This afternoon I got an email from Amazon.com regarding my Amazon Mom membership. Last March I signed up for their Amazon Mom program which gave me a free Prime membership (Hooray for 2 day free shipping!) for three months and then an additional free month of prime for every $25 I spent on baby products giving me up to 12 months of a free Prime membership. Since I was ordering baby essentials and diapers from them, I managed to get my free year of 2 day prime shipping rather quickly. The main reason I joined their Amazon Mom program was the deal it offered on diapers. I was getting 30% off the Amazon price and free shipping. It cost me about $115 for three months of diapers using this program. The email I received from Amazon today was alerting me to changes in the program. Starting on January 24th, they are no longer going to give me 30% off on my diaper subscription. Instead I'll get my 15% off for the subscribe and save feature and 5% off for being part of Amazon Mom, but the 5% will only last provided I pay $80 for the Prime membership beginning in March. You could say I was not happy with what I saw in the email.
Being the shrewd bargain hunter that I am, I decided that I would order an extra shipment of the diapers (I had skipped the past 4 months since I had no place to store another 4 months worth of diapers.). Actually, my plan was to buy another box of size 2 diapers and then order three boxes of size 3 before January 24th. When I logged into my account to set all of this in motion I found that Amazon had anticipated people doing this and had eliminated the option for an extra delivery.
I decided to contact Amazon's live help to find out why [even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer] I couldn't place an order for an extra delivery. Unfortunately, I wasn't given a reason regarding why Amazon won't honor their own promotion even though the item is available to ship for the new higher price.
I cut and pasted my help conversation so I could share it here with you. I'm annoyed that they won't just come out and say they were a bit shady in the way they handled the change in the Amazon Mom program. I changed the rep's name slightly.
You are now connected to Gotham from Amazon.com.
Me:
I'm trying to place an extra shipment order on my subscribe and save list for diapers (I had skipped this months delivery and now need to have the order placed) and I'm being told I don't have that option even though they're showing in stock on the product page.
Gotham:
Hello, my name is Gotham. I'll be glad to help you today.
To create a new order to be shipped right away, visit the Subscribe & Save page in Your Account (http://www.amazon.com/manageyoursubscriptions) and click "Extra delivery" next to the item you want sooner.
Once you click "Confirm" you'll receive an extra order now and the next one on the date you select in the pop-up.
Me:
The extra order button is greyed out and says it's not available at this time. It seems like Amazon doesn't want to honor the 30% off with Amazon mom. Would that be a correct assumption? Looking at the product page it's available for delivery now so I don't see why I can't get an extra shipment with my current subscription.
Looking at the subscribe and save page under my acct. now and my only option is to skip the next delivery.
Gotham:
Please give me a moment while I check the details.
I've checked the details and see this subscription is not eligible for extra delivery.
Me:
ok, thanks
Gotham:
Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Me:
Why am I unable to place the extra delivery? I
The email I got from Amazon today tells me that after the 24th of this month they are no longer honoring the 30% off with Amazon mom. Today is the 12 and it seems like they're refusing to honor my subscribe and save price.
Gotham:
I'm sorry about it, however I see there is no extra delivery option for this order.
Me:
is there a reason
Gotham:
Extra deliveries may not be available on all Subscribe & Save items.
Check your Manage Your Subscribe & Save Items page to determine if it is available for your subscriptions.
Me:
its always been an option in the past. Willing to bet it will be an option if I opt to pay the higher subscribe and save price with only 20% off. Seems very convenient that Amazon revoked the option that has always been there once the email was sent out regarding the changes in the Amazon mom program. Is there a reason you won't just come out and say that Amazon is not allowing it because they want me to pay the 10% more? Perhaps I won't be giving Amazon my business in this area anymore.
Gotham:
I;m sorry for the inconvenience Karen .
Me:
I'll be sure to mention it in my product review as well as my blog.
Gotham:
I understand, However in this case, I do not see any extra delivery option for this .
