Amazon prime

Thanks Brock. I didn't know students received such a large discount. This will really help with the new Roku.

Ryan

No problem, how do you like roku? I was thinking about getting it for my folks for christmas.

Amazon.com in general is cutting down on the miles I drive looking for some items, e.g. some brand of shampoo for my wife, that might have entailed me going to 3 stores. If I can wait 2-4 days, it is cheaper on Amazon and I avoid 20-40 miles of driving around town.

Brock,

We really like it so far. Interface is easy to navigate and with the Roku app you can stream videos from an iPhone similar to Apple TV. We will end up dropping our cable service and going strictly with the streaming eventually. FYI – We have a Roku 3.

Ryan

I agree with David. I've found that when I calculate my fuel costs, I often save money by ordering from Amazon than driving 40+ miles to pick up a single item. We've never taken advantage of the books available with prime so I'll need to check that out this year.

Thanks for the info I think I will get it for them

Ian FYI it's not just books it's anything on amazon that comes from amazon. Plus free returns on everything. I'm excited to see what type of bag/box my 30lb bag of dog food shows up in.

Also, prime has a lot of free streaming movies and TV. I second the time/driving comment. I got an obscure oil filter for my car, saved a ton and thus could have jiffy Lube change the oil rather than a dealer (JL did not have the filter in stock and actually suggested I use Amazon). Filter was here in 48 hours.

One HID headlamp was failing on the Prius. I didn't know they made $100 light bulbs! Each! So I ordered a pair through Amazon: $36/pair. Should have done it earlier, because yesterday morning Kristin was driving to work, one light out and didn't like being so surprised by the moose along the highway. So I bought one locally ($95+tax) and installed it last night. Still, I'll save a lot on the second one and have a spare for the future.

I'm also finding that things I thought would only be a dealer part (tail light assembly) aren't only available for $285 from the dealer, but also for $58 on-line.

David I've also had good luck sourcing lights for my tacoma on eBay. I think it was 7 bucks a piece for my turn signals .

While I was at my brothers in Dallas I was drinking this diet green tea that he orders from Hawaii through amazon prime and gets free shipping. That's how I found out about amazon prime.

Since signing up for Prime last week

Huge stash of Mountain House packets at 50% discount
Wiper blades (hate going to auto parts stores)
Powdered peanut butter
Exofficio unnerwares
Kindle HDX

etc etc

Just wish the packaging wasn't so overkill vs size of the product ordered.

>"Just wish the packaging wasn't so overkill vs size of the product ordered."

Do you mean the cardboard boxes? They do seem overly large at times. For soft goods, LL Bean, STP, etc, just use plastic bags.

Or do you mean all the packaging around, say, an ink-jet cartridge? Potentially in the future, that packaging could be reduced. The only reason for all that packaging is to reduce shoplifting and internal thefts in stores. If Amazon can keep their own employees from stealing too much, they could have much more minimal packaging, reduce shipping costs, and give customers a more desirable product.

"If Amazon can keep their own employees from stealing too much"

About how much should Amazon allow its employees to steal?

–B.G.–

Yeah, was referring to receiving two blister packed wiper blades in a box 48" x 8" x 5". And one wiper blade in a box 36" x 5" x 5".

Just tons of corrugated paper to deal with. I'd imagine they have leveraged such cut rate shipping prices that they are more concerned with throughput speed than packaging efficiency.

I used to walk past the shipping department in a U.S. factory, and I saw the way that they do things. The rectangular cardboard boxes need to have a fairly normal shape so that they are stackable, and it is very expensive for them to have a variety of 99 different sizes. Also, if they happen to run out of a certain small size, they will just go up a size or two and then keep moving. Throughput speed is the name of the game.

In contrast, I used to walk past a shipping department in a Japanese factory, and it seemed like there were a whole team of people working to get one tiny item packaged.

I can't figure it out.

–B.G.–

Ive signed up for Amazon Prime multiple times for the 30 day trial same name and email. I dont know how often its possible, or if they even limit it. But Ive done it 3 times in 2 yrs, usually when I want to order something big and heavy with expensive shipping.

do thank your local UPS driver when you get your deliveries. :)

last 2 years i've worked as a driver helper during the peak season and it's insane the amount of work this time of year. ie today we delivered 230 stops with 448 packages in a small town in RI with 4 drivers/trucks to cover this small town in RI (pop. 17k).

hoping to get my next semester books on Prime before my student trial runs out