OT: WARNING: Amazon *forcing* "prime" on customers.

[Jim Horton]

On 11/12/19 1:35 AM, Robert Baer wrote:

  Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it or not.
  TINSTAFFL.

  In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i did not
ask for it. That worked.
  Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then would
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

  Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and they
FORCED "prime" on me.
  Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again asked why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Also refused to remove it.

  Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
  Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

  That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits", many
choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no" choice which...

  Yup! You guessed it!
  MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice which...

  A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

  Greedy bastards.

I have always avoided prime by asking someone who has it to buy the item
for me and I'll pay them. Yes, a bit of a hassle, but still avoid it,
or.......

I just try and find the item I'm looking for from a vender offering
free shipping independent of prime. This can take some searching, but
more than half of the time I can find my item that way.

Makes no sense to shell out $ since I don't purchase on Amazon more than
six times a year. I wont do it.

 

Jim Horton <jhorton@nospam.net> wrote in
news:qqf4a3$tm8$2@dont-email.me:

On 11/12/19 1:35 AM, Robert Baer wrote:
  Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it
or
not.
  TINSTAFFL.

  In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i
did
not
ask for it. That worked.
  Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then
wo
uld
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

  Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping
and
they
FORCED "prime" on me.
  Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again
asked
why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Also refused to remove it.

  Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
  Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

  That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits",
many

choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice whic
h...

  Yup! You guessed it!
  MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess)
on
e "no"
choice which...

  A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including
a

"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that
you ca
n
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

  Greedy bastards.


I also feel that a fast growing firm like Amazon, as well as some
others, probably won't stay at the top of their game long.
Usually, the fastest growers and the largest firms are the first
to fall when the time comes.. Exceptions of course, but in
general that's how it seems to work.

Yeah... just ask FedEx and UPS. They puked out back in the...
wait...

Bwuahahahahah! That's right! They didn't!

So which companies has 'the time come' for???

Power providers.

Pharmacies. (both the maker and the dispensor)

Insurance companies.

Lawyers.

All you fuckers charge too much for too little.

Hell, even the damned tow truck companies suck since we can't
decide which one we want to use on a car tow. The rates are Putin
level outrageous. The daily lot rates are even worse once they tow
your car, and oh... not open on weekends and holidays, but still
charging the rate... How quaint.

 

[John Larkin]

On Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:36:52 +0000 (UTC),
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

John Larkin <jlarkin@highland_atwork_technology.com> wrote in
news:nptlsehtk5ajdna2d59u0pg35bbljdrvh8@4ax.com:

Good thing you are smart enough to never buy from Amazon.


So, you are for Warren then?

I like Biden's stance.

His stance is that he can't remember which city or state he is in, or
what actually happened in his life.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

 

[Tom Gardner]

On 12/11/19 17:45, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:

On Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:45:21 +0000, Tom Gardner
spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

On 12/11/19 16:20, jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:
On Mon, 11 Nov 2019 22:35:47 -0800, Robert Baer
robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it or not.
TINSTAFFL.

In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i did not
ask for it. That worked.
Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then would
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and they
FORCED "prime" on me.
Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again asked why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
Also refused to remove it.

Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits", many
choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no" choice which...

Yup! You guessed it!
MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice which...

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

Greedy bastards.

If you don't like what people are selling, go somewhere else.


It is the /way/ they are selling it.

Reminds me of inertia selling and double-glazing salesmen.



I think Prime is wonderful. I must place over 100 orders per year.

I ordered 100 x-acto #16 blades and a 1000 watt MeanWell power supply
yesterday.

Someone borrowed my Fluke benchtop DVM and claimed they needed it a
while longer, so I Primed a new one.

Need a stick-on thermocouple or a stopwatch or an SMA attenuator or 50
AA batteries? X-chapters? USB bulkhead adapter? A good book? Prime.

Pay them. It's well worth it.

Quite possibly, but it should be opt-in not /repeatedly/ opt-out.

If you dislike Amazon, never go there.

That reminds me of the old bumper sticker: "America: love it or leave it".

Even as a kid I thought that was trite, too negative, and designed
to shut down the possibility of improvement.

Much better would have been "America: let's make it even better".