Me:
Thanks for your time, even if you weren't able to give me a clear answer as to why Amazon decided to not honor their own promotional program. I'm sure you aren't the one to blame for their obviously questionable move.
Gotham:
I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Thank you for contacting Amazon. We hope to see you again.
I'm irritated with Amazon. Personally, I hate to keep giving them my business for the diapers because of what they have done, but I also don't want to pay even more for the same product somewhere else. Maybe I shouldn't even be ranting about them in the first place. Their mom program has given me free Prime 2 day shipping (which is really nice) and their invitation only Vine program has also been very good to me. Their Vine program alone gave me quite a lot of the items that I needed for Katie. So really, I can't complain too much. I'm just tweaked that they're going to get me for an extra $4 or so each month.
That's really annoying! I have to admit I'd totally forgotten how I got a Prime Membership (although I knew it was going to expire...)... but $80 seems really steep. That's twice what I pay for Costco each year! With the free super saver shipping they have on normal accounts, it's definitely not going to be worth it for us...
ReplyDeleteRIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!! I got that same email, and the same exact thing happened to me! Isn't it just insane that they "get away" with this? That conversation you cut and pated has me so fired up! What in the world!!! I hope they do something and make it right somehow. Or that enough people complain that they have to do something. How aggravating!
ReplyDeleteI lost my ability to get things at 30% like a month or two ago... And before I realized I could change sizes I ordered a new subscription of diapers at the 20% price.... But I still can't do an extra shipment. And all my shipping dates changed to Jan.24 so I.didn't even get my normal 2 boxes last week! I hate what they did, but it was great while it lasted... Give them a couple of months with all of us possibly going elsewhere, maybe they'll wise up and bring it back. If the diaper prices aren't up to par I won't be renewing my prime either. But on the plus side, if you renew, you can participate in their kindle rentals on books. Lol
ReplyDeleteI lost my ability to get things at 30% like a month or two ago... And before I realized I could change sizes I ordered a new subscription of diapers at the 20% price.... But I still can't do an extra shipment. And all my shipping dates changed to Jan.24 so I.didn't even get my normal 2 boxes last week! I hate what they did, but it was great while it lasted... Give them a couple of months with all of us possibly going elsewhere, maybe they'll wise up and bring it back. If the diaper prices aren't up to par I won't be renewing my prime either. But on the plus side, if you renew, you can participate in their kindle rentals on books. Lol
ReplyDeleteI just renewed my Prime membership right before they sent out that lovely and thoughtful email! Then, today, I logged in to receive an extra shipment and I cannot place an extra order, either. And I'm only set up to receive the 20% off. So, obviously, they must have cut off the extra delivery option for everyone no matter what percentage they receive. Annoying.
ReplyDeleteI was able to get several extra deliveries at the 30% discount by changing the date that the subscription is to be sent out every month ... perhaps try that (I selected deliver by the 24th but my extra orders have already shipped out and the tracking number says I'll have them by the 18th) ... I've done this over the course of 3 days, as you can really only do it once a day without accidentally canceling your previous order ... just increase your quantity to how many you want (max 4) and select your size then change the delivery date ... I changed the size every day and it automatically put in a new order (if you do it in the same day it cancels the previous order) ... I actually went ahead and ordered 14 eBulk cases in several different sizes since we probably have another year before our son is potty trained and know we want another child soon.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's frustrating that we're not going to be able to get as good of a deal anymore, but I honestly expected it. They were obviously temporarily undercutting the competition in order to gain customers. (and to drive diapers.com out of business so they could buy them) It was an unsustainable business model, so it was pretty obvious that it was temporary. I think a lot of people who are so outraged don't seem to understand that just because they find a really good deal, which they can't get anywhere else, doesn't mean that company is obligated to give them that deal forever.
Some people will stick with amazon because its still going to be pretty cheap and easy ... others will spend tons of time finding / clipping coupons and driving around to find sales to combine with coupons ... or like me, stock up at 30% off and not need to buy diapers for 2 years ( lol ) ... in the end thats capitalism