[gdulli]

I can't understand the idea of paying for shipping (whether it's annual or per-shipment) when there's an option to get it for free. If I decided I couldn't wait a few extra days to get the things I order, I feel I'd be crossing a line of giving in too much to consumerism. Taking away impulse buying is one of the better things about shopping online.

And the streaming services combined don't match what I get with cable, so I found Prime hard to justify at the previous price point.

[lsaferite]

I hate shopping in physical stores as I don't like crowds of people and find it a waste of my time. As a consequence, I order most things online. Over the years as a Prime member, I've saved an enormous amount of money in shipping.

If you cannot control your impulse buying in a store, what makes you think you can control it online any differently?

Where are you shopping that you can get free shipping for everything? Hell, even getting free shipping for anything before Prime came out was rare, at least for me. After Prime, many stores have shifted to offer free shipping to compete with Amazon. But still, finding everything you want online with free shipping is difficult or impossible. I know because I still find myself buying from other shops when Amazon doesn't carry something I need.

[untog]

If I decided I couldn't wait a few extra days to get the things I order, I feel I'd be crossing a line of giving in too much to consumerism.

What about when, you know, you need something urgently? Last time I took a long trip I ordered a backup battery for my cellphone three days before I left. It was either use Amazon Prime or go to a store and pay twice as much.

[lsaferite]

This is one reason I love Prime. I frequently find myself ordering something I need for a trip at the last minute.

Another instance was when our son needed to move from the carrier to a real car seat. We ordered the new one late one night. The next day before noon it was on our doorstep. And that was the 2-day shipping option.

[gdulli]

In a rare case like that I have the option of paying for faster shipping, but it happens rarely enough that it costs me far less than locking myself into paying for a year's worth of shipping I may or may not use.