As I finished my holiday shopping and as I bought stuff in stores and other online merchants this year I confirmed we don't need amazon prime. I still bought some stuff from Amazon. But we certainly don't need the 2 day shipping. Nothing we ordered did we need rushed. And we no longer watch the TV shows for the kids downloaded on their kindles.
We do have kindles for them bought $50 last year. We do travel more. However now we have a DVD player in the minivan and we can download netflix shows. At $13.99/month Netflix is expensive but we don't pay for it (it's a gift from the girls uncle LOL). But for $170 a year we'd rather do that than Amazon prime anyway. We also use it daily to watch the kids shows instead of TV.
So what do we need amazon prime for? It's certainly not the cheapest. I bought Calico Critters Lakeside Lodge Gift set on Black friday from Walmart. From Amazon? $73.50. No thank you. The Dog crates? From Chewy for less than half the price. Dog food? Cheaper from Petco. Couple of items we did buy from Amazon I don't need asap so slow shipping so what's the difference between waiting from regular $25 shipping?
I admit to having a costco memebership for $120/year. Amazon prime is $119. But I get 6% back on cheaper gas than anywhere else and live 1.2 miles from a gas station and costco. I walk there on the weekends and meet my family for a cheap hot dog. So costco more than pays for itself. This year we spent $3000 on gas almost. That is $180 with 6%. That pays for the membership. Next year when we switch back to Ameriprise auto I'll save even more. That doesn't count the groceries we save on. Lactose free milk at $10/1.5 gallons is about $2 a set and we buy every week. So that's 2 * 52 weeks = $104 on just milk. I've given up on shopping for deals on toilet paper and paper towels because we only have a bartells nearby and no CVS. But truthfully shopping costco I know I get a pretty good deal
Last year I was on the fence at $99 to renew and my DH convinced me. I knew we didn't need it but he said one more year. This year he's on board we'd done and jettisoning Amazon prime.
Do you spend a lot on amazon? Our renewal is up in January.
cancelling amazon prime
November 28th, 2018 at 05:58 pm
November 28th, 2018 at 09:35 pm 1543440950
I do have a Sam's club card but that is the free membership from a friend - her extra card. I've shopped there twice. Not very conducive to losing weight and since I have a housemate and we share the freezer I can't keep a lot there - even though he doesn't use it.
November 29th, 2018 at 02:25 pm 1543501557
November 29th, 2018 at 09:25 pm 1543526749
I get plenty of value out of Netflix and Hbo's streaming service.
We considered prime when I was diagnosed with cancer and things like getting groceries became too hard for me, but we used the order ahead and pick up at the local grocery store instead and that took care of it. Now, I'm well enough to shop again, so life is nearly normal for now and prime can wait!
November 30th, 2018 at 05:22 pm 1543598567
I have it primarily for watching TV and movies with my Roku. I've alternated int he past with Netflix, but I don't think Netflix carries local news, and that's a big one for me.
I also shop regularly on Amazon because I do surveys that give me $20 a month in Amazon gift cards, so it's a reason to shop there. When I don't need 2 day shipping, I opt for the $1 credit going toward watching a movie.
I have yet to pay to watch anything on Amazon (some credits expired) but I plan to start doing this and taking advantage of earned credits.
I hate the crowds at Costco but am a BJs member; it's much less crowded there. I did decide last year not to renew as I wasn't sure $55 was worth it for one person, especially since most of the stuff I don't eat (plant-based diet) but then when i didn't renew they offered me membership at $25, or half the price, so I took it. I'm pretty sure that unless they keep offering me half-price membership, I won't renew again though.
November 30th, 2018 at 08:00 pm 1543608034
Kashi I've found that by not shopping at Amazon I think I spend less but I could be wrong.
December 1st, 2018 at 12:51 am 1543625517
December 1st, 2018 at 06:22 am 1543645369
December 5th, 2018 at 01:43 am 1543974212
I also listen to Amazon Music fairly often - both on my Echo's and at work. (I only use the free portion of the service - not the extra unlimited)
I also have all of my photos stored in the Amazon cloud …
For now at least, it is still worth it to me.