If you wait until you have I think $25 worth of stuff to buy (might be $35?), you get your shipping free on the whole order. You don't have to be a Prime member to get free shipping.

As for my preferences: I buy certain things from Amazon all the time. The under-sink water filter cartridge, coffee pod filters (we use our own bagged coffee and a re-usable plastic pod plus paper filter for our Keurig espresso every morning), my bras, and we've added a subscription to fancy feast cat food delivery because it's less expensive than Walmart.

For other things we often buy, I much prefer personal interaction at the supermarket or department store. I rarely buy clothes on line because I just WANT the thing - I don't want to try it on, find it doesn't fit, send it back, wait for the replacement, try THAT on, find out it doesn't fit, send it back, etc. etc. Novelty stuff like t-shirts with fun sayings on them, no problem. A fitted shirt? Forget it. I'll get that at a store where I can decide right then and there if I like how it looks/fits.

The bras were a matter of necessity - there are no stores anywhere near here that have them in my size, so I have to buy them online. Since I know the style/size, I can just get the same one at Amazon and pay less for it than at Nordstroms website.

I have ordered 3 items since last October and they were all free and arrived as fast or faster as Amazon would have delivered. The lowest priced item was $14 and it took one day. Also had good results using Lowes online.

Competition helps keeps the prices down so I don't want all of my online purchases to come from Bezos.

It’s complicated. I can find things on Amazon, that I simply can not find easily elsewhere. And they have inventory that will get that item to you quickly. Want a wide shoe size? Good luck to find it nearby. Want a repair part for your fridge or dishwasher or dryer? Get it in two days from Amazon. Your local repair guy will also have to order it

But I have a problem with Amazon’s business model. Amazon loses an average of 2% on every online sale in North America. They lose an average of 4% on every online sale outside of North America.

They are able to continue this business model because Amazon’s AWS cloud service has profit margins of 35% and covers all their losses on their online business. All of the local stores can not compete because they need to make a profit to continue business. So local businesses are squeezed out by Amazon. When the locals are gone Amazon will be able to raise prices.

From Amazons 10Q 2022 financial statement:
N. American E-Commerce Revenue = $69 billion
N. American Profit = loss of $1.6 billion
International E-Commerce Revenue = $29 billion
International E-Commerce Profit = loss of $1.3 billion
Amazon AWS Cloud Services Revenue = $18.4 billion
Amazon AWS Profit = $6.5 billion

Didn't know that. I'm a very infrequent shopper, but I'll keep that in mind.

I have tried to stream from Prime but my oldish Smart TV can't do it. New phone and new computer both aren't able to download either. So frustrating. I'll try to get help from a customer service person Monday.

About 8 years ago I was looking for something and went into a Dicks sporting good store in upstate NY. There were 10 checkout stations, but, (surprise!) only one checkout line working. This was between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were at least 15 people in line, and two "managers" folding sweaters. I called out to them "hey, guys! Maybe you need to stop folding sweaters and man the cash registers." Their reply was, "we can't do that until 5PM"... My arms were full of stuff. As much as I could carry. I stepped out of line, walked over to them, laid all of my stuff on the table of sweaters they were folding and said, "You know, guys, I can by all of this **** online. Which is exactly what I am going to do. Share this episode with your bosses when they wonder why people shop online instead of coming into this store." I haven't been in a Dicks since.

Dick’s has carts, too bad you didn’t utilize one of those. I don’t have much sympathy for the “me first crowd”.

Timing staff and putting cash in registers at certain time is normally based on traffic patterns for the store and it can be unpredictable. Ever notice that everyone seems to want to checkout at the same time at the grocery store? And then the seasoned checkout clerk for that shift may have been ill. First world problems…

That's an interesting perspective. While in person shopping is not a favorite "hobby" of mine, I probably ordered what ever I need on line 75% and did about 25% in person shopping. I especially prefer to see small appliances, clothing, and shoes IN PERSON. But....after the virus misery, I found new satisfaction, could even say "excitement", maybe pleasure would fit, in just looking items in a grocery store, touching them to look at labels and compare similar items, choosing my own produce, or loaf of bread from the bakery, etc. It actually surprised me, that I was so aware of (and so appreciated) such a routine task as shopping "in person". Talk about learning a lesson on appreciating such a small pleasure as being free to enter a store and shop for things !

"Me first"??? More like, "me 23rd". Screw that. After I walked out, several others followed.

There were two "managers" folding sweaters. They should have enough flexibility to open two more registers for this unexpected rush, which, considering it was between Thanksgiving and Christmas shouldn't have been unexpected at all.
Instead, they were content to fold sweaters instead of helping with the rush.
And the problem wasn't that I didn't have a cart. The problem was being expected to stand in a long line to pay for my goods, when the line could have been 1/3 the length had the two sweater folders been willing or able to run a register.
First World Problem? Maybe, but that's the world I live in.

I try to use brick and mortar for anything I need over Amazon, but sometimes the convenience of a click and next day delivery is too tempting to pass up, especially if the item is less expensive on Amazon.

They will give you a warning first so just cool it for awhile and you can start sending back returns again in the near future.

It seems when you send back a lot in a shirt period of time a red flag goes off.

I got the phone call once and didn't return anything for 6 months but now I have no problem sending things back within moderation.

Years ago, when I worked in a store, we were told that if the lines at the cash register got long, we were supposed to open up more lines. We made money from sales and the object was to make sales - not stack shelves or fold sweaters!!

That does not seem to be the case these days!!

It’s cheaper, delivered to your door in short time, no time or gas wasted shopping, can get just about anything imaginable, and returns are hassle free. Why wouldn’t anyone use Amazon? Rarely physically go into anyplace but a grocery store for fresh food or a hardware store when I need a part to complete a project.

They already told you they were not permitted to do that until 5pm. Even store managers have bosses, if they work for a chain. The digital cash registers log every transaction including when a manager opens the register to put the till in. They get in trouble if they do it too early. You don't have to like it, but that's just how it is.

Work retail in a modern store long enough to be promoted to manager and you'll realize - it IS a "me first" attitude you have.

In the meantime, everyone who walked out after you? Meant the person behind THEM was next. So thank you for freeing up the line for those who just wanted to wait their turn, get their stuff, and leave with product in hand. And for those who didn't want to have to go home, order it online, wait a day or more to get what they asked for, and hope it was the right one/fit/not damaged.

Your loss was their gain.

You also gave the managers more things to do other than folding sweaters, so that's a bonus. I'm sure they would've preferred to be running the register to get entitled twerps out of their store faster, so putting all that stuff away will hopefully be a welcome distraction.

Do you know of any employee who got in trouble for opening another cash register lane when there were long lines of people waiting?