Amazon Opened Prime To Monthly Subscribers

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Amazon sent out an e-mail over the weekend letting customers know that, not only can you get Amazon Prime on a monthly basis, you can also order Amazon Prime Video as a stand alone product as well. Prime Video is $8.99 a month by itself but, for just $2 more, you get the full benefits of Amazon Prime in a monthly package. I guess this option will appeal to folks that don't like paying for a year of service at a time or just want to try it out for a few months, but the $99 a year is still the best deal.
 
I'm not up for the aggravation of having to fend Amazon off if I try to cancel Prime.
They shot themselves in the foot with their bulldozing attitude.
For a company that puts customers first in other regards, they really screwed this up.

It looks like they are using Prime as a way to push their video service.
Otherwise they would sell Prime without video as at least an option.
I can imagine that they let the furore happen to increase exposure of Video.
Not all exposure is good though, no matter whether they want to think so.

I am generally very happy with Amazon.
But I'm not dangling my legs over this pit.
 
I could see a lot of seasonal subscribers around the holidays with this.
 
First off, I love Amazon.com and Prime Shipping. I order TONS of stuff from Amazon.com because I live about 35+ miles away from a major city. The convenience/savings of Prime Shipping is well worth the $99.00 a year fee. However, their Prime Video is laughable at best. There's no way I would ever pay $8.99 a month for Prime Video when Netflix and Hulu are WAY better. I've had Amazon Prime for ~4 years, and I've watched less than 10 shows on it. Prime Video is only installed on a couple of my players because Amazon refuse to develop an application for Android TV. Honestly, I don't miss it because I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu...
 
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Nenu said:
I'm not up for the aggravation of having to fend Amazon off if I try to cancel Prime.
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Yeah I agree. Having to log all the way into your account and click a button is ridiculous.

cancelprime.JPG
 
I like prime video. Having Showtime shows is nice, plus their movie selection is pretty decent
 
How about they lower my prime fees and take out the video? I never use their shitty streaming service.
 
Nenu said:
There were a lot of problems.
Here is one view of them.
Amazon Makes It Hard To Stop Automatic Renewals Of Its Prime Memberships | Connecticut Consumer Advocate Protector Watchdog | Ct Consumer Complaints |Ct consumer Protection | Ct Advocate | Ct Consumer

People were fully subscribed to the service when they had not requested it.
Then it wasnt easy to cancel.
Click to expand...

Lol. Shit is fixed now. Your posts are not relevant unless tou are purely talking about the past. Trying to say thjs is still an issue, when it clearly isn't, is just lol
 
alxlwson said:
Lol. Shit is fixed now. Your posts are not relevant unless tou are purely talking about the past. Trying to say thjs is still an issue, when it clearly isn't, is just lol
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Loss of trust isnt a laughing matter.
 
Nenu said:
Loss of trust isnt a laughing matter.
Click to expand...

If a mistake that was corrected very quickly is enough to ruin your trust... Well, then the rest of life must be very difficult to you.

Also, that article is stupid. If you hit "cancel" and you already paid for the year, would one actually think that they would get a refund? Of course not. It would mean that you wouldn't renew, and woukd continue to receive the goods and services you already paid for, until the span of the paid period ended.

Logic is missing here.
 
I dont know whos mind you think you are changing, it isnt mine.
It was more than a screw up, they deceived people into thinking they were only signing up for a trial then made it tough to cancel.
Coincidence, I think not.
Its your logic that is missing, it happened.
 
Nenu said:
I dont know whos mind you think you are changing, it isnt mine.
It was more than a screw up, they deceived people into thinking they were only signing up for a trial then made it tough to cancel.
Coincidence, I think not.
Its your logic that is missing, it happened.
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Last time I checked, there are T&C to read. If you didn't read them, then you have nobody to blame but yourself.
 
It doesn't help that amazon has configured their website to guide your selections and limit your choices. And if i canceled my prime i would expect a refund, its called a pro rate.
 
i like this, there are times where i just don't order stuff online and when i do need it i like a discount on shipping.
 
alxlwson said:
Last time I checked, there are T&C to read. If you didn't read them, then you have nobody to blame but yourself.
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You are a Prime target lol. Typical of how they can get away with it.
I prefer not to deal with those that prey on the unsuspecting.
 
Nenu said:
You are a Prime target lol. Typical of how they can get away with it.
I prefer not to deal with those that prey on the lazy and stupid that dont read agreements before they sign/click "OK"..
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Fixed.
 
