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