Prime Idiocy

I'm sorry to keep harping on about this Amazon Prime business, but after being effectively tricked into this thirty day trial that I never wanted, (and which you can't really cancel, only opt out of having it become a paid contract after thirty days), I thought that I should at least look a little more closely at the 'benefits' it supposedly offers.  Now, I know that I'm biased and that, in truth, I'm still mad that I fell for their shenanigans at the check out stage  of an order, which dupes the unwary into signing up for Prime whether they want it or not, (I've succeeded in avoiding it up to now, so I'm equally angry at myself for getting caught out this time), but I have to say that what Amazon is offering seems pretty thin to me.  I mean, just look at the whole concept: you pay them, up front, for the privilege of buying stuff from them that might or might not be cheaper than for a non-member and which might, or might not, be eligible for 'fast' free shipping.  That's quite an audacious move to make - after all, I don't pay Tesco or Sainsbury's in advance for shopping there: I expect them to tempt me in and get my custom by offering me lower prices or higher quality than their competitors.  Obviously, though, the selling point for Amazon Prime is that much vaunted fast free delivery, usually within two days.  Except that it isn't really free - on the one hand you've already paid them £7.99 a month (or £79 a year) in advance for it, on the other, it is factored into the prices of whatever you are ordering, (you can often find the same thing for less from on Amazon Marketplace, but without the fast delivery).  So, you'd have to order a fair amount of stuff to cover those fees.  

But even if you do normally order enough stuff from Amazon every month/year to justify the cost of Prime on 'free' deliveries alone, how often do you really need things delivered that fast?  Let's not forget that if your order is over £20 you can get free delivery without Prime, if you are prepared to wait 5-8 days for delivery, (in my experience, it is usually less than this).  If I need anything that urgently, it is, frankly, quicker and easier to find an actual shop which can supply it - and let's face it, if something really is that urgent, price is unlikely to be a primary consideration.  Indeed, using real shops is frequently more cost effective than buying online, (I generally confine my online purchases to stuff I can't get easily locally), especially groceries - with fast delivery of grocery shopping being something else used by Amazon to try and sell Prime.  Look, just why would you buy groceries from Amazon?  Just go to your local supermarket - you can actually see what you are buying!  They'll even deliver it to your door!  In fact, if you really love shopping online, then you can do so with most supermarkets and cut out the Amazon middleman!  

Of course, fast free delivery of online purchases isn't the only selling point of Prime - access to other services, such as Prime Video are also heavily pushed.  I've had a look at Prime Video and have to say that if I were in the market to pay for a streaming service, this certainly wouldn't be it.  Its offerings are actually pretty thin, with the stuff included with Prime and therefore free to watch for members, consisting mainly of those vapid and largely derivative 'originals' and movies of the direct-to-DVD variety that I ordinarily cross the street to avoid.  That and lots of other stuff of considerable vintage readily available elsewhere (usually free-to-air).  It seems that anything decent, you have to pay extra to watch!  (Most are, in fact, available to watch, for the same price, for non-members). Indeed, I've been told that even some of the TV shows which they carry only have a certain number of episodes included in Prime, forcing you to pay in order to see the whole series!  I don't know about you, but when I pay a subscription to a streaming service, I expect everything to be included under that fee.   The music streaming service offered as part of Prime is similarly limited, while, despite being offered two audio books free, the Audible service is extra.  If you have a Kindle (which I don't) there is also a limited ebook lending library service included.

There are, however, plenty of people who seem to disagree with me.  In fact, the web is full of glowing positive reviews of Amazon Prime, extolling its virtues.  I would caution, though, that most of the blogs and sites carrying such puff pieces are themselves Amazon affiliates, carrying links to that Prime free trial and that they receive a commission for every click on they get on those links.  So they are hardly unbiased.  (To be absolutely fair, Amazon are not the only company who use these sorts of affiliates - it is a widespread practice).  Look, I'm not trying to start an anti-Amazon crusade here, encouraging people to cancel their Prime subscriptions or boycott the service - if you have it and it works for you: great.  If you don't have it but think it might be of benefit, again, great, but before signing up, be cautious and look into it very carefully.  My biggest concern with Amazon Prime is the hard sell involved and the frankly underhand ways in which Amazon try to ensnare new customers - if it really is that good, then it can surely attract new members on its own merits, without the need for subterfuge.  While I'm sure that there are people who use Amazon enough to offset the expense of Prime on delivery costs alone, the risk is that others might find themselves feeling the need to buy more and more stuff, whether necessary or not, in order to justify the fees to themselves, (which, undoubtedly, is one of Amazon's aims).  From a personal perspective, I find Amazon Prime a bizarre concept that, whichever way I look at it, makes absolutely no sense and offers very little in the way of value.  But hey, that's just my opinion.  Anyway, as I have no intention of turning this into a consumer advice blog, we'll hopefully be back to normal ranting and off beat old pop culture soon.