 

John Larkin <jlarkin@highland_atwork_technology.com> wrote in
news:5c7mset0t947j5tp57s1i50boj8amvgke5@4ax.com:

His stance is that he can't remember which city or state he is in, or
what actually happened in his life.

More retarded baby bullshit from the retarded bullshit baby.

 

[John Doe]

Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote:

John Doe wrote:
Robert Baer <robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and
they FORCED "prime" on me.

You weren't paying attention. The free month offer is a good deal,
it's not FORCED on you.

Not quite. There has been a recent promotion where they automatically
upgrade you to Prime with no option to opt out if you don't want it.

And the cow jumped over the moon. That wouldn't even be legal here in
the United States. Next time, take a screenshot. Then we can help with
your confusion.

 

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 03:15:21 +0000 (UTC),
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

John Larkin <jlarkin@highland_atwork_technology.com> wrote in
news:5c7mset0t947j5tp57s1i50boj8amvgke5@4ax.com:

His stance is that he can't remember which city or state he is in, or
what actually happened in his life.


More retarded baby bullshit from the retarded bullshit baby.

https://www.whatfinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bidenclinton.png




--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

 

[Rick C]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 12:45:55 PM UTC-5, jla...@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:

If you dislike Amazon, never go there.

An excellent idea! For the most part I don't use Amazon. I tried Prime once, but they didn't have any movies to watch that I wanted. The ones I liked I had to buy DVDs. Who uses DVDs anymore? I think my last DVD came from the Walmart dollar bin and it wasn't worth the price. lol It has Richard Dean Anderson and Justine Bateman who were both great, but the script was a real stinker! It still makes a decent coaster.

I sometimes look at Amazon listings when Google searches don't turn up much else. Mostly I use them to figure out what keywords to use to find other web sites with the same goods and then buy them from decent mail order providers like eBay and Aliexpress.

BTW, there are a huge number of fake SD and USB Flash memory devices out there. That's one thing Amazon has in common with the others. I bought a few USB devices which offered free logos. They look nice, but are smaller devices altered to report as larger devices and fail H2testw testing. These same vendors even post images of passing results (although one tried to use H2testw to measure the size and didn't notice it actually flagged it as a failure). When I tell them their devices are fake they don't appreciate my giving them poor marks. lol

--

Rick C.

+ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
+ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

[Rick C]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 1:35:53 AM UTC-5, Robert Baer wrote:

Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it or not.
TINSTAFFL.

In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i did not
ask for it. That worked.
Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then would
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and they
FORCED "prime" on me.
Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again asked why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
Also refused to remove it.

Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits", many
choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no" choice which....

Yup! You guessed it!
MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice which...

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

Greedy bastards.

One of the many reasons why I use eBay for most purchases. Prime is useful if you use Amazon a lot. I don't care for it so much. I often don't see a way to reach the vendor to ask questions and pretty much every time I do reach a vendor they are unwilling/unable to answer. I just don't get the impression Amazon is interested in providing negative info on any vendors. eBay at least lets you rate the vendor with feedback which I take seriously.. There has to be a reason to use a vendor with an approval rating below 99%.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

[Rick C]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 3:22:32 PM UTC-5, Jim Horton wrote:

I also feel that a fast growing firm like Amazon, as well as some
others, probably won't stay at the top of their game long. Usually, the
fastest growers and the largest firms are the first to fall when the
time comes.. Exceptions of course, but in general that's how it seems
to work.

You may have lots to complain about with Amazon, but they have been around since nearly day one as an Internet vendor. I don't see them falling anytime soon.

--

Rick C.

-+ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
-+ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

[Rick C]

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 1:19:29 PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:

Good thing you are smart enough to never buy from Amazon.

Wow! That's quite the burn JL.

God, what a dip.

--

Rick C.

-- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
-- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

[John Doe]

Robert Baer <robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

> Are you a lawyer that could do something meaningful about this BS?

Nope! I cannot hold a candle to a good lawyer. I build arguments on the
foundation of "honesty" (speaking my mind instead of being paid to argue
any thing). Besides being good at presentation, successful lawyers are
capable of remembering massive amounts of stuff. That's what it takes
when you do not (necessarily) believe in what you say. Otherwise you
will be tripped up.