Was just talking to my Wife about Prime, we think we're actually going to cancel the service when it comes due next month. If you knew us that would have seemed impossible last year. We've been Prime subscribers for as long as I can remember and we have a ridiculous order history. We actually have a second recycle bin from the county to deal with the cardboard boxes that would arrive on an almost daily basis. But that was last year, now it seems so many items are "add on" and more and more we're seeing it take 3-5 days for a Prime delivery. Yes it says right on the order page. Prime in 3 days or whatever but still it's not 2 days, that 3rd 4th 5th whatever day, I'll just run to the local hardware store or Walmart to get the item instead of waiting that long. I've not placed an order with them in quite some time.
 
Soooooooooooo you can now subscribe/unsubscribe to save on shipping?

If the item's I want have a shipping of $5, I can subscribe for $11 and be good for the month.

They offered me a 1 month trial last month, I used it heavily. My Amazon orders went up from 1 every 3 months to 4 in 1 month. It also allowed me to compare the slow shipping I was experiencing as a non-Prime member, I can say that they have just gotten really slow at shipping. Most of my orders that were selected for 2-day would sit for processing for 2-3 days before shipping. The actual transit time wasn't bad, unless that processing pushed me into the weekend, in which case it would add those two extra days. Some would be "shipped" but would sit at the 'waiting for pickup from carrier" for an two days or so.

I'm curious if they've introduced a slight delay so that any subsequent orders you do in the following day or so can be added to the one order (saving them on shipping costs). Possibly their system shows that people tend to order again within a set time period? The "oh crap, I forgot such and such item".
 
Seems a big pricey, though I could see getting Video for a month binging and dropping it. The same might be true for holiday shipping, but I'd have to order a lot to justify 11 bucks for shipping and obviously if you want video all year long, it's cheaper to get the total prime package. I think they should offer annual packages for both services. I'm sure there are many tha only want one or the other.
 
Hmmm this is interesting. I wonder how it works with pre-order things. Do you have to have prime when it comes out? Do you need it just when you order the item? Or is it required at both times?

Overall I don't mind paying for Prime a year at a time. I just wish they would offer a subscription that didn't including anything but their Prime shipping(at a hopefully cheaper price). The video streaming service is meh, and I already have Netflix and HBO. Prime Music was pretty bad last time I used it. Photo storage... because I don't already have a couple dozen other services that will store my pictures in the "cloud"(i.e. someone else's computer) already.
 
OregonLAN said:
First off, I love Amazon.com and Prime Shipping. I order TONS of stuff from Amazon.com because I live about 35+ miles away from a major city. The convenience/savings of Prime Shipping is well worth the $99.00 a year fee. However, their Prime Video is laughable at best. There's no way I would ever pay $8.99 a month for Prime Video when Netflix and Hulu are WAY better. I've had Amazon Prime for ~4 years, and I've watched less than 10 shows on it. Prime Video is only installed on a couple of my players because Amazon refuse to develop an application for Android TV. Honestly, I don't miss it because I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu...
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I would have agreed with this a few years ago, but Prime is really catching up on most fronts, aside from original programming. I have no issues with Prime Video at this point. It's my primary streaming service, especially with the addon subs. I still have Netflix and use it as well.
 
It's honestly about time that they did this. Part of the reason I never tried Prime was because I got sticker shock from that $100 price tag. I actually mistakenly thought it was $100 a month rather than $100 a year... because I'm so used to seeing prices quoted for a month of service rather than a year. When I actually did the math and divided 100 by 12, I realized it wasn't really any more expensive than Netflix.
 
Nenu said:
There were a lot of problems.
Here is one view of them.
Amazon Makes It Hard To Stop Automatic Renewals Of Its Prime Memberships | Connecticut Consumer Advocate Protector Watchdog | Ct Consumer Complaints |Ct consumer Protection | Ct Advocate | Ct Consumer

People were fully subscribed to the service when they had not requested it.
Then it wasnt easy to cancel.
Click to expand...
I get the free month whenever im eligible and then cancel auto subscribe right away and never had any issues. Its not that hard.
 
I signed up for the 30 day trial of Prime last year at one point only to find them billing me for the entire year's cost the next day - so much for a FREE 30 DAY TRIAL. Took a few calls to them and my bank to get the charge reversed but, it wasn't a pleasant experience for damned sure. I wouldn't have minded the small charge most companies put towards a credit card to "test the waters" so to speak when you sign up for a trial of something, that usually gets returned in a few days but not that Prime charge, all $99 up front billed.

Needless to say I was rather pissed at Amazon, didn't even get a "Sorry... here, have a free month on us..." or anything of that nature, just nothing at all, nada which ensures I'll never sign up for it now even though they've jacked up the "Free Shipping" thing too to something like $49 or more now.

Good luck, Amazon, apparently you just don't need my business anymore.
 
