An Open Letter To Jeff Bezos: Please Stop Pissing Off People Over Amazon Prime
from the pretty-pretty-pretty-please dept
Dear Jeff Bezos,Back in May, we tried to alert you to a serious customer service problem that your company is facing concerning the way you are marketing Amazon Prime. You have a promotion that offers to let people try the program for a month "for free." What's in the fine print is that at the conclusion of this month, if people do not specifically opt-out, then they will automatically be signed up and charged the yearly fee of $79. I'm sure it's a good deal. While I, personally, do not use Amazon Prime, I have some friends who do and they seem to like it just fine.
However, it's become quite clear that many people are not happy with this program -- and that's because it was never made clear to them that they had to opt-out of the program after trying it for a month. Those people receive credit card statements with a surprise charge for $79 for "AMZ*Prime." Many of the folks who receive this charge clearly do not recognize that it is for Amazon Prime. Instead, they go to Google and do a Google search for "AMZ*Prime". The first result happens to point to the story that I wrote in February of 2005 about the launch of Amazon Prime. In the comments to that post there are a number of people who are venting about how they don't remember signing up for Amazon Prime and are pissed off. Those comments keep coming in.
The real problem, though, is that too many people are doing this Google search and are then blaming us, the nice folks at Techdirt, for charging their credit cards for $79. We have been receiving a regular stream of emails and phone calls from people demanding that we refund them their $79, which we never charged them for in the first place. In the last month, despite our earlier pleas to Amazon, the pace of such complaints has only increased. It has become something of a nuisance. We feel bad for these people, though we don't have the time to respond to them all and point them to your own, quite difficult to find, phone number. I realize that you certainly shouldn't be held responsible for people's inability to understand the difference between a blog post about a program and the company running the program itself. However, is it really necessary to use such a scammy technique to sign up people? If you really are offering something of value (and, clearly, some people believe that you are), why not just let people opt-in to the program, rather than telling them you're giving them something for free and then forcing them to opt-out? I think we'd all be better off. I know it must be great to be able to show all those $79 charges to the folks on Wall Street -- but it would be a lot more convincing if it were from people who actually wanted to give you that money.
Thanks,
Mike Masnick
CEO, Techdirt, Inc.
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Filed Under: amazon prime
Companies: amazon, techdirt
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Useful information on how to cancel the charge
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Why should you not be charge if you stay in?
What the issue you want Amazon to email every asking if they really wanted to sign up?
You are a big boy if after 30 days it up to you to opt out. Most companies offer 14 days or 30 days trials and after that you are charge unless you cancel.
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Re:
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Why is this surprising?
Beside, I like Amazon Prime a lot. I have used it for years and think it is completely worth the money. If you are really getting harassed by all these people, why not put in BIG read letters at the top of this post: "This is NOT Amazon. If you want to cancel your Amazon Prime subscription, contact yada yada yada"
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Stop whining.
I signed up for the Prime trial when it first began, and it was made *very* clear that I could opt out at any time, but if I did not then I would be billed at the end of 30 days. Amazon even emailed me prior to the trial end as a reminder. Amazon has emailed me every year prior to the renewal, and I have renewed it once already - and will renew again next year.
In short - stop whining. This has been an embarrassing article written by someone who obviously never tried the Prime membership. Amazon has been the best company I've ever dealt with - and I've used their customer service as a measuring stick to measure other companies.
I actually wouldn't blame them for hiding their contact number if it is these types of morons calling them day in and out.
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If they can't tell the difference ...
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"When your trial membership ends, it will be automatically upgraded to a 12-month membership for $79. You will have the opportunity to opt out of the automatic upgrade before the trial ends. You can opt out of the upgrade, change your payment method for the upgrade, and perform other administrative tasks for your Amazon Prime membership in Your Account:
http://www.amazon.com/your-account"
How amazingly deceptive!?! BS. Amazon let me know ahead of accepting the offer and let me know after accepting the offer. They even provided a link directly to my account after telling me how to stop the charge.
And you know what? I even forgot to cancel after 30 days, saw the charge on day 31, requested to cancel and got a complete refund--no hassles, no questions.