 

[Robert Baer]

DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

Jim Horton <jhorton@nospam.net> wrote in
news:qqf3rv$tm8$1@dont-email.me:

On 11/12/19 1:35 AM, Robert Baer wrote:
  Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it
or
not.
  TINSTAFFL.

  In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i
did
not
ask for it. That worked.
  Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then
wo
uld
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

  Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping
and
they
FORCED "prime" on me.
  Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again
asked
why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
  Also refused to remove it.

  Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
  Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

  That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits",
many

choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice whic
h...

  Yup! You guessed it!
  MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess)
on
e "no"
choice which...

  A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including
a

"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that
you ca
n
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

  Greedy bastards.


I have always avoided prime by asking someone who has it to buy
the item for me and I'll pay them. Yes, a bit of a hassle, but
still avoid it, or.......

I just try and find the item I'm looking for from a vender
offering free shipping independent of prime. This can take some
searching, but more than half of the time I can find my item that
way.

Makes no sense to shell out $ since I don't purchase on Amazon
more than six times a year. I wont do it.

Buy something from these guys...

https://catalog.usmint.gov/apollo-11-50th-anniversary-2019-five-
ounce-proof-silver-dollar-19CH.html

https://catalog.usmint.gov/apollo-11-50th-anniversary-2019-proof-
silver-dollar-19CC.html

Compare their prices with the local coin dealers FIRST..

 

[Robert Baer]

jlarkin@highlandsniptechnology.com wrote:

On Wed, 13 Nov 2019 03:15:21 +0000 (UTC),
DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

John Larkin <jlarkin@highland_atwork_technology.com> wrote in
news:5c7mset0t947j5tp57s1i50boj8amvgke5@4ax.com:

His stance is that he can't remember which city or state he is in, or
what actually happened in his life.


More retarded baby bullshit from the retarded bullshit baby.

https://www.whatfinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bidenclinton.png




How sweet..a kiss on the neck....

 

[Robert Baer]

John Doe wrote:

Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote:

John Doe wrote:
Robert Baer <robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and
they FORCED "prime" on me.

You weren't paying attention. The free month offer is a good deal,
it's not FORCED on you.

Not quite. There has been a recent promotion where they automatically
upgrade you to Prime with no option to opt out if you don't want it.

And the cow jumped over the moon. That wouldn't even be legal here in
the United States. Next time, take a screenshot. Then we can help with
your confusion.
* Are you a lawyer that could do something meaningful about this BS?

 

[Robert Baer]

Rick C wrote:

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 1:35:53 AM UTC-5, Robert Baer wrote:
Remember, "prime" costs money EVERY month whether you use it or not.
TINSTAFFL.

In the past, the tried 3 times to stop that, saying that i did not
ask for it. That worked.
Was told to select shipping option 3 days or more and i then would
not be put on the "prime" wagon.

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and they
FORCED "prime" on me.
Used their "chat" and they REFUSED to tell me why.
Told them i did not ask for it, did not want it and again asked why
was it forced on me; they REFUSED to tell me why.
Also refused to remove it.

Went round-robin on this with ZERO budging on their part.
Finally was told to use some kind related of complaint link.

That link was filled with ads relating to the "benefits", many
choices FOR this and that and (buried in the mess) one "no" choice which...

Yup! You guessed it!
MORE of the same pressure sales BS with (buried in the mess) one "no"
choice which...

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

Greedy bastards.

One of the many reasons why I use eBay for most purchases. Prime is useful if you use Amazon a lot. I don't care for it so much. I often don't see a way to reach the vendor to ask questions and pretty much every time I do reach a vendor they are unwilling/unable to answer. I just don't get the impression Amazon is interested in providing negative info on any vendors. eBay at least lets you rate the vendor with feedback which I take seriously. There has to be a reason to use a vendor with an approval rating below 99%.

Glad your experiences with e-bay were reasonable.
In my cases with them, they refused to listen to raw facts.

 

[Robert Baer]

John Doe wrote:

Robert Baer <robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and
they FORCED "prime" on me.

You weren't paying attention. The free month offer is a good deal,
it's not FORCED on you.

