Amazon Prime increasing annual fee to $119

dvalley said:
Post #31 on the previous page.
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"It's the first increase in four years." I'm sorry if I'm mistaken but the fee I pay had not gone up in four years and the media reports that that was when the last price increase was. (shrug)
 
Mine is renewing June 15 at $99.


But it would be worth it at $119 too; we buy off of Amazon all the time knowing we can get things in 2 days. Around here, we often get them the next day. And we have Alexa. And, we travel quite a bit so I download movies and shows for plane rides.....
 
That’s why i own AMZN but not a prime member. They have too much clout and can do whatever the heck they want with pricing.
 
Note you can go to amazon and download a list of orders last year (assume all orders on one date are one order due to the associated merchants) I did this and found 17 orders, which does suggest that prime is a good deal.
 
According to this article, hike begins May 11, with no option to pre-pay and lock in the $99 rate for another year.

Amazon finance chief Brian Olsavsky said Thursday that his company will hike Prime's fee to $119 a year, from $99, on May 11. The new price will apply to existing Prime members' renewals starting June 16. Olsavsky made the comments during an earnings call with analysts. If your regular renewal is on or after June 16, you won't be allowed to prepay for another year at the currently lower rate
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https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-to-raise-prime-membership-in-us-to-119-from-99/
 
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Hermit said:
It took me over a year to get Amazon trained to not use USPS. I don't have time to play shipping games every time I order something, so I will just stick with Amazon. A trip into town always takes most of the day so ordering is a real time saver.
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What's the secret? I have have quite a few Amazon orders screwed up due to their using USPS. The net result has been my prime membership extended by a few months (not all at once), and some credits. But even with that having to figure out why my order isn't here and dealing with support isn't worth the hassle.

I did close to $6K in Amazon orders last year, which is a LOT of stuff given my median order amount was $12. I'm thinking of not renewing given the USPS hassles along with my desire to stop buying stuff. (It's not the $ spent, it is the need to get rid of things, not acquire things.)
 
dvalley said:
I just ordered something on walmart.com it was cheaper than anywhere else and when I selected slower delivery (by just 2 days!) they gave me an additional discount of $8, which was a nice unexpected surprise.

Amazon has a big market share but they're no longer the only game in town if you want to save money. As I said earlier after being a long time member I will drop Prime but continue to be an Amazon shopper (where you get free shipping on most items anyway). The only thing I'm giving up is the 2-day free shipping which is a nice luxury but I can wait an extra 2 days on most things and put my $120 towards mo-stuff. Movies, music, I already have better sources for those.
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I price compare across Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, others. Walmart has become *very* price competitive against Amazon in terms of their order on-line w/local pickup.
 
misshathaway said:
Or, they could publicize the increase and its effective date to push new users to get it now, and then after that they could occasionally offer "deals" for new subscribers at $99. That's what they did the last time. Must have worked out statistically.

I resisted Prime for so long and got it only because my rewards credit card would redeem rewards to an Amazon gift card which is easy to set up as an online Amazon credit. I viewed it as free money and splurged on Prime. I agree that the online free content in video and books has gotten better. Plus I like not having to line up $35 in merch to get the free shipping. I will renew.
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Actually it's only 25 dollars for free shipping which is rarely a problem for me
 
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 .
 
Hopefully I'm good for another three years of Prime at $49 per year. Helps to have college students, the whole family orders under the older son's Amazon account.
 
I'll grumble, but I'll probably stay. I do use the prime TV & movies a lot, and while I don't buy that much everyday stuff, when I do the two-day shipping is nice.
 
Grumble, grumble, but we are watching a lot more of their videos and the Amazon original content has been quite good.

I read recently that they are changing more to a blockbuster approach on original video content which is something we hate about Hollywood movies - something we haven’t watched for over a decade. So I wonder if they will fall flat on their face. The existing original programming approach seemed pretty good. I don’t get it.
 
If you, or someone in your household, has an .edu email the cost is only $49/year. I just renewed mine. Also just finished the new season of Bosch. Great show.
 
