I purchase many things online these days, such as hand tools, power tools, project supplies, raw materials, accessories, and consumables. There are two things that I detest about online shopping – shipping fees and long wait times.
There are currently three major shipping subscription programs that I know of and have tried personally – Amazon Prime, ShopRunner, and Sears’ ShipVantage. Below is a review of these programs, which cost $79 per year. Each service offers a free one-month trial so that you can try them our risk-free.
Why Pay for Free Shipping?
The thing I hate most about paying shipping fees is that it usually forces me to lump smaller orders together. I am usually left with two options – wait until I need enough items to justify the shipping fees or qualify for free shipping, or pay shipping fees for multiple orders.
Economical or free shipping options are sometimes available depending on the online store, but these options are often slow and in the case of free shipping there is usually a minimum order amount threshold.
$79 per year may seem like a lot, but it actually saves me a lot of money given the number of online orders I place per year. Most orders are delivered in two business days as well, sometimes even overnight, adding to the savings and convenience.
Amazon Prime Review
Perhaps the most well-known shipping subscription program around is Amazon Prime, which offers free 2-day shipping on items sold by or fulfilled by Amazon. There is no minimum order amount required, and items eligible for free super saver shipping are eligible for Prime shipping.
Although rare, I have come across certain tools that still ship for free but are not 2-day Prime eligible. Although non-Prime members enjoy free super saver shipping on orders over $25, the speedy delivery and elimination of the $25 minimum order amount that Prime offers is very much worth the $79 fee.
I have been a Prime member since December 2005, when I signed up for the free trial and ordered a large multi-function printer that I needed urgently. To upgrade from 2-day shipping to overnight cost me an extra $4. I don’t remember how much overnight shipping for the 26 lb printer would have otherwise cost without the Prime membership.
Since then, I have placed many, many orders with Amazon. I order many of my tools and supplies from Amazon. A few of them items I ordered recently include rubber O-rings, a Jet woodworking air cleaner, swivel casters, LEDs, a bike multi-tool, Milwaukee router bits, and Dremel-compatible rotary tool burs.
Amazon allows Prime memberships to be shared with up to 4 family/household members. Right now I am sharing it with my wife, mother, sister, and sister in-law, at no additional cost to them.
Overall, I have been exceptionally pleased with Amazon’s Prime shipping service. According to my account information, I have placed 57 orders with them in 2011 thus far, 154 orders in 2010, and 92 orders in 2009.
Sign up for Amazon Prime (free 30-day trial for new members)
ShopRunner Review
ShopRunner is a relatively new free shipping subscription program that I first signed up for more than a month ago.
ShopRunner differs from Amazon by offering free 2-day shipping at a long list of participating retailers. As of 5/1/2011, the only participating tool retailers are AutoZone, CSN Stores, and Tool King, with the latter two currently working to upgrade their checkout system to offer the ShopRunner shipping discount.
ShopRunner offers a free 1-month trial after which there’s a $79 annual fee. You have to give them a credit card number when you sign up, but they do send a warning email several days before the trial period is up so that you can login to cancel the subscription.
I have used the ShopRunner free shipping subscription several times during the trial period, and saved about $50 on shipping fees. Many of the participating retailers I ordered from had the lowest prices on the items I was looking to buy. In the case of one particular item priced at $6, I saved $7 on shipping fees ordering from a ShopRunner retailer. The same item would have cost me $9 via Amazon with free shipping.
ShopRunner’s free 2-day shipping service is eligible at quite a few retailers I already order from, and a number of ones I would have ordered from in the past if not for their shipping fees. Based on this, I signed up for the $79 subscription after the trial, and I will be crossing my fingers that my favorite tool distributors join the program.
In addition to the free 2-day shipping with no minimum order, ShopRunner also offers free return shipping! ShopRunner also offers centralized tracking of orders placed with participating retailers.
Sign up for ShopRunner (free trial for new members)
Sears ShipVantage
Sears’ ShipVantage is their free 2-day shipping subscription program, and can be used on item sold directly by Sears or Kmart. Sears offers a free 30-day trial, and the annual subscription is also $79.
One thing I must mention before anything else – Sears will attempt to automatically renew your ShipVantage trial subscription with a credit card you have on file with them unless you cancel it a few days ahead of the end of the trial period.
Unlike ShopRunner and Amazon, Sears did not send me an alert before the trial expired, and attempted to automatically renew my subscription for $79. I had forgotten to cancel the subscription before it ended, but luckily Sears used the wrong billing address when trying to charge my credit card.
I took advantage of the free trial program last June and placed maybe 8 orders during several Father’s Day sales. I recall that some of the items were eligible for free shipping, but the free shipping codes negated the other coupon codes I had been using. In the end I saved maybe $50 in shipping fees that month.
Two weeks ago, I signed up for a paid ShipVantage subscription in order to take advantage of a rather nice coupon code I had come across. I planned to place maybe 10 separate orders for various tools that were on my wishlist. I added the ShipVantage subscription to my cart along with one item, and the shipping was free on that order. I then tried to place an additional order a little while later, and I was still being charged shipping fee.
