £25 minimum spend, slower delivery doesn’t worry me.

I just don’t think it’s worth £95 a year!

Never used Prime. Never seen any reason to do so. Service seems just fine to me without it.

What on earth are you buying so much of...

I have never had Prime. On the very rare occasion I need something quickly I would pay extra.

I have realised that good are often much cheaper on other platforms. Amazon may be convenient but if you are trying to save it is worth a bit of googling to see what others, say Argo, are charging. And if urgent you can always pop in to collect. The price differences are sometimes quite shocking.

We live rurally with very few shopping options plus full on jobs. We have a house being renovated and a young child. We also have a lot of animals.

I have endless lists of random DIY shit, things for DD, party presents, cat litter etc.

Last 10 days orders:
4 x20l bags of cat litter (subscription-cheapest way to buy it, I scour for deals. It used to be Zooplus but not anymore)
Pack of Feliway diffusers (subscription)
2 bags dried cat food (subscription-cheaper from Amazon than direct from the manufacturer)
A replacement stylus for DD’s LCD drawing tablet
Some Orchard Games for birthday parties this month - cheaper on Amazon than The Works which is a trek or expensive to buy online with delivery unless you buy lots.
An Amazon fire stick for the garden office as sick of having to swap them.
A charging cable (kittens ate the last one and needed it fast)
2kg Mealworms
A secondhand book DD wanted - it was cheaper on Amazon than ebay.
Some hair dye (our tiny Boots 8 miles away doesn’t stock it and it is £2 cheaper on Amazon even with delivery)
Replacement seals for DD’s ion8 water bottle
Some Paw Patrol sunglasses that DD wanted - I had exhausted all options in town for those.
Klearvol capsules - supermarket doesn’t have them and the chemist is never open and 8 miles away. Costs £3 to park when it is.
An emergency cheap duvet for DD after it died in the machine following an epic vomit. It had been washed one time too many and the filling disintegrated (she’s poorly).

We only have very small supermarkets (that don’t open late, don’t sell clothes/home etc), it’s a long way to decent shops that cost more to travel to and park than the extra pound or two Amazon costs. For example it is a 24 mile round trip to an Argos in a Sainsbury’s. I could have got the duvet there cheaper but meant dragging out a sick child and would be 1.5hrs wasted.

DH is in the midst of various DIY jobs, last night he ran out of some filler (can’t remember what it was) so I think that came today so he could carry on with it. He probably could have bought it local-ish but not for another 24hrs.

We have a delivery 3-4 times a week I’d say, as do most of our neighbours. It’s far easier than trekking 30 miles to Peterborough or Leicester.

If I lived in a city I’m sure I’d use it less, but we mostly WFH so don’t go anywhere busy if we can help it! 80% of our shopping is online- exceptions being Lidl, the farm
shop and bakers.

I've never had prime
I always order £25 even if I put a random amount item in like a washing up sponge it's cheaper than paying for delivery
I often find it arrives before expected date and nothing is urgent for me

I don't have Prime. I select free delivery every time and it always turns up when it's supposed to. A day or so after it might with Prime, but I don't mind as I'm never ordering anything really urgent. Anyway, as I live rurally I doubt I'd get my order quickly even if I paid for Prime.

I 'paused' mine a few weeks ago and have bought nothing from Amazon. No impulse buys.
If I need something I make the effort to go out and shop locally if possible.

I love prime. I buy a lot from amazon, it pays for itself when I see the saves on shipping. Plus I watch prime tv. Didn't even bother with prime tv for several years, once I checked it out I saw tons of programs that I like.

You should be able to link household accounts so you can also benefit from Prime. I've no idea how to do it but my DD has me linked to her student prime so I also get free delivery.

ETA link to Prime family benefits.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/myh/households/ref=s9_bw_cg_PMPLO_md1_w?pf_rd_m=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_r=F1GP8CRQ4F3ZF03SZ472&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=347c0a8c-9c3e-44cf-973b-31cd98acef03&pf_rd_i=14917073031

Love prime. Comes next day. Brilliant for small stuff like batteries /deodorant /birthday pressies which if I drove into town would need to drive. Park. Pay £2.50 and not not even find what I need in a shop

Plus love the tv/film
Aspect

Well worth £7/8 a month

I been noticing that a lot of stuff has the Amazon Prime label on it but I've never been charged for delivery - I haven't paid for Prime since I used to have the Amazon Prime student rate.

so I've come to the conclusion it's a big con. My stuff arrives quickly enough for me, I don't need it to be here in two hours :-).

DH and I always joke that we click the Pay Now button and 2 mins later there's the Amazon man knocking on the door. I remember buying DH a jacket on Christmas Day, it didn't fit so we arranged for a return and ordered the right size, and the whole thing was done and dusted by Boxing Day. And none of it was using Prime.

Well, I guess it answers the question "why is Bezos a multi-billionaire" ....