Community Chat

[Spurt]

@songbird 

Happy Instacart customer here too....That's why I preferred to go with Instacart......If your a member (they offer both $9.99 monthly or $99 yearly deals),  you get unlimited free deliveries of orders $35 or more per retailer on a HUGE VARIETYOF STORES! There is a small service charge ( I call it gas money for delivery)....the coupons I get and used have paid for my membership and fees......(I saved nearly $400 for the year). ....And they say delivery in 2 hours, my orders usually arrive in an hour or in an hour and 15  minutes. 

I've had excellent service in the 5 years I've been a member .....2 minor mixups quickly resolved .....I wasn't charged, even got a credit for the inconvenience.  And the shoppers get extra perks and bonuses for good ratings which keep the employees motivated 

[Spurt]

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@stevieb wrote:

'Prime' and Amazon benefits keep dwindling. Just last week we were advised they were doing away with their 'Smile' program that allowed a small percentage of shoppers' expenditures to go to a charity of their choice. The new plan is that Amazon pics the 'hot button' charities and customers no longer have a say, as the Smile program sundowns next month. Now, the free shipping advantage of shopping Fresh and spending over $35 (when you could actually find a viable 2 hour delivery window, and if you wanted a 1 hour window, you were already paying) has escalated all the way up to $150. Frankly, there's nothing reasonable about it. This new system puts them in the same category of all the other grocery stores where one pays for delivery but can also get a far wider array of products than the limited offerings of Fresh. Moreover, Fresh isn't always all that fresh nor are their prices always better, in my experience, but it is convenient and reasonably reliable. I don't know Bezos, maybe you ought to consider coming out of retirement. Current management doesn't seem to be doing so well. My Prime membership is going month to month and I'll decide if it's worth keeping. Frankly, I'm not sure it is, as the benefits continue to whittle down.

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@stevieb 

I wonder how much Amazon's 1 BILLION $$$  annual 

fee for the next 11 yrs for the rights to broadcast the Thursday Night NFL games has contributed to the changes in Amazon Smile and other services Amazon charges....🤔

[songbird]

@Spurt  Yes!  I love the variety of stores that instacart offers.   I never would have shopped at Wegmans.  It's kind of far from where I live.  But they offered it.  Now I shop there every week.  And they deliver!

[qbetzforreal]

What a drag.

[gertrudecloset]

This news has given me more validation for me dumping my long time membership of Amazon Prime this year.  I think a lot of their revenue comes from Membership.  They go to lots of hoops to get you to stay a Prime Member. 

This year was the first year I dropped it.  I'd always been a member.  They took away free delivery and access to Whole Foods a year and a half ago in my region.  I would have still had access to Amazon Fresh, but they don't offer that much in my market.  I have never placed an order for very much food from them.  I found it difficult to go back and get items I'd purchased in the past if they were not Happy Belly (Amazon Brand).  They did have groceries, but not what I purchased.  Now that they are going to charge people, based on the amount of the purchase, I would have always paid the higher fee because all I did was re-up fresh produce when I could.

So done.  I don't miss not having Prime Membership, either because I can still shop and get free shipping as long as I reach the $25.00 minimum and I always do.

[gertrudecloset]

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

I don't know this for a fact but I bet during the height of the pandemic Amazon was living high on the hog and are now doing away perks and advantages.

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They most certainly were @CelticCrafter .  What they are doing now is called good ole American Greed.

[gertrudecloset]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

I will not be ordering as much now with the price increase on shipping and how much you buy.

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Me either @SeaMaiden .  They already didn't have enough for me to choose from.

[gertrudecloset]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

@ValuSkr wrote:

This is from CNBC. It seems like a reasonable approach.

"Beginning Feb. 28, Prime members who want home delivery from Amazon Fresh will incur a $9.95 delivery fee for orders under $50, while orders between $50 and $100 will include a $6.95 delivery fee, and orders between $100 and $150 will carry a $3.95 delivery fee, the company said in a note to customers viewed by CNBC. Only Prime members can use the delivery service, although anybody can shop at an Amazon Fresh grocery store."

Thanks for giving the details that op didn't share. This is verry reasonable.

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@chrystaltreeI think it should be a perk of being a Prime Member.  I think it's unreasonable.  Pretty soon, the only Prime Membership left to enjoy will be their programming, which I don't watch.

[Sooner]

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@ValuSkr wrote:

This is from CNBC.  It seems like a reasonable approach.

"Beginning Feb. 28, Prime members who want home delivery from Amazon Fresh will incur a $9.95 delivery fee for orders under $50, while orders between $50 and $100 will include a $6.95 delivery fee, and orders between $100 and $150 will carry a $3.95 delivery fee, the company said in a note to customers viewed by CNBC. Only Prime members can use the delivery service, although anybody can shop at an Amazon Fresh grocery store."

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@I don't see a big poblem if this is what it really is.  

[gertrudecloset]

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@NYCLatinaMe wrote:

@pigletsmom 

You did not miss anything without Amazon Fresh.  I was never able to get an Amazon Fresh delivery, I think the whole thing was just a gimmick to get people to buy more stuff.  To get free delivery of a product I wanted, I had to purchase a specific total dollar amount in items that they selected and that I would not have otherwise purchased.  And even when I did that, I couln't get delivery for days, even though the item description stated I could get the item in 2 hours.  I just could not get delivery in 2 hours. I would be offered the choice to go pick up my order in another state.

Better yet, I just purchased the item at a nearby store, or from Amazon Prime at a slightly higher price that was still below the local price.

Regular Amazon Prime generally delivers faster and at mostly good prices the products it offers, and is generally a good service, with a giant selection of products.  Customer service is mostly excellent.

The extra services that they ask customers to pay for, I don't know why this is an issue.

Amazon includes some services in Prime and not others.  Just like the cable company has different prices for different channel packages.  And the grocery store has a price for bananas, and if I want to have bananas and apples, I have to pay the price for each.

No difference.

Amazon Fresh to me is just a joke, a gimmick to get us to buy things we don't want.

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@NYCLatinaMeI agree.  I live in New York too and during the Pandemic it seems like I could never get an order delivered for weeks.  I was very angry and told them it was one reason I paid for membership.  I will no longer just hand over membership fees for nothing.  Two day shipping was often NOT two day shipping because they chose to use the Post Office.  So, I'm not missing anything.