Amazon Prime increasing annual fee to $119

[ERD50]

I can’t justify $119, or $99. I have nothing against Amazon, seems to be a great enterprise. I’m surprised at the LBYMers here purchasing on Amazon often enough to justify savings on shipping. ...

I'm surprised also (exception for those who feel they get value from the other bundled benefits), but for a slightly different reason.

I actually purchase from Amazon fairly often, but I don't pay shipping for Prime items - the shipping is 'free' on orders over $25 (sometimes $35?). That's not a very high hurdle, and I keep things in a 'wish list' that I can use to round out the order if I need.

So I never pay shipping, I get stuff in 3-7 days instead of 2-3. I rarely, if ever, really need it faster. The few times that I might, I could pay the few $$ in shipping for that case and be way ahead of the $99 every year.

I've also seen a few cases where the exact same item on Amazon with shipping is a little less than Prime with 'free shipping'.

-ERD50

 

[Aerides]

If you have any pets, then things like cat/dog food, litter, etc., (which are almost always cheaper anyway) can often be ordered via "subscribe and save" which gives extra discounts and scheduled repeat orders. I have several things I get every other month or so this way.

It's also nice to have bulky stuff just delivered to my porch vs. dealing with the store.

And yes, the it's the 2-day part of the "free 2-day" that makes it worth it. Not "free and sometime next week maybe" - that wouldn't be attractive.

 

[bUU]

And yes, the it's the 2-day part of the "free 2-day" that makes it worth it. Not "free and sometime next week maybe" - that wouldn't be attractive.

I was just going to mention this. I think if our lives were more ordered and w*rk didn't get in the way so much, that wouldn't make much of a difference.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I wondered for years why I would ever have amazon prime since I always waited until I had a decent size order so I got free shipping . I finally decided to try it and I use all the features .I love the free delivery .I watch a lot of Amazon movies and series and I love the occasional free book. I will not cancel it now but if the price went too high I probably would .

Me too.

A side story--on March 22 I ordered a Barbie Camper (yeah I know--so many things wrong with this, including the $99 blow-that-dough price tag) at the request of my out-of-state granddaughter for her 5th birthday. The item also featured free same-day-delivery on March 23 to their house for Prime members. Meanwhile DH and I roadtrip to DS's house and on April 5 DS asks if we ever ordered the camper. Consternation abounds, Amazon says it has been lost refunds our money, we find a newer version (newer = even more expensive) at a toy store, all is well. Yesterday, DS tells us the missing camper was just delivered. More consternation No charge was made to our CC yet. Not an item anyone needs even one of, never mind two, so will try to get it returned. Maybe Amazon will extend my Prime by a month as a little consideration for the effort....

OTOH my Amazon order for dear dog's dry dog food and some herbal tea our stores can't keep in stock was on my porch yesterday.

 

[ERD50]

...

And yes, the it's the 2-day part of the "free 2-day" that makes it worth it. Not "free and sometime next week maybe" - that wouldn't be attractive.

To each their own, I'm just surprised that 2 day versus 3-7 day shipping is a big deal among so many in a crowd that is probably pretty high on the "delayed gratification" scale. Especially, like I mentioned, that you can pay for the fast shipping on a few occasion that you might need it, and be way ahead of $99 or $119 annually.

BTW, I just checked and I can do 'subscribe and save' with free shipping as non-Prime member.

To be clear, I'm not saying anyone should/shouldn't do this, I'm just surprised so many here do.

-ERD50

 

[Which Roger]

We need 2 separate discussions: One for those who only use Prime for the shipping/buying benefits, and one for those who take advantage of the other benefits. The utility I receive from my Prime membership is roughly 1/2 streaming video, 1/3 buying/shipping, and 1/6 music.

 

[Dawg52]

Video and music put Amazon over the top for me. I lived fine on 3-7 day shipping prior to joining 2-3 years ago. My renewal is before the price change so I will probably keep another year. Not sure about the year after.

 

[Aerides]

Me too.
Yesterday, DS tells us the missing camper was just delivered. More consternation No charge was made to our CC yet. Not an item anyone needs even one of, never mind two, so will try to get it returned. Maybe Amazon will extend my Prime by a month as a little consideration for the effort....

If she calls, Amazon will give her a free return label and you can then just get UPS to pick it up.

 

[Bestwifeever]

If she calls, Amazon will give her a free return label and you can then just get UPS to pick it up.

DIL has so many packages delivered everyday that it won’t even require a special UPS trip . She alone might be the reason for the Prime increase!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

If you have any pets, then things like cat/dog food, litter, etc., (which are almost always cheaper anyway) can often be ordered via "subscribe and save" which gives extra discounts and scheduled repeat orders. I have several things I get every other month or so this way.

