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Amazon increases free shipping minimum order to $49

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Point of reference (Score: 1)

by fnj@pipedot.org on 2016-02-25 08:55 (#1539A)

$50 happens to be the cutoff for Walmart online, too. And for quite a few other places.

The skyrocketing cost of shipping is a real problem for everybody. It really frosts me to order ten bucks worth of tea leaves or electronic parts and then have shipping to double the cost to me.

Re: Point of reference (Score: 1, Informative)

by Anonymous Coward on 2016-02-26 20:47 (#1596V)

Fuel is at something like a 20 year low. Everything is automated and optimized out the wazoo. There's no legitimate reason for shipping costs to be rising.

This sucks a bit for me, as after several trials and 2 paid years I realized I still never order more than 2-3 times a year, don't care about 2 days versus 7 days, and never ever used Prime Video. Prime is NOT a bargain and, worse, I've noticed that many/most of the things I shop for lately are MORE expensive at Amazon, making the entire Amazon+Prime proposition nothing but a gimmick and from what I see in others it approaches Apple-y levels of cult stickiness.

Re: Point of reference (Score: 2, Interesting)

by fnj@pipedot.org on 2016-03-01 00:12 (#15JK9)

Fuel is at something like a 20 year low
And labor, a much more important factor, balloons continually, year after year. Think about it. A UPS truck gets about 10-13 mpg and runs an average of 84 miles per day. Even at $4/gal that is no more than $34 per day. Now compare to 1/250 of the driver's annual salary + benefits + overhead. I can't see how that is any less than $200 per day.
I still never order more than 2-3 times a year, don't care about 2 days versus 7 days, and never ever used Prime Video. Prime is NOT a bargain
FOR YOU. Absolutely agreed. OTOH, I placed 91 orders in 2015, 'mkay? I care a lot about 2 days vs 7 days. I use Prime Video all the time. So it is a huge bargain FOR ME. Even at the new rate.

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Time Reason Points Voter
2016-03-02 01:47 Interesting +1 hyper@pipedot.org

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