You have written about this before and I really do not get your angle on this--except for you are tired of idiots thinking you are Amazon. Amazon does not force you into Prime, they offer you a trial. It is entirely your choice to accept the trial or not. Once you accept, they CLEARLY tell you you have 30 days free or you will be charged.
I'm all for attacking companies when they practice underhanded marketing and most of the companies you criticize I am right there with you--including Amazon for other reasons. But I strongly disagree that this is the case with the current sign-up process for Amazon Prime.
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Re: Re:
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Re: Stop whining.
I agree. I have only once had a problem with a product and they sent me a new one right away (overnight) without even waiting for the defective product to be returned.
And they really stand by Amazon Prime too. I ordered a playhouse for my niece which weighed upwards of 200-pounds and I still got free shipping and I got the product delivered in 2-days. Try and find that deal anywhere else.
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People are stupid.
As for people thinking Techdirt is charging them? Well, fuck them. How stupid are you if you are getting a charge that says "Amazon Prime"... which you knowingly trialled at Amazon . . . and then you assume any random top google result for the words "amazon prime" must therefore be the people charging you?!
As for Amazon Prime itself. Man, what a great service. I was able to order a microwave and it arrived 48 hours later. No shipping fee (it was included in Prime). I ordered a Kitchen-Aide stand mixer. Very heavy. Arrived 48 hours later for no shipping fee. I buy gifts for family and friends and have it shipped directly to them, without having to worry that I'm going to pay $10 shipping for a $20 gift. Hell, I have even purchased a $3.00 roll of duct tape and it arrived 48 hours later with no shipping fee. How awesome is that?!
Amazon Prime is so useful (for me, at least) that I often won't even consider an item if it doesn't include Prime shipping. I just wish there was a simple way that you could filter all non-Prime products out of your results (the greasemonkey scripts people have written don't seem to actually work).
Of course, if you don't spend much at Amazon, then the $80 subscription probably isn't very useful for you. Since I have probably spent $20,000 at Amazon in the last six years, the $80 annual feel for expedited and free or cheap shipping service is great. I would shop with them a lot less if they took away this service.
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Re: Why should you not be charge if you stay in?
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Re:
Obviously you have never signed up for the trial because Amazon DOES send you an email, a couple in fact, letting you know you will be charged unless you opt-out.
When you post about something you know nothing about you look like an idiot.
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The answer to many of these problems is
Pass the 3rd grade and read.
If they shove something under your nose and say you must agree and sign, then you make them wait while you read.
Read, it is the only defense against stupidity and ignorance.
read.
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Re:
I agree that they say so, but clearly many, many, many people do not read this.
I'm all for attacking companies when they practice underhanded marketing and most of the companies you criticize I am right there with you--including Amazon for other reasons. But I strongly disagree that this is the case with the current sign-up process for Amazon Prime.
See how you would feel if all the complaints were coming to you. When you are getting as many as we get, you begin to realize that there *clearly* are a lot of people who are confused by this. You say that they shouldn't be -- and I may agree with that. However, you're not the one dealing with all the angry complaints. We are. :) So I can say with great certainty that no matter how much people *should* know about this, many do not. And that's something that Amazon should be aware of. Hence this post.
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Me too
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People need to read
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Open Letter to Mike
A get a life.
Insincerely,
Your mom
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Re: Mike
Look - I understand that it can be frustrating to have all these angry strangers emailing you because of their own stupidity... but let us look at the common denominator:
These people didn't 'read' the "fine print"
These people didn't 'read' the 2 reminder emails to cancel
Why not write an "open letter to morons who don't read" instead of using words such as "scammy" and "sleazy" to describe a company whose practice - even if you don't agree with it - is the least obtrusive and most straight-forward I've ever seen.
I dislike companies who sign you up for free trials without your knowledge. Amazon however requires a multi-step process to sign up for this trial. They provide you all the information you require in order to learn cost, savings.
The fact that reading comprehension and understanding of what the word "trial" and "opt-out" means is not Amazon's fault.