After an online chat and long phone, nobody could tell me why the Sears ShipVantage subscription wasn’t activated and when it would be activated. I was actually told that it was activated, but nobody could tell me why it would not work on items the associates confirmed as eligible for the free shipping discount. A few hours later, I was left with a $79 ShipVantage subscription that still didn’t work.
To their credit, the Sears customer service representative I spoke to over the phone said that I could still place the orders and then request a refund for the shipping over the phone. This is not something that I wanted to have to do, especially since I didn’t recall seeing a clause at signup that said ShipVantage wouldn’t work instantly and automatically.
Several hours after the initial problems, I then entered another online chat and requested that my original order and ShipVantage subscription be cancelled. I was told that it was cancelled and refunded in full. Two weeks later, I hadn’t received the refund, and Sears customer service couldn’t explain why this was the case. It took a BBB complaint for Sears to issue the $79 plus tax refund. According to Sears’ response to the complaint, I was not issued the refund automatically because of a “system error”.
During my trial period there were no hiccups, and I was allowed to split orders up to maximize mt savings with $5 off $50 and similar coupons, without having to pay any separate shipping fees. But as far as I am aware, automatic renewal is set by default, and trial members must remember to cancel the subscription manually a set amount of time (5 days?) before it expires. According to the negative reviews I have seen, getting a refund for an unwanted automatic renewal is as difficult as getting a refund for a cancelled non-activated subscription.
Bottom line, the ShipVantage subscription is definitely worth it if you order a lot of tools from Sears. But be cautious and read all of the fine print before you sign up.
Sign up for Sears ShipVantage (there is also a free trial available that you can sign up by itself or during checkout)
Disclosure: The above reviews are based on my own personal opinions and experiences with these services. I am currently a paid subscriber to Amazon Prime and ShopRunner’s free shipping subscription services. The Amazon and Sears links are “affiliate links” as described in our disclosure, and the ShopRunner is an “invitation” link which results in a small referral fee for every friend that purchases and activates a paid ShopRunner memberships.
I love my Amazon Prime membership I haven’t orders as much as you Stuart but I do order a lot from them. I like if I really need something I can pay a little more for overnight. Although lately Amazon as been shipping more items with Ontrac instead of UPS for me, I’d much rather have UPS becuase my driver gets to me early in the day.
I just signed up for Sears Shipvantage to save $$$$$ on a pressure washer I ordered that could only be shipped, you could not find it in a store locally or have it shipped to a store as an option. Being in California finding gas powered tools that meet CARB requirements makes things tough and can increase the cost. Sears had some pretty good deals/discounts going and I figured it was good time to go ahead an order the one I had been looking at.
I am a bit surprised more online retailers haven’t jumped on the “free” shipping promos. Seems to be Best Buy would be a great retailer to start this type of program.
With Amazon, if you have problems with a particular shipper that they use, firing off an email to customer service might help a bit. I had issues when Amazon shipped a few of my orders using a different carrier, and after I sent an email I was told they would avoid sending my orders via that shipper if they could help it.
I greatly prefer UPS as well, but receive certain orders, such as Small Parts industrial suppliers, via FedEx.
When I first signed up for Amazon Prime, friends and colleagues looked at me as if I were nuts for paying $79 a year for shipping when “free super saver shipping” is already free on $25+ orders. Many of them have since come around and signed up too.
It’s worth noting that you can share your Amazon Prime membership with 4 “family members”. That clause isn’t rigorously enforced (they don’t check if they are actually family or not, the “family member” just needs to know your birthday, and you theirs.). So, you can basically split the membership 5 ways, which reduces the price to $15/person… that’s impossible to beat. I’ve been a Prime member for over 3 years, and love it.
Technically, it’s 4 other members of the same household, or 4 other coworkers that order from the same account.
But you’re right, they don’t enforce the “household” rule at all, and I’m crossing my fingers that they never do.
The only problem with Amazon Prime is that I spend a whole lot more money online now…
But don’t forget all the free movies that can now be downloaded! (I haven’t actually watched a single one, but it is an extra benefit)
It looks like ShopRunner’s service can also be shared with “up to four members of your household”!
I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for 6 years and can vouch for how well it works and the money it has saved my family. I reserve using the $4 Next Day Air shipping for big-ticket items. There are 4 family members on my account, while I don’t know there order habits, I know that I made 215 orders last year on Amazon.
That may seem like a ton of orders, but many items were for only one or items. Remember the PB Swiss Madness last year on Amazon? I went nuts since I needed to replace all my tools and accessories. I can’t even imagine the money I saved on shipping and tax!
With regards to the Sears program…no freakin’ way, dude. Sears’ website has got to be the most frustrating online experience I ever had. Just reading Stu’s experience is enough to make me stay away.
Never heard of ShopRunner…so no comments. But I will check them out.
Shoprunner is a racket. Be careful with the “free” trial.