Tag Archives: shopping

Cancelling Amazon Prime

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I just don’t think it’s worth the cost — for me.

I joined Amazon Prime when it first started in 2005. Back then, it was $79/year and all it guaranteed was free 2-day shipping. I’m pretty sure that applied to all items on Amazon and that might be because back then when you bought from Amazon it was actually sold by Amazon and shipped by Amazon. (None of the “marketplace” crap there is today.)

Time went on. My subscription renewed annually. I lived in a little town in Arizona that had very little retail shopping other than groceries, hardware, and ranch supplies. Amazon helped me get good deals and quick delivery on the computer components, software, books, and other items I needed in my job as a freelance computer book author. I enjoyed the ability to order anything and have it shipped to me for free within two days.

Amazon added Prime video in 2011. It didn’t matter to me because I had super crappy Internet service at home and satellite TV so I didn’t need/want to stream video. Of course, that changed in 2013 when I moved to Washington State, got super fast Internet, and skipped the satellite or cable service. But I’m not big on watching TV so I really didn’t stream much on Amazon. I had Netflix. And a DVD player.

In 2014, the annual price for Prime membership increased to $99/year. They added Prime Pantry, Amazon Music, and Amazon Photos, none of which held any interest for me. Amazon Now was also added; it offered same-day shipping in metropolitan areas as far removed from my rural home as can be imagined. But Prime still seemed like a good deal for free shipping within 2 days.

Prime Day debuted in 2015. It basically conned Prime members into buying more crap they didn’t need — although I did get a smoking deal on a hybrid queen-sized mattress for my camper one year.

Prime Reading started in 2016, although I only discovered it last year. It offered a limited selection of books and magazines to read for free. I used this feature to read a few magazines I couldn’t get at the library.

When the Amazon Rewards Visa card came out in 2017, I got one. I earned points for my purchases and used those points to buy things on Amazon. No annual fee. I still have the card but I rarely use it; Chase (the bank that runs the card) has super shitty customer service so I now mostly use my Apple Card, which gives me “cash back” that I can spend anywhere. 2017’s Prime Wardrobe did not interest me in the least. And the special Prime benefits at Whole Foods were useless to me because there wasn’t a Whole Foods within 200 miles of my home.

When the Prime membership price went up to $119/year in 2018, I started wondering whether the free shipping — which was really the only feature I used regularly — was worth it. It’s around then that I started streaming video in an effort to get my money’s worth. But I didn’t stream much.

2020 and covid rolled around. All of a sudden, I wasn’t getting free 2-day shipping. I was lucky to get items I ordered within a week. It was the lockdown, of course, and I really couldn’t blame Amazon. It was temporary — or at least that’s what I thought.


Amazon will ship for free even if you aren’t a Prime member. Just buy at least $25 worth of eligible stuff.

Truth is, I haven’t gotten regular 2-day shipping on Prime items from Amazon since Covid lockdowns began. It’s been more than two years.

So this year, when Amazon announced that it was raising the price of prime membership to $149/year. I took a good, hard look at what I was getting for that. A lot of folks don’t realize it, but if you spend $25 or more on Prime eligible items, you get those items shipped for free even if you’re not a prime member. I just tested this by logging out and adding a $14.99 item to my shopping cart. See the screen grab here? Buy $10.01 more and it all ships free.

Then I started to explore my Prime membership settings. They offered this helpful graphic to show how much I used Prime features:


In 12 months, I had 80 free shipments — which I could have had without Prime membership — and watched just 14 movies or TV shows.

I concluded that Amazon Prime simply wasn’t worth $149/year to me. Frankly, it isn’t even worth $119. Maybe not even $99, unless I start watching a lot more television.

So with my membership up for renewal on March 12 at the new $149/year rate, I decided to cancel — or “pause,” which apparently removes features and stops billing but keeps my account on standby in case I want to fire it back up. Cancel is an option, too, and I suspect that I’ll use it if they start spamming me to come back.

It’s pretty obvious that Jeff Bezos — with his fancy new yacht — doesn’t need my money. And why should I spend my money on services I don’t need or use?

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You can read more details about the history of Amazon Prime from 2005 to 2020 in this article.

On Honest Reviews

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Why they’re important.

This morning, I got an email message from Etsy asking me to review some beads I’d bought from an Etsy shop.

I am ruthlessly honest when I review a product. I want the seller/maker to know what I think so they can feel good (from a positive review) or fix problems (from a negative review).

I also want other potential buyers to know if a product fell short of expectations or didn’t match descriptions or images. I want to inform other buyers so they either buy a great product or avoid a crappy one or even just know where a product might disappoint them.

One of the things that really gets under my skin is sellers/makers who ask for positive reviews only. WTF? What good is a review if it isn’t honest?

Request for Review
These amethyst beads, in the smallest size shown here, is what I thought I was buying. Nice purple color, no? Etsy asked for a review and explained why.

