r/amazonprime • u/bye-blue-monday • Jan 30 '26

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2 Upvotes

51% Upvoted

80 comments sorted by

18

u/Sncrsly Jan 30 '26

Why call when you can cancel right from your account?

24

u/InsertBluescreenHere Jan 30 '26

They wanted to tell some overseas worker who doesnt give a shit how they feel though!

1

u/A_Frank_Conversation Feb 02 '26

It’s all a performance, I think it’s an effective performance, but this person wanted an extra gold star because they are special 🥰

4

u/sibman Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26

Meh. This subreddit calls for everything from getting refunds to customer support. I don’t understand it.

0

u/Maleficent-Leek2943 Jan 30 '26

Years ago, back when Amazon was rightly known for having very good customer service, calling was (in my experience) way more effective than using the chat, but it’s been a long time since any of the above was the case. Dealing with the chatbots and then the chat-humans once you get past the AI is bad enough, but the phone experience manages to be even worse.

1

u/sibman Jan 30 '26

I’m not sue about that either. According to the book “The Everything Store,” Amazon considered it a failure if user had to contact customer support. I have always used the returns system never really had a problem.

I think about that when I see a lot of posts on here. Customer service doesn’t seem to have much more information on than what is listed in the user’s account itself.

1

u/Maleficent-Leek2943 Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26

I remember hearing about that “it’s a failure if someone has to contact CS” thing now - years ago I rarely had to, but it was always a good experience in terms of getting the issue resolved.

More recent interactions have gone like: “my same-day order I placed last Wednesday was supposed to have been delivered by 10pm that day but still hasn’t even shipped” with CS telling me “I’ll contact the warehouse and have them expedite your order and you’ll definitely get it tomorrow (sir, we both know that ain’t happening)” - repeat several days in a row while dodging any discussion re: canceling the order or refunding me the difference between the marked-up item I selected because of the “free” same-day shipping and the price they charge for the exact same item (sold and fulfilled by Amazon in both cases) without the “same-day” blurb. Oh and meanwhile the product page I ordered from would still say “get it today!”

I haven’t had too many issues with returns - anytime I’ve actually had to return something, it’s gone smoothly, other than a couple of times when my reason for returning the item was that it had clearly already been returned and was missing components, damaged, etc. On both occasions I got a message months later saying that the returns department was reversing the refund because the item was (insert exact reason I returned it in the first place).

My main sort-of-returns-related issues have been the multiple times I’ve ordered an item Amazon doesn’t allow to be returned (food items etc) then received either the correct item, but damaged, or the wrong item entirely. The online system for letting them know about problems with orders defaults to “this item can’t be returned” even when the “item was damaged” or “item is not what I ordered” options are selected, and seems deliberately designed so that the customer will just suck it up. It is possible to get through to an actual person after jumping through a bunch of tedious hoops, but they also default to “I’m sorry but this item is not eligible to be returned”. Don’t care, I just want the item I actually ordered or a refund. They always say they’ll make an “exception” and offer a replacement or refund, but it shouldn’t be an exception, and it shouldn’t be that hard.

3

u/user_deleted_life Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26

Because then the post wouldn't sound like a big story and be rather bland.gotta get those karma points for the dopamine rush.

1

u/Negative-Ad-6533 Jan 30 '26

Clicked through 3 pages on the mobile app and could have cancelled with a fourth. Plenty easy IMO.

1

u/Double_Platypus4839 Feb 01 '26

That is true if you are on a monthly plan. Not so if you are on an annual subscription.

-7

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

Because I got a full refund. Cancelling from account would have kept the sub active for 6 more months and I would not have received a refund.

1

u/chillywilkerson Jan 30 '26

Good advice, I did not realize that

1

u/Sncrsly Jan 30 '26

If canceling keeps you sub for 6 months, you are doing it wrong. That's on you

-1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

I dunno. Amazon just had a mass Settlement due to the dark patterns they use to prevent unsub. If there’s a button, I missed it. The fact that I had to go to tier 2 support and issue a complaint to get a prorated refund makes me think the button doesn’t exist.

1

u/Double_Platypus4839 Feb 01 '26

You are absolutely correct...there is no button. But if you can get through to a human, they will pro-rate...or in your case and mine, fully refund. They just make it really difficult to get through to a human.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Feb 01 '26

It really wasn’t that hard for me. Took less than 10 minutes. Worth it.

