2014/01/092014/01/08 War Stories, featuring Amazon Prime In a recent post, I touted the virtues of bunching together potential Amazon purchases using Amazon’s “Wish List” function. This is a technique to get you free shipping on Amazon. Turns out this Technique was a ‘Gateway Drug’ for the GubMints family. We did the 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, and we’re hooked! 60-days in, here are some Amazon Prime War Stories: Amazon Prime has acted as a repair supply shop for my Bikes – One of my GatorSkin (the top choice of Bike Commuters) tires was finally wearing thin after about 6+ years of hard use. I ordered a new tire on a Saturday at lunch time… the new GatorSkin tire arrived on SUNDAY, delivered by USPS(!), in time for my bike commute to work on Monday! (Note: I think San Diego is one of the trial markets for Amazon Sunday Delivery, would love to hear if this is on in other cities). The following weekend I was riding my Cyclocross Bike on the beach with my family (Yes, in December- Suck It, Polar Vortex!). Somehow one of my SPD Bike Cleats came loose. These were also a few years old, so I ordered a new pair of shoe cleats. I ordered them on a Friday,they arrived THE NEXT DAY on a Saturday. I also ordered a new Bike Tube for my Cyclocross bike – Tubes are cheap (2-10 bucks), so shipping costs normally double the total price you pay for the tube if you order from an online bike retailer instead of walking in to a bike shop or department store. The local department store did not have my size/valve type in stock, so I ordered from Amazon Prime- Received it in 2 days. Hardware. While installing the Christmas lights last month I noticed a tremendous build-up of decaying leaves in the rain gutters. I made a mental note to purchase and install Gutter Guards for installation on the next trip up the ladder (removal of the Christmas lights). I walked in to the local hardware superstore (which website listed the style of Gutter Guards I desired), but they were not in stock. While standing there in the fencing/roofing aisle I ordered the desired Gutter Guards from Amzaon. I placed the order on New Year’s Eve (a Wednesday) and the Gutter Guards arrived on Friday, in time for my planned weekend installation. Note: my use of Amazon Prime in the hardware store was not ‘showrooming’, as the store did not stock the parts I wanted (‘Showrooming’ is the despicable practice of test-driving a product in a brick-and-mortar store and then whipping out your smartphone to order it online for a cheaper price). eBook Library Free loaner Books on Amazon Prime Kindle Owners Lending Library. I have already borrowed 3 Kindle Books from Amazon Prime. This is a savings of approximately $36 so far (approximately $12 per book vs an eBook Purchase on a Kindle). One of these books, “The Theory of Financial Relativity”- I reviewed here. Video Rental store with PrimeVideo. It came to my attention that the GubMints kids had not seen ‘Dumb and Dumber’, and were therefore missing out on my witty references to ‘Just purchase the essentials’ at the store, and that someday we might visit a magical place ‘Where the beer flows like wine’. I had to correct this discrepancy pronto, but I was unable to locate my copy of Dumb and Dumber in the family room DVD bin. I logged in to Amazon Prime on our Roku- Problem Solved! Family Members Love it, Too Mrs. GubMints loves Amazon Prime’s free 2-day shipping as well. Amazon lets you share your free shipping benefit with up to 4 members of the same household as the ‘Original’ Prime member. … and don’t forget, you can prevent Visa Gift Cards from expiring if you just convert them to Amazon Gift Cards (electronic Amazon gift cards or physical Amazon gift cards), which do not expire. Subscribe to GubMints: via RSS: via Email: Related Consumer ConsumerConsumer Hack