11mo ago

It’s Surprisingly Easy to Live Without an Amazon Prime Subscription

slate.com It’s Surprisingly Easy to Live Without an Amazon Prime Subscription

Maybe it’s time to consider quitting!

The author canceled their Amazon Prime subscription on a whim and realized they didn't really need it.
Leaving Prime meant slower shipping but the author was happy to wait and still found the selection and delivery speed satisfactory.
Many people love Prime for its fast shipping and convenience, but some readers expressed ambivalence and considered canceling.

Archive link: https://archive.ph/3M27c

You're viewing part of a thread.

Show Context

428 comments

But i doubt it just downloads and that’s it. No tracking? No phoning home? No play-statistics? Hmm
I can't be positive. I've never run any network traces on it. But it doesn't have any of the hallmarks of service DRMs. No "connecting" popup or login prompt. I've played Amazon-downloaded games offline. If there's a hidden DRM, it's more-or-less obscured.
Let's be honest, though. Amazon gives the games away for free in an app that will never be used to sell products; and they do it as a bullet-point for Prime and to nudge people towards Luna. It's obviously the games they get for free that they give away. I see no reason for them to do more work than they have to, plugging in a DRM.
But i never heard of anyone actually using the app instead of maybe even playing one of those freebies and then quitting the app again 😁
It's hard to remember what games I got through Amazon vs Epic, but I clearly remember a few times I was excited about an Amazon Games offering added an Epic game.
In Amazon Games natively, my happy games are Autonauts, Terraformers, Close to the Sun (recently), and a few of those short adventure games I completed that nobody wants to spend $20 on but everyone loves to play.
I tried watching like 3 things. And one i could rent, the others pay extra and i was like “wtf? This is prime? Fuckit”
Their rent thing sucks, but I *never *see rentals in front of me when I use Prime Video on my TV. I named 3 of their big exclusives, but there's plenty more either exclusive or just licensed. It's never the most awesome shows of any service, but I could still find a few hours per day of video if I tried.
It just sucks that you’d need like 5 services and still can’t watch EVERYTHING
Yeah, I'm with you 5000% on that. That's where Gabe Newall is right. I'd probably be willing to drop drop $100/mo or more on a service if it had EVERYTHING on-demand, convenient, with no DRM of any kind. And I'd never once think to download-and-unsub or distribute or anything.
...as for your experience, I say wave that damn Jolly Roger. Gimme convenience or give me death. I pay because things are convenient for me. If it wasn't, I probably wouldn't be paying either.
- Okay, guess my prejudice about the amazon app was a but premature grounded on misanthropic bitterness 😊 I retract that statement and stand corrected.
  Oh autonauts. This i even bought on steam before it went for free. Still don't regret. Still can't recall a game i actually played on epic. Though i gotta admit i bought a looooot of games on steam.
  Hm. Maybe i picked a bad bunch or had bad luck that one time i tried prime. It just never occurred as a prime (no pun intended) reason to pay.. Errr... Prime.
  I totally hear you on the convenience-point. Warez were never convenient. Just "free". Yet, with a tiny amount of "work" (given you're not a tech-illiterate) the sailing-seas-way is a child's play nowadays. I enter the name of the series/movie, wait for the download (full speed 24/7)and simply watch it on emby with all comfort there is. From phone, tablet, laptop, desktop... My maintenance-time is below an hour per year (and i even love tinkering). All for below 19 bucks in the quality i prefer.
  Dishing out 100 bucks would need a lot of benefits to convince me. Though i get you. Trading money for tinkering-time. All depends on our preference and skill and nerdiness 😂
  
