My friend canceled Amazon Prime and saved $3,000

[Gailete]

I have Amazon Prime and if you didn't realize it, you can share it with family members. I have my son signed up on our account, so he gets free shipping as well. I think I spend less my having it, so I don't do those mental gymnastics of, I get free shipping if I buy $5 more of stuff. Now I get what I need and then check out. Yesterday a well worn pair of slippers bit the dust (a crucial thread gave out) and hubby has them packaging tape wrapped so I can wear them. At this point there is no more putting them off. Today I went on line, found some slippers that by the reviews of so many saying they were too wide I figured they would fit my wide feet and ordered them. Prime shipping eligible. At checkout I found I had more than enough cash bonus money on my Discover card so I got 'free' slippers. I sure hope they fit!

I also get a free e/book every month that is mine to keep.

[FindingFreedom]

It is really funny that you posted this because I think Amazon is the worst kind of drug for a spender. I read an article about a guy who looked back over his Amazon purchases since the inception of his account and found it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000!!!

I don't think people have any idea how much money they actually spend on Amazon. I ended up writing a post about it with this opening:

"I propose that Amazon may be one of the biggest obstacles to American savings that has ever happened.* Remember when they just sold books?* These days they seem to have cornered the market on evil genius. Everyone loves Amazon because they make life*so*convenient: You can command Alexa to order the essential oil that's supposed to help with your eczema, you can push a Dash button next to your washing machine to order a 25 gallon tub of laundry detergent, and you can one-click order the toy that your daughter HAS to have for her birthday without even having to enter your credit card information. And, because Amazon wants to be a helpy-helper, they will even send you suggestions of other products that you may want, based on your browsing and purchase history."

Glad other people feel the same way I do!!

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OP if you have something to share please post it here.

[disneysteve]

I propose that Amazon may be one of the biggest obstacles to American savings that has ever happened.

I said it above and I'll say it again. If you have a spending problem, that isn't Amazon's fault.

I remember when QVC and HSN got popular. People said the same thing about those. Now people didn't need to leave their houses to rack up thousands of dollars of credit card debt buying crap they didn't need.

The problem isn't the retailer. But we live in a time when seemingly nobody wants to take responsibility for their own actions. They want to point fingers and blame someone else for their problems.

Amazon is a tremendous resource to save money, just the opposite of what you've said here. I have no doubt that we have saved thousands of dollars over the years thanks to Amazon. Not only that, but I've also sold at least hundreds of dollars worth of items on Amazon.

My last order on Amazon was just 2 days ago. I ran out of packing tape while boxing up ebay orders. I went to Staples.com because that was where I had gotten my last rolls. It was going to be $27.74 with shipping for a 6-pack. So I checked Amazon and got it for only $12.99, less than half the price. So explain to me again how Amazon is an obstacle to saving.

[JoeP]

I have Amazon Prime and if you didn't realize it, you can share it with family members. I have my son signed up on our account, so he gets free shipping as well.

Most people don't realize that Amazon Prime includes, among other things, Prime Video. See the whole list here. The danger for some is that the services that are included can open opportunities to spend more. For example, with Prime Video, you'll see content labeled "Included with Prime" but there will also be content for purchase. It is pretty easy to purchase with the press of a couple buttons, the impact can be lost over time.

[Gailete]

As I get more and more disabled by my arthritis, I use shopping on line more and more. For instance those slippers I mentioned, I needed new ones. I could either buy them on line and hope they fit. Or waste the day with son, of instead of getting groceries, going shoe shopping. I didn't have the time and energy to do both. And I hate shoe shopping above all things!

For me it isn't always the final actual cost moneywise for shopping at amazon or anywhere else, it is saving of my energy and time so I can use it for something else more important, like getting groceries. I have found that I can get the same sale prices at CVS on line as at the store so if I don't need to pick up a prescription, I can order the stuff I need and getting it delivered. Last I checked, we had over 16 FEET of snow this winter which meant for weeks at a time I was confined to the house, so ordering online brought the stuff to my door which was better than having to haul it in from my car!

Did I spend $3000 at Amazon last year? Nope but as an Amazon seller, I am very happy to have others shopping extesively there

[disneysteve]

I have found that I can get the same sale prices at CVS on line as at the store so if I don't need to pick up a prescription, I can order the stuff I need and getting it delivered.

Not only that, but sometimes prices online are even cheaper than in the store.

When we bought my mom's laptop, I looked at Best Buy and it was $399. At Bestbuy.com, the very same laptop was $349 and they offered free in-store pickup. So I ordered it online, hopped in the car, drove over to the store and got it and saved myself $50.