It's also nice to have bulky stuff just delivered to my porch vs. dealing with the store.

And yes, the it's the 2-day part of the "free 2-day" that makes it worth it. Not "free and sometime next week maybe" - that wouldn't be attractive.

This x1000. We get very large bags of dog food and heavy boxes of cat litter delivered at "no additional" cost through Prime (and 5% off to boot). To me, that's worth the whole $10 a month that Prime costs. My Mother isn't a Prime member and she mentioned that she will very often "add on products" (that aren't necessarily needed) to get over the threshold of the no-extra-cost shipping.

I figure that my free year of cell service though Sprint has paid for my Prime membership for a couple of years.

 

[folivier]

If I need to buy a screw, capacitor, or practically anything it will take me 30+ minutes and could take me half a day if I have to search for something. Last week I went to 8 electrical and air condition suppliers looking for a certain capacitor. Came home frustrated and half a tank of gas burnt. Found it on amazon and got it 2 days later.
We originally signed up for prime when we were full timing in the motorhome and relied on the 2 day delivery since we were changing locations frequently. Watch prime videos often, right now I'm listening to streaming music courtesy of prime.
For me it's still a bargain.

 

[Bestwifeever]

....No charge was made to our CC yet. Not an item anyone needs even one of, never mind two, so will try to get it returned. Maybe Amazon will extend my Prime by a month as a little consideration for the effort....

Hmmm. In response to my polite email to customer service, Amazon just extended my Prime for a month (woo hoo!)but completely ignored my request for a return label. Maybe it already adjusted the inventory and the books for a lost item when we first reported the no-show and the cost of revisiting it isn’t worth it.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I can’t justify $119, or $99. I have nothing against Amazon, seems to be a great enterprise. I’m surprised at the LBYMers here purchasing on Amazon often enough to justify savings on shipping. We purchase online often, but we tend to purchase directly from manufacturers of whatever we’re buying. We only buy on Amazon 5-6 times a year, and we’ve never had a subscription to an on-demand only streaming service. RedBox is cheap and more current for movies, and we get lots of on-demand stuff thru PS Vue and Roku.

It would be nice to have access to original content, but it seems each source only has a few programs, e.g. Prime, HBO, Showtime, Netflix, etc. It would be too costly to us to subscribe to them all for a couple programs each.

But one of these days we might try Prime. My sister has been subscribed to Prime for years and loves it.

Who says I am LBYM?

OK, it is confession time. I was LBYM when I was striving for FIRE, and when I retired in 2009. When I went back to work in late 2010 part time, I made it my goal to not save anything more. Then when I was hired full time I've managed to successfully continue that goal of spending everything I make.

[In my defense, some of that has been "capital" investment such as land, tractor, trailer to tow my tractor, truck to pull my trailer and so on. ]

 

[Montecfo]

I think one thing you have to watch out for is that they collect so much data on your buying habits, they can use this to get more $ from you. Folks that are prime members buy more than others, and according to some studies, MAY become less price sensitive.

Makes sense. You are less likely to shop around once the decision to become a Prime member has been made.

We know that sellers can and do adjust prices dynamically, based on who you are , type of computer, psychographics, etc. I am sure being a Prime subscriber is just another such element.

caveat emptor

 

[always_learning]

We're probably going to end our Prime and see if we miss it.

We only purchase items from Amazon. We don't read Kindle, don't use their music, and find their video selection to be lacking & the interface on Roku is so horrid we don't even look anymore to see what they have to offer.

So, with all of the above and the fact that shipping is no longer 2 days for us (it's more like 4 or 5 days now even though we live 1 1/2 hours from a dist. center), and it's just not looking like it's worth it any more for us. The kids are out of the house and our shopping has decreased, too.

If we find we really miss it, we will renew but we're most likely going to not renew. We have until Sept to decide, though.

I really wish they had a pricing plan just for shoppers who don't want any of the other services.

 

[ERD50]

This x1000. We get very large bags of dog food and heavy boxes of cat litter delivered at "no additional" cost through Prime (and 5% off to boot). To me, that's worth the whole $10 a month that Prime costs. ....

But do you need Prime to get that? I don't have Prime, and I see all sorts of large dog food bags with no shipping charges. I would think something like that could be anticipated a week ahead, or just put on 'subscribe and save'.

My Mother isn't a Prime member and she mentioned that she will very often "add on products" (that aren't necessarily needed) to get over the threshold of the no-extra-cost shipping.

But with a little planning, the add-ons will never be anything you don't need - they will just be things you don't necessarily need on a specific time basis.

