For a while now shopping at Amazon has been a bit of a game, as you desperately try not to get 'accidentally' signed up for Amazon Prime. So far I've been successful.
Today I've tried to buy something that, as far as I can tell, you can only buy if you sign up for Amazon Prime at the same time.
So, well done Amazon. You've lost this sale, and I will try and avoid you in future.
Actually, that's not right.
It appears that I have played the game and lost, and have been signed up for my free trial of Amazon Prime, which is why that's the only delivery option showing up.
>:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Normally I like to think of myself as a good loser, but I am now effing steaming, both at Amazon and my own stupidity/not paying attention.
Normally there's a small button to proceed without agreeing to Amazon Prime delivery etc, but it's not always obvious.
Quote from: Steve J on 16 May 2021, 08:12:49 PM
Normally there's a small button to proceed without agreeing to Amazon Prime delivery etc, but it's not always obvious.
Yes, that's what I do.
I find you have to navigate carefully to get the option you really want ...... and that is not good customer service.
Personally we find Prime great.
But if you don't want it, just cancel it. You can even cancel after the free trial period if you haven't used it (or you certainly used to be able to). But the interface is annoying if you are happy to just pay delivery for what you order.
Tell them now to cancel it when the month is up and spend a month getting free deliveries and access to free tv/ movies for a month.
Personally, I signed up deliberately and find the one day delivery and access to entertainment worth the minimal cost.
I've been on Prime for over 12 years and always found out worthwhile, but if you do have issues their customer service is generally pretty good.
So now, when you get those phone calls from 'Amazon Prime'... you will know that they are looking after your account! ;D ;D ;D
I got suckered into Prime by my own error once... but was easy to cancel. PITA though! >:(
I don't 'stream' movies, etc. so not for me.
I always click the ignore button. Most of my stuff comes from small retailers via Royal Mail.
Quote from: Steve J on 16 May 2021, 08:12:49 PM
Normally there's a small button to proceed without agreeing to Amazon Prime delivery etc, but it's not always obvious.
No...It's not !
But I've always found it, in the end. ;)
I DID take the offer of a free thirty day trial once.....(when the goods I wanted were only available if you used Prime)......But cancelled it after 30 days..
Those particular 'Prime' goods ARE now available to non-Prime users.
The slightly odd thing, is that now they're offering me
free 30 day trials
againCheers - Phil. :)
I tried the 30 day trial once, but found that most goods I wanted I could find cheaper via retailers other than Amazon, so cancelled it. Our daughter has Prime free for 3 or 6 months being a student and we've found the streaming service to be very good, with a much greater range of films series etc than Netflix. Most importantly SWMBO enjoys it!
Quote from: Techno II on 17 May 2021, 06:07:35 AM
No...It's not !
But I've always found it, in the end. ;)
I DID take the offer of a free thirty day trial once.....(when the goods I wanted were only available if you used Prime)......But cancelled it after 30 days..
Those particular 'Prime' goods ARE now available to non-Prime users.
The slightly odd thing, is that now they're offering me free 30 day trials again
Cheers - Phil. :)
If you wait long enough they GOOD NEWS! offer you it again FREEE AMAZON PRIME TRIAL! My partner gets the student discount (perks of working at a Uni), but I've signed up a couple of times for Xmas or similar for pressies etc then cancelled afterwards ;)
Amazon took my Prime sub just before I left for the Netherlands. I asked them to transfer my account to Amazon NL. this appeared to be beyond their ken, despite me spending nearly an hour on the phone with an Amazon "hero" who clearly had no idea what he was doing or how to find out what he should do to transfer my account. In the end he just gave up. Since arriving in the Netherlands I started to use a similar Dutch company, who don't faff around with their own TV station and what have you. The website is available in Dutch and English (unlike Amazon NL - only Dutch), and I can obtain English language books, plus all the usual kinds of products that Amazon offer. Ordered Bevor's Arnhem yesterday, to be delivered today. Incidentally, about three weeks ago I started getting 2 or 3 emails a day from Amazon about an order they were unable to fulfill as my details could no longer get them any money, and would I therefore update my details. Just deleted them until they eventually gave up after about 10 days. Won't be getting anything from them ever again.