  a game i actually played on epic.
  Here's a few of mine (not sure if any come from Amazon): Control (this was awesome!), shapez (almost bought it, then it was in my inbox), loop hero, Guardians of the Galaxy (Christmas free games), Outer Worlds (ditto), Evil WIthin 1 and 2, most of the fallout games, Death Stranding, Gloomhaven... I'm only on page 5 of 20 lol. Only 1 out of 5 of their free games are any good, but between big giveaways and the like, that's still ~15 good free games a year lol. So needless to say, Epic is always installed on my computer.
  It just never occurred as a prime (no pun intended) reason to pay… Errr… Prime
  Perhaps THE problem with Prime right now is that none of their services except maybe TV is worth $11/mo on its own. Their free games aren't Humble Monthly, but HM is just games. Their TV isn't Netflix, but it's $4/mo cheaper. You can get free shipping without Prime now (that wasn't true before), but next day is phenomenal. As for books, there's not really any replacement I know of. It's not perfect (has this annoying thing about having books 2 on in some series, without book 1), but if you read a book a month, it pays for itself.
  Warez were never convenient. Just “free”. Yet, with a tiny amount of “work”
  For sure. It's always been a baseline of convenience. I remember the old days of curating my mp3 collection every 6 months, removing dupes and fixing organizational shifting. But if I do that stuff for apps, I have to maintain freaking sandbox environments for each app, make sure my computer is backed up in case I have to wipe it, make sure nothing auto-logins so a remote attack doesn't happen, etc. About 1 in 2 cracked apps show up as a virus and you can never know whether it's a false positive, so you have to use a computer condom and then STILL get tested.
  Dishing out 100 bucks would need a lot of benefits to convince me. Though i get you. Trading money for tinkering-time. All depends on our preference and skill and nerdiness 😂
  I'm in an ok place right now. And Amazon is still the cheapest place to buy anything, for me. If I spend over $1000/yr there on everything, a lot more if you count the holidays, then Prime has already justified itself. And slower or not, Amazon with Prime is STILL the fastest Christmas shipper.
  Anecdote... We bought Ring cameras from the Ring site for a family member in November. By mid-December, they still hadn't shipped because Christmas orders were so backlogged. So we bought them again on Amazon and they were on our doorstep 2 days later, just a couple days before Christmas. Was it next day? No. Was it worth it? YEAH.
  Then we had to fight with Ring for 2 weeks because they wouldn't cancel the order. We got the Cameras the 2nd week of January and my wife was on the phone with them 6 or 7 times before they finally approved a return. Amazon has this thing called "Free Returns" on most items. You can literally write in "I was drunk shopping" for your return reason and nobody bats an eyelash.
  
  Here’s a few of mine (not sure if any come from Amazon): Control (this was awesome!)
  Aye, i'd second that list! Yet I usually have them on steam before they ever show on epic. So most of my epic-freebies i have twice in my library now. The tool "play-nite" is great for multi-library-gaming btw. includes gog, amazon, itch, ubi, steam, epic etc.
  I remember the old days of curating my mp3 collection every 6 months, removing dupes and fixing organizational shifting.
  Still do that. For over 25yrs I nourish my library. Just the MP3s made room for FLACs.
  But if I do that stuff for apps, I have to maintain freaking sandbox environments for each app
  Yeah ok, I get that. I've got 2 servers running 24/7 with proxmox/hyper-v, so those tools all run in seperate VMs. But especially in this case, it's practically no maintenance. I'm still wondering why it works so flawlessly :-) As to the viral issue....I must say that i'm in the warez-scene since the early 90s and I never had a virus-problem. Ever. Though the majority is pure media, so no problem at all. And even if there should be a problem, I've got daily backups of everything. So I just go back to yesterday :-)
  I’m in an ok place right now. And Amazon is still the cheapest place to buy anything, for me. If I spend over $1000/yr there on everything, a lot more if you count the holidays, then Prime has already justified itself. And slower or not, Amazon with Prime is STILL the fastest Christmas shipper.
  Totally worth it in that case. I spend like 600 bucks for a ton of stuff for wifey this xmas, and even though it took them a day longer than usual they all came on point. And prime paid itself quickly. Rest of the year it's not that much, so I just surf on the usual trial or just use free shipping or just pay 3,99 if need be.
  Then we had to fight with Ring for 2 weeks because they wouldn’t cancel the order. We got the Cameras the 2nd week of January and my wife was on the phone with them 6 or 7 times before they finally approved a return. Amazon has this thing called “Free Returns” on most items. You can literally write in “I was drunk shopping” for your return reason and nobody bats an eyelash.
  Aye, that's totally my reason to shop at this fucking monster called amazon. No hassles, no worries, you get your crap the day they tell you, if you have ANY problem, you're helped in 5 minutes at max. Dunno where you're from, but we call our country "service-desert". Some might be cheaper than amazon and it's often tempting (my GPU was 2000,- elsewhere and 3000 on amazon...and i regret not using amazon), but if anything happens, you're screwed and everything takes forever. Or they charge you extra fees, usage-fees, "this item isn't defective and will be returned to you at your cost plus fee" etc. You just never have to worry. One gift we needed to return (glass broken), but as it classified as "food-item", they told us to keep it and it will be refunded. Now we have 2 glass decanter for free instead of 3 for full-price. You won't see that elsewhere here. No way. First you gotta prove it wasn't YOU that broke it at home. I could on for hours....
  
