Amazon Prime --- Worth It?

I think their recent price jump from $79.95 to $99.95 still makes it worth it. True, not everything is free 2 day shipping, but those items are few and far between. They also have a HUGE video streaming library (besides the books)

I'll be renewing my subscription!

WoodGlue

As with most things, it depends on whether or not it's worth it for you. If you make just a few purchases per year, it is not. If you don't care if it takes a week or 10 days to receive your order, it's not worth it. There are SLOW free shipping options available on most goods, without PRIME.

I tend to use it for both work and home, so my company paid for the Prime subscription, which makes it very worthwhile for me! ;-)

Many, many items are Prime eligible, but not all. As far as the books in the lending library, I have not seen many mainstream titles available at all, but I haven't looked in a while. You also get free video streaming, but with a very limited selection of shows & movies.

Do this - go back to the items you just paid $35 shipping on and see if they say "Prime eligible". It would be clearly marked.

Having Prime changes your buying habits to be sure. I think nothing of placing 2 or 3 separate orders during Christmas time because I no longer have to save up my purchases to qualify for free super-saver shipping. But that's what Amazon is counting on.

Often you'll find cheaper prices online than other places, but once shipping is factored in it may not be as much of a bargain, if at all. With Prime that factor is removed so many things are definitely cheaper online, even some you wouldn't normally think to buy online. If you do much online shopping at all Prime may very well be worth it to you, even at the new higher $99 price.

Some people love it. Personally, I don't use the streaming videos nor Kindle lending library. My cable company offers online videos, and I get eBooks free from my library.
I always keep some things in my cart that I regularly have to buy, (guitar strings, etc) so I can always bump my purchases amount to $35. That way I get the regular free shipping. I don't mind waiting an extra day or two for my package.
I actually try to arrange my purchases so that my package will be big enough so that it goes UPS ground, rather than Smart Post-which can be unreliable.
I would recommend trying the free 30 day trial that they offer and see if you like it.
It wasn't worth it at $79 for me, it certainly won't be worth it at $99!

Don't forget, free movies. With theprices going up, I have to recalculate and see if it is worth it though.

How much you will order is definitely the key. Another factor to consider is how you travel. I joined several years ago because we were changing locations frequently and it was comforting to know we could receive ordered items in two days.

Also, it's amazing how many things you can find and order through them. I buy almost everything (except food an clothing) from Amazon. The streaming videos are nice when we have good internet service (at home or at our winter location where we have DSL). You can also download (instead of streaming) rental videos so you can watch while you are on the road when you don't have suitable internet service or good TV.

One more thing, you can add family members to your Prime service for no extra charge.

I hated to see their recent price increase, but we all know what shipping prices have done in the past few years . . . so it's understandable that they can't operate in the red and stay in business.

I only pay $45 since I am a college student (yes at 54 years old). I use Amazon Prime a lot, so even at $99 it would be worth it. It is great for large items where the shipping would be $$$.

Edited to add: one of the Amazon shipping warehouses is a couple of miles from me. If I order on a weekday, I typically get delivery the next day. I even ordered an item once on a Saturday, and it was delivered by courier Sunday morning. The warehouse tends to use a courier instead of regular carrier for their local orders.

Prime isn't worth it to me. There are enough things I plan to buy, but don't need immediately, that I can hit $35 for free shipping. I hate paying for shipping, and paying for Prime is paying for shipping. Their selection of movies is very limited, and I have plenty of books from the library so their Prime lending isn't a plus for me.

The other thing is that Amazon isn't always the cheapest place to buy. Many time you can beat their price even with the free shipping. If you have Prime I think you may just go ahead and order from them without checking to see if they are the cheapest. If I can't find an item with free shipping at Amazon I will buy elsewhere, since they are almost always higher than other places when you don't figure in free shipping.

I think it's a bargain! ;) Have been a member since Prime only covered free two day shipping.

Let's break it down:

I am an active traveler and don't want to just sit in one place waiting ten days for a package. I usually order several things a month from Amazon but if I only ordered twice a month and upgraded to two day shipping, assuming it cost $5 per shipment that would work out to $120 per year.

Amazon streaming video is comparable to Netflix streaming, which costs $8 per month or $96 per year.

If you own a Kindle, you are also eligible for the Kindle lending library, one book per month, and the Kindle first program, a free ebook to keep once per month. The lending library is not new releases but had many best sellers: Kindle Lending Library. Kindle First is a choice of one of four books offered pre-release. I figure this is worth at least $5 per month or $60 per year.

And none of these cover the intangible advantage of not burning gas to go to a store. We were in an RV park in Pt Mugu, CA when the water pump failed on the bus. Two days later, we had the very rare part in hand without going all over on a wild goose chase.

So for me, I'm getting $276 worth of goods and services for $99. If you tend to stay parked for long periods of time, don't watch streaming video and/or don't own a Kindle, it might not be worth the price to you.

Its worth it for me. I can order small parts the are not available locally. Normally the cost of shipping would prohibit buying small (electronic) parts online.