If anything it says that they have some stupid customers mixed in with the good - and these stupid customers know how to use email.
Why not put your open letter to morons at the top of the old post in question?
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Re: Re:
So, basically you are whining and blaming Amazon without doing anything on your website or in your posts to help redirect people and maybe stop the complaints for coming in.
It seems like you want Amazon to save you, but how do you expect them to do that? They send emails (CLEAR emails mind you) and it is not that hard to find their number, again on the emails or their website, to call them if they have problems. Save Amazon canceling Amazon Prime program or sending each recipient a singing telegram towards the end of their trial period, what do you expect them to do?
You are way off base here Mike and this post makes you sound like whiner and not anyone willing to do anything to help the situation.
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Re: People need to read
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I'm slipping!
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Fanboys
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Re: Why should you not be charge if you stay in?
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How many complaints?
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Trial
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amazon prime
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no way, fine print?
But I'm one of those weirdos that read stuff.
And seriously, what "free month" offer ever comes with an "opt-in" clause.
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this is taken from MiB
Jay: Why the big secret? People are smart, they can handle it.
Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.
the masses will go where they are told...heck, i was a victim of one of these "scams" i signed up for a free cupon, but ended up paying god knows how much before really noticing it on my bank statement.
but on the agreement it said you will be billed....
so, this is legal, but it isn't the best way of doing business.
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Wow
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opt-out = unfair
I support this open letter, Mike. ^_^
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Re: Fanboys
I'm not trying to suggest that Jeff Bezos' tears cure cancer. What I am suggesting is that this is an irresponsible blog post by tech dirt and it comes across as petty and whiny.
As an everyday visitor of both websites, I'd like to make that opinion known.
How about an open letter apology?
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Re: opt-out = unfair
You support letters from CEOs whining that they are not getting their way? There were better ways to word this letter than falling back to name calling.
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Re: opt-out = unfair
Amazon doesn't just randomly start charging you. Stop whining.
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Enough complaining
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Awwwwwwww
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Prime = :)
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Whiners whining about "whining"
Something tells me that the whiners here complain bitterly if telemarketing calls them instead of someone else.
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Waste of money
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Gimme back my money
:)
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Prime not so tricky
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Suggested Mail Filter
or [(Body) contains ($79.00 charge)] then
[move to (Trash)]
[send reply:
]
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Mike Masnick
CEO, Techdirt, Inc.
How dumb can you get?
If the telephone information is not available. Post it on your web site by your e-mail address.
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Re: Suggested Mail Filter
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Re: Whiners whining about "whining"
Idiot: "Hey, a free trial for Amazon Prime! Awww... I don't wanna read two paragraphs... *click click click*"
30 Days Later...
Idiot: "Hey, my credit card got charged $79.00 for something called AMZ*PRIME... I don't know what that is! I'll tap it into Google!... AH HAH I FOUND TEH CULPRIT! Gimme back my money!"
The process of Amazon prime:
1. Amazon offers you a 30 day trial of Amazon Prime. You are under no obligation to enter this trial - and if you do enter you are given about 2 paragraphs of text to read which tells you that if you do not cancel the trial you will be billed at the end of the month.
2. Amazon emails you at least twice during this 30 days to remind you to cancel if you do not want to be charged.
3. If you wait until after the 30 days and are charged - you can contact Amazon and 10 times out of 10 they will reverse the charge and you won't be billed.
Morons who refuse to read, then end up getting charged, and don't know what in the hell they signed up for should not be allowed to have a credit card.
They are the reason we have high APR's on cards. Because of idiots.
Stop whining.
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Wow huge discounts? For free!? Sign me up!
That's how a trial works people. You sign up for something, and if you don't like it, you sent it back or cancel it. If you don't send it back and you don't cancel it, you're saying "I like it - go ahead and bill me." As mentioned previously, this is commonplace, and by comparison with some companies I've dealt with, not the least bit scammy. Ever tried to cancel a Rhapsody subscription?
I would hope most of the readers of TechDirt are savvy enough to pick up on this - and the people that are googling into TechDirt aren't regular readers. I think the next article should be "An Open letter to dumb internet users: Not EVERYTHING on the internet is free. Read what you're signing up for." Not quite as catchy, but you get the idea.