  I've used playnite a few times. I always forget about it for some reason or another. Gog has a built-in tool like playnite and I fail to use that, too.
  Still do that. For over 25yrs I nourish my library. Just the MP3s made room for FLACs.
  I still have it somewhere I'm sure, but I really gave up on it, for the convenience of youtube music of all things. Literally every song I ever had including a couple super-obscure albums I'd lost. And it's SO convenient. It just works for me everywhere I want it.
  Yeah ok, I get that. I’ve got 2 servers running 24/7 with proxmox/hyper-v, so those tools all run in seperate VMs. But especially in this case, it’s practically no maintenance
  Every time I mean to start setting up servers, some reason (or my wife) talk me out of it. I'm jealous. It's on my bucket list. I'm the only guy I know who has run server clusters professionally who has never had his own.
  I must say that i’m in the warez-scene since the early 90s and I never had a virus-problem.
  I have had a couple over the years; usually use the "nuke and restart" solution. Only one was REALLY major and I was never sure whether it was software or a dumb family member. My password-protected screenshare app went live one day and started buying Chinese gift cards with a clearly automated script. Thank god someone was in the office when it happened and they only got through a couple hundred dollars before we pulled the plug and called our bank.
  You won’t see that elsewhere here. No way. First you gotta prove it wasn’t YOU that broke it at home. I could on for hours…
  I know resellers hate Amazon returns, but they agree to them. I will literally make buying decisions based on the presence or lack of the "Free Returns" flag. I would literally pay for "return insurance" if AllState started to do that, too. I hate return hassles.
  
  I still have it somewhere I’m sure, but I really gave up on it, for the convenience of youtube music of all things.
  Can't complain about convenience. I use MediaMonkey since v0.1. It actually replaced my self-made music-archiver because it was simply superior and I couldn't match it. And for mobile we just sync our favourite playlists and be completely mobile even when there's no net. It's the only serious tool for serious collectors :-)
  Every time I mean to start setting up servers, some reason (or my wife) talk me out of it. I’m jealous. It’s on my bucket list. I’m the only guy I know who has run server clusters professionally who has never had his own.
  lol. Sorry :) My wife actually talks me into it while I try to talk myself out of it (i'm a horrible cheap fuck). I actually managed to hook her on the smart-home, as she runs into walls now when the system is down because there is no light. We forgot how to use switches :-) Seriously though: You should. If you have some kind of passion for it, just do it. I don't need it professionally anymore (long retired) but just love to keep up and tinker. And nothing beats a working self-hosted something.
  I have had a couple over the years; usually use the “nuke and restart” solution.
  Oucchhh. That could've gone bad. Ok, granted, with family members working on the same machine/network, danger rises. We have a global firewall and a global ad-/tracker/malware-blocker. Wifey often nags that some sites won't work, and then it's manual-fix-time for me, but so she can surf freely without fear. I don't even have any virus-/malware-scanner-crap installed anymore for decades. I occasionally check manually if something's hooked somewhere and that's it. And when I'm really really really suspicious of something, there's a sandbox. Honestly more "normal" software phone home and do shit i don't want than warez ever did. Every effing software wants to phone home, install 3 services no-one needs and what not.
  And don't get me started on the "purchase software and own it" to "rent it for extortionate prices and never have anything". It so became the standard everywhere. Wait...what were we originally even talking about? :-)
  I know resellers hate Amazon returns, but they agree to them. I will literally make buying decisions based on the presence or lack of the “Free Returns” flag. I would literally pay for “return insurance” if AllState started to do that, too. I hate return hassles.
  Totally. At least we have that mandatory 14-days-return-policy. Everywhere. BUT a merchant might reduce your cashback upon "usage signs". Which are very subjective unless still sealed. But the reason for the law was to promote online-shopping. So you could check your product at home like you would in a shop. And return it if you don't like it. But it all takes too long, in the end I only check amazon. Better the devil you know....i hate myself for that.
  
