https://joe-steel.com/2023-12-27-So-You-Just-Found-Out-Amazon-Is-Greedy.html
People seem super surprised by the Prime Video ads for some reason.
In other news, I - a humble frog - am shocked about the behavior of this scorpion that told me it would sting me months ago.
@joesteel Counterpoint:
Over the last two or three years, Amazon has hiked my prices multiple times, enshitified my Fire TV both with ever increasing and invasive ads and with massively degraded UI performance... and now they are adding ads to something I already pay them for.
It's over.
Starting Jan 29th, I will cancel my Prime membership, replace my TV, and buy from retailers that can often match or beat Amazon with same day pickup.
Bonus points if I get to tell them why I canceled.
@Ragashingo @joesteel Not to mention that Amazon is expected to replace FireOS with a more controllable in-house OS next year.
@joesteel As someone that used Prime when it consisted solely of shipping, I feel like I was driven out of it by the price increase and the addition of all the stuff I didn’t use. And then I learned that shipping was still fast enough for my purposes, so I see no reason to return. (Yes, I realize that everyone else’s Prime memberships are subsidizing my shipping.)
@joesteel What next? A kindle that shows you ads whenever it’s idle?!
@joesteel Seriosuly though: Thank you for this. Well said, all around.
I saw someone post elsewhere on mastodon that they wished Amazon had just raised the prime price instead, which is just a bizarre reaction that presumes everyone has the exact same priorities as you.
@joesteel Great article, Joe. Here is a list of points I disagree on:
1.
@joesteel When Amazon announced this a few months ago, it made me step back and figure out if Prime membership was still worth it. It wasn't, so after February 2024 (when it would have renewed) it will be gone. Mind you, I have been pretty ruthless at cutting out services and subscriptions over the last year or thereabouts, so Amazon is just the latest casualty for me.