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Re: Fanboys
Amazon's not perfect, but they don't deserve the flak they're catching for this service.
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I really don't think you've thought this through
I went ahead and placed my order, but noticed I was still being charged for shipping. I quickly canceled that order and went back to where the FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING tag was, and read the whole note. It said if I were to sign up for AMAZON PRIME that I would get FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING. At first I thought, "no way in hell" but then I kept reading, it really wasn't a very long note after all, and it said right there in plain every day language, that I could OPT-OUT by changing my ACCOUNT Options the very next day, but I would still get the advantages of AMAZON PRIME for a complete month.
Now I understand that some people don't take time to read what you say is "fine print", and usually I'm one of those people, but this wasn't "FINE PRINT", this was actually right there on the same page that explained why I would received FREE SHIPPING and what I could do to OPT-OUT.
You are supposed to be responsible for your actions, and that means that you need to read, even the FINE PRINT, or you can be signing up for just about anything. Now, I can understand if there was no notice about how to opt-out of Amazon Prime, but from my personal experience, there was sufficient notice and not only did they allow me to opt-out, but they even allowed me to stay an Amazon Prime customer for a month, for nothing. Adults especially need to recognize that they are responsible for their actions, and even if something is "hidden" in the fine print, they need to read it all, or take their lumps for not reading it all.
I know this "letter" only deals with Amazon, but let's not be fooled into thinking that Amazon is the ONLY company that "hides" items in the fine print. Just about every single company has so called deals just like this, and are far worse then Amazon about hiding the details. From what I went through myself, I can say Amazon didn't hide the opt-out message, and I was quite surprised by this in fact. So really, I think you need to look a little bit closer at Amazon, and compare them with other companies, and you will see Amazon isn't the evil you pretend them to be. Not only that, but you should also recognize the fact that we are adults and as adults we have to be responsible for signing anything. I could understand and even empathize with you if this was one of those times when Amazon actually never said how to opt-out, or even offered you a link explaining the whole situation, then I would be right there with you. That just isn't the case though, at least not for me, therefore, I say, you got it wrong, Amazon isn't hiding things in fine print, and even if they did, you have the responsibility to read that fine print, since you are agreeing to it. Just like you read those contracts you sign for buying a house, or a car, or even that employment contract you negotiated.
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M Cooper
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Amazon Prime
I got a second month free when I guess they relaunched it. Then I forgot to opt out but have ended up enjoying it.
My boyfriend signed up for a free month, when it got close, he went to the site, went to the tab and all he had to do was click one button and he was done.
No hassles, easy to do!
Therefore I think I side with Amazon on this...people need to learn to read the fine print and not blame others when they forget to cancel.
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Hey, it works for porn...
This business model (opt-in) seems to work fine for the porn sites. Not that have actual experience with 'those' sites!
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@ E!
It was made clear to me too when I joined and I'm NOT one those weirdos that read stuff ... but I am a weirdo.
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Well...
And besides he could just do the "Amercian thing" and sued Amazon for irreparable damages caused by blah, blah, blah....copyright infringment (I think all lawsuits must include copyright infringment these days)....blah....
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Canceling Prime is easy
It sure was really easy for me.
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Re: Well...
Actually, you are wrong. Since TechDirt wrote an opinion article on Amazon and happened to get slammed with dumb comments, it is technically their fault for posting the story in the first place.
It is not like Amazon forced them to publish the story, although I am sure TechDirt regrets it now.
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Re: M Cooper
Honestly - Tech Dirt's CEO could solve his problem without whining and coming across as a spoiled brat - name-calling because he isn't getting his way. Calling Amazon "scammy" or "sleazy" is uncalled for. I am pointing out that it is not Amazon's fault.
It is the moronic people who email Techdirt because they forgot what they signed up for and ignored all of the times they were told to cancel if they don't want to get charged.
Where do you disagree?
Amazon isn't to blame here. It is the fact that some people apparently were given credit cards after flunking high school.
