When Amazon.com Inc. announced it was raising the price of its Prime program, the company said an annual subscription would climb $20 to $139. But slightly more than half of Prime members will end up forking over almost $180 a year.
That’s because they pay each month, a fee that’s rising to $14.99 from $12.99. The company introduced the monthly subscription in 2016 to attract more middle- and low-income shoppers. The strategy worked, and 52% of subscribers now pay each month, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
When Amazon.com Inc. announced it was raising the price of its Prime program, the company said an annual subscription would climb $20 to $139. But slightly more than half of Prime members will end up forking over almost $180 a year.
That’s because they pay each month, a fee that’s rising to $14.99 from $12.99. The company introduced the monthly subscription in 2016 to attract more middle- and low-income shoppers. The strategy worked, and 52% of subscribers now pay each month, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
2 bucks a month. No big deal. I’ll have to cut back on 1 cigarette or 1 beer. A Starbucks even. Or maybe pay on my 25.99% Visa credit balance 2 bucks less. Or maybe my next car lease can be 5 years instead of 3, to lower the payment. Or maybe my rent-to-own furniture can be extended at the low teaser rate.
pauleckler $14.99/mo for “free” shipping? Surely you jest!!
That’s what I thought, at first. Then…
We do find ourselves getting ‘lots’ of stuff via Amazon that we’d likely have to make store visits. (Sometimes for a single item.) And maybe have to schlep around to more than one store to find what exactly what we’re looking for. Taking the time. Driving around, burning $4 a gallon gas, etc.
The more specialty or odd-ball thing we’re looking for, the more likely we’ll just go to Amazon.
I did do some ‘what-if’ accounting, to see if paying for each delivery would be less than annual flat fee. Came down to doing the fee.
It is for me. Except for special items, I generally can find what I want locally and less expensive than buying from Amazon. Prime is not something that is of interest to me because I don’t buy enough to make the free shipping worthwhile nor do I value the other things that come with it.
But I realize that it is a great service for other folks.
The same items are usually available at Walmart. Curbside pickup or free shipping. A better deal.
I’m not close to Walmart. Items shipped by Amazon are less likely to arrive damaged.
Walmart still needs to work on their packaging. I have ordered from Walmart for delivery. Their website is tricky that it keeps trying to change items to pickup. This was especially annoying when I was unable to drive and there was no way I was able to go into their store for pickup. Also, it appears that the closest Walmart doesn’t do curbside.
Sorry, I’m an anti-walton guy, resistance is likely futile, but seeing them wipe out local mom n pop shops all over has sickened me, as wells other factors… I can only recall darkening their door twice in my many years, Page AZ needing a windup alarm clock, ended up a chinese knockoff, but made sure we didn’t miss the boat, and another time in LodiCA needed a tele cord for work… Both 20-30 years ago…
Amazon, in these covid times, avoiding wandering multiple stores to find needed stuff is out of the question, so I give in and click away… Prime TV, well used, worthwhile, too…
Sorry, I’m an anti-walton guy, resistance is likely futile, but seeing them wipe out local mom n pop shops all over has sickened me, as wells other factors… I can only recall darkening their door twice in my many years, Page AZ needing a windup alarm clock, ended up a chinese knockoff, but made sure we didn’t miss the boat, and another time in LodiCA needed a tele cord for work… Both 20-30 years ago…
Amazon, in these covid times, avoiding wandering multiple stores to find needed stuff is out of the question, so I give in and click away… Prime TV, well used, worthwhile, too.
In theory, I agree with you. In reality, that ship has sailed and if WMT hadn’t killed ma’n pa, Amazon would have. Amazon and Walmart are like Microsoft, Apple, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. A love/hate relationship. It’s how we live. Fighting it is like tugging on Superman’s cape or spitting into the wind.
In theory, I agree with you. In reality, that ship has sailed and if WMT hadn’t killed ma’n pa, Amazon would have. Amazon and Walmart are like Microsoft, Apple, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. A love/hate relationship. It’s how we live. Fighting it is like tugging on Superman’s cape or spitting into the wind.
