I didn't get a reduced annual rate, but I do find the shipping alone to be worth the fee. That said, I'm becoming a bit disillusioned with the quality of their merchandise. I'm noticing more and more cheap foreign copies, counterfeits, and junk crowding out the quality stuff. Additionally, you have to be very careful about ordering items not fulfilled by Amazon. Finally, the product descriptions are often brief or even incorrect, forcing you to read up on the item elsewhere. Most reviews are total garbage (I've literally seen negative reviews for reasons not at all related to the product itself). You have to know what you're buying and why before you order it from Amazon because you can't rely on them to provide decent info.
When Alibaba first came on the scene, I wondered how they were going to compete against Amazon since the former mostly sold cheap Chinese junk and copies. What I didn't expect was for Amazon to stoop to their level.
Chris
I was thinking of writing a complaint similar to yours, but you got all my points in.
One of my biggest gripes is that I used to pretty confidently use Amazon reviews when buying stuff there (or even on other sites). But man, Amazon user reviews have gone to *expletive deleted*it. I'm thinking at least half the "verified" reviews are 12 year old Chinese kids writing them during their lunch break at the sweatshop. When I see something at Amazon that I want, I've actualyl been doing the opposite now and going elsewhere looking for verification reviews.
I don't trust the "Amazon bestseller" thing anymore either. I'm wondering if Bezos is taking kickbacks from Chinese knockoff companies to feature their goods.
Obviously I'm still using Amazon a lot, but as they've gotten humongous, I've been more careful about "click and buy". I'm actually starting to gripe lately about the Amazon music service and player as well.
But yeah, given all my complaints, paying the annual Prime rate, at least for now, is still worthwhile with shipping alone.
