Amazon Prime --- Worth It?

RinconVTR wrote:

ralphnjoann wrote:
Regarding "free shipping" the merchants have employed a new backdoor technique to increase prices. It works like this: There is a small electronics item I occasionally buy. It used to cost around $3.00 and the shipping was a little over $4.00, however, I could order four or five of them before the shipping increased to the next level, usually a dollar or so (combined shipping). Assuming I ordered five items at $3.00 and shipping at $4.00, the order total would be $19.00. Now the item has "free shipping," but the price has increased to $7.00, so now there is no combined shipping and the order total is $35.00! In other words, you pay individual shipping charges on each item, but it costs the seller no more to ship than before.

Of course you will find examples like this, especially when items cost less that it does to ship an empty box. This is not very common, but when it occurs, its justified.

???? I sell an item for $3.00. This price includes my profit (let's say $2). I get a pre-paid mailer from the Post Office for $4. This mailer is good for anything that fits in it ("If it fits, it ships"). The buyer pays $7 and I make $2. If the buyer orders 5 items, which fit in the mailer (combined shipping), it costs him $19 and I make $10. Now let's look at "free shipping" and the new item price of $7. If the buyer orders one item with free shipping, it still costs him $7 and I still make the same profit, but if he orders 5 items, it costs him $35. I still pay $5 for the product and $4 for shipping. So now my profit is $26.00 instead of $10. What justification am I missing?