I don't think I've been bitten by an add-on item since they've introduced it. A food processor would definitely get you free shipping in two days via Prime, it is small items like a 6oz bottle of lotion that costs $1.99 that you can't get by itself.
You'd think the Add-On Items would ship with any Prime-eligible order. For example, I wanted to buy a staple gun for $9.50, which will ship with Prime, but the $3.59 staples are an Add-On Item, so I can't get the staples shipped with the staple gun without adding additional items to my order.
I agree, and there needs to be a mechanism to automatically save and ship add-on items when the conditions are met for free shipping.
And to your point about attaching them to a prime order, I would have to imagine Amazon is aware of this limitation and I wouldn't be surprised if they add this feature soon.
Yeah, I'd also like to see them allow you to attach Add-On items with your Subscribe & Save order. Subscribe & Save exists because it's cheaper to send it all at once, right? So why can't an Add-On item be put in that box?