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Jeff Bezos Reveals That Amazon Has Over 100 Million Prime Subscribers (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the public-service-announcement dept.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed today that the company has over 100 million Prime members, "marking the first time in the 13-year history of Amazon offering its Prime membership that the company has ever revealed its number of subscribers," reports The Verge. From the report: According to Bezos, Amazon Prime also saw its best year ever in 2017, with the company shipping over five billion products with Prime and signing up more new members than in any previous year. Also revealed today, Whole Foods Market will discontinue its rewards program on May 2 and fold it into Amazon Prime. "Stay tuned for additional announcements for Amazon Prime members," reads the Whole Foods FAQ page focused on digital coupons, rewards and online accounts. "Any account benefits, including membership and/or unused rewards, will not roll into any future programs."

17 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. I was a bit disappointed... by jawtheshark · · Score: 4, Interesting
    My wife got the free trial prime, earlier this year by not paying attention (they really push it now it's available in Luxembourg). Not a big deal, just cancel it after the trial is over. However, it turned out she forgot to renew our Netflix subscription and I explained her that Prime Video is included in the Prime subscription. Give it is significantly cheaper: Netflix is 12x10.99EUR=131,88EUR/year, vs Prime 49.90EUR/year and prime offers a lot more.

    So, we decided to continue it... She has next day delivery and still has video on demand (albeit, not Netflix). She's happy.

    What I didn't like is that your normally should be able to share some of the Prime membership advantages with other people in the household. I thought: sweet! I can get next-day delivery too now on my account. Yeah, well, turns out, that sharing feature isn't available in Luxembourg. Yes, I contacted support about it. They confirmed it's not available in my region. Sad.

    Oh, well, usually when I order stuff, I can wait... There is no way, I pay for a second prime membership though.

    --
    Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    1. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by jawtheshark · · Score: 5, Insightful
      LOL. Well, no... Not that I'm aware of at least.

      My father has a masters in applied economics, and he taught us (and my siblings) how to do accounting correctly and all under the motto "Les bons comptes font les bons amis". I am not aware of a English equivalent of the saying, but it means as much that if you keep money affairs honest, friends will stay friends. If you are married, or in a partnership having your own account, her/his/xir own account and a common account is immensely useful. This stops financial disagreements: I want something, and she doesn't agree (new computer, new camera, ...), I pay it with my money. The same for her. The common account is for everything that concerns us both and the kid: mortgage, food, healthcare, etc. We both have access to the common account: if I do weird stuff on it, she can see it and ask for explanations. I can do the same.

      We also have separate computer accounts, separate facebooks, but nobody finds that strange, right?

      Having your finances sorted out helps to stabilize marriages. It's the singlemost important advice I would give to newlyweds.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    2. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by registrations_suck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Having your finances sorted out helps to stabilize marriages. It's the singlemost important advice I would give to newlyweds.

      I completely agree.

      I'm just not much on the "mine, yours, ours" model. I'm a lot more interested in the "we're in this together" model.

      But whatever works for you (:

    3. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by jawtheshark · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Perhaps it helps understand that her parents had a very very very ugly divorce when she was a teenager. The tensions are there to this day, and it's been something like a quarter of a century ago or so. I don't know if this is common with kids from divorcees, but she seems to think this has to happen eventually to her too. Having it set up this way, soothes my inner accountant and should her fear ever come through, we will have it "easier" to get it through peacefully.

      Obviously, I don't plan on divorce, but it's good to be prepared. Thirteen years and counting, with ups and downs...

      I know many people think of marriage as a romantic involvement. That is wrong. It is primarily a contractual obligation, and the romantic aspect is a nice bonus. Perhaps I'm just weird. Perhaps I am a heartless cold calculating arsehole... If so, then I have no problem with that. You have the right to judge me.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    4. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by houghi · · Score: 2

      This should be a standard and has nothing to do with distrusting each other. My sister and her husband are divorced now. They still are friends. Becaus ethey had separate accounts, the breakup was even less painfull.
      OTOH I often see people, especially elder people who only have one account on both of their names. One person dies and the account will be blocked for 2 to 3 months. This till the heritage is done. In that time grandma can not pay anything. Money comes in, but nothing can go out. Companies start calling as they want their money. So on top of the stress of losing your long live partner, you have to deal with that shit.