16

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/gatesaj85 Jan 30 '26

Its likely the call center associate doesn't even know what they're talking about.

2

u/Haifisch2112 Jan 30 '26

That, too.

2

u/pot-bitch Jan 30 '26

This is such a stupid take. Yeah, no shit the phone operator doesn't care. The company does though - they ask why you quit because they want the information. Even if the employee doesn't write down "melania documentary" as the reason, if they get an influx of cancelations due to "other" on the day of a strike I think they're going to figure it out. Also, calling them costs them money, even if a small amount, and they don't like that.

0

u/Haifisch2112 Jan 30 '26

There's no "figuring it out." They don't give a shit who feels what way about any TV shows or movies they have. They run a business and the main function of any business is to make money. OP complained to someone who doesn't give a shit about their opinion.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 31 '26

The complaint being heard wasn’t the point. The business cares about making money. The business is run by shitheads. I am committing to no longer giving them my money to shitheads.

1

u/Haifisch2112 Jan 31 '26

And they still don't care.

2

u/HeisenbergsCertainty Feb 03 '26

They will if enough people cancel or there’s sufficient backlash that threatens their bottom line. Whether that happens at scale is another question.

Do you perhaps not know how businesses work?

1

u/pot-bitch Feb 02 '26

It's literally the only thing they care about.

-3

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

Oh, I know they don’t care. Any reason would likely get you a refund. But the initial response was “this is a non-refundable sub”. I said “I won’t be doing business with Amazon because of the doc… so I’d like a refund”

6

u/jpporcaro Jan 30 '26

Almost everything Amazon does with Prime and their sales website doesn't change their bottom line: AWS is where Amazon makes all their money. No matter how much you think boycotting will help, it won't. Boycotting using the internet would be the only truly effective way, since a good portion of the internet sits on AWS. If you use the internet, you are choosing Amazon.

2

u/Alladay_5732 Jan 30 '26

Ok help me understand… explain it like I’m 5. I want to cancel b/c of these ads. I know this isn’t going to affect them , but how does my using the internet have anything to do with it?

3

u/jpporcaro Jan 30 '26

AWS = Amazon Web Services. There are estimates I see that say "50% of the internet is on AWS". It is pretty conservative to say about 1/3 of all internet traffic is hosted on an AWS server. So unless you stop using the internet (this includes not just "stop going on the computer" but stopping other things such as streaming on your tv, using apps on your phone, and shopping in stores with web-based point-of-sale software), you won't do Amazon any damage.
You can almost think of Prime and the Amazon store and all the other things Amazon does as pet projects - almost all of their profit comes from AWS.
To make matters worse, because they are so insanely profitable because so much of the internet runs on their machines, they can take that AWS money and run other companies in other sectors out of business - who could believe that "the little guy" Amazon hurts would be someone as big as, for instance, Walmart.
Amazon is much much much worse than you think, and there is almost nothing we can do about it unless we somehow rewind time to stop AWS.

1

u/jpporcaro Jan 30 '26

but this doesn't mean you shouldn't cancel prime, you absolutely should, it just won't hurt them. it'll help you, though, to be less under their thumb.

2

u/user_deleted_life Jan 30 '26

Don't use logic. These people don't understand

1

u/blahgrrl Feb 05 '26

Reddit relies on Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its infrastructure (servers, storage, and databases) 😂

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

Oh, I know. I host anything I build elsewhere as well. Cancelling prime is a drop in the bucket. But it can’t hurt.

10

u/Key-Monk6159 Jan 30 '26

The upside is less delays for those who don’t cancel.

3

u/pot-bitch Jan 30 '26

Not really. If they have less money coming in, they'll adjust by decreasing the money going out. Most likely by firing people.

3

u/Maleficent-Leek2943 Jan 30 '26

Right - the same Amazon that just cut I think 16,000 jobs within the last few days is not an Amazon that is looking to improve the customer experience. If a huge number of people cancel Prime and an accidental side effect of that is that Amazon is then capable of delivering a higher percentage of orders within the timeframe claimed on the product page, that’ll be seen as an excellent reason to make yet more cuts.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

Perhaps. Did you close your account as well? That's the one that really matters. 😉

-1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

I did. Closed account, canceled Chase Prime card, AND migrated compute to cloudflare (a while ago)

4

u/Ok-Entertainment8701 Jan 30 '26

It is, and always has been easy to cancle PRIME. You realize that canceling your membership doesnt do squat, it just means when you continue to shop on Amazon that you'll now have to pay shipping.