DA1947 said:
That’s why i own AMZN but not a prime member. They have too much clout and can do whatever the heck they want with pricing.
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Within limits... if they get too greedy as there are ample substitutes out there and if people don't think what they receive is worth $119 then they'll just cancel and bunch orders to avoid shipping charges, use other streaming services, etc.

While the % increase or even annual % increase is interesting, the bottom line for me is what I get worth $119 (or $10/month) to me... and in my case it is... but there would be a point where I would just substitute other similar services.
 
A (very) good analysis to help with the decision-making process:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-amazon-prime-worth-its-new-119-price-tag-2018-04-27

For instance:

And then there are all the unused freebies

In a thread on Reddit discussing Amazon Prime’s value in light of the price hike, many users were surprised to learn that they could get access to free video-game streams and discounts on games via Twitch Prime. Prime members without a Kindle or Fire tablet or the Kindle app on other mobile devices may not be taking advantage of the books and magazines they have access to.

Similarly, the discounts that members can get at Whole Foods are virtually worthless if someone doesn’t live near one.

Those benefits have a value if people actually use them. For instance, getting one free e-book per month through the Kindle library would equate to a $42 savings, according to CreditCards.com.

“When it comes to all these free things, people need to be realistic about whether they will actually use them,” said Harrow. “If you don’t take advantage of these things, then it’s not a good value.”
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I will be keeping my Prime membership, mostly for the shipping. I’m too lazy to go to the store, preferring to shop from my sofa while I have my morning coffee. Need new socks? Click, click, they show up on the doorstep in two days. We get packages from Amazon so often that DH accused me of having an affair with the delivery man— until I pointed out that the mail carrier drops most packages, she’s female, and I’m heterosexual.

Besides the shipping, we use free photo storage, Kindle books, and video streaming. We don’t have any other pressing need for the $10/month so I will keep the convenience of free two-day shipping.
 
pb4uski said:
Within limits... if they get too greedy as there are ample substitutes out there and if people don't think what they receive is worth $119 then they'll just cancel and bunch orders to avoid shipping charges, use other streaming services, etc.

While the % increase or even annual % increase is interesting, the bottom line for me is what I get worth $119 (or $10/month) to me... and in my case it is... but there would be a point where I would just substitute other similar services.
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Yeah - it’s making me leery. Up till now the video stuff has felt like a freebie. I’m inclined to look harder at my received value now. It’s not been that long since their last increase.
 
I guess I'm not up with the times but what do you buy? DW and I price check Amazon but really find few bargains for quality items. Our LBYM lifestyle may contribute to this factor.
Now if I could truly buy my travel, air and deluxe+ accommodations thru Amazon, maybe. Personally we've had better luck getting the name of the local manager and discussing our situation. (special event, poor boy, etc.)
 
My account just renewed 2 weeks ago @99. I had to check my account to see what it said.
On April 13, 2019, you will be charged $99.00 for a year of Prime.
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We'll see in a year what it really is. Until then, I'm golden.
 
foxfirev5 said:
I guess I'm not up with the times but what do you buy? DW and I price check Amazon but really find few bargains for quality items. Our LBYM lifestyle may contribute to this factor.
Now if I could truly buy my travel, air and deluxe+ accommodations thru Amazon, maybe. Personally we've had better luck getting the name of the local manager and discussing our situation. (special event, poor boy, etc.)
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In the past month my orders included burlap ribbon, craft vinyl, cycling shorts/shirts/gloves, chamois butter, socks, a Ring doorbell, sewing machine needles, new brake pads for the brakes on my mountain bike, and a steamer basket.

None of these were impulse buys— I specifically went looking for them. I know I got a real good price on the needles and vinyl. I was satisfied with the prices on the other items. I prefer shopping online over driving around to different stores, so Amazon works for me.
 
ERD50 said:
+1. Glad I didn't get sucked in. 20% is 20%.

-ERD50
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Plus, savings of reusing Amazon boxes, envelopes and protective packaging wasn't even factored in :).
 
I think they should charge $200/yr.
 
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