Amazon (Dark Patterns/Rant)
Right after I saw my Amazon Prime renewal on my CC last year about this time (late March), I was thinking I should quit it, but it was early in the pandemic and was worried I might need it. Also the Dark Patterns on the cancellation page made it sound like they didn’t do refunds and so push you to a “Remind Me to Cancel Before Next Renewal (in a Year)” button.
Amazon (Dark Patterns/Rant)
I know I got that pre-renewal email but it got lost in the shuffle of my email pile and the general ton of spam from Amazon.
But I was looking at that annual renewal on my CC again and thinking “this is bullshit”. I didn’t get anything shipped in 2020. If I don’t need Amazon Prime shipping in a year when I never leave home, when do I ever need it anymore?
Amazon (Dark Patterns/Rant)
Was I using anything else from Prime? I watched The Expanse and a couple okay-not-great movies. I hated The Boys and they burnt me canceling The Tick for it. Other than that, I can’t think of anything. They burnt me on Amazon Music. They burnt me on Amazon storage/photos. I have a hard time going through the books I buy at full price to consider renting books with Kindle Unlimited’s Weird Prime Selection. The Prime Free Reading rarely included genres I like.
Amazon (Dark Patterns/Rant)
Not to mention the general ethical concerns of an “everything store” with bad labor relations and horrible job conditions.
So I went to cancel Prime again. Same dark patterns! This time I think I brought enough breadcrumbs to Theseus my way through that awful maze. I was left with an impression that it is canceled now and I should expect a refund for most of the year left!
We’ll see if the refund actually hits my CC, though.
Amazon (Dark Patterns/Rant)
I’ve had Prime since college. I was one of the earliest Prime subscribers.
It’s an end of a more innocent era. Goodbye Amazon Prime, I probably won’t miss you. Good riddance horrible Amazon dark pattern UX. I definitely won’t miss you.