* NOT true; i selected three day delivery, the longest available, and
according to previous advise from them over the phone, the long delivery
avoids "prime".

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that
you can remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

Sounds like you accepted their offer of one month free Prime.

* SEE ABOVE. I ordered something, selected 3 day delivery, NOT the next
day "prime" delivery.

After you accept their free month offer, all you need do is stop
Prime service. Prime will last until the next billing cycle when you
will not be charged but the free trial will end. And Yes, they ask
you repeatedly if you want to remain on the service when you are
trying to cancel. Just say "No No No". You're a grown up, you can do
that.

 

[Robert Baer]

DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno@decadence.org wrote:

Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nezumi.demon.co.uk> wrote in
news:qqec7v$8s5$1@gioia.aioe.org:

On 12/11/2019 08:17, John Doe wrote:
Robert Baer <robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

Well, today using that strategy, i selected 3 day shipping and
they FORCED "prime" on me.

You weren't paying attention. The free month offer is a good
deal, it's not FORCED on you.

Not quite. There has been a recent promotion where they
automatically upgrade you to Prime with no option to opt out if
you don't want it. I was sufficiently bemused by the sequence of
events that the first time I cancelled the order and went round
again. Result same forced upgrade. The goods were not available
(despite showing "in stock") so the transaction was unwound. It
struck me as funny that my Prime delivery was taking longer than
the normal 3 day service at the time. Then I checked the email
logs and found the order cancellation.

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that
you can remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

Sounds like you accepted their offer of one month free Prime.

Whilst I agree that RB has form where computers are concerned.
I have also seen this tactic from Amazon in the UK June this year.

After you accept their free month offer, all you need do is stop
Prime service. Prime will last until the next billing cycle when
you will not be charged but the free trial will end. And Yes,
they ask you repeatedly if you want to remain on the service when
you are trying to cancel. Just say "No No No". You're a grown up,
you can do that.

I expect sooner or later you will see the same generous offer.


They use the unchecked box tactic or whatever.

All a consumer needs to to is be careful and observe each page in
the checkout procedure, being sure to select options that do not
trigger subscriptions to a service.

My last two buys there last month had options pre-selected, but I
made sure to choose not to try the 'trial'.

All 'trials' like this on the webb auto-charge and enroll a 'new
customer'. I had to bitch at the damned high school website for
trying to bill me for 'joining' their 'sevice'. They put the money
back, and I killed my account their and told them to delete it and my
info.

I hate how squirrely all these 'modern' greedy bastard web sites
have gotten and want us all to believe is 'just the way it is'.

Congress should be setting up a method for charging and fining the
bastards for such shoddy, greedy web page design practices.

Please write your congress critter about that!

 

[Robert Baer]

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Mon, 11 Nov 2019 22:35:47 -0800, Robert Baer
robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

"How to Cancel Amazon Prime"
https://www.howtogeek.com/429020/how-to-cancel-amazon-prime/

Some ebay vendors require that buyers use Amazon Prime. You might
check if that is what happened.
* Do NOT use e-bay; have been cheated both sides of the fence (buy,sell).

"Sell products with the Prime badge directly from your warehouse"
https://services.amazon.com/services/seller-fulfilled-prime.html

 

[Robert Baer]

John Robertson wrote:

On 2019/11/12 7:40 a.m., Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 11 Nov 2019 22:35:47 -0800, Robert Baer
robertbaer@localnet.com> wrote:

A third array of BS but an easier-to-find "no" link including a
"reminder" that you still have "prime" free for a month and that you can
remain on "prime" by an easy say-so.

"How to Cancel Amazon Prime"
https://www.howtogeek.com/429020/how-to-cancel-amazon-prime/

Some ebay vendors require that buyers use Amazon Prime.  You might
check if that is what happened.
"Sell products with the Prime badge directly from your warehouse"
https://services.amazon.com/services/seller-fulfilled-prime.html


I tell eBay sellers, who put special requirements on their sales, that
they would get more business if they open it up more. Limiting to Prime
will not help their sales. Much like limiting your listings to national
instead of international lets you out of many more customers.

We sell and ship internationally and the odd hiccup is well worth the
extra business we get.

John :-#)#
Amen.