So your free 3 Month subscription to Amazon Prime via the mom sign up has expired, and you don’t qualify for six free months of Amazon Prime via the student program.It is now time to decide whether or not $79 for “free” 2 day shipping is worth the cost for Amazon Prime.
Amazon sells 20% of all goods sold online, so chances are excellent you order online from Amazon. The question is how often you order, and do you ever take advantage of price mistakes on Amazon?
Let’s start with what mazon Prime is for those who may be unfamiliar:
Amazon Prime is a membership program that gives you and your family unlimited fast shipping, such as FREE Two-Day shipping to street addresses in the contiguous U.S., on all eligible purchases for an annual membership fee of $79. Amazon Prime members in the U.S. can enjoy instant videos: unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows through Amazon Instant Video at no additional cost. Members who own Kindle devices can also choose from thousands of books — including more than 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — to borrow and read for free, as frequently as a book a month with no due dates, from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library
Benefits
● FREE Two-Day Shipping
● Other Fast Shipping Benefits
● Eligible Items and Addresses
● Using 1-Click as a Prime Member
● Shipping Methods and Carriers
● Prime Instant Videos
● Kindle Owners’ Lending Library
● Prime and Kindle Fire
One of the best benefits on Amazon Prime is the prime sharing:
Prime members under a free trial or paid subscription can share their shipping benefits with up to 4 additional family members living in the same household, or up to 4 coworkers to shop for the related account. Other Prime membership benefits such as Prime instant video and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library can’t be shared.
To invite family members to share your Amazon Prime membership, sign in to Your Account and click on the link to “Manage Prime Membership.” You’ll see your current membership details, the status of all members linked to your Amazon Prime membership, and options to add or remove members.
Amazon Mom and Amazon Student members with Amazon Prime shipping benefits and customers receiving a free month of Amazon Prime benefits with Kindle Fire will not be able to share their benefits with additional people. All existing shared household members will continue to receive shipping benefits if the primary member switches to the Amazon Prime shipping benefits offered by one of these programs, however, the primary member will not be able to add or change shared household members if they move to one of these programs.
But unless you watch a lot of instant videos, the $79 comes down to: do I buy enough that is shipped to make Amazon Prime worthwhile?
Standard Shipping Rates for U.S. Deliveries, which is 3-5 business days delivery, ranges from $1.99 – $7.99 with extra costs on some overweight products.
Two day delivery, which is free with Prime, ranges from $5.99 – $12.49 with extra costs on some overweight products for those without Prime.
I will say that for a price glitch, Amazon Prime cannot be beat! It is shipped before the cancellation orders make it to your inbox. That means odds are good that a price mistake will make your house. Also when low stock is a concern, 1-click can make it yours before the next person finishes typing out their credit card number.
But, we all know that Amazon price mistakes have gotten fewer and father between the last few years, so while Prime is nice to have on those occasions, the decision should really be based on how much you buy, and therefore ship, and/or how many instant videos you watch. One new wrinkle is Kindle ebooks – a lot of the free ones are only free with Prime. So that too may influence your decision.
Ultimately only you can decide if Amazon Prime meets your, and your family’s, economic needs.
Note: this post originally appeared on my old blog, Coupons, Deals and More.
Disclosure the links in this post may be affiliate links
Amanda says
I LOVE my prime membership! It is so convenient. I live in a very rural place, so any trip to a store is an event. I order books, toilet paper, gifts, cereal and more!! You can’t beat 2 day shipping. AND, if you share it with family members it is an even better value!!
Janene says
I love Prime, too!!
We are able to stream videos through an Amazon Prime App in the hub’s x-box 360!
I was able to watch the first 2 seasons of Downton Abbey free and uninterrupted. Best part is if there was a hockey game or some other tv event the kids or hubby wanted to watch I could just grab my kindle and chocolate and continue watching in my room!!
Christina Johnson says
Yes! Yes! Yes! I have totally saved more money than I spent on the Kindle lending library than I spent on the fee. The free shipping has been an awesome bonus.
Emily says
100% yes… I was so hesitant for forever, but honestly the 2 day shipping is AMAZING!!! I actually get my mom and sisters to all go together and we share the $79 price tag so for $20 each or so it’s definately worth it for the shipping alone. I already have netflix and hulu plus for the movies/tv but you can not beat 2 day shipping and there prices are SOOO good 🙂
KimH says
I’ve had Amazon Prime for about 5 years and I would never ever ever EVER go back to not having it..
I cant tell you how many times I bought extra stuff just to get free shipping if you buy $25 when all I wanted was a $12 book.. It more than makes up for any excess I bought years ago.. Yes, you can share it with 4 others.. I pay for mine alone, but all my family use it and I’ve added coworkers too over the years.. You can add & delete members however often you like to share it with others.
I dont take advantage as much with the free Kindle books but I should.. I have once or twice and I also watched some premium tv shows a couple times.. Thats secondary for me, but I love Prime.. Its well worth my while & price tag.