20 thoughts on “Millions Have Never Ordered From Amazon. Here’s Why”

  1. I had a friend, now deceased, who seldom shopped online. When I talked about free shipping with Prime, he said it isn’t free. I have to pay for Prime. Like the guy in the video, he had a strong preference for seeing items before buying them and, should he be disappointed later or change his mind, he said returning items at the mall was far more convenient than shipping things back to Amazon. I’d argue that one has to deal with mall parking, going to customer service, perhaps standing in line, etc. He thought that was easier than re-boxing an item and taking it to UPS. I told him you don’t have to stand in line at a UPS store. You just drop it off. Couldn’t sell him on it.

    He also didn’t like Amazon’s listing saying prices for Levi jeans were $x to $xx, but there were never any at the lower price range. I told him that was the Levi store on Amazon, not Amazon, stating the price range. When I ordered items from Amazon, he’d search the web to find lower prices for the same thing and send me the links. He couldn’t see that Prime made up for the difference. I think for every positive thing I said about Amazon, he’d dig his heels in a little deeper.

    • Some people are just that way. My father learned just enough about any computer to do what he ‘needed’ to do on it (accounting). Mom would be playing a game on hers, let him try it (he liked it), showed him the icon to click, never happened.

      GPSs finally got under $500 and he called me up asking about them. I did a little reading on the one he was looking at (all of them had limited memory at that time, you ‘loaded’ the streets of the cities you wanted/needed).

      His blinders went up the moment I mentioned hooking it to a computer. So I got ‘me’ one of them (Magellan Map 330 — still have the silly thing!) and took it down to them, borrowed mom’s laptop to load the local streets. He asked to look at the manual and finally muttered ‘I guess it’s not that bad’ — so I got him one that Christmas.

      • Bet there’s no kids trampling his lawn. 🙂

        Way back in the day (pre-Kindle) I got my mother a Clio HPC Pro to read on. She muttered “you’re trying to get me to use computers” but she read on it just fine. She was happier when I got her the RocketBook and happiest when I got her a Kindle.

        This year I got her a Fire Tablet for XMAS.
        I told her she can use it solely to read the local news: turn it on and read.

        Then she found the word search game…
        Any day she’ll find Pandora, preconfigured to her tastes.

        Drip…drip…drip…
        I’ll get her yet.

  2. I’m one of those who prefer to shop at the store. I need to see it, to hold in my hands, to try it on before I make a purchase. I only shop online if I can’t find what I’m looking for in a physical store. But that said, I’m not a big consumer to begin with so…

    • I’m the same way with SOME things. With others, I’m content to order online.

      Clothes? I buy in-store, so I can try it on before I buy it. I want to make sure it fits AND I like the fabric before I buy it. I dealt with too many returns in the past, and it’s a hassle I’m not willing to subject myself to anymore.

      Books? I’m content to buy either on-line or at a brick-and-mortar store. As long as I can do a “look inside” like Amazon offers to make sure the writing style appeals to me, I’m happy to buy on-line.

      I’m also a beader, and I buy both on-line and in stores. Depends on what I want and where I can find it.

      I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, I buy some things on-line and other things in stores only. With others, I do both.

  3. The guy who doesn’t shop on Amazon has a point about packages not being delivered to his doorstep. If that was an issue for me, I would also consider it a hassle to go to pick it up at Fed Ex or something.

    Lately most of my packages have been delivered via USPS as they have been small items that can fit in my mailbox. I prefer UPS though.

    I have hesitated to order item for my son to have delivered to his apartment complex for the same reason this guy had. I wasn’t sure if he would receive them, but the few times I have ordered, they went to the apartment complex’s office and he got them just fine.

      • So, out of curiosity, I checked out AmazonLocker. Yikes! The closest one to me is a 45 min drive one way! In fact, ironically, I’d be driving past an Amazon warehouse to get to a couple of the locations.

        • Another option is a box at a UPS store, if you have one close by. (I know you said you have no issues, but this might be helpful for others seeing this.) I’ve got one a block away, and I now order all sorts of grocery items from Amazon that I used to buy at the supermarket since they often have niche things the supermarket stopped carrying without warning, and the walk is shorter. Over the course of a year, it’s worth it.

          Then again, I live in an urban area where a package left outside may or may not walk off before a neighbor can bring it inside, and I don’t own a car.

          • Are you getting the grocery items via Prime Pantry? I tried filling a box and came up short. Can you buy just a few items or is a full box mandatory?

            • I’m with M.P. on this. I started trying to figure it out and bailed when I got that feeling of buying stuff I didn’t need at the moment just to make it work. So I just order what I need when I need it, and even if the Amazon price isn’t a big bargain, it’s still worth it to me to know I’m getting what I want on a more convenient basis. I even buy stuff like paper towels and other such things in bulk, which means I don’t have to worry about carrying it home from the local store, and I don’t have to buy it nearly as often. Also, you start to value things you never thought about before, such as buying a 500-foot roll of industrial-strength aluminum foil, which is much stronger than the stuff you get at the store. I didn’t even know I wanted something like that until I had it.

            • You could put one thing in your Prime Pantry box and have it shipped out to you. The cost is $5.99 per box, so obviously they want you to fill it up as much as possible so that you feel like you’re getting more bang for your shipping buck. (And I’m the same. If I’m going to pay that six bucks for shipping regardless, I want to cram that thing full.)

              I’ve used it infrequently at home – but I found it to be a total lifesaver while on vacation with the airlines and their luggage restrictions/costs. I had the Prime Pantry box with all the snacks/cereals/drinks, etc. that my family of six would need for vacation sent directly to my hotel, and the staff brought it up to our room. So, so nice.

              • That sounds like a smart use of the pantry. I had forgotten there’s that price per box. Now that you’ve reminded me, Amazon was offering to drop that charge for a first order — and still couldn’t fill up the box. They need to offer a smaller box, or I need a bigger house.

    • All my Amazon purchases are delivered to my POB. Nada problemo! 🙂

      (I’ve had my POB for over 20 years now — ever since a package was stolen from my doorstep. It’s also been a convenient constant when moving to a new place; no having to change a mailing address.)

  4. Only 17% of primary U.S. household shoppers haven’t used Amazom?

    I don’t think Amazon has much of a problem with customer acquisition.

    Future government interference, maybe.

    Dan

      • More telling, I think: It is lower than the 22% that *don’t* have credit cards.

        If that 83% number is correct (I have my doubts) Amazon would already be at peak market access. It would however explain the push behind PRIME: with no customers left to draw in, their focus has to be on selling more to those already in the system.

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