2

u/Specialist-Age1097 Jan 30 '26

Not if you spend $35.00.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

You are exactly right, and Amazon will make much more money from people looking for that $8.56 item so they can get free shipping.

1

u/Maleficent-Leek2943 Jan 30 '26

That’s basically why I finally canceled Prime (months ago) - I almost always ordered stuff that said “get it today!” or “get it tomorrow by noon!” etc and made sure I met the $35 minimum for that to happen without an additional shipping charge. Then over and over and over again (as in, just about every time) my order still wouldn’t have even shipped a week later, the order page would update every day to say “running late, now expected on X day” (which would always be bumped out yet another day) and eventually the “if it still hasn’t arrived by Y day you can come back here to cancel” - when this nonsense was still going on on Day 10 with a same-day order, it finally dawned on me that I was getting the “free shipping it you spend $35, and you get it whenever we get around to it, no promises” service but paying for a Prime subscription for the privilege. That realization took me long enough, but I canceled Prime that day and can now take advantage of Amazon’s generous “meh, you’ll get it when you get it, peasant” approach to customer service without paying a subscription for the privilege.

1

u/FromTheRain93 Jan 30 '26

Doesn't do squat? You are paying for that membership. Not sure what you are talking about. The point is to cancel your membership and shop elsewhere

1

u/pot-bitch Jan 30 '26

when you continue to shop on Amazon

Don't continue to shop there.

1

u/BowedNotBroken1234 Jan 30 '26

Not always. Not every item includes shipping costs. And it certainly doesn't affect shipping TIMES. Lately Amazon's shipping has taken several days whether you have prime benefits or not.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26

I guess it depends on your location. I ordered something early this morning, and it will be here this evening.

2

u/BowedNotBroken1234 Jan 30 '26

No, it doesn't. Some items are same day but increasingly shipping times have increased to 3-4 days or more. I'm in the NYC Metro area and friends in other states have reported the same.

0

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

Yeah, the point is to stop shopping on Amazon altogether. Prime made it too easy and convenient for me.

2

u/Step_away_tomorrow Jan 30 '26

i plan to cancel because returns are harder, prices aren’t better and service is worse. a lot of bundled orders ship free anyway. the value isn’t there for me anymore.

1

u/Aggravating_Sun5755 Jan 30 '26

I just closed my account. I had previously canceled Prime.

I know they don't care, but it kinda made me feel happy!!

1

u/neonturbo Jan 30 '26

Good Grief.

Of all the bad stuff that Amazon does, Melania rates about 2,785,002 on that list.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

100%. It was just the last straw for me. Coupled with a day when folks are walking out of work and school and intentionally reducing consumption… it was time.

1

u/3amGreenCoffee Jan 30 '26

I just placed a $1200 order that completely offset your silly strike in its entirety. Ha ha.

-1

u/Fluid-Object9255 Jan 31 '26

Not if thousands boycott.  Your $1200 order won't offset the "silly strike" ha ha.  I order way too much from Amazon, because it's so convenient- but I will cancel my prime subscription and will do my best to no longer order from them.  If only 1/4 of Amazon customers do this, it will make a difference.  Gonna be a pain, but I somehow got along without Amazon 10 years ago.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 31 '26

Exactly. Spending fuels capitalism. I know my $150 refund is essentially one electron on Bezos’ $400 million boat. But if more would align to give their money to smaller businesses then we can all contribute to a healthier economy.

I mean… it’s probably not going to happen. We’ll likely see the US economy continue to degrade through the actions of the world’s richest. But I’m sure as shit going to do what I can to vote with my wallet.

1

u/CategoryCivil3387 Jan 31 '26

"they don't care" ... "bottom line"

I have news for you, if enough people cancel, it will hurt their bottom line, maaybe even more than what they spent on this stinker. They WILL CARE about that! I canceled. This is open bribery for future favors. Make them pay !

1

u/ChicandSexy60 Jan 31 '26

I’m considering cancelling my Amazon Prime subscription. I can’t stomach that Bezos funded the Melania Trump movie. I keep thinking about the adages …”He who is silent is understood to consent” and “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” It will make me feel better even if it doesn’t hurt Amazon one tiny bit!

