5 Reasons I Quit Amazon Prime

We’re running a great American experiment in the Dabkowski household right now. Can we quit Amazon Prime?

A Love Affair

The Mathematician and I have had an Amazon Prime subscription since around 2008. I think our next longest-running subscription we had would be Netflix, which we cancelled last year and don’t really miss.

Over time, our Amazon Prime membership seemed to have morphed into a wholly consuming crutch our household relied on. Need a shower curtain? Amazon. Out of vitamins? Amazon. Travel foam pump? Amazon.

For us, the convenience factor was worth the subscription cost. First with our super cheap student membership, then at $79/year, then $99/year, then $119/year. But this year, when they raised the price yet again to $139/year, it gave me pause. Did we really need Amazon Prime or did I just “think” we needed it?

A Messy Breakup

The timing of the renewal is what really got me stroking my imaginary goatee, contemplating the universe. Our renewal was set for May 19th, but we were leaving two days after for a 10-day trip to visit Paul in sunny Sicily. Why would I bother to renew when I wasn’t going to use the service for the next two weeks?

On a crazy impulse, I canceled the service. But it didn’t end there. The sheer power in the act of cancelling got the wheels in my brain turning about how we were using this service in our life and how our use of it impacted society and those around us. (I know – deep thoughts!)

When we returned from our trip, I didn’t resubscribe. I just waited to see what my first purchase would be. Turns out, it was a scale for our bathroom. Ours was giving us crazy numbers (it MUST broken, obviously) so it had to be replaced. I looked around at Target and Meijer, but the scales were either ugly or had bad reviews. I found one I liked on Amazon and put it in the cart. Turns out, if your purchase is $25 or more, shipping is still free. It’s just slow as molasses, like 7-10 days. But I didn’t need it tomorrow, I just needed it at some point in the near future (and frankly, I was thinking I had a few days to get a head start on shaving off those pounds I packed on in Sicily 😉)

From there, I really started to evaluate my impulses when it came to using Amazon and here are the five reasons I’m staying firmly in the “unsubscribed” category:

1. It’s not always the cheapest.

Back when my student loan debt and rent costs were high, I was pretty diligent about shopping around for the best deals. In those early years of my Prime subscription, Amazon was almost always the lowest cost option and thus, won my business.

Over time, that assumption became hardwired in my brain. I stopped shopping around and went straight to Amazon. Looking back, I can see this dastardly plot playing out over time, but in the moment I was oblivious. I was a busy corporate drone, or a tired new mother, or any other number of things that led me to look for a quick and easy solution.

When I started investigating, I realized that Amazon no longer has the steep price edge it once had. I mean, who remembers when Amazon didn’t have to charge sales tax?? (Ahh, memories.) Most online sites, and even some big box stores, are within a few dollars or perhaps even cheaper for the same goods these days.

For example, I ran out of the azelaic acid I use in my skin care routine. I had initially discovered this product on Amazon years ago. This time, I ordered directly from the manufacturer. The product cost $5 less, arrived in about 5 days, and I didn’t have to worry about whether I was receiving a legitimate product (more on this disconcerting topic below).

2. You might not actually need the item.

The streamlined nature of ordering on Amazon Prime doesn’t present any barriers to my brain. What I mean is, there’s no natural pause in the process where I think to myself “Do I really need this ridiculous hammock?”. When I eliminated Prime, the cart now became a primo spot for me to catch my breath. Oh, it won’t arrive for 10 days? It’s only $4, so no free shipping?

Considering the circumstances around delivery helped slow my roll in regards to what exactly I am spending my money on. Maybe I could just add the item to my Kroger order? Or pick it up from the store down the street?

3. You might be able to receive the item just as quickly from another retailer.

This lesson was really eye opening for me. The smallest member of our household is (finally) getting a customized bedroom. I picked out some (awesome) glittery mermaid scale wallpaper in teal, purple and pink for a surprise accent wall. (Grandparents – DO NOT SPILL THE BEANS!)

I did originally find it on Amazon. I needed two rolls so the purchase qualified for free shipping. Unfortunately, the shipping estimate was about 8-10 days to receive it. This lag time put me behind schedule, so I starting teetering on the edge of “Do I pick another option? Do I turn Prime back on? Or what should I do here?”. I copied the description into my search bar and hit ‘enter’. Lo and behold, I was able to get it from another big box store with free shipping to be delivered in 5 days or less. In fact, it would arrive the same day from this retailer as it would have using Amazon Prime.

Also, I don’t know if you’ve noticed in the last year, but lots of things don’t arrive in two days anymore via Amazon Prime. It can take 1-3 days to ship the item and then another 2 days to deliver. For some things you are looking at a 3-5 day delivery window. Amazon Prime’s promise is to deliver it within 2 days of the item shipping, which is different than within 2 days of ordering.

4. Buying from a reputable seller means less chance for counterfeits.

Counterfeits had actually already had me backing off prime for some categories of items. Namely, anything I ingest or apply to my skin had already been shifted to other sources. About two years ago, I noticed an increasing amount of reviews alleging products were counterfeit. Often, the Amazon product would be shown side-by-side with the original product, demonstrating slightly off packaging or color or consistency. Others would complain of breakouts after using a product for years, and allege the product must be a fake.

My understanding of how Amazon runs its stock is basically all product gets dumped into the same bin, regardless of source. So if you buy a name-brand tee with a swoosh on it, the warehouse pulls it out of the giant bin and ships it. Now, this bin holds product supplied directly by their Swoosh-iness and product supplied by JoeyDGurlzRock or any other random seller. So if Joey D. dumps counterfeits into the communal bin, it doesn’t matter if you buy from Joey D or the Swoosh, Amazon pulls it out of the same bin so you might not get the legitimate tee that the Swoosh supplied. You might end up with the counterfeit. This issue is one reason why Nike no longer supplies or sells on Amazon.

For some items, it didn’t really matter to me. However, if I am eating or applying it, I want to know it’s the good stuff. No one wants their lips superglued shut because they bought a counterfeit lip gloss. I have started purchasing these items from reputable stores or directly from the vendor online.

5. Self-Protection

What do I mean by self-protection? Namely, I don’t really want Amazon to be my only shopping choice in the future. The idea is incredibly problematic to me. Amazon wants to be my Target, CVS, Kroger, Dollar Tree, Costco, Netflix, and pretty much every other store/service I use. Choice dies in monopoly. I still want to be able to shop locally, in a physical store. This scenario is use it or lose it.

Additionally, a few months ago I returned a sweater that didn’t fit me (it was a certifiable train wreck actually). The worker at the return shipping store looked me dead in the eye and said, “You know this is probably just going to get burned in a massive pile of other returns, right?”. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I think I muttered something like “whoa.” His comment stuck with me. I had heard about the issues with Amazon returns, but I wasn’t ready to absorb it because it would make my life more difficult. Now, I don’t feel like I can look the other way any longer.

To sum it up, I am still using Amazon, but have rethought my relationship with Amazon Prime. It’s been a little over a month since we returned from our vacation to a Prime-less house. While it has been an adjustment, I don’t feel as though it has been a major hardship in our life.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below if you have strong opinions!

As always, thanks for joining me this week. Reach out if I can help in any way. Happy homeownering!