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Comment by adrr | Hacker News Reader

Even with the $35 min? Amazon doesn’t have a min. I can order $4 item and have it show up the next day.

In theory you can order a $4 item with free shipping. In practice Amazon is charging $3-$4 to the seller for "fulfillment" aka shipping, plus some other fees. An item that should cost $0.50-$2 probably costs $6-$8 instead.

Walmart has less depth but if you can get store prices you're in a significantly better starting place.

This is nowhere more obvious than when comparing Monoprice vs Amazon.

I think that's the deal breaker for me. If I order $35 worth of stuff I already get free 2-day shipping. I use Prime because I don't have to think about order totals or shipping - it just shows up the next day.

The problem is a ton of items Amazon sells aren't Prime eligible. And that seems to include any lower prices items. Then you're back to getting a cart minimum, which at that point you might as well drop Prime entirely.

Buying habits are different when you live outside a city, or when you have a family. A $35 minimum doesn't feel like a deal-breaker to me.

I think this also falls on generational lines; ordering a handful of things at once and getting one package is my goal.

On demand 1 thing at a time can be nice ordering something niche online, but when you have a whole fresh grocery, just add some steak or toilet paper.

No the $35 minimum on Walmart.com doesn’t require a subscription. Walmart+ is for scheduled delivery from the store closest to you (so it’s only stuff available in that store). Great for groceries

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