I understand where both of you are coming from, but it is false savings. You pay more for convenience. It is as simple as that. I'm not saying it isn't worth it - depending on your needs, but it is a trade off.
When Amazon exists in every state and you are paying tax on everything it will be interesting to see what happens at that point.
You're assuming that you can get free shipping at the same price on other sites. While sometimes true, it's usually not. In that case, I still maintain that $72 a year TOTAL shipping for everything that I order saves me a ton of money vs. paying for shipping elsewhere. Also, I don't read your comments as implying that B&M is better, but for what it's worth, as someone else mentioned, I don't think that B&M stores are even part of this discussion given that they discount the value of my time to 0 and ignore the cost of gas.
I understand where both of you are coming from, but it is false savings. You pay more for convenience. It is as simple as that. I'm not saying it isn't worth it - depending on your needs, but it is a trade off.
When Amazon exists in every state and you are paying tax on everything it will be interesting to see what happens at that point.
I've been paying tax on Amazon for ages. My roommate used to make fun of me for ordering toilet paper / paper towels from Amazon....then he realized I was saving ~30% vs store prices.
I might save money ordering from eBay or other shitty random stores, but the level of customer service Amazon provides is legendary. I'd rather pay a little more and know that if I have any problems at all, they will be immediately resolved without question.
It might cost more, but I could've built a cheaper computer too. Or I could be driving a 20yo Civic. But...we all have priorities.
I've not found many instances where items are cheaper, but if you are that is great....but again, you're still spending extra on top ($72-$99), and everyone seems to just forget that.
Hey if you have the discover card it is -5% cashback bonus for all of july on amazon.
So If you have 7% sales tax the 5% cash back lowers you down to 2%
If you use the cashback bonus money to buy a Bed Bath + Beyond gift card
the discount is 20 for 25
So a 400 usd purchase with 7% sales tax = 428
5% back on the purchase = 20usd in cashback points on discover site
buy the 25 dollar BB+B gift card with that and it is basically a 0 tax deal. well 3 dollars on 400 in taxes.
Staples gift cards are also 20 for 25 from discover with your discover points.
Every year I save a lot doing this.
I've not found many instances where items are cheaper, but if you are that is great....but again, you're still spending extra on top ($72-$99), and everyone seems to just forget that.
Need:
3TB drives
I went to prime because of school books and my son's college's crazy no exact details on book and edition until a few days before the class starts. 7 to 10 day shipping does not work.
Walmart can spin all they want, but Prime isn't that different from a Sams or Costco membership.
3TB? You guys must not need a lot of storage.
I'm hoping to see some cheap 6TB or 8TB drives.
Two things you are forgetting.
First, the prime membership can be shared between 5 people all at different addresses with their own Amazon accounts.
Second, it's not necessarily the free shipping, as we all know shipping is always free on Amazon. It's the free lightning fast shipping that will get to my house the day after tomorrow or earlier, including weekends.
This allows me to replace a ton of purchases that I need sooner than most online shopping would allow but not necessarily this instant. The value to me is far more than the $20/year Prime costs.
Eh, I don't need tons of space yet. I regularly clean out stuff I no longer need. 3TB are at that crossroads of cheap and not huge. I can buy 3-4 of them for less than a couple 6-8's. I wouldn't want to throw everything on a couple of those at this time anyway.
I already have 3x3tbs in my main rig. These are to replace older drives on some older systems.
I tried buying something from Walmart online for store pick up. Never again.
I find that 5TB drives are at the sweet spot right now. You can usually get external 5TB units for around $120 and internal 5TB units for a little bit more.
Sometimes they have some good sales for external 5TB units for less than $100 so that's my benchmark for any sale. $20/TB (including tax and shipping).
I didn't forget that stuff. I mentioned some of it and my thoughts in my earlier posts. I guess I don't live in that fast paced world where I need to have things that much quicker. Sounds like a bunch of impulse buying - which is what they are wanting you to do. And don't get me wrong, I understand the want, but many people are trying to pretend it's free money saver. They are pushing it for a reason, and it isn't because it loses them money.
Now, the splitting the cost between people. I could see that being a benefit.
I save at least that in gas by not having to make a trip to the store for an item. And, many times, I'm standing in a store, looking at an item, then pull out my phone, look on Amazon, and realize, "wow, I can save $10, if I'm willing to wait 2 extra days." Actually, $10.85, since I'd have to pay tax on that $10. You must not buy much if you have trouble finding items cheaper on Amazon. Plus, there's a hell of a lot more selection on Amazon.I've not found many instances where items are cheaper, but if you are that is great....but again, you're still spending extra on top ($72-$99), and everyone seems to just forget that.
I save at least that in gas by not having to make a trip to the store for an item. And, many times, I'm standing in a store, looking at an item, then pull out my phone, look on Amazon, and realize, "wow, I can save $10, if I'm willing to wait 2 extra days." Actually, $10.85, since I'd have to pay tax on that $10. You must not buy much if you have trouble finding items cheaper on Amazon. Plus, there's a hell of a lot more selection on Amazon.