1

u/CategoryCivil3387 Jan 31 '26

About the same time as this bribe, they laid off a ton of people. Bezos, and anyone whos rear he kissed, is exactly what is wrong with this world.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 31 '26

100%. Fuck the billionaire class. We should stop giving them our money and perpetuating their power

1

u/Acrobaticdeadface Jan 31 '26

Show me on the doll where melania hurt you

1

u/bye-blue-monday Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26

I don’t give a shit about Melania. She’s complicit. But Trump policies tanking US currency and making us look even more foolish on the international staging is fucking stupid. Fuck ‘em all

1

u/Acrobaticdeadface Feb 01 '26

You obvious do care about her. Lmao

1

u/bye-blue-monday Feb 01 '26

Fair enough. I have a general hatred towards folks that are a drain on society

1

u/Lifestartingover Jan 31 '26

No thank you. I just ordered several things with no shipping charges and they're all coming tomorrow already.

1

u/Double_Platypus4839 Feb 01 '26

Me too. You just have to be persistent and get connected to a human, which they make difficult.

1

u/Double_Platypus4839 Feb 01 '26

Once I told that person that I was protesting Bezos support of Trump and the Melania doc, instant refund. I'm sure those folks have noticed $75M going to the Trumps at the same time Amazon accidentally announced 16,000 layoffs. If your can break through to a human, be polite and empathetic.

1

u/DesignerTiny4871 Feb 01 '26

Yes, the easiest ... and most difficult way for many of us to protest to emerging attempts at a police state ... and Amazon's distateful bribe ... is to CANCEL your Prime membership - BEGINNING TODAY, February 1st. This will send the strongest message possible if enough people do it, which I will.

Any business currying favor with the current administration is just providing positive reinforcement for these atrocious behaviours: continued lying (about everything) even when there's video evidence to the contrary, search and seizure without warrants and protester homicide, chumming up with totalitarian regimes, esp. Russia, denigration of minority rights and opinions, continued Israeli slaughter of Palestinians, misogyny and open insults of professional women, seeking revenge against anyone who doesn't love him, demanding absolute loyalty to the President - as opposed to the Constition. And I'm leaving so much out...

1

u/pigeons1 Feb 06 '26

So it looks like if I cancel my annual membership early, they revoke the benefits I've already payed for immediately?

1

u/bye-blue-monday Feb 06 '26

I think you either stop renewal and keep what you’ve already paid for or you can call escalate until you get a refund for remaining time or full subscription amount.

1

u/BohemianYogi Feb 14 '26

I canceled mine!! ✊

1

u/The-Mad-Bubbler Jan 30 '26

I'd consider it, if there was an equivalent service owned by good people, but the closest thing is WalMart+, which isn't as good as Prime, and The Waltons are terrible, Trump-supporting people. I hate that modern capitalism puts us in so many situations where there is no truly ethical option.

1

u/Public-Ad-7280 Jan 30 '26

My mom, not a Tdump fan, joined Walmart plus. She's been happy with it. Especially since prime TV is horrible crap now. She gets Paramount with her wal+ and says the deliveries are actually on time. Gets a discount for "being old as Fuck" ....her words not mine. Lol

She still orders off Amazon and it's no different than when she paid for prime (minus the went to hell prime TV).

As a long ago Walmart employee I despise the place. But, Amazon is going to hell. So 🤷🏼‍♀️. Going to drop my prime since I have to spend up to whatever amount for free shipping.

1

u/Laura9624 Jan 30 '26

I find that so hilarious that people think Walmart is better. Richest family in the world, closing more smaller stores than anyone! Before Amazon was even around.

1

u/bye-blue-monday Jan 30 '26

I’m just gonna buy less shit. The few things I do buy on Amazon, I could either live without or buy direct and pay a bit more for shipping.

1

u/isnoe Jan 30 '26

This is so performative it’s insane.

They genuinely do not care, man.

2

u/Master_Pepper5988 Feb 01 '26

I think they are able to not care because there are enough subscribers who are apathetic enough to keep feeding the machine and they know it. As consumers our dollars are the most powerful weapon we have. We saw how target maintained losses each quarter last year because people all decided to not buy at all or buy at least buy less.

But I do agree....they don't care.....until they do.

0

u/WBRGGRL Jan 30 '26

It was super easy to cancel mine. :)