      Having a separate account would have seen to it that not only do you not need to pay heritage taxes over it, but you also have enough money to get through to that few months.

      I see also the same where people take a customer credit together (e.g. a credit card) They do that, because if the com pany looks at 1 income, it isn't enough. (I am from Belgium. Giving out credits to people who are not able to pay for it results in the company being responsible and those people do not need to pay it back). After two years they break up. Credit still in both their names. One takes all the money and the other needs to pay for it.

      Having two different contracts would mean that this would have never happened.
      And yes, if they are divorced, it will state that one will pay everything. That ONLY means that the one person can force the other person to pay. It does not mean that the company can not collect their money by either of them. The contract is still valid.

      So I absolutely agree that money should not be shared, unless really needed for whatever reason.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    5. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by registrations_suck · · Score: 2

      I know many people think of marriage as a romantic involvement. That is wrong. It is primarily a contractual obligation, and the romantic aspect is a nice bonus. Perhaps I'm just weird. Perhaps I am a heartless cold calculating arsehole... If so, then I have no problem with that. You have the right to judge me.

      Ironically - I completely agree with you, once again. I just have a different response.

      In my calculation, if I can't trust someone in matters of finances, and take a joint approach to managing finances, I don't want to try making a life with that person.

    6. Re:I was a bit disappointed... by jawtheshark · · Score: 2

      I think you misunderstand: Having a common account requires trust. We have a common account, we trust each other. The common account just has a very specific purpose. In all the years we have been married, there never has been a problem. Still, that doesn't mean we can't have separate accounts for personal purchases.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
  2. but ... by ThirdPrize · · Score: 3, Funny

    But only 2 million asked for it.

    --
    I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
  3. Intertia by mccalli · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm one of them, but mostly through inertia. On the whole it's getting worse, with next day slipping to two days, 'guaranteed next day' being delivered two days later, and items on sale with free Prime delivery, but mysteriously more expensive than the non-Prime version alone and magically equal to non-Prime + delivery fee.

    It's kinda ok, and I enjoyed The Tick, but on the whole...meh.

  4. vs Netflix interface by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Prime is cheaper and has other features, but comparing P and N for video interfaces, subtitles, dubbing, search... Netflix is way better.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  5. Moral high ground? by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not me not ever. I stay away from Amazon as much as possible because I keep reading how they treat their employees like shit.

    Do you avoid buying clothing from overseas sweatshops? Do you only buy produce picked by well paid white people? How consistent are you really about your claims to the moral high ground?

    I'm always puzzled about claims like this which seem more like self aggrandizement rather than a genuine moral stance. If you want to bash Amazon go ahead (plenty to critique) but don't pretend you really are so ethically superior or that you really care about worker conditions.

  6. Re:half of them by sjbe · · Score: 3

    Amazon prime is probably only interesting if you use their video on demand services.

    Umm, no. I make light use of the video services but HEAVY use of their two day shipping. The video is just a nice little bonus. The real value to me comes from their ability to consistently find and deliver stuff I need in a timely manner for reasonable prices without a lot of fuss and excellent return policies when needed.

  7. Convenience, not price by registrations_suck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Amazon bashing...meh...OK.

    In the meantime...I buy from Amazon more often than not, NOT because they have the lowest price, but simply for the convenience. Into "convenience", I factor in:

    1). Timely shipments.
    2). One-stop shopping.
    3). "Known factor".
    4). Payments and Addresses.
    5). Record of purchases.

    Amazon can get stuff delivered to me in a timely fashion. Two days "free". In the meantime, I ordered something from E-Trailer that is "in stock" on Monday and it is currently scheduled to arrive on Saturday. I leave on my trip on Friday. Had Amazon had it, I would have bought it from them, even if it cost more.