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NOT AMAZON
Just kidding, I thought that thread with all the dumbasses demanding techdirt refund money that amazon took from them was one of the funniest threads on the internets lately. It shows how dumb people can be. Having worked a tech support hotline for 5 years, I know just how truely stupid people can be. Like, how the hell did these people tie their shoes in the morning, let alone log on to the web and order from Amazon?
These people should have full time babysitters. Or, not allowed to own/use any technology more advanced than a microwave oven.
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An Open Letter To Jeff Bezos
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The reason why it is so successful is that a high percentage (I can't remember the exact %) of people "forget" to opt-out. So basically, their credit card is automatically dinged each month. In turn, the percentage of chargebacks are small.
The sucker punch is that people are legally bound to pay!!! Anyway this scam is very profitable because it takes advantage of peoples stupidity - not reading the fine print.
If Amazon really wants to keep their members then they should add a feature whereby the member is notified at least a week before the billing date ;)
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Amazon Prime is a normal subscription
Why should Amazon be the first one to offer non-recuring free subscriptions... in fact, I don't think I'd even call that a subscription. That's just free stuff handed out to consumers.
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Re: Re: Well...
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M Cooper
Techdirt has a legit complaint, they made a news post about Amazon ripping off customers with the old opt-out scheme, and they get morons harrassing them about it. If Amazon would like to pay Techdirt to be their support, then fine, but I highly doubt Amazon is paying Mike.
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lame
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they were asking for it
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Re: M Cooper
Amazon has an 'opt-IN' trial. You are given a two paragraph synopsis that tells you that you have enrolled in Amazon Prime - and the first 30 days are free. If you do not like the service you have the first 30 days to opt-OUT and you are reminded via two emails during this period that you need to cancel (via a 2-click process) if you do not want to be billed.
There is nothing confusing about the process. The people Tech Dirt is complaining about - and honestly I believe that it is a small number of folks and Mike just wanted to blow off steam and "stick it to the man" while driving up his ad views - are people who apparently cannot read and just click through everything.
Amazon doesn't give you a 500 page EULA like Software companies do. Amazon doesn't sign you up for something without your knowledge.
It requires full user participation and agreement to even get INTO the free trial - and it requires basic reading comprehension to get OUT of the free trial.
No I don't work support for any corporation. Just someone who does deal in business matters - and if my CEO was *whining* like Mike I'd sell off all my stock.
Honestly - if the people are so damn stupid that they cannot remember where Amazon.com is located (hint: type Amazon.com into your address bar and hit enter) - they aren't going to be receptive to anything Amazon does - even if they have flashing banners saying "HEY BUDDY - YOU ARE GONNA BE CHARGED NOW!"
Amazon doesn't make it hard to get out of the trial. Go to your account section, click "prime", click "do not renew", click "save".
Amazon.com - and you're done.
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Re: Re: M Cooper
That said, you are being a complete and total dick in all of your posts, i.e. "Stop whining" and "coming across as a spoiled brat"
I don't see how anything in the original post was "whining" or "spoiled". They are simply arguing that Amazon is not doing a good enough job at informing its customers about the policy, and suggesting that the opt-out approach is not the best one. That hardly seems like whining. In fact, your overly-vehement and spiteful defense of Amazon is coming across as far more childish and trollish than anything else in this thread.
You've made your point. Several times, over and over. Now please: Stop trolling.
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Re: Re: Re: M Cooper
The way Amazon prime works is misrepresented, and the author himself admits to not trying the program.
You argue that Amazon is failing in informing customers about the way it works. I've pointed out how ludicrous that argument is - and the fact remains:
Customers aren't even going to Amazon to complain. They are typing into Google and complaining to the first result which is obviously not the company involved with Amazon Prime.
If they are this brain-dead, ignoring two emails from Amazon.com reminding them to cancel, ignoring the signup process which informs them specifically in 2 paragraphs - not even "fine print" - these people are the problem.
Mike Masnick should apologize to Amazon for misrepresenting the way the program works, and clarifying that it is idiots who are issued credit cards who are the problem.
