Does Amazon.com reduce the relative cost of living in expensive places?

[InquilineKea]

Like - are the costs of Amazon.com delivery the same regardless of whether you're in expensive Manhattan or in cheap Texas?

[rising_star]

The question in the title and the one in the post are not the same.

Does it reduce the cost of living? Not really, unless you find ordering online is cheaper than shopping in a store for all of your needs. But then you have to weigh the costs of either living in a building with a doorman or being home all day to wait for the package to arrive.

If you want to know about delivery costs, look at the Amazon website. You could've done that faster than you posted this question.

[UnlikelyGrad]

Like - are the costs of Amazon.com delivery the same regardless of whether you're in expensive Manhattan or in cheap Texas?

If you buy Amazon Prime, you can get a year's worth of free 2-day delivery for the cost of the initial membership payment. I have at least one sibling who used this service for grocery shopping at a busy point in her life...

[InquilineKea]

Does it reduce the cost of living? Not really, unless you find ordering online is cheaper than shopping in a store for all of your needs. But then you have to weigh the costs of either living in a building with a doorman or being home all day to wait for the package to arrive.

I usually do find ordering online to be cheaper than shopping in a store for many of my needs. Not just through Amazon but other services too.

And regarding shipping costs - I can usually find enough things to push my order over $25 (especially if I primarily rely on Amazon.com for my needs).

Also, if I live in a place like the graduate dorms, then there will be a place that holds my packages for me when I'm away. I had that service when I was an undergrad.

Edited January 12, 2012 by InquilineKea

[eco_env]

If you buy Amazon Prime, you can get a year's worth of free 2-day delivery for the cost of the initial membership payment. I have at least one sibling who used this service for grocery shopping at a busy point in her life...

There's also the year of free 2-day shipping you can get as a student- you don't need to buy Amazon prime for that. I order a lot of things from Amazon- sometimes they leave the packages at my door, sometimes they want a signature and I need to be around to get the package. with 2 day shipping, I can plan to have packages delivered on days when I can stay at home. I also tried having stuff delivered to my campus address, with disastrous results, but it might work for others.

[InquilineKea]

There's also the year of free 2-day shipping you can get as a student- you don't need to buy Amazon prime for that. I order a lot of things from Amazon- sometimes they leave the packages at my door, sometimes they want a signature and I need to be around to get the package. with 2 day shipping, I can plan to have packages delivered on days when I can stay at home. I also tried having stuff delivered to my campus address, with disastrous results, but it might work for others.

How did you get disastrous results with your campus address? Which campus were you on?

My results with campus deliveries were far better than with home deliveries (since at home, they're always at risk of theft). At campus though, there's none (they just inform you that you have a package over email, and keep the package for you for at least a week).

[eco_env]

How did you get disastrous results with your campus address? Which campus were you on?

My results with campus deliveries were far better than with home deliveries (since at home, they're always at risk of theft). At campus though, there's none (they just inform you that you have a package over email, and keep the package for you for at least a week).

I tried having a package sent to my dept mailbox- mail services said they sent it, the dept said they didn't get it.

[long_time_lurker]

I suppose one can argue that if you use large nationwide companies with standardized pricing (not just Amazon) often that you are better off living in the high income/high cost-of-living area.

However the key question you must ask is how much disposable income you will have left. Your biggest expenditure - rent or mortgage - is going to depend on where you live. Paying hundreds of dollars more of month to live in a place with higher pay is not going to be easier just because you're still paying a dollar for the "dollar menu" or the same price for stuff on Amazon.

Also, since you mentioned NY: Amazon collects tax (8.875%) from NY customers. Also, since I mentioned "dollar menus", in the City and in the busier locations in the outer boroughs (like near transit hubs) you will not get advertised deals and the "dollar menu" is more like a $1.49 menu.