Has anyone who had an Amazon Prime membership quit since they added ads?

I have watched Good Omens Season 2 last week, and did not see any ads. Either they have not rolled them out yet, or my adblocker is working.

@ragingloli This was the first time for me although I haven’t watched Prime in a while. I watch on my TV not computer so I don’t think an ad-blocker is possible.

To answer the question, I have not cancelled my prime subscription. As long as I can circumvent their bullshit, I am fine. Alternatively, there is always straight up piracy.

^^ Well, I’m not a piracy fan myself. And I do use Prime for ordering stuff. i do appreciate your addressing the specific question.

I also installed a browser extension (“cultivate”), that shows if a brand or seller on Amazon is from china. Very useful, since a lot of the stuff on amazon is from china.

No, because I mostly don’t even notice ads, probably because I grew up with them. I know a lot of people did, and don’t like them now, but for me it’s just unremarkable.

The ads aren’t as annoying or frequent as I thought they would be.

Ads are also a good periodic reminder to stand up and walk around for a few minutes.

@canidmajor I guess I have a bee in my bonnet about having to pay for streaming and having ads as well although I have gotten used to them on Hulu as well.

I have a Prime membership but the ads don’t bother me. I think it’s from the majroity of my lifetime having to deal with ads. I often have the computer open and will use the few minutes to look at it. I like that ads will have the time countdown so you know how much longer to endure it.

I temporarily subscribed to Amazon Prime to watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but I couldn’t be assed to keep it. Amazon Prime adding ads is a prime example (pun intended) of “enshittification”. Not all subscriptions are like that, but this is one that I had no motive to keep. When Prime membership first started, it guaranteed free shipping on far more items than it does now. Even with Prime, you still get the “spend $20 more to get free shipping” notification, something that also occurs without Prime, and defeats the purpose of the money you’re paying to supposedly save on shipping. The subscription is near a scam in that regard, like DoorDash Pass.

My Prime account is tied into much more than the movies that I watch. Most of those things I want to keep on Prime, so I haven’t tried to cancel my Prime. I’ve seen a lot of reviews complaining that it is almost impossible to cancel Prime. The last Prime movie I watched asked me to pay additional to stop ads. I declined. Then there were no ads. I haven’t watched a Prime movie since. Other channels that charge for ad free movies I don’t pay & the ads are so short that I use my Mother ears & ignore the ad until the movie resumes. My plan was to see how long and/or annoying the Amazon ads are before making my final decision. If enough people stop watching their movies, they will eventually reverse the idea.

@Demosthenes I never get those notifications. I always get free shipping no matter how much I spend.

@LadyMarissa Good thinking. I’m kind of with you.

Couldn’t see myself quitting just yet. Haven’t seen ads enough to notice it. I do Freevee once in a while and that’s the only spot where the ads get me to notice.

I don’t watch Amazon produced movies. Maybe that’s where the ads are?

No. I don’t mind ads.

@mazingerz88 No, this wasn’t an Amazon produced movie.

They’re not that intrusive honestly.

No. I don’t mind paying the $3 or $4 monthly (can’t remember what it is exactly).

@janbb Freevee is already an independent streaming site with loads of ads even before landing a spot in Amazon’s website.

I will pay attention next time when I watch a movie in Amazon Prime ( which is always free to members as you know ) and see if there are ads.

I will balk if movies I rent to watch in Amazon start breaking into ads.

@mazingerz88 My understanding from what I’ve read is that Prime was adding ads to all their programming unless you pay $3/more per month. Correct me if I’m wrong.

here’s one link:

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/29/1222096321/prime-video-movies-and-tv-shows-will-include-ads-starting-jan-29

@janbb That’s correct. I just pay the extra.

I got Prime just to rewatch “Nurse Jackie”, then cancelled. I grew up with ads and hate them. They’re a waste of my time and brain cells. I often do “Wordscapes” on my phone or kindle something. I never watch tv shows or movies with ads; I record them. Seems like ads kind of change the meaning of the word “streaming”?

@Demosthenes When you get free shiping with the minimum purchase with Prime, it’s not quick shipping like it usually is with Prime. It may be quick, but it may be two weeks, too.

Pro tip: take a shower during the ad. Yes. Ya gotta be fast!

@Dutchess_III That would be about a minute and a half shower. That’s a little too fast.

We did it in the 60s and 70s! Yes it was a challenge.

Actually the each commercial was 1 minute long and they had 3 at a time.

I’ll add I have free you tube on my TV. They mostly restrict their ads to 5 seconds, with an option to cancel if they go over.
I can find virtually anything on you tube.

My annual renewal came up, I deleted it due to the rising price, not the ads.

I’ve been tempted to stop my membership and see if I can get by without it. I do like the free one or two day shipping, which is very convenient if I need something quickly, though. I don’t even ues it much for the streaming – more for the stuff.

I just want to be clear in my answer. I do not pay the additional fee. The ads don’t bother me and when I download stuff to my iPad they’re not even there

(What additional fee?)

@Dutchess_III You have to pay $3/per month extra if you want no ads. Since January.

Oh. No way in hell! I always have something else to do when ads play. FB, Fluther. Wash a couple dishes. TAKE A SHOWER!

@Dutchess_III Yup, I sit with my phone nearby. But I get annoyed by them trying to charge more for something that was provided before. Ah well…....

Money money money!

@janbb I heard that when cable TV was first introduced, it was without ads, which was part of what justified the monthly fee. I don’t remember when it first came out, so I don’t know if that’s the case but if so, it’s similar to streaming services, which almost all have ads now unless you pay extra.

Yup

Better get used to it. This will always happen.

Cable used to be the amazing, ad free alternative, but when the investors inevitably (and I mean inevitably) demanded increased profits year over year, the ads came. Few at first, and now people are paying more than ever, seeing more ads than ever, and can’t even imagine an alternative.

Yep. Enshittification. :)

Not just with streaming services. Even Google searches are loaded with more ads than when it started.