Amazon Prime

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bookslover

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OK, so, after thinking about it for a couple of hundred years, I finally decided to give Amazon Prime a try.

I'm skeptical, though.

So, I'm paying $12.99 per month for the privilege of not paying $3.99 for shipping of an item? How is that a deal?

Plus, I notice that the Amazon Prime price is not usually the lowest price you can find for a particular item. And you only get the Prime super-duper fast shipping if you pay the Amazon price. My suspicion is that the Amazon Prime price is higher because the "free**" shipping has been folded into the price you're paying - for which you pay $12.99 per month for the privilege.

**Always remember the most basic rule of economics: Ain't nothin' free. Someone is going to pay.

Please tell me that I'm not an idiot for doing this.
 
Even if you are an idiot for subscribing, I’m sure you’re in much company here.
 
This should not be a difficult decision. Do you think you will place enough orders with Amazon to offset the cost of Amazon Prime? If not, then Amazon Prime may not be a wise use for your money.
 
Enjoy


About Amazon Prime Insider & Prime Membership Benefits​

Prime Insider helps you get the most out of everything Prime has to offer - with benefit news, shopping tips, and how-to guides, plus offers and deals just for Prime members. You can stay up to date on the newest and most popular movies and TV shows available on Prime Video including the latest Amazon Original series, the most popular artists on Prime Music, the latest selection of free books and magazines on Prime Reading and more.

You can check out the blog and listen with Alexa. Just ask, "Alexa, open Amazon Prime Insider" to enable a flash briefing for your Alexa devices and apps. Once added, just ask "Alexa, what's my news?" to get the best of shopping and entertainment, delivered by a real human voice.

Here are some Prime benefits included with your membership:

Delivery benefits​

FREE Two-Day Delivery: Millions of items delivered fast and free.
FREE One-Day Delivery: Available on more than 10 million items with no minimum purchase.
FREE Same-Day Delivery: Available, in select areas, on over 3 million items for qualifying orders over $35. Order in the morning, typically before noon, and get your items by 9 p.m.
FREE Ultrafast Grocery Delivery: Get free two-hour delivery on a wide selection of groceries, including meat, seafood, produce, snacks and household essentials. Check availability in your area.
Prescription Delivery and Savings: Enjoy fast, FREE Two-Day Delivery on prescriptions from Amazon Pharmacy, plus exclusive savings when paying without insurance.
FREE Release-Date Delivery: Be among the first to get new video games, books, music, movies and more. Choose Release-Date Delivery on qualified items and receive your package by 7 p.m. on that date.
FREE No-Rush Shipping: Don't need your Prime order right away? Select No-Rush Shipping and earn rewards for future purchases. Learn how it works.
Amazon Day: Simply pick a day that works for you, shop with Amazon Day throughout the week, and we'll deliver orders together on the day you choose.
Key by Amazon: Get your packages securely delivered for free into your garage, home or vehicle with Key by Amazon. Check your eligibility.

Streaming and digital benefits​

Prime Video: Watch exclusive Amazon Originals and thousands of popular movies and TV shows — all at no extra cost. Watch at home or on the go with practically any device.
Prime Video Channels: Watch your favorite shows and movies from HBO, SHOWTIME and STARZ channels — no cable required, cancel anytime and no additional apps to download. $4.99–$14.99/month for Prime members.
Amazon Music Prime: Access 2 million songs, ad-free, plus millions of podcast episodes — included with your Prime membership. Listen on any Echo device and take your music and podcasts anywhere with offline listening.
Amazon Music Unlimited: Get unlimited access to over 70 million songs and millions of podcast episodes. Listen to any song, anywhere, ad-free. Save 20% now with your Prime membership.
Prime Gaming: Get free games to keep, in-game content for your favorite games across all available devices, and a Twitch channel subscription — all free each month.
Amazon Photos: Back up and share your photos with unlimited, full-resolution photo storage. Add your photos in the free apps and view them on all your devices.
Amazon Kids+: All-in-one subscription that gives kids access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, educational apps and games on compatible devices. Prime members get up to a 40% discount.