Beyond that - he should automate his email to filter it out. It takes about 30 seconds, and since he is the head of a big tech guru company I'm sure using basic functionality of Outlook should be within his grasp.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: M Cooper
I'm not sure why you think I somehow lied here. The fact remains, despite your insistence that Amazon has clearly informed people, that an awful lot of people disagree. Otherwise, they wouldn't be confused and they wouldn't be contacting us. Who am I to believe? All the people who ARE confused and are contacting us on a regular basis, or the single datapoint of you, who thinks everything's peachy?
The point of my post was to *let Amazon know* that they have a problem. That problem is that many, many, many people do not understand the terms of the deal as presented. The fact that you did, and that others have as well doesn't make a difference on that point. Amazon has pissed off a lot of people, and since many of them are coming to us, Amazon doesn't know that.
The point of this letter was to inform them of those pissed off customers. If I were Amazon, I'd want to know that, and I'd want to do everything possible to avoid pissing those people off. You, obviously, have a different opinion -- which is your right.
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Re: M Cooper
"You have a promotion that offers to let people try the program for a month "for free." What's in the fine print is that at the conclusion of this month, if people do not specifically opt-out, then they will automatically be signed up and charged the yearly fee of $79."
There is no fine print. It is stated plainly that you can sign up for Amazon Prime. The first month is free. If you do not wish to enroll for the year - you simply go to your account and turn off the renewal. There is no underhanded behavior here.
"However, it's become quite clear that many people are not happy with this program -- and that's because it was never made clear to them that they had to opt-out of the program after trying it for a month."
If you bothered to try it out, and as I and others have pointed out, Amazon lets you know during the signup process - and it isn't hidden in a bunch of legalese. It is spelled out very plainly in about two paragraphs.
Further - Amazon also emails you *twice* during this month to turn off your renewal if you were not satisfied with the program, and you will not be billed. To suggest that Amazon has a problem is ludicrous - because obviously these people are so stupid that they do not remember signing up for Prime in the first place, and don't even have an idea who to complain to.
Your open letter should have been addressed to people who cannot read. Amazon should not be responsible for testing the education level of those signing up for prime - but perhaps credit card companies should.
"However, is it really necessary to use such a scammy technique to sign up people?"
Despite the fact that "scammy" is not a word - to scam someone involves some sort of legal culpability. You have to be doing something illegal.
Amazon is not - and as a matter of fact, they are very open about what the "opt-in" and "opt-out" trial for Amazon prime is about. It isn't even anything resembling underhanded.
You sign up for Prime, the first 30 days or free, cancel immediately and you can still use the 30 days of Amazon prime.
How many other companies would do this? You could cost them thousands of dollars in shipping within that 30 days were you of a mind to do so, and they still leave it open.
"If you really are offering something of value (and, clearly, some people believe that you are), why not just let people opt-in to the program, rather than telling them you're giving them something for free and then forcing them to opt-out?"
People *do* have to opt-in. People aren't misrepresented that "hey - you are getting 30 days free to do nothing." As has been pointed out multiple times - Amazon reminds you - both when signing up and through email (twice) to turn it off if you do not wish to renew.
Your insinuation that they are doing something underhanded is uncalled for, and I believe you owe Jeff Bezos an apology - considering your entire article is ignorant of the most basic facts.
And I'm just an Amazon customer, and I know these things just because I've done business with them for 2 years, and I actually signed up for a Prime trial (unlike yourself) and am aware of how it works.
If I wanted to cancel Prime right now - it is literally a few clicks away. They email me every year prior to the auto-renew, and I *voluntarily* ignore that email.
You are defending people who seem like the sort to go on a drinking binge and spend $500.00 at a bar on drinks 'for everyone' and then complain because they didn't want to spend that much.
Whatever my personal belief of Amazon's business practices - the fact remains that the people who are complaining to you should not have been trusted with a credit card to begin with.
That has nothing to do with Amazon or yourself. You should apologize for insinuating that Amazon was doing something illegal first and foremost.
How about some journalistic integrity - why not sign up for Prime, cancel, and see how easy/hard it is so you can make a balanced story?