Interesting thread given Amazon must be doing a lot right to grow as it has. I've found Prime essential during the pandemic whilst shielding, their vans have been here once or twice a week with something or other including food and household essentials like paints, brushes, basing materials,.. And time spent searching out other suppliers on websites is time that could be spent on THE hobby! And the time needed to trawl physical shops/traffic/find parking etc have all but killed off that way of buying anything for me even before masks and sanitiser regimes.
I can understand the anger if you have been signed up against your will. Suggest you just maximise your use during the free trial and then cancel. 24/7 streaming on Amazon prime, some free Kindle downloads, have Morrisons food delivered, order lots and lots of stuff and then return it under distance regs etc etc
The REALLY scary thing is how Amazon use your past order data to make ever more accurate recommendations on what else they think you want/need. It works far too well on me for military history books, dvds, household stuff. Only really goes wrong with big purchases that any human would know you wont be buying again soon. Just imagine guys, the day when Leon sends you an unexpected package of his latest and greatest with a note saying "As you normally order every 4 months, I just knew you would love the enclosed brand new army pack" Your card has been debited.
I signed up several years ago and think I save my subscription in the "free" delivery.
The TV service I find really good.
You can add as many delivery addresses as you like , and I have often helped out daughters with good they need urgently using the next day delivery.
I agree you have to keep an eye on prices charged on Amazon, as they are often higher than other sellers, but with more sellers charging £4-£6 for delivery, it can be cheaper to buy the more expensive item that comes with Prime delivery.
Amazon puts stringent requirements on sellers response times and financial penalties if they miss them.
My step daughter worked in a warehouse for a while and if they were running late it was cheaper to stick a label to an entire sealed case of product, than miss a collection slot and pay the penalty. So expect that sellers charge more to recoup this.
More expensive stuff I shop around for - but for cheap stuff free fast delivery wins
I've actually found Amazons suggested purchases are getting less and less useful. Partly its the 'you've just bought a drill' 'here are 10 more drills you might want' type of nonsense. And I think due to buying gifts and domestic items makes the pool of past purchases very confused.
A Pendraken monthly / quarterly subscription sounds fun!
Quote from: fred. on 17 May 2021, 11:33:17 AM
A Pendraken monthly / quarterly subscription sounds fun!
Yes it does, and very, very dangerous. :)
Perhaps it would go something like this :-
Subscribe to Pendraken,:- Register the periods you are interested in, you preferred base size for each period and your subscription option
Option 1 Army size. £15 a monthOnce a quarter we will send you an army pack in one of your chosen interests periods, with MDF bases and a 2 Vallejo paints of the primary uniform colours
Option 2 Unit Size £5 a month Unit For less than the price of a monthly wargames magazine we will send you each quarter 2 packets of figures or 4 vehicles with MDF bases and a single pot of Vallejo paint in a suitable colour.
Option 3 Sundries £5 a month For less than the price of a monthly wargames magazine we will send you each quarter 4 pots of Vallejo paint and 3 packs of MDF bases. ( you can specify colours and sizes up to two weeks before the order.
Option 4 Reinforcements £2.50 a month Each quarter we will send you a pack of figures or two vehicles in your chosen period.
I'm in. :)
Or I will be when I can figure out my preferred base size. :D
Quote from: DecemDave on 17 May 2021, 08:51:54 AM
<snip>
The REALLY scary thing is how Amazon use your past order data to make ever more accurate recommendations on what else they think you want/need. It works far too well on me for military history books, dvds, household stuff. Only really goes wrong with big purchases that any human would know you wont be buying again soon.
Looking at Amazon's "suggestions" I am much less worried that Big Brother is knows everything about me but considerably more concerned that I might wind up face down in a tube carriage getting two shots in the back of the head because some AI doesn't understand how humans work!
Amazon's algorithms clearly have no idea what made me look at or buy anything. Not just the "You bought a drill so clearly you are a drill collector" but also the "You looked at 15mm scale cavalry so clearly you would like My Little Pony."
Quote from: DecemDave on 17 May 2021, 08:51:54 AM
I can understand the anger if you have been signed up against your will.
Yeah, this. Mostly angry at my own stupidity/carelessness.
I have no opinion on the value of Amazon Prime to others - if it's good for you then great. I just know that
I don't want it, and object to the sneaky ways that Amazon tries to sucker you into it.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 17 May 2021, 04:20:58 PM
. . . but also the "You looked at 15mm scale cavalry so clearly you would like My Little Pony."