Want more? Here is a guide to connecting your devices to Prime entertainment.

Shopping benefits​

Prime Member Deals at Whole Foods Market: Exclusive discounts and offers on qualifying item(s) for Prime members in-store and online.
Prime Day: Annual two-day shopping event exclusive for Prime members delivering incredible savings and deep discounts on over one million deals across every category.
Prime Exclusive Deals: Enjoy deals every day on thousands of items available only to Prime members.
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card: Earn 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, and at least 1% back on all other purchases.
Amazon Prime Store Card: Earn 5% back every day on Amazon.com purchases and access exclusive promotional financing offers.
Amazon Prime Secured Card: Build your credit while earning 2% back on Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh and more.
Prime Early Access: Get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon.com.
Prime Try Before You Buy: Try on clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories from the comfort of your home with no upfront charge, and pay only for what you keep.
Personal Shopper by Prime Try Before You Buy: Styling service for men’s and women’s fashion exclusively for Prime members — just $4.99 per styling.
Amazon 4-star and Amazon Books Stores: Prime members pay Amazon.com prices on all products in-store.
Prime-Exclusive Shipping Benefits on Woot!: Prime members get free standard shipping on all Woot! orders and free express shipping on Shirt.Woot purchases.

Reading benefits​

Prime Reading: Get unlimited access on any device to more than a thousand eBooks, popular magazines, comics, and more. Learn more about Prime Reading.
Amazon First Reads: Read next month's new releases today. Each month, Prime members can download one editors' pick for free — before the official publication date. Downloaded titles are yours to keep.
Discounted Print Magazine Subscriptions: Get select 4-month magazine subscriptions for only $0.99 each.

Other benefits​

Share Your Prime Benefits: Link your account with one other adult to share shipping, streaming access to movies and TV shows, Prime Reading and more for free.
Free Shipping at shopbop: Enjoy free two-day shipping and next day shipping at shopbop.com.
Free Titles at Audible: Prime members are invited to start an Audible Premium Plus trial with 2 credits that can be used on any titles.
Free Upgraded Shipping at Zappos: Get free expedited shipping on all Zappos orders.

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Even if you only make one purchase a month with prime, it's well worth it. audible alone.. plus you can share your benefits. I've used prime for ages.
 
Even if you only make one purchase a month with prime, it's well worth it. audible alone.. plus you can share your benefits. I've used prime for ages.

I second that.

I have placed 40 orders totaling $thousands in the past three months. (I buy for my business and personal) Service is excellent; prices are OK considering the free shipping. I have had no problems with returns--though I have made only a few. Audible benefit alone is worth more than the cost of my Prime membership. I have bought everything from computers to sliced pears & Tabasco Sauce, and everything in-between. You can return anything for any reason, even if you don't have the box it came in, and for that matter, even if you have no box at all. They send UPS with a label ready to your house to pick up your free return. If you have no box of any type, just drop it off at a local UPS Store, and they take care of everything. Finally, You earn 5% Back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases with Prime membership. (which is like found money since most of the amount is for my business) O, I almost forgot. You can buy everything over a small minimum cost with interest-free terms for (about) six to 18 months to pay. If you buy a computer that gives you 18 months to pay, however many such purchases you make, your monthly statement always tells you what you need to pay that billing cycle to get it interest-free. There is no penalty if you don't pay all their interest-free aggregate amounts. The balance simply reverts to your standard interest rate. When you need tech support or other customer service help, you request help and someone calls you back immediately. I guess you could say I like their service.

But I use it to the full. It is of little benefit if you don't use it.
 
It really depends on how many orders you plan to make through the service--if you only ever place one or two orders every few months, Prime probably isn't a wise investment for you. But if you're like me, and you place multiple orders every few weeks, it's definitely worthwhile. I live in a rural community, it's far easier to order something through Amazon and wait a few days than it is to go to a store 30-45 minutes away for one $10 item. Of course, being in a rural community, there's really no such thing as free next day or two-day shipping (nothing arrives within two days), but if you don't mind waiting five or six days for a package, it's no big deal.

