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September 15, 2006
amazon prime
Ten years ago, Amazon was the coolest thing on the planet. They were small. They were local. I'd go to their site on a Monday morning and order a book, and often it was on my doorstep Tuesday.
And then they grew. And then they sucked. Unless I was willing to pay a premium, it soon took more than a week for that book to get to me.
When I moved to Metamuville, I became vastly more dependent on online orders. No shipping charge would exceed what it'd pay for me to drive to and around town every time I needed, say, a pot rack.
So. My UPS guy's name is Matt. He's recently divorced and is trying to get custody of his kid. What's your UPS guy's name?
Which brings us to Amazon Prime, an offering that makes Amazon cool again. You pay $79 a year. For that, you get unlimited two-day shipping on almost everything you order. I'm saving a fortune in shipping, I'm getting my stuff a week sooner, and I'm no longer consolidating orders like I was. You can even use the two-day shipping to send someone else an order or pay $3.99 to upgrade to overnight shipping.
Where did this coolness come from? What's next, Microsoft shipping an operating system that doesn't pester me to death with messages?
posted by john at 10:05 AM • permalink