How I left Amazon Prime and managed to survive

I gave up Prime. And that’s fine.

This makes me a freak. Nearly 98 percent of Americans who are members of the Amazon shopping club for at least a couple of years they keep renewing their membership. Prime is one of the toughest consumer products in America.

I was a Prime member for almost three years until I stopped renewing my membership in 2019. My friends and colleagues are often surprised when I tell them this. But do not worry. I’ll be fine.

This does not mean that I live without buying on Amazon. Let me tell you something: you’re allowed to order from the website without being a Prime member, though it takes a little more planning to get orders delivered free of shipping.

Why am I revealing my buying habits to strangers? Each of our personal experiences is a way of reflecting on whether we stick with Prime out of love or out of habit. In my case, once I questioned the value I was getting from the subscription, it was pretty easy to opt out.

This is not advice to get you off Prime. You do your thing. Also, my experience is not representative. I have no children and live in New York, where many things I might need in a hurry—a roll of aluminum foil or a new phone charger—are often within walking distance.

I know that many Americans live far from stores, have caregiving responsibilities, live with disabilities, or have other circumstances that don’t give them as much flexibility to shop.

More than 300 readers wrote to On Tech about Prime and many said they felt they were getting more than their money’s worth for the convenience, reliable shipping and other Prime benefits.

“I got my Prime membership when my husband was sick and I was taking care of him,” wrote a reader in Carol Stream, Illinois. “I couldn’t go shopping and this was perfect for me.”

I was quite late to Prime. I signed up in 2015, I think because I was moving and evaluating entertainment streaming services. I signed up primarily for Amazon’s Prime Video service and thought the option to have faster shipping at no additional cost was a plus. (I hope my memory doesn’t fail me. I can’t quite remember what my brain was like in 2015.)

In surveys, the majority of Prime members say that free shipping is the main reason they signed up and kept the service. Many On Tech readers said, like me, that Prime Video helped make membership worthwhile.

I bought more on Amazon during the first few years I was a member. This is typical behavior for Prime members. But, over time, I discovered that I was ordering less.

It was time for my renewal and I just shrugged and stopped paying. That changed my behavior. In 2020 and the first few months of 2021, when online shopping skyrocketed as many people tried to avoid going to stores, my order history shows that I didn’t buy anything for myself on Amazon apart from a few e-books for my reading device Kindle.

I frequently shopped online at Walmart, Target, and other websites. I shopped locally, in part because I didn’t want Amazon and other giant retailers to be the only ones left after the pandemic. Not feeling like I needed to get value out of a Prime membership, Amazon was just one more option rather than the only store I considered.

For me, shopping online now requires more patience. I keep a list on my phone of things I might need and order multiple items at once to meet the minimum order amounts in order to receive free shipping from Amazon and other websites. (An Amazon order over $25 often qualifies for free delivery.)

The list right now includes a nonstick pan, light bulbs, a toilet brush, puzzles, and a pair of headphones. My life is very exciting, yes. I may not receive the package in a couple of days, but that’s ok with me.

I think I also buy less stuff without being a Prime member because it’s not as easy to get an impulse buy from my couch. Some On Tech readers said they had the same experience.

The real magic of Amazon and particularly Prime is that they take the thought out of shopping. Prime members tend to go to Amazon without much thought, and that mostly works out very well for them and the company. For me, not having Prime makes me pause for a minute before buying. And that’s perfect. (I)

Shira Ovide