Not to mention, the customer service with Amazon is typically phenomenal. I ordered a book through a third-party seller on Amazon. The book was supposed to arrive a week ago (according to the USPS tracking number) and has been marked as delivered according to USPS. I didn't receive it and USPS refuses to do anything about it. Under Amazon's A to Z Guarantee, they've already refunded me for the book.
 
There are also a ton of TV shows and movies that you get for free* when you subscribe to Amazon Prime. So even if all you do is use it as a streaming video on demand service, it's a good value.

(*Free, meaning, you get it as part of the Prime subscription at no additional cost)
 
Please tell me that I'm not an idiot for doing this.
Sounds right. You are an idiot, but so is my wife, lol…. If you want some free movies and tunes via steaming (about half the catalog) that is another perk. I don’t think it’s worth it personally but I have taken advantage of it. So I’m an idiot too.
My wife orders a ton so she is probably getting some value. But my last few purchases was as cheap for an in store purchase at Walmart, etc., when I did a quick comparison check. All these big companies are getting their monopolies worth at our expense.
 
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We order from amazon often and Prime has been very worth it. It is incredibly easy to return items. Even if you get something and you just don't like it or if it wasn't what you thought it would be, your returns are typically free.
And if you have little ones I believe the whole 'Torchlighter' series is on Prime Streaming , and while they're not all good, some are great, such as the George Mueller story.
 
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Aside from what we can get at the grocery store, most of what we buy these days we order online and have delivered (usually via Amazon, for the speed and convenience). So, Prime probably makes sense for us based on that alone. We also use the video streaming service a few times a week and have one of their credit cards, which comes with competitive terms.

For you, it'll depend on how much you use their services. If you listen to a lot of music or binge-watch TV, that'll increase Prime's value to you. I suspect that Amazon would make money off most of their other services even if they offered memberships for free. Prices seem to be high enough that they'd still earn some marginal profit if they rushed purchases and prescriptions to you at no charge, or if they gave out Whole Foods discounts at no charge, or signed you up for their credit cards for free, or gave you some free Kindle books along with the ones you pay for, etc. But even with them charging for Prime, it is still an excellent value for many customers, offering decent value and much convenience and dependable customer service. And for Amazon, it surely multiplies the sheer volume of customers they have across their many services, thus increasing their overall profits. It's a solid business model that has benefits for both sides.

My only hesitation is a slight unease with letting Amazon take over both my life and the marketplace that way. On the one hand, the share of the marketplace they control gives efficiencies I want to take advantage of, and isn't that the way free markets work? But on the other hand, I hate to see smaller businesses getting squeezed, and that doesn't seem healthy in the long run. For that reason, there are a few situations where I avoid going to Amazon even when Prime might be most convenient, like when I'm ordering Christian books (unless I need the book extra fast).
 
We use Prime many times a month with a few provisos. First, I have "no deliveries on Sundays" attached to our address. Also, if I can get a book via WTS bookstore reasonably close to the Amazon price, that's what I do.
 
We definitely offset the price with the things we buy from Amazon. Not to mention that we use Prime Video at times as well. Hulu and Netflix charge 8-20 a month which is roughly about the same you're paying for the prime service. We ended up getting rid of cable TV due to it as well.
 
Even if you only make one purchase a month with prime, it's well worth it. audible alone.. plus you can share your benefits. I've used prime for ages.

Audible benefit alone is worth more than the cost of my Prime membership.

I'm curious about the Audible benefit you (and others) are referring to. I've only been able to find information that says Audible membership is separate:
 
I'm curious about the Audible benefit you (and others) are referring to. I've only been able to find information that says Audible membership is separate:
Free Titles at Audible: Prime members are invited to start an Audible Premium Plus trial with 2 credits that can be used on any titles.
Here, use this, a free audible + trial that comes with 2 free credits. The audible+ gives you many free books as well while you are sub'd plus you get 1 free credit a month. You can buy any book with this.

So lets say you buy amazon prime for 1 month, you get the free trial with 2 free credits. Each Credit is roughly 15$ I believe.

Also, free ebooks with the membership

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Here we see this book is free with trial. most books are, I chose this as an example to show its even got free christian books.
https://gyazo.com/d0c65e781445b2210bcc9aab6d0c6404

Hope this helps, Logan.
 