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Mike & M Cooper
M Cooper, your last post was much better than all the previous. But as soon as you get insulting all your credability goes out the window. Why does this erk you so badly? Let it be
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Re: Re: M Cooper
How about some journalistic integrity - why not sign up for Prime, cancel, and see how easy/hard it is so you can make a balanced story?
I have never claimed to be a journalist... but to answer your other points. In the first post on this subject, back in May, I did state that it was relatively easy to see the details that you had to opt-out. However, it IS in the fine print.
If I go to Amazon right now, plastered all over the top of the site: "Buy Now And Get Free Two Day Shipping" and "You qualify for a FREE trial of Amazon Prime." That's the big print. The details are the fine print. And by highlighting the FREE part, when it's not, this is what I and many others do consider to be scammy. Yes, many other companies do it, but you shouldn't say it's free. You should say: sign up now and cancel within 30 days to avoid paying. Note the difference?
Either way, I like how you totally skip over my main point: this post was not to blast Amazon, but to make it clear to them that they have a problem that they might not know about.
And don't think I have anything against Amazon. I've used it for years, and in fact ordered a bunch of things from them just last night.
The point remains: this is a problem that Amazon is facing, and I am trying to alert them of that. Your response is that Amazon should just let those pissed off customers remain pissed off. I have more faith in Amazon's marketing staff that they would prefer to treat their customers better.
So, we differ...
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Maybe the opt out is not the issue here...
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Are you serious?
I recently bit the bullet on this and tried the free trial - and within a month *easily* got $80 worth of expedited shipping and am definitely going to be using Amazon much more.
When I signed up, without even reading the fine print I assumed it was an opt-out before the end deal.
I no longer care about 'bundling' my Amazon purchases, and one-click prime stuff when I need it - it makes online shopping much more usable.
The only downside to it is that there are a lot of products - maybe even most - and entire *categories* of products - which are not fulfilled by Amazon directly and not eligible for Amazon Prime.
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Re: Maybe the opt out is not the issue here...
That is a good point. No, the people do not say they didn't want Amazon prime. They all want to know why *we* charged them $79. They have no idea it has anything to do with Amazon.
So, perhaps that is a point that should be raised. It is not clearly described on the cc bill, and there isn't a good way for some people to figure out what it means.
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This is why amazon sucks
This exact scam happened to me. I clicked on a link about free shipping (nothing mentioned Amazon Prime in the link), and then I got a screen telling me I was signed up for "Amazon Prime," which I later found out was an expensive service I would never have use for.
The sneaky part is that they were going to charge me using my credit card information from a previous purchase. They didn't prompt for credit card information like most online purchases or even ask me if I wanted to use the credit card information they already stored.
Luckily, I realized the scam for what it was and followed the complicated instructions for canceling it before I was charged. Then I contacted amazon demanding they close my account so they could never pull that sneaky trick again. They forever lost a previously happy customer that day.
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It's not as bad as you think.
If you do not use the service, they will refund your money.
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Re: Re: Re: M Cooper
The customers complaining to you have no idea what they signed up for. They did not read the "fine print", they did not read the emails in their inbox, they did not even know who to call to complain - while using that very same email know enough only to complain to the first company who shows up in a Google search.
These are the people who are behind the high APR on credit cards. These are the people who are behind the Sub-prime Mortgage meltdown. These are the people who should not be trusted with a credit card, and I guarantee probably cannot balance a checkbook.
As others have pointed out, any consumer who has dealt with businesses more than a few times should learn to ask "what is the catch?" almost as a reflex.
Kind of like how car commercials for cheap cars feature an announcer screaming at you "ONLY $99 DOLLARS PER MONTH!" and the car commercials for higher value cars feature a low, even, confident voice. The stupid people respond to big letters, loud advertising, and do not bother reading anything beyond that first impression.
Maybe Amazon could reword it to be clear that you are enrolling in Prime and if you cancel within the first 30 days you aren't charged for it. But quite a few people do not find it difficult to understand the current setup - which is far more lenient than most other online trials.
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Cheating in the dark
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Amazon
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angry with amazon in general
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