Amazon Prime: Here's what happened when we tried it for the first time

I’ve been waiting for Amazon Prime since the time Amazon set foot in India. The promise of unlimited video, audio and ebooks was enticing enough in itself, but the prospect of Prime Delivery was even more exciting. Why do I care about Prime? [caption id=“attachment_326788” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Image: Amazon India[/caption] I might sound like a fanboy when I say this, but I survive on Amazon. I doubt I’ve bought anything of importance in retail stores in years, and even then, only if that item wasn’t available online. There’s an ever-growing pile of Amazon boxes in my house and the bell rings at least 3-4 times a day with fresh deliveries. The delivery boys even wave to me on the street. I purchase everything from dog food to air conditioners on the site and rarely does a day goes by without at least one new item in the cart. By the time news of Amazon Prime availability broke in India, yours truly had already activated the service. Now I was disappointed that Prime Video, Audio and books weren’t part of the package yet, but for the price (Rs 499/999 a year and Prime Video on the way), Prime Delivery seemed like a good enough deal. Especially so for someone like me who spends thousands a month on shipping costs alone (One day delivery? Yes please). What can I say? I have no patience when it comes to these things. The shopping experience I’m sitting in front of my PC, Amazon Prime is activated and ready but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything I want or need at this moment in time. Everything I want has already been paid for and shipped. You know what they say about watching kettles on the boil. For lack of anything better to do, I head to Amazon’s Lightning deals section. Prime Members get early access to Lightning Deals after all. I see nothing I like. An assortment of kitchen utensils, clothes, shoes and bedspreads is hardly what I want right now. I’m listlessly browsing through the list, expecting to postpone my first, true, Prime experience for another day when my editor saves the day. He pops out of nowhere and starts talking about better videos, camera equipment and more. Selfie sticks! That’s exactly what we need. Why carry a chunky Video camera / DSLR and tripod when you can carry your phone on a selfie-stick / monopod, eh? We head to Amazon, check the Amazon Prime filter and since we’re on Prime, decide to try out same day delivery and check that filter as well. [caption id=“attachment_327503” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Amazon Prime supported products are marked as such[/caption] The results are a bit confusing at first. All Amazon Prime supported products are marked with a blue ‘Prime’ logo and an orange tick, but none of them say same-day delivery. They all say “FREE Delivery by Tomorrow” or simply, “FREE Delivery.” Then I remember, same-day delivery is not free on Prime, it’s only discounted. Still, I’m not the one paying so I might as well opt for it. I pick a product, check shipping and find that it will only arrive the next day. Sigh. Next product. It took a bit of rummaging around to find something that would be delivered today itself. This was at 10AM. I ordered a pair of selfie sticks that had the same-day delivery option and paid a total of Rs 50 for same-day delivery (for two items). The order was placed at 10AM and as of 2PM today, it’s already out for delivery. The sticks are expected to arrive by 8PM today. The price is apparently a 66 percent discount on the actual shipping price and the order is to be delivered at our office in Parel, Mumbai. It’s a little irritating that shipping options are seen only after adding an item to the cart, but other than that, the transaction was smooth and simple. The delivery experience [caption id=“attachment_327508” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] The order was placed at 1000, the item was shipped by 1150[/caption] The delivery experience was a mixed bag. Since I ordered for same-day delivery, the product was supposed to  arrive by 8PM that day. Now I normally leave office by 6PM, but I was confident that someone from the office would sign for the order. At 7:50PM, the delivery guy calls and asks if I’m in. I tell him I’m not, but to hand over the order to the watchman. At 8:00PM, the delivery guy calls and asks me to talk to the watchman. I speak to the watchman, who said he’d send the delivery guy to dispatch (a section of our office that handles deliveries). Case closed. I expected to walk in the next morning and collect my order from dispatch. Surprisingly, I get a message the next morning informing me that the order wasn’t delivered. A little bit of confusion ensued, but it turned out that the delivery guy didn’t want to go to dispatch, his reasons are open to speculation, and that he just left without delivering the order. I would have at least expected him to call and inform me that he wouldn’t deliver the order that day, whatever the excuse. I had no option but to speak to Amazon’s customer care, they were very helpful, as always, and promised to schedule the delivery on priority and to have it delivered by 5PM if possible. There was no delivery by 5:40PM, which was when I left office, but by 7PM I got a message that the order was delivered. Amazon’s app informed me that the order was delivered by 6PM. If I would have been in office at the time the order arrived, I would certainly have received the order on the same day. I was just a little irritated that the delivery boy didn’t inform me that he wouldn’t deliver the product. That last is even more confusing as he came all the way to the reception before deciding not to deliver. The actual order [caption id=“attachment_327511” align=“aligncenter” width=“533”] One box arrived unsealed[/caption] I ordered two selfie-sticks, both arrived in a box. Interestingly, one of the boxes was not sealed while the other was sealed. [caption id=“attachment_327512” align=“aligncenter” width=“533”] The unsealed stick had a rusted screw and was missing the instruction manual[/caption] The unsealed box hosted a stick with a slightly rusted screw and was missing the instruction manual. The sealed box was perfectly fine and included all the expected items. This isn’t really that big a deal, I could just call up Amazon and have it exchanged if I wanted to, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort. Conclusion In hindsight, it does seem silly, getting excited over something as lame (or life-changing, depending on your perspective) as cheaper/free delivery. Considering the amount I spend on delivery however (let alone on the products), I’m very happy to pay for Prime. Going by my own spending, I’ve ordered roughly 300 products this past year and spent at least Rs 15,000 on shipping. Rs 999 for free delivery (Rs 499 for the first year) is quite a significant chunk of money saved. That said, the discount on my shipping is all that Prime is giving me (but that in itself is a lot). The customer support is as helpful as it’s always been, the delivery boys as reliable (or as fickle) as they’ve always been and the product quality and packaging is the same as it’s always been. If, like myself, you’re a heavy user of Amazon, you’ll appreciate the money you’ll save on shipping and the subscription price is very generous. Till the full Prime experience arrives in India, however, the average person might not find it to be of much value.