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I am concerned they will take this series and ruin it with unnecessary scenes filled with sex and nudity. I guess it will depend on the director.
As is often the case for sure. Sadly, directors seem to all too often equate quality viewing material with unnecessary graphic footage. But Im hoping…
 
I am concerned they will take this series and ruin it with unnecessary scenes filled with sex and nudity.
Don’t forget the now-standard token racial minority and homosexual characters. For people who are so against “shoving your beliefs down others’ throats,” they love to ensure that literally every single show these days has a sodomite couple or two. Hollywood is so twisted that if they made a show about the garden of Eden, they would make Cain and Abel an Asian gay couple.
 
I have Prime, and use it for my business. There are things I simply can't buy in rural IL, but I can have delivered quite quickly.

I don't think any of the Amazon series would be watchable for me, when reading the various synopsis. As was pointed out, these series (like the new LOTR) are made after the image of the world. Guard your eyes.

I don't need to watch these things, but I can watch, on Prime, Schaeffer's How Shall We Then Live series, and some other excellent Christian vids. Or the PIckwick Papers, which is quite charming and fun.
 
I have Prime, and use it for my business. There are things I simply can't buy in rural IL, but I can have delivered quite quickly.

I don't think any of the Amazon series would be watchable for me, when reading the various synopsis. As was pointed out, these series (like the new LOTR) are made after the image of the world. Guard your eyes.

I don't need to watch these things, but I can watch, on Prime, Schaeffer's How Shall We Then Live series, and some other excellent Christian vids. Or the PIckwick Papers, which is quite charming and fun.
I suggest we all go to this link for Christian television but, as always use discernment with what you watch.
 
OK, so, after thinking about it for a couple of hundred years, I finally decided to give Amazon Prime a try.

I'm skeptical, though.

So, I'm paying $12.99 per month for the privilege of not paying $3.99 for shipping of an item? How is that a deal?

Plus, I notice that the Amazon Prime price is not usually the lowest price you can find for a particular item. And you only get the Prime super-duper fast shipping if you pay the Amazon price. My suspicion is that the Amazon Prime price is higher because the "free**" shipping has been folded into the price you're paying - for which you pay $12.99 per month for the privilege.

**Always remember the most basic rule of economics: Ain't nothin' free. Someone is going to pay.

Please tell me that I'm not an idiot for doing this.
Many may not know that if you go to "Amazon.com/smile" instead of just "Amazon.com," you can designate a charity to receive a small portion of your orders.

Our local crisis pregnancy center made about $75 that way this year. You can designate a church or any other non profit.

You have the full site, same prices, absolutely the same experience; just a portion goes to what I am sure you would choose as a good cause. It's an amazon program, fully supported.
 
Many may not know that if you go to "Amazon.com/smile" instead of just "Amazon.com," you can designate a charity to receive a small portion of your orders.

Our local crisis pregnancy center made about $75 that way this year. You can designate a church or any other non profit.

You have the full site, same prices, absolutely the same experience; just a portion goes to what I am sure you would choose as a good cause. It's an amazon program, fully supported.
How can we make it so our local church gets funding? Do they have to be set up somehow for this ?
 
How can we make it so our local church gets funding? Do they have to be set up somehow for this ?
Yes, charities have to register with Amazon. Most local churches won't do this, but there are other causes that are worthy that are included on their list:

Mid-America Reformed Seminary
Union Gospel Mission Sacramento

No doubt there are others. How it works is detailed here: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/ref=smi_se_rspo_laas_aas

This is a nice upside of Amazon.
 
Yes, charities have to register with Amazon. Most local churches won't do this, but there are other causes that are worthy that are included on their list:

Mid-America Reformed Seminary
Union Gospel Mission Sacramento

No doubt there are others. How it works is detailed here: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/ref=smi_se_rspo_laas_aas

This is a nice upside of Amazon.
Oh wow, thank you! I will talk to my church about this, and if we cant figure out something to be able to do, Ill sign up with one of these 2 places you listed.
 
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