I am an Amazon.com junkie. I loathe crowds & going to stores to shop, dealing with parking & rude cashiers that would rather be doing something else…many of my customers give me Amazon.com gift cards as they know I really love them. I also have a marketplace on Amazon.com & sell goods as well. The whole aspect of no tax and FREE shipping appeals to me.
I am NOT an Amazon prime member, therefore do not get FREE 2 day shipping. I am not sure I want to pay their annual membership fee to get the FREE shipping & other perks they have. With an Amazon Prime membership you get: you get free two-day shipping on selected items, streaming video and music, even photo storage.
I usually always get FREE shipping though. It used to be that you had to spend $25.00 to get FREE Shipping, but they recently upped that amount to $35.00. I often find myself just shy a few bucks to get it. Shipping costs are so high it seems it often is a deal breaker for me on purchases. Amazon is not stupid though, think about it. If you want that FREE shipping you will overspend your original purchases just to get it. Think of it like “Impulse buys” when you are going thru the grocery store and see those “rag magazines” like National Enquirer, Star Magazine…that you pick up & peruse thru & want to finish the articles so you end up buying it.
Amazon’s 24/7 site and low prices have been blamed for putting many small mom and pop stores out of business. Brick and mortar stores with high overheads and sales tax simply can’t match Amazon’s discounts. I love that I get no sales tax and FREE shipping.
So if the items in your shopping cart come up short of the free shipping standard, what do you do?
Search Amazon Filler Item Finder to find a filler item to get you that FREE shipping. A filler item is something that you can buy to reach the free shipping standard. If you’re short $1.99, type in $1.99 in the search field. Amazon Filler Item Finder will give you a list of items available for that price and in that price range.
I’m an Amazon junkie too. If you add up all the money spent on filler items over a year you might find it cheaper to just buy a Prime membership. Also, a Prime membership applies to your partner/spouse’s account as well. My wife got Prime when she started using a Kindle and it applied to my account as well. Oftentimes I just need something that costs under $10 and, rather than wait till I need more things or buy filler items, I click and it’s in my hands in 48 hours – sometimes with Sunday delivery! You also get invitations to buy Amazon products at a discount pre-release. My wife and I each bought 2 Fire Stick streaming devices for only $20 each – half price – through our Prime membership. We were also invited to buy the new Alexa at a deep discount pre-release. The free 2 day shipping with no minimum order is worth the price and all the extras just make it an excellent value. I bet if you took the 30 day trial you’d keep it – that’s what Amazon is betting too!
Nice article.
Just a FYI….When shopping at Amazon check to see if you’re buying from Amazon or a partner. Some of the partners are not included in the FREE shipping regardless of PRIME or $35 purchase. Then again some partners give their own FREE shipping.
As to everything else it all falls to “buyer beware”.
Enjoy your shopping……………Alan
Thanks folks, I sell on Amazon too & have a store as well. At the present I do not have a Prime membership but seriously thinking of getting one. I often shop the other sellers to see what they have to offer price wise & read their reviews.