Amazon Prime

Here in the UK, Amazon is now offering, at an upfront £49 fee, its "Prime" service.  With Prime you get "... just about anything you're looking for on Amazon.co.uk ... delivered the way you want — fast and free..". 

If you're not convinced yet, they also say "... you'll enjoy an exclusive membership program that gives you and your family the benefits of unlimited Free One-Day Delivery on millions of eligible items sold by Amazon.co.uk..."

It boils down to this.  For the intial outlay of £49 you have the chance of free one day delivery every time.  But you can still get free delivery if you are prepared to wait a tad longer and can manage to make an order exceeding £15 qualifying for Super Saver delivery.  It's just a question of how long you can wait for your purchase.

In this Daily Telgraph article, Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com said:

"We've been running it for two years in the US and for six months in Japan — it's been a big success in both countries and we know customers love it.  In the beginning it's very expensive for us because it's like an all-you-can-eat buffet, you pay one price and you get as much free delivery as you want.  When you open an all-you-can-eat buffet, the heaviest eaters show up first. We've seen that in the US and Japan.  So it will be very expensive for us — it's a great programme."

It's gluttons to the fore then!  Get your greedy mitts on those books! And pronto!

Personally, I'm not convinced.  Approximately £50 seems a lot of money for a 24hr delivery service.  I'm not a last minute shopper for books or DVDs or CDs or anything else that Amazon now sells.  And if ordering books on an individual basis, The Book Depository offers free postage every time, whether your delivery address is here in the UK where The Book Depository is based, western Europe, the US and Canada, or "other".  (A damn good deal, if ever there was one.)

A friend tells me that Waterstone's is also a good competitive match to all this - competing on the £15 limit for free delivery as it happens.

Are we so incensed with a type of demonic urgency in our ever increasing consumerist society that we have to have that product we've just discovered almost INSTANTLY?  Is it possible that a book makes it into that category for you?  Very keen author followers will be aware - because they make it their business to be so - of when the next tome is out from their favoured authors.  They order in advance - also possible on Amazon.  They even watch the price and may revise their order.

"It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" and in this case I think the fat lady is singing the line "Keep your options and your eyes WIDE open".

When it comes to lead times on order and delivery, I've been tickled pink for ages by a Welsh company called Heli-Beds.  They promise, with a trademark on the phrase to secure it: "Order by lunchtime, Deliver by bedtime "; their unique selling point.  Good it is too.  But when it comes to beds, how on earth can anyone not realise they need a new bed with at least a week's lead time for delivery?

Is an almost instant consumer gratification from Amazon worth £49?  I'm interested in hearing from those readers and consumers in the US and Japan where the scheme has been successful.  Is it worth the outlay and why?  Answers in the comments please - you save the postage as I've not suggested a postcard here.

Until convinced otherwise, I'll group my selections and tie into my reading schedule.  Yes, I do have one.  And to bypass it is to waste £49 for me.  Does anyone out there bite on this offer and why?

Comments

[crimeficreader]

Maxine,

I think we all fall into different "buckets" when it comes to customer profiles and perhaps I am in the minority? Prime does not look a good option for me, but I'm with you on one thing: existing terms and conditions can change and that might lead to further consideration...
I have to say though; I've bought a few odd (single books or a duo) from TBD and I've not been annoyed by any unnecessary delays. Neither have I felt let down by price - I always compare with TBD on Amazon marketplace and take into account the possible free postage (super saver delivery) from the £15 limit.

I find I don't buy too much from either these days. Since my father died earlier this year, and before that, truth be told, I've been buying for one and not my father too. I also receive the odd proof copy and my reading is now picking up again following a period of decline. The current proofs in the TBR pile (or in transit) will keep me going to March 2008, I suspect!

But for me; I don't think I am Amazon Prime material. Should their other normal T&Cs change, then I'll certainly be revisiting my purchasing decisions. And if TBD retains its current T&Cs, I think it would see a transfer of my business, small as it is!

[Maxine]

Yes, I got their email and have been having a bit of blog discussion about whether to go for this.
Agreed on the £15 - I have so many items in my Amazon basket that every time I "just must" buy a book, I simply add a couple from the wait list to make up the £15. (Useful when the girls need a textbook, etc).
However, a couple of points in favour of prime:
1. My last few "free delivery" Amazon parcels have taken 7 - 10 days to arrive (discounting the postal strike period). I therefore suspect them of deliberately slowing down the regular free service to encourage (!) sign-up to Prime. In my case, I would probably sigh and join Prime if I knew I could get the order in 24 hours -- eg a DVD I want to watch for the weekend.
2. The Book Depository is indeed good on price and free post. However, when I do direct comparisons on the same book on Amazon/BD, I note that BD seems to "track" Amazon in some way --use same software or similar, as the entries are always the same -- but the base price on BD for the same book is higher. (I am not talking about current bestsellers, but backlist books like "Stuart Britain" and "Pocahontas").
3. (sorry, this isn't "a couple"!) I rent DVDs from Amazon and they have recently made the service slightly less attractive-- more expensive and a smaller discount on new DVD purcahases (which you get if you use their rental service, very good!). However, if you are an existing customer, you can keep the old (better) terms. Therefore I am thinking that if I join Prime now, I might do better than if I don't but want to in future because the rest of Amazon has got even slower, or they stop their free delivery on £15 plus offer (which they could do at any time).

So, all of these are kind of "negative positives", but they together might drive me to sign up. Especially as Amazon adds more and more services (currently shoes and babies) which if they are all covered by Prime begins to seem more attractive, as you can get more and more categories of item without having to pay delivery costs. (Especially a baby by free postage, very attractive prospect ;-) )

[crimeficreader]

Thanks for the comment Martha. My current method of buying means that I'd gain nothing and I'd be down by £49, so for me it would be more of an Amazon premium rate rather than prime service.

[Martha]

I bought in the moment it became available in the US and have saved an unimaginable amount of money. Of course, I'm nearly in the poorhouse because I buy so many book, but still -- totally worth it for the compulsive among us.

[Anne Brooke]

I thought it was a total scam, to be honest! I left it well alone!

A
xxx