Do you always use the free shipping option on Amazon?
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (43048)
Staten Island, New York
March 10, 2018 4:18pm CST
I finally decided to order two CDs from Amazon that I've wanted to get for a while - Taylor Swift's Reputation and Kelly Clarkson's Meaning of Life. There was free shipping available if my order was over $25 (not counting tax). I was about three bucks short of that. I was tempted to get something else so I could use the free shipping option.
After giving it some thought I decided not to do that. If I got another item, so I could qualify for free shipping, I'd end up spending way more money in the end than what it would cost to get only the two CDs with the $4.95 shipping and the tax added to my order.
In the end, I just got the two CDs. And because I had between $6 and $7 in my Amazon gift card balance I ended up spending about $24 in total rather than about $30.
But now that I think about, was it the best thing to do? Maybe if I would have gotten another CD (or something else that wasn't expensive), I'd end up spending about that much anyway, as I'd have free shipping and save about another $6-$7 thanks to my gift card balance.
Do you ever get more stuff from Amazon (even if you don't necessarily need it) just to qualify for free shipping?
10 people like this
11 responses
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
11 Mar 18
@lovebuglena That's clever from a psychological point of view. You feel silly to refuse free shipping although, in the end, it's to your advantage.
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
I always use it too when it's available. But if I have to buy more stuff just to get to the minimum required for free shipping I don't always do that because I end up spending more in the end that what it costs to ship the items to me. Amazon's minimum seems to be $25. Some places you have to spend way more (even over a hundred) to quality for free shipping.
1 person likes this
@nela13 (55688)
• Portugal
10 Mar 18
@lovebuglena if you end up spending more then It doesn't worth the free shipping.
2 people like this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
10 Mar 18
I have Amazon Prime so the shipping is free with any products that qualify for Prime. My one big gripe is that many of the items I order don't qualify for it so I end up paying the shipping. I wouldn't buy extra just for the free shipping though, I would search around for other stuff where it is free.
2 people like this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
10 Mar 18
@lovebuglena No lots of stuff doesn't. I always say I'm going to cancel my subscription but then I find something I like that is eligible for prime and change my mind.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
So you are saying that not everything qualifies for Amazon Prime? I had no idea.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
@sprite1950 So, what's the benefit of Prime then?
I don't know if it happened/happens to others but my mom got charged a renewal for Prime membership and yet she never got Prime in the first place. She has yet to contact Amazon about it to give her a refund. Why would they do that in the first place?
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
Do you always qualify for free shipping with stuff you plan on ordering, or do you have to get other stuff too to qualify?
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
@NJChicaa How much does the membership cost?
2 people like this
@NJChicaa (115887)
• United States
10 Mar 18
@lovebuglena I have a Prime account so I get free 2-day shipping on most stuff.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
10 Mar 18
I will only buy on Amazon with free shipping.
3 people like this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
10 Mar 18
I have amazon prime thanks to my sister who pays so no minimum purchase for me to get free shipping, but had I not have it. I’d wait until I reach to get free minimum because I don’t believe in paying shipping fees
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
It's nice that you can use your sister's Prime membership.
It's one thing to get more stuff to qualify for free shipping when you actually need it anyway. It's a different story when a person gets more stuff just to have free shipping, even though he/she doesn't need that extra stuff. That's wasting money and overpaying in the end. Though maybe not the case all the time. Maybe sometimes the person doesn't end up overpaying, at least not by a lot.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
11 Mar 18
@lovebuglena I have my own Amazon account, but the Prime membership owner can share to a few others by inviting them with a code and we'll get the same advantages (Amazon 2 day shipping, Amazon Prime TV)
It all depends if I really need the item too. But sometimes, say shipping is $7. To get free shipping you need $25. You're at $20. I would buy over $25, to get free shipping then to pay $7 shipping (which is going to nothing just to ship, its not worth it in my opinion).
But if the item I want is $15 and free shipping is purchase of $100 or more than that would be a different story. :)
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
@infatuatedbby I hate when sites have free shipping only if you spend say $100 or more. That's too high a minimum in my opinion. And I hate it when I am a few bucks away from free shipping. Usually nothing costs a few bucks, except maybe on Amazon.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
I found that it's not always available. Not all items qualify for free shipping.
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
10 Mar 18
Not on Amazon, as those with a Prime subscription get free delivery anyway - but on other outlets' websites I find myself doing exactly that. Bulking together purchases for several people can help without feeling like you've dropped into their trap.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
10 Mar 18
@lovebuglena You have a point. I have seen times where an item has not needed to be delivered quickly, and Amazon will "reward" you for any item you choose a lower, slower postal service for, if you are paying the annual subscription for their Prime service. Horses for courses.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
@pgntwo I sometimes have gotten items faster than they should have arrived and even when free shipping was used. Wonder why that happens.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Mar 18
If someone you know wants to order something from that same retailer that is a good idea. But I think that might not work all the time because people tend to shop at different places and at different times.
2 people like this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
10 Mar 18
No. We mostly get the free shipping but at times have had to pay for shipping. I wouldn't buy more just to get free shipping.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
I wouldn't do that either. I think in most cases it wouldn't make sense to do that.
1 person likes this
@KristenH (33351)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
11 Mar 18
It depends on what I need to get. I almost got a new litter box scooper from Amazon as an add-on, since it was a buck. But I passed on it.
@KristenH (33351)
• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
11 Mar 18
@lovebuglena They're good if you need to buy more than two items.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43048)
• Staten Island, New York
11 Mar 18
I like the add-on items. Actually forgot about those. I wonder if I could have gotten an add-on item when I bought my CDs. All I needed was about three bucks worth of stuff to get free shipping. I wouldn't know what to search for though that perhaps I might find useful and could get.
1 person likes this
