Is Amazon Prime delivery just a bit of a con? 24 April 2022 at 9:19PM in Praise, vent & warnings 14 replies 1.3K views

james_uk

I have had amazon prime for a while, and don't get me wrong i do really like it and find it convenient, but one thing i do find a bit annoying and makes me feel like prime isn't as good as it's made out is simply because i am paying up front for the prime service, but i always find items that i buy always seem to be dearer that are marked as prime, the ones not prime a lot of the time are a bit cheaper.

So why are the items a bit dearer if they are prime if we are already paying for prime, it's like we are being charged twice for the prime service.

James

IvanOpinion

I can't say I have noticed that, do you have a couple of examples?

comeandgo

But do the ones you say are marked cheaper have delivery fees added on at the end?

forgotmyname

Where else can you get a 24v 40mm fan delivered the same day for under £5. Saturday the fan on my 3D printer failed and I
needed one quickly.

Nowhere near me to get a 24v 40mm fan from on a Saturday so the same day delivery was a godsend. OK I probably paid £4.75
for a fan that selles for £2.99 on ebay but that is what happens when you need it now.

Sometimes you need to add the item to a watchlist and keep trying.  Watch the new item specials, but do be careful because they
sometimes list the items at £15 then its released for £20 so yuo saved right?  Then the sales don't match the £20 price and it can
discount to less than your special offer price.

Watch Amazon Warehouse also. Had brand new unopened items that listed as returned minor blemishes or scratches.
Still sealed in the manufacturers shrink wrap.

maisie_cat

There are lots of examples of prime being more expensive, but that's compared to 3rd party sellers.
I tend to check both and often opt for the prime price because it's quicker. Hubby saved himself £1 the other month then moaned for 3 weeks while his item travelled across the sea. 
We are rural and prime is cheaper than the 15 mile round trip going into town

pattycake

I think it’s good value when we factor in Prime Video and I use the free music on my Amazon smart speakers.  Then the next day delivery is a bonus!

giraffe69

I agree with the above. Prime is good value if you use services such as Prime TV or music as well as the delivery. I've always found goods are delivered very quickly and efficiently if they come direct from Amazon. I haven't noticed being charge more although occasionally I have seen something initially pennies cheaper but, as said above, with delivery added on.

Martin_the_Unjust

……unlimited photo storage is a major bonus too.

robatwork

There's a trick with Prime that I guess depends on Amazon's algorithm but if you're a regular customer.....

I had Prime for about a year over most of lockdown. I then cancelled. Now I get offered a month either free or for £0.99 every few months. As there's nothing I need urgently and I exhausted all the decent TV on there, this really suits me. Just need to be disciplined with cancelling. You can cancel early and it lasts until the final day of the month anyway.

Toptip - Justified on Prime TV is stupendous.

beardedwunda

Prime Video and Prime Music make it good value for me, even without the delivery. As has already been said, items like fixings and joinery can be twice as dear as eBay, so I avoid those items. But generally speaking, their items are priced fairly (in my experience). Their refund policy is also spot on.

Richmc

PRIME TOP TIP!
Amazon seem to have a perpetual 99p for a week prime offer, if you only buy from Amazon occasionally and arent bothered about media streaming then this is a god send try and group your purchaces together all prime next day then sign up for the 99p trial, with a few items this can make the P+P quite expensive, you have now reduced that to 99p. After the week simply cancel prime, if you accidentaly forget and go over the week, as long as you don't buy anything after the seven days Amazon automaticly refund the subscription fee.
I've used this several times and Amazon seems happy to allow you to do so. Added bonus you can watch a few movies/programs if you wish.