  . I use MediaMonkey since v0.1
  I think that's one of the ones I tried. It's just more convenient to have unlimited access to music, whether I own it or not.
  as she runs into walls now when the system is down because there is no light.
  What do you do for lights? Like motion/position detection into each room? Or voice control?
  I've wanted to get into automation several times, and I'm never settled enough in a house to spend the money. There's always some reason we want to move and I don't want to do all that permanent work to move. I even worked at an IoT company for a few years on backend and embedded code, so I have literally no excuse...
  At least we have that mandatory 14-days-return-policy.
  Not sure where that is. That would be nice (except that they could reduce the cashback anyway). Consumer Protections these days have been eroding in the US. Even our so-called consumer protection laws have landmines to protect the businesses.
  
  I think that’s one of the ones I tried. It’s just more convenient to have unlimited access to music, whether I own it or not.
  Yeah sure, I get it. I actually use Tidal Hifi. But not really for streaming but for downloading and discovering new music. Has its benefits for sure.
  What do you do for lights? Like motion/position detection into each room? Or voice control?
  It's mostly based on motion. If it's dark enough in a room and you enter it, light goes into a - we call it motion-light - cyan. So it's clear to us it's automatic. If no motion after 2 minutes is detected it slowly fades out for like 20s so you got a chance to "renew" the light by moving. Unless you switch a scene on, then it just stays on. If you switch it off, the automatic mode is on again. Took a good while to fool-proof it :-)
  Voice control too, yes. But also homebrew. No Alexa-shit or similar. Also control by watch, or even outside over telegram.
  I’ve wanted to get into automation several times, and I’m never settled enough in a house to spend the money. There’s always some reason we want to move and I don’t want to do all that permanent work to move. I even worked at an IoT company for a few years on backend and embedded code, so I have literally no excuse…
  Oh dude, we moved like 5 times in the last 5 years :-) Good thing is, we take the stuff with us. I use zigbee, not wiring. Wiring is superior, but also very fixed. So yeah, I regularly have to place everything again and adapt the scripts a little bit. But nothing much changes actually. Just a lil more extra-work after moving. Awesome, for an IoT-company I would even consider working again :-)
  Lol, excuses....It's a time- and money-sink, there you have great excuses. Also at least once a month I have to tinker here and there, or change a battery. Since Star Trek i wanted a home that reacts to voice and does things automatically. And tablets which give a great overview. Or, as mentioned, our watches. Automatic doors would be awesome now! And they gotta do the WOOOSH-sound!
  Not sure where that is. That would be nice (except that they could reduce the cashback anyway). Consumer Protections these days have been eroding in the US. Even our so-called consumer protection laws have landmines to protect the businesses.
  That 14-day-forced-return is EU-wide AFAIK. And yeah, you guys took the "FREEDOM!" really literally. You just forgot that the companies have those freedoms too :-) I often cuss about our country (or the EU), but as a consumer it's really nice having some decent rights. But if you need service, you're in the darkest mid-age here. Recently had troubles moving some domains from my german ex-provider to a us-based one. The german one did cost 10x as much for half the benefits, but i had to wait 3 days for a fucking reply. Weekends are holy. The us-based answered in like 5 minutes on a saturday night.

428 comments