Amazon Prime - kicking the habit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm returning several items I bought recently.

Thank you! This thread inspired me to find other sources.

What are you returning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went back to mostly buying things in stores and keeping shopping lists.

No time for all that;

sorry not sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 college kids without cars. They use Amazon a lot. We probably have a purchase 5-6 days a week. I can get orders within hours. Not one bit sorry.

Oh so you subsidize and encourage their inability to plan or use a bus.

Bus is for poor people. I absolutely support them using Amazon

Your kids cant afford a car, you are poor.

Who said they don’t have cars? They go to school in major cities. No car needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have kicked the habit of ordering on Amazon and shopping at Whole Foods.

Costco, Ace Hardware, CVS, and Staples are all substitutes. Yes, it takes more planning and thought and time but I am glad I did it.

Now, I haven't been able to kick my Kindle Unlimited addiction. I set it up to send me an email three days before it expires - that's in 2ish week - so I don't renew. This is going to be the hardest thing to do.

Use libgen.is (or annas's archive) and calibre. Send money directly to authors or bookstores by buying their physical books.

[Anonymous]

I moved to Hawaii, where Prime doesn't work anymore and it still takes a long time to get anything.

What worked for me was just realizing I don't need most stuff. I use FB Marketplace and Thrift stores often. Target delivery to store if necessary. Apple repair shop for those things. Costco for most groceries. Shop local for almost all produce. Clothes from catalogs when needed.

[Anonymous]

I have canceled Prime. You still get many of the benefits without paying for Prime. Also trying to be more mindful of where I can buy things that aren’t Amazon and just eat the convenience factor to try to not support Bezos.

[Anonymous]

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/20/how-amazons-ai-algorithms-raise-the-prices-you-pay/

Has the recent news on Amazon’s price inflation tactics made you cancel Prime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/20/how-amazons-ai-algorithms-raise-the-prices-you-pay/

Has the recent news on Amazon’s price inflation tactics made you cancel Prime?

Nope. With gas prices up I’ll gladly take free overnight shipping of everything I need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walmart has very fast shipping and a lot of the same stuff

Walmart is also a trash corporation so I don't really think that solves for concern wrt Amazon.

Walmart treated one of my employee's Moms really really well. The Mom worked on the overnight stock crew for years.
She had a mental breakdown and was kidnapped and disappeared from Maryland where she work at Walmarat and showed up in a mental hospital wing in Texas.
My employee had to drive to Texas to pick up her Mom from the mental health hospital. The Mom continued with her mental health
treatment in Maryland. Walmart took her back on her old job on the overnight stock crew. (The Mom had been no show no call at her Walmart job and Walmart did not know where she was for about 3 weeks.) The Mom is happy to be back on her job at Walmart and the Walmart team is happy to have her back.

Ever since this incident we support Walmart.

Amazon treats their van drivers terribly. They have to spend money on gas and their time to drive into the Amazon terminal to
see if they get a driving shift that day. Many times they don't have one. Many drive 30 miles or more each way from their home just to see if they have a shift for the day.

[Anonymous]

I don't order much from Amazon but Prime is great for the shipping and I get significant discounts at Whole Foods with my Prime visa. It more than pays for itself.

[Anonymous]

I prefer Amazon for so much. Sometimes I decide to shop in store for items, only to go to several stores and struggle to find something specific I want, or the prices are really high. Latest was a curtain rod. Spent hours in person, they were mostly ugly. Then within 5 mins on Amazon I had a great one. For things like office furniture Ikea used to be my go-to but now their stuff is not great and has doubled in price. Got a simple, very pretty solid wood desk on Amazon for much cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow - I didn't know this was a thing. I just asked a similar question about Amazon Prime Video on another thread. So glad that others are dialing down or kicking the habit. That company needs to feel some consequences.

Amazon Prime has 200M subscribers. You do you but unfortunately, No real consequence would be felt. It’s more than free shipping, it’s football, prescriptions, music, books, grocery shopping, movies, photos, etc. I’m
Sure a lot of households are like me and not actually shopping any more than normal. But when I do need to buy something, I’d rather buy it from an included delivery service than walk into a store that doesn’t have a good selection, is filthy, or receive bad customer service

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I prefer Amazon for so much. Sometimes I decide to shop in store for items, only to go to several stores and struggle to find something specific I want, or the prices are really high. Latest was a curtain rod. Spent hours in person, they were mostly ugly. Then within 5 mins on Amazon I had a great one. For things like office furniture Ikea used to be my go-to but now their stuff is not great and has doubled in price. Got a simple, very pretty solid wood desk on Amazon for much cheaper.

And they brought it to your door

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walmart has very fast shipping and a lot of the same stuff

Walmart is also a trash corporation so I don't really think that solves for concern wrt Amazon.

Walmart treated one of my employee's Moms really really well. The Mom worked on the overnight stock crew for years.
She had a mental breakdown and was kidnapped and disappeared from Maryland where she work at Walmarat and showed up in a mental hospital wing in Texas.
My employee had to drive to Texas to pick up her Mom from the mental health hospital. The Mom continued with her mental health
treatment in Maryland. Walmart took her back on her old job on the overnight stock crew. (The Mom had been no show no call at her Walmart job and Walmart did not know where she was for about 3 weeks.) The Mom is happy to be back on her job at Walmart and the Walmart team is happy to have her back.

Ever since this incident we support Walmart.

Amazon treats their van drivers terribly. They have to spend money on gas and their time to drive into the Amazon terminal to
see if they get a driving shift that day. Many times they don't have one. Many drive 30 miles or more each way from their home just to see if they have a shift for the day.

This is not true. Amazon uses privately owned DSP delivery service providers for most of their delivery. Those contract companies employ drivers that drive the Amazon trucks and vans. They usually offer their drivers 8-20 hour shifts and 40-60 hour weeks. They start @$22 an hour in my area so for some this is a good job where they don’t have to be bothered and get to work alone and make their own daily schedules. Some “career” delivery drivers prefer Amazon more than FedEx or UPS because they get have a regular route and they get used to and get to see the same homes/people every day, like USPS driver used to be back in the day.

The drivers you’re talking about are gig workers, like door dash or Uber. Some choose this because they get to be their own boss, control their own time and their own schedule. Some use this as a pastime or temporary job to make extra money. When flex drivers are new they don’t get priority. They sign up for a very short 1-3 hour shift in the app, with the understanding that if they’re late, they lose their shift or if they’re not needed they won’t have a shift. I think Amazon does compensate them a very small amount if they get sent home with no packages to deliver.

The ones either priority/status get a shift every time. You are correct in that these flex drivers should understand that they will be using their own car, and gas, and could get a route pretty much anywhere within the Delivery range (so a lot more gas), But just like Uber, it’s on them to be smart enough to do the math that if they get a three hour shift for $60, they do not net $20 an hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/20/how-amazons-ai-algorithms-raise-the-prices-you-pay/

Has the recent news on Amazon’s price inflation tactics made you cancel Prime?

Nope. With gas prices up I’ll gladly take free overnight shipping of everything I need.

What's there to 'need' all the time?