Anyone who isn't doing the bulk of their shopping online today is probably wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars every year. And, as you said, not only is there a monetary savings, there is a huge time savings. Why should I drive around to various stores when I can get the same items for the same prices or less online and have the items delivered to me within 48 hours?

[Gailete]

Considering that many stores don't bother keeping a full line of products or sizes, about the only way to get the size you need is to go on line. Even if you can get it in the store, you still must factor in time, and the cost of running the car both gas and wear and tear.

At this point I go to one or two grocery stores as well as WM for groceries and miscellaneous stuff. I go to thrift stores and doctor offices and the bank and CVS. That is my limit to going shopping and being out of the house. If I can't find it at the stores I go to, I try to buy it on line. Period, but I don't have money to waste so no spending $3000 or $40000 extra by shopping on line. I would think that if they didn't have Amazon to shop on, they would be spending it at the mall.

[disneysteve]

I would think that if they didn't have Amazon to shop on, they would be spending it at the mall.

Exactly what I've said. Amazon isn't the problem. The problem lies with the individual. I'm willing to bet that the person in question will not save a penny by leaving Amazon. They'll just spend that same money somewhere else. It certainly isn't like Amazon is the only place to shop online.

[scfr]

Anyone who isn't doing the bulk of their shopping online today is probably wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars every year.

The bulk of our shopping is "daily consumption" type items that really aren't cost-effective to buy online: groceries, pet food, toilet paper, etc.

But yes, comparison shopping online can save money in many cases.

Out of curiosity I checked my Amazon account to see how much I spent in 2017 (my husband doesn't shop on Amazon). I spent $356. This includes $33 for a gift and $41 for $50 worth of GCs during their "Big Thanks" promotion. I see items that I needed and saved a decent amount money on, including a few items where there were better options much cheaper than what I could find in the local stores. But frankly I also see 2 items that I may not have purchased if I had to get in my car and drive to the store to get them. Overall I am happy with my spending and savings, and I'm really happy with the convenience of having things delivered (really nice for gifts), but there is still room for improvement.

P.S. I am not a Prime subscriber.

[disneysteve]

The bulk of our shopping is "daily consumption" type items that really aren't cost-effective to buy online: groceries, pet food, toilet paper, etc.

Out of curiosity I checked my Amazon account to see how much I spent in 2017

I agree that groceries and that sort of thing aren't best bought online.

I didn't realize I could get a report of my purchases. I just checked. In 2017, we spent $2,393.35 on Amazon, so about $200/month on average. That doesn't surprise me at all. I actually would have thought it would be more. We buy a lot of household stuff on Amazon. My wife and daughter buy their hair care stuff on Amazon as they have the best price they have found anywhere. Cell phone cases and cables. Printer ink. I buy my shoes and sneakers on there. My wife gets some sewing stuff there. We got a bunch of my daughter's textbooks there. All kinds of stuff really. We always comparison shop and Amazon almost always has the best prices.

[msomnipotent]

I started getting nuts with Amazon after I signed up for Prime. I never spent more than I had available, but I was suddenly getting into odd things like essential oils and hammocks for no reason other than they had a good deal. I started adding up my life-long totals but got bored by the time I got to 2011. I had 101 orders in 2015 (not items, but orders). I canceled Prime after this past Christmas season. I have 5 orders so far in 2018 and two have already been returned because they turned out to be cheap crap. I used to do all of my gift shopping there, but now I mainly just buy Koi food from a Japanese seller and some aquarium supplies. I can't see myself ever buying things like 2015 again and don't see myself paying for Prime.

[Gailete]

My state expects us to declare how much tax we didn't pay by buying on line, so each year we print out or I at least go through purchases, to see the totals and if the item is taxable or not. I know for a fact I haven't overspent on Amazon each year, just form doing that. I get so much stuff as a reviewer that to see packages show up in the mail has lost its allure! I do buy stuff like what I need for the business, my husbands creamer (not sold in stores in our area). He got to try it as a Vine product to review and really liked it so we still get it. Thankfully that doesn't happen often!

In an effort to try to save money for our business I switched to a different kind of envelope that is working very well, much cheaper than buying it from U-Line, and they take up so little room in a house that has too much in it anyhow. Usually get some ebates money when buying them as well, and I can use Prime shipping. Shipping for one big box of bubble envelopes cost smore than double the cost of buying the equivalant in plastic envelopes with no shipping! Huge savings on shipping and cost and because they are lighter they save on postage at times as well. But so easy to buy through Amazon. It isn't worth my time to see if I can get it for a quarter more or less elsewhere when I am saving money and time as well.