Tiberian said:
I signed up for the 30 day trial of Prime last year at one point only to find them billing me for the entire year's cost the next day - so much for a FREE 30 DAY TRIAL. Took a few calls to them and my bank to get the charge reversed but, it wasn't a pleasant experience for damned sure. I wouldn't have minded the small charge most companies put towards a credit card to "test the waters" so to speak when you sign up for a trial of something, that usually gets returned in a few days but not that Prime charge, all $99 up front billed.

Needless to say I was rather pissed at Amazon, didn't even get a "Sorry... here, have a free month on us..." or anything of that nature, just nothing at all, nada which ensures I'll never sign up for it now even though they've jacked up the "Free Shipping" thing too to something like $49 or more now.

Good luck, Amazon, apparently you just don't need my business anymore.
Click to expand...
SO you didn't read the term that said they would start auto-billing you at the end of the triel, you didn't opt-out of prime using the button in your "manage my prime" section of your account, and you blamed amazon for both of the above? GG
 
AMD T-type said:
SO you didn't read the term that said they would start auto-billing you at the end of the triel, you didn't opt-out of prime using the button in your "manage my prime" section of your account, and you blamed amazon for both of the above? GG
Click to expand...

people that don't read and just quickly click accept when spending money always have the loudest mouths dont they?

At one point I had to cancel prime, i think it was 2 years ago and it was easy. I actually cancelled a few days after the yearly renewal and was given the option to finish out the year from what I paid or receive a refund minus the few days. Have since gone back and am decently happy with them and the service they provide. Living in the country kinda forces me to spend more online instead of driving all over.
 
Tiberian said:
I signed up for the 30 day trial of Prime last year at one point only to find them billing me for the entire year's cost the next day - so much for a FREE 30 DAY TRIAL. Took a few calls to them and my bank to get the charge reversed but, it wasn't a pleasant experience for damned sure. I wouldn't have minded the small charge most companies put towards a credit card to "test the waters" so to speak when you sign up for a trial of something, that usually gets returned in a few days but not that Prime charge, all $99 up front billed.

Needless to say I was rather pissed at Amazon, didn't even get a "Sorry... here, have a free month on us..." or anything of that nature, just nothing at all, nada which ensures I'll never sign up for it now even though they've jacked up the "Free Shipping" thing too to something like $49 or more now.

Good luck, Amazon, apparently you just don't need my business anymore.
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I accidentally let the trial lapse into auto payment once, they just refunded the unused time.

TechLarry said:
How about prime without video for $2 a month :)
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You used to be able to abuse the family plan system and basically do this. I paid someone like $16 to piggyback on their family for a year.
 
AMD T-type said:
SO you didn't read the term that said they would start auto-billing you at the end of the triel, you didn't opt-out of prime using the button in your "manage my prime" section of your account, and you blamed amazon for both of the above? GG
Click to expand...


But, that's my point if you were paying attention - I guess you missed the part where I said they billed me for the full amount of $99 the day after I started the 30-day free trial. That means less than 24 hours after I signed up for the 30-day free trial they had fully billed me for the entire year. I never got to the end of the 30-day free trial - hell, I didn't even keep it for more than 1.5 days - so they never should have billed me $99 for the full year the day after I sign up for a 30-day free trial.

See what I did there?

The purpose of the 30-day free trial is to see if it's something that I can actually make use of or find worth the $99 for the full year of service if I decide not to cancel during the 30-day free trial.

See what I'm getting at here? I didn't use it past the 30-day free trial - I didn't even keep it a full 48 hours because of that bullshit, it was canceled about 30 hours in, and I never used it to watch any movie or TV shows on Prime, I never placed an order for something to get the free shipping, etc.
 
Tiberian said:
But, that's my point if you were paying attention - I guess you missed the part where I said they billed me for the full amount of $99 the day after I started the 30-day free trial. That means less than 24 hours after I signed up for the 30-day free trial they had fully billed me for the entire year. I never got to the end of the 30-day free trial - hell, I didn't even keep it for more than 1.5 days - so they never should have billed me $99 for the full year the day after I sign up for a 30-day free trial.

See what I did there?

The purpose of the 30-day free trial is to see if it's something that I can actually make use of or find worth the $99 for the full year of service if I decide not to cancel during the 30-day free trial.

See what I'm getting at here? I didn't use it past the 30-day free trial - I didn't even keep it a full 48 hours because of that bullshit, it was canceled about 30 hours in, and I never used it to watch any movie or TV shows on Prime, I never placed an order for something to get the free shipping, etc.
Click to expand...
Then obviously it was a glitch on amazons part, and it seems like they got everything resolved and your money back. Dont see a problem here. I dont sub to prime but when im offered the free 30 day trial i take it and always turn off auto renew immediately. I have never been charged for the free trial.
 
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