LOL! That's brilliant.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 17 May 2021, 04:20:58 PM
Looking at Amazon's "suggestions" I am much less worried that Big Brother is knows everything about me but considerably more concerned that I might wind up face down in a tube carriage getting two shots in the back of the head "
But only if you don't sign up to Prime :D
Quote from: Orcs on 17 May 2021, 11:58:31 AM
Yes it does, and very, very dangerous. :)
Perhaps it would go something like this :-
Subscribe to Pendraken,:- Register the periods you are interested in, you preferred base size for each period and your subscription option
Option 1 Army size. £15 a month
Once a quarter we will send you an army pack in one of your chosen interests periods, with MDF bases and a 2 Vallejo paints of the primary uniform colours
Option 2 Unit Size £5 a month Unit
For less than the price of a monthly wargames magazine we will send you each quarter 2 packets of figures or 4 vehicles with MDF bases and a single pot of Vallejo paint in a suitable colour.
Option 3 Sundries £5 a month
For less than the price of a monthly wargames magazine we will send you each quarter 4 pots of Vallejo paint and 3 packs of MDF bases. ( you can specify colours and sizes up to two weeks before the order.
Option 4 Reinforcements £2.50 a month
Each quarter we will send you a pack of figures or two vehicles in your chosen period.
Just contemplating trying to paint an army every quarter sends shivers down my spine, within a couple of years house submerged in Pendraken figures. Not that it wouldn't be tempting. :D I should point out that I am a very slow painter.
Quote from: KeithS on 17 May 2021, 06:56:41 PM
Just contemplating trying to paint an army every quarter sends shivers down my spine, within a couple of years house submerged in Pendraken figures. Not that it wouldn't be tempting. :D I should point out that I am a very slow painter.
just take the reinforcements option
Gods, what option would I need?
Weekly?
Daily Will, daily !!!!
Quote from: Lord Speedy of Leighton on 17 May 2021, 09:00:39 PM
Gods, what option would I need?
Weekly?
I am sure Leon could come up with something
Option 5 :- Lord Speed level (AKA My wife will kill me, level) £45 a month
Each quarter we will send you no less than three army packs and 10 bottles of paint
Quote from: Raider4 on 17 May 2021, 04:34:52 PM
Yeah, this. Mostly angry at my own stupidity/carelessness.
No need to beat yourself up. You were temporarily defeated by a $$$Trillion company with thousands of marketing, IT and AI gurus ranged against you. But you can retreat, regroup and plot your revenge like adding to the political clamour to get them taxed properly and their monopoly broken up.
The problem for me was that Amazon Prime was great in the UK, but it turns out that Amazon is not a single entitiy. Amazon NL is totally separate and Amazon UK has no idea how to transfer membership. Furthermore, regaining sovereignty that had not been lost can make getting stuff from the UK more difficult now. Geek Terrain, or whatever they're called, refuse to deal directly with the EU now, although their excellent mats are still available via Warlord Games. Peter Pig are durrently not dealing with EU orders, according to the website, and who knows what other silliness is going on. Anyway, now using a Romanian company for instant armies that cut out that tedious painting element, paints and tools from Netherlands based Army Painter, books etc from Bol, some very nice figures from Mirliton, plus enough unpainted stuff to keep me going for the next 5 or 6 years. So refreshing to find out that the world extends beyond Lands End and John O'Groats and that European culture seems not to have a ramrod shoved up itself.
Only problem I've had with them recently, is with the tablet.....where they appeared to have downloaded one of their own apps..... so that every time I wanted to use the email function I got sent to the amazon music site 'shop'.
Couldn't be bothered to find out how to get rid of the app......I just took the tablet back to its factory settings....That stopped it. :D
Cheers - Phil :)
Annoyingly I got bumped onto Prime last night depsite thinking I'd said no - turns out one item was Prime only and I hadn't spotted it :/
Grrrr.
Cancellations not hard, but I might just enjoy a month of Prime and then wait for next time.
More to the point though.... when are those Amazons Phil was teasing a while back due? ;D That's what I keep thinking when I see this thread!
You'll have to ask Sir. :P
Cheers - Phil. ;)