    2). Where else can I get Dr. Pepper Stubbs BBQ sauce, a Bluetooth headphones receiver unit and a box of small Trojan condoms all in one shipment? I mean, that's awesome!

    3). I know what I'm going to get when I order from Amazon. I know they will ship, I know the return policy and that I will not have issues, I know the order system, etc. I don't have to guess how I will be treated, like I do when I order from somewhere new.

    4). They have my payment info. They have my shipping addresses. They have my billing address. I don't have to enter any of that shit again, like I do when ordering from somewhere new. That makes things fast and easy. I can decode I want to order something, to find it on their site and complete my purchase in 60 seconds, in some cases. 2-3 minutes tops in others. Yeah, I will pay extra for that.

    5). I like having my order history in one place. If I wonder, "when did I buy this" or "how much did I pay for this", it is very easy to come up with this information, quickly. If I order from somewhere else, the first thing I have to figure out is "where did I order this from?" Then I go to their site and have to figure out what my login info is. Then if I get logged in, maybe I can find my info, maybe not, depending on how long ago it was. In the meantime - just the other day I was wondering about my headphones and I went on Amazon and quickly determined I got them in 2012 for $500. That made me feel a lot better about ordering a set of replacement earpads for $15 or so.

    So yeah, overall, maybe Amazon doesn't always have the best price. But if Amazon is only a little more than the next guy, I will order from them. If it is an item I can get for $10 at some random place, no, I'm not going to pay $20 at Amazon. But if it is an item I can get for $500 at some random place, then, yeah, sure, I'll pay $510 or maybe $515 from Amazon. If for no other reason than I know I will not have issues returning the item without hassle, if that's what I need to do.

  8. Use what works for you by sjbe · · Score: 2

    Back in the good old pre-Prime days, Amazon delivered within 2-3 days. Standard.

    And you generally paid a handsome freight charge for it. Yes they are encouraging you to use Prime and prior to Prime I didn't use Amazon much. If you don't like it there are other places to shop and that's totally fine. I don't understand why people get so bent out of shape over something that is 100% optional. If it's valuable to you get a Prime membership. If it is not valuable to you, that's fine too. I don't shop much at Walmart because they don't offer me a value proposition that works for me for example. I don't have a Costco membership because I wouldn't go there often enough to justify it. Use what works for you.

    Unless you pay about as much as a prime subscription for the once-normal 2-3 days. Of course you could also sign up for Prime and get the 2-3 days again for "free"...

    Of course it isn't free. But if you order enough stuff it's really economical. I think my average freight cost last year was something like $0.72 per package which is a darn good deal.

  9. They wont let you cancel immediately by rojash · · Score: 2

    Thats coz the bastards wont let you cancel immediately now, they keep your membership active till the end of the one year and charge you for that period.

    1. Re:They wont let you cancel immediately by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Thats coz the bastards wont let you cancel immediately now, they keep your membership active till the end of the one year and charge you for that period.

      Who cares if they keep it active to the end of the period. You can still just go in right away, say you want to cancel, they tell you it will be cancelled at the end of the trial, and then when the trial is up you don't get charged for membership and shipping is just no longer free. I don't see the problem.

  10. Perspective by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So your excuse for ignoring these human rights abuses is to say that everyone's doing it? Nice clean hands you have there.

    Never claimed to have clean hands. What I do have is perspective. I'm annoyed by people that pretend to have clean hands with a bogus boycott when their real purpose has nothing to do with worker rights. I'm annoyed by people like you who act all self righteous and try to drag down others despite their own hypocrisy. Or are you going to pretend you are somehow really doing something meaningful about the problem?

    And frankly if you think Amazon is really engaged in "human rights abuses" then you really don't know what the term means. Modestly tougher than average working conditions at a place with 100% voluntary employment isn't exactly what I consider abusive. I've visited literal sweat shops in third world countries so I know what the word means first hand.

    Whereas your public proclamation of your own moral superiority is motivated from a desire to be a role model to the youth of the world?

    Nice strawman. Exactly where did I claim to be a moral paragon? As opposed to you who are trying to drag me down to make yourself look good.