The beads in question this time around were disappointing. They were amethyst beads (or supposed to be) and the image on the Etsy listing showed bright purple beads in a variety of sizes. I wanted the 4mm size, which I use to make matching necklaces for some of my pendants. A nice purple amethyst and silver bead necklace could even sell on its own — I’ve sold them before — without a matching pendant.

That’s what was going through my head when I clicked the buy button.

What arrived a week later were dull, barely purple beads that bore no resemblance to the photo other than the fact that they were round. They were strung on purple string and, because they were a bit translucent, that color came through a bit — but not as much as the photo! — while they were still strung. Once removed from the string, their true color was revealed and I honestly can’t say they’re purple. More like a dull, purplish gray-black.

Frankly, I’m not even sure they’re amethyst.

I’ll be honest: the beads were cheap and yes, you do get what you pay for. Although it bothered me that the beads didn’t match the photo, it wasn’t worth returning them. I could probably find something to do with them. And even if I didn’t, it wasn’t a huge loss. I considered it a lesson learned. I would not use that shop again.

And then the request for a review came from Etsy. I clicked the link and wrote the review.

I suspect the shop owner will get all pissed off about this. After all, too many shops on Etsy have 5-star review status. Like all of their customers are always happy. How can that be? Is it because these shops ask for positive reviews only?

And please don’t get me started on the number of times I bought an Amazon product or book based on glowing reviews only to have that product fail or that book be total crap?

Why aren’t legitimate reviewers being honest? It only hurts them — and their fellow shoppers — in the end.

The Gallery Exhibit

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I submit 10 pieces of jewelry to a gallery’s “Gems and Geology Holiday Gift Show.”

I’ve come a long way since I started making jewelry — mostly wire-framed pendants — with rocks. Over time, I’ve stepped up my game by taking classes and trying new techniques. The results are promising. And encouraging.

My friend Cyndi told me about a special exhibit at a gallery we both sell our work at. (Cyndi makes metal art; you can find it on Etsy.) The theme was Gems and Geology, which is pretty much what my jewelry is all about. Although I’d missed the first deadline — intent to submit with digital samples — I wrote to them anyway. I got an enthusiastic response:

We’d love to have your work in our show! … This is just the type of work we were hoping for! I am so glad you reached out.

Whew!

I got to work making pieces that I thought would be appropriate for a real gallery show. I already knew that this particular gallery did not like my wire work, mostly because it simply doesn’t sell there. (Oddly, it sells remarkably well at another gallery in Ellensburg; go figure.) That meant prong and bezel settings, which I was just starting to get comfortable doing.

I made the mistake early on of sharing a photo of one of my pieces on Twitter. Someone wanted to buy it. While I love selling jewelry, I was really hoping to send that one to the gallery. Still, I had plenty of time to make a replacement and I did.

I finished making the 10 pieces two days ago. I spent this morning photographing them for publicity materials. I figured I may as well share the photos here, too.

Labradorite Pendant
Labradorite bezel and prong set on textured, reclaimed silver. Black leather cord with sterling clasp. (Learn more about my reclaimed silver in this blog post.)

Kona Dolomite Pendant
Kona Dolomite prong set on polished Argentium silver. Sterling silver chain. (This was not made specifically for the show but meets the requirements.)

Crazy Lace Agate
Crazy Lace Agate bezel and prong set on textured Argentium silver. Black leather cord with sterling clasp. (This was not made specifically for the show but meets the requirements.)

Azurite and Malachite Pendant
Azurite and Malachite bezel set on textured reclaimed silver. Sterling silver chain.

Brazilian Agate Pendant
Brazilian Agate prong set on textured reclaimed silver. Sterling silver chain.

Montana Moss Agate Pendant
Montana Moss Agate prong set on a textured sterling silver frame. Sterling silver chain.

Turquoise Pendant
Two genuine turquoise cabochons prong set on textured and hinged copper. Black silk cord with hand-formed copper clasp. (This was not made specifically for the show but meets the requirements.)

Kingman Turquoise with Spiny Oyster Shell Pendant
Kingman Turquoise and Orange Spiny Oyster Shell with bronze prong set in textured sterling silver. Sterling silver chain. (This was not made specifically for the show but meets the requirements.)

African Queen Jasper Set
African Queen Jasper bezel set in copper for earrings and a pendant. Black leather cord with sterling silver clasp for pendant; hypo-allergenic niobium ear wires for earrings. This is my current “masterpiece.”

Malachite Set
Malachite prong set on textured reclaimed silver with malachite bead earrings. Sterling silver chain; sterling silver ear wires.

Keep in mind that none of these are currently available for sale. If you want them, you’ll need to go to Confluence Gallery in Twisp, WA between November 28 and January 9. (Twisp is actually a great destination in the winter, especially for cross-country skiing. The Methow Valley has hundreds of miles of well-groomed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails and was my Christmas destination before I started going south for the winter.)

If you like what you see here, you’ll probably like some of the jewelry in my Etsy store. Go check it out!