Have you searched around for things to buy online? There are plenty of stores and through other markets like Shopify, Etsy to name a couple where people sell good online. As an alternative I often look to Costco and some others for things I might have gotten on Amazon.
Except at least with the Waltons there are other options…But nobody out there can match Amazon for the wildly different products they can offer, from fine metalworking machine tools to wifi replacement parts for my 2012 Mac… Never find either locally…
You need at least two orders per month to break even. Could work for Xmas shopping.
We started with Amazon Prime when it was free to college students, and the account used by my family was the one in the name of whichever kid was in college. Now we pay the annual fee, and get free shipping by merely juggling which credit card is used to pay for the order…each of us pays his/her own was by just changing the CC used and the shipping address in the final order screen. That is, the account gets used by the family.
It would be rare to have a week with fewer than two orders from Amazon. With free next day shipping, there are plenty of everyday things that are cost competitive, plus we even get stuff like cat litter delivered to our door (for less $ than going to the store, and lugging it around).
When my fleet included a 15 year old car, a 17 year old car and 25 year old car, Amazon was a great place to get repair/maintenance parts because they have a “My Garage” feature that assures that purchased parts will fit the vehicle you order them for.
Having Amazon Prime TV contributed to me canceling our cable TV, resulting in >$100 per month saving. (If you liked the “Jack Reacher” books, or the two movies with Tom Cruise, I think you will really like the Prime series of eight episodes.)
Curious Q, I’m watching the New Jack Reacher series and boy o boy, the new Jack is good. Tom Cruise was good and bulked up but he was short and this new guy is impressive looking. Still has the gruffness, gentleness, sense of humor, and peculiarities and he’s better looking than ever.
In reality, that ship has sailed and if WMT hadn’t killed ma’n pa, Amazon would have.
There is a small Mom ‘n’ Pop hardware store in town that doesn’t have a wide selection…but they normally have the one item you need. When you go in there, one of the three people (Mom, Pop, their daughter) can always help you out with your question, and find the exact item you need and maybe didn’t even know what to call it. There’s an appliance repair place that helps you diagnose your appliance problems and (for me at least) has a 100% record in having or ordering the correct part. Once, they offered to stay open an extra half hour if I was going to come over right away despite them being about to close.
However, there were plenty of other stores where you’d ask for something and the employees didn’t know anything, didn’t offer to find someone who could help, and wouldn’t do anything other than shrug their shoulders when faced with something they couldn’t answer. Some of those stores that were out of the way would be closed for a family event, or knock off early for the day, so that if you went after work or went out of your way to go there, you’d waste a trip and have to backtrack anyway to go to the Big Box store that was open and likely to have what you wanted. Last month the newspaper had an article about the two-generation family business that closed because the third generation didn’t want to take over and run that business. Once while repairing a faucet, I broke an item and called a local plumbing business to tell them I was coming and to please wait for me even though I knew they closed at 5:00. I pulled into the lot at 5:03, and everyone was gone. Menard’s had the item I needed to be able to turn the water back on in my house, so you can guess how many more times I’ve been back to the plumbing supply place.
The point is, the internet and Big Box stores have made competition harder, but there are several other factors as well.
You need at least two orders per month to break even. Could work for Xmas shopping.
Well, I’m probably not a total outlier, but maybe I am.
Since February 1, I’ve received three shipments, with another due to arrive tomorrow. That’s 2 to my house (dog food and cleaning supplies), and two to my mom’s nursing home for toiletries$. Based on history, I’d anticipate at least 2 more before the end of the month.
Yeah, I do feel guilty about environmental effects…. But dang it’s convenient and way easier than driving all over town to fulfill my mom’s latest need.
I’m a heavy, heavy Amazon user. Shipping. Movies. Kindle books. Photo storage. Online magazines. Worth every penny to me.
Daryll44: “In theory, I agree with you. In reality, that ship has sailed and if WMT hadn’t killed ma’n pa, Amazon would have. Amazon and Walmart are like Microsoft, Apple, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. A love/hate relationship. It’s how we live. Fighting it is like tugging on Superman’s cape or spitting into the wind.”
You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger And you don’t mess around with Jim.