-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

I think one thing you have to watch out for is that they collect so much data on your buying habits, they can use this to get more $ from you. Folks that are prime members buy more than others, and according to some studies, MAY become less price sensitive.

Makes sense. You are less likely to shop around once the decision to become a Prime member has been made.

We know that sellers can and do adjust prices dynamically, based on who you are , type of computer, psychographics, etc. I am sure being a Prime subscriber is just another such element.

caveat emptor

While true, it’s certainly not unique to Amazon in today’s subscription economy. And social media and almost all of the free service/apps online are tracking more than just buying habits, even here? Welcome to super cookies, ever cookies, user agents, browser fingerprinting, etc. - it’s big business. If it’s free, your info is the product for better or worse.

 

[Jeffman52]

It my understanding that only the month to month subscriptions are going up. Those that are paying yearly will continue to pay $99

In an email to Prime members on January 19, Amazon revealed upcoming changes to monthly membership. The previous price of $10.99 per month will be bumped up to $12.99 per month, plus applicable taxes. The new price will apply to all monthly renewals starting March 15, 2018, so there's time to cancel if you're not willing to pay the extra couple of bucks.

 

[RunningBum]

It my understanding that only the month to month subscriptions are going up. Those that are paying yearly will continue to pay $99

In an email to Prime members on January 19, Amazon revealed upcoming changes to monthly membership. The previous price of $10.99 per month will be bumped up to $12.99 per month, plus applicable taxes. The new price will apply to all monthly renewals starting March 15, 2018, so there's time to cancel if you're not willing to pay the extra couple of bucks.

That's outdated information. Straight from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202213110

Starting May 11, 2018, new members will be charged $119/year for an annual Prime membership and $59/year for an annual Prime Student membership.
Starting June 16, 2018, existing Prime members with an annual membership will renew at a rate of $119/year. Prime Student members with an annual membership will renew at a rate of $59/year.
Monthly Prime members continue to pay $12.99 per month. Monthly Prime Student members continue to pay $6.49 per month.

 

[Jeffman52]

I stand corrected. Well then I can tell you I wont renew at a 20% increase when my subscription had me increase me spending with Amazon.

I will take my business to a item by item site by site basis after the increase.

 

[bUU]

I will make the decision whether or not to renew based on an objective view of the financial analysis of the offer rather than that out of spite for any specific size of the increase.

 

[Chuckanut]

If it was not me I would not renew, even at $99. But my family likes many of the prime shows and it’s still a lot cheaper than cable TV.

 

[CaptTom]

While true, it’s certainly not unique to Amazon in today’s subscription economy. And social media and almost all of the free service/apps online are tracking more than just buying habits, even here? Welcome to super cookies, ever cookies, user agents, browser fingerprinting, etc. - it’s big business. If it’s free, your info is the product for better or worse.

There's a simple way to avoid a lot of this.

I set my browser to delete cookies at close. I don't auto-logon to Amazon. I search for what I want BEFORE logging on to Amazon. Only when I decide to buy do I close the browser (destroying my search history) then log back on and buy it.

A couple of caveats: I also use a third-party tracker blocker (Ghostery,) along with an ad-blocker (uBlock Origin.) This cuts way down on the tracking. I rarely see ads, and never targeted ads.

Tip: if you see something on Amazon, and want to go back and buy it later, copy the URL (address) only up to the "/ref..." part. Ignore the "/ref" and everything that follows. That's just tracking information. Log on, then paste just the first part of the URL (that you copied) back into the browser address bar. Now you're able to add it to your cart, but Amazon has no history of anything you clicked on to get there.

Same thing if you want to share a link to an Amazon product with someone, or on a forum.

For the record, I'm not paranoid. I don't really care how much Amazon knows about me. It's more like a hobby to see how long I can go without seeing those creepy ads for things I've previously searched for.

 

[meierlde]

I suspect that part of the issue is the size of the town you live in. For example the town I live in does not have a decent book store nor store with a decent selection of CDs, and I would have to drive 130 mi round trip to get to one. That is likley about $12 in gas and wear and tear at a minimum.(Being a town of 20k in a county of 40k). My parents who built this house would make a weekly trip of 130 mi to pick up stuff. So the point of view on prime may depend on where you live. Let alone talk about folks in the next county seat west of 3000 where it would be 200 mi round trip.

 

[calmloki]

We just are not that important. I appreciate being able to see what brand and type of pool filters we bought over a year ago - or what brand and maker of vitamin supplement, rather than redoing the research into type of pill, amount of active ingredient and so on. Not ordering anything hinkey, so we don't get many odd shopping offers.

I do focus on taking random and variable routes driving to regular locations, just to make setting up an ambush more difficult. But that's just common sense.