I Canceled Amazon Prime

My Amazon Prime membership came due on Christmas Day.  And.  Here’s what I did.  I canceled Amazon Prime.

These are a few reasons why this membership no longer works for me.

Increased Dues

Membership dues increased to $130 a year.  Factored in with other memberships I’m paying, such as Costco, those fees are adding up to be more than the services are worth.

For a $35 minimum order, Amazon ships at no charge.  And so does Walmart.  And so does Target.  So the benefit of free shipping didn’t make sense to me.

I am now just consolidating my orders until I reach the $35 mark.

By the way, I also canceled Grove and Thrive memberships.  Add-on fees for “supply chain” and lack of product availability is frustrating.

In all honesty, Amazon’s delivery dates are more accurate and consistent than other online shopping options I found, but if I really need something next day…. Come on! I live in a really big city and I can go find it myself.

And Target boxes are so dang cute.

Coupled with membership savings, this makes a really nice picture.

Prime Video

For the last couple of years, I’d get a wild hair and decide to watch an old movie or revisit a favorite show.

Not ONE TIME was what I wanted to see available on Prime Video.  I would get a message of “not available” or “rent or buy for $10.”  Ummmm, nope.

It’s a little preplanning, but I’m ordering DVDs from the library or using my Hoopla account through the library.

In fact, over the holiday weekend, I watched Moonstruck with Cher and Nicholas Cage and loved it all over again. It is streaming through my library Hoopla account. No charge. Score.

Then I watched Regarding Henry with Harrison Ford. Back when he could sort of act. Those movies both were feel-good with happy endings.

Like this story!

Kindle Books

Again, this is a service that is not really free or rarely has books I want to read. 

Through my library I check out Kindle books (at no charge, of course). On the occasion there is a book I want to read and is not available through the library, I purchase a copy.

Don’t need Prime for that.

Crazy Purchases

Okay, this is not really Amazon’s fault and I take full responsibility, but during Prime Days, I made a lot of frantic, crazy purchases.

The deals turned out to be savings of a dollar here or there and totally not worth it.

Maybe if you’re not a crazy person and can contain yourself it is worth it, but it really brought out a behavior in me I’d rather not see repeated.

Deliveries

The absolute best part of Amazon (or any other online purchase) is the delivery to my front door.  It’s like a little surprise.  Especially for the hub!  Because he rarely orders.  Ha!

During the holidays and after the weather cooled down a bit on my front porch, I put my delivery treat basket back out.

I get such a kick out of seeing what the delivery person takes.

Chips and Oreos are still the big winners.  No accounting for taste.  But it gives me a tiny bit of joy hoping to make someone’s day a bit better.

Wrap Up

2023 is going to look a little different on my laptop.  Online ordering is still my preferred shopping method and I’ll still be sharing my favorite finds, but this year I’ll be visiting more stores in person and sharing that too.

Do you have any changes in the New Year you’ve already made?

Next post I’ll chat a bit about books because I have missed talking about that!

Best week ever!!