As of May 11, Amazon hiked its Prime membership rate by 20 percent. The new cost for a year’s worth of Prime perks is $119. But is it worth it?
Here’s a general overview of main Prime benefits:
— Free shipping on Amazon orders
— Free or low-cost access to thousands of television shows and movies
— Free access to millions of songs
— Free video game streams and discounts
— Free and discounted books and magazines
— Discounts at places such as Whole Foods and on such products as diapers and baby food
Not surprisingly, Amazon asserts that the value of the membership far outweighs the elevated fee. Marketwatch.com and other industry analysts agree.
Marketwatch.com in late April pointed to free shipping costs alone as a reason to Prime. Shipping costs on two-day deliveries have increased steadily in recent years.
The site maintains that with fewer than a dozen online orders, Prime could pay for itself.
Plus, when evaluating and comparing monthly streaming costs with services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube TV, for example, Prime is dubbed a bargain. And Business Insider in April reminded that Prime members have access to some products unavailable to regular Amazon users.
Wired.com believes few, if any, of the current 100 million Prime members will jump ship. It has become so easy to purchase just about everything on Amazon that Prime members increasingly rely on the online store for much of their daily needs as well as significant purchases. Wired declares: “… from a purely transactional point of view, is Prime worth it? You can almost certainly slice and dice the benefits in a way that adds up to a yes.”
Considering staying on with Prime? The price change from $99 annually to $119 became effective May 11 for newbies, but starts June 16 for existing members when they renew.