Amazon Might Raise Prime By Up To $40?

I have a person at work that orders a lot so she would still be happy about the increase.

I wonder if maybe this was a play by them to get a few less people to take prime and thus save them money. they increase rates so they get more from the ones that pay. Others quiet the service so then they aren't have to pay for 'free' shipping for those people.

Although the ones that keep it might be more willing to try to buy things more often to make sure they get their money worth.
 
techie81 said:
While I like amazon I will not pay an increase for Prime. My local B&M's have most of the same stuff for the same price and is about 5 mins away.
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Couple this with the fact they charge tax now (in my state), makes them a lot less attractive.
 
Spidey329 said:
Couple this with the fact they charge tax now (in my state), makes them a lot less attractive.
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what is your state? amazon starts charging tax Feb 1 in NC, my state. I am considering moving to others 20 states
 
I love amazon prime, but with the sales tax, the increasing amount items on the add-on program,slim interest in the prime instant video and $8.99 for Saturday delivery, i probably will not renew my prime. If anything, with all the restrictions, they should actually lower the price or at least have a different plans for people that dont care about prime instant video
 
Fine by me. I save fuck tons of money having Prime. Will gladly more as long as I get to keep the free two day shipping and it expands to more items.
 
Still a bargain, but if the price hike is in any way related to the streaming then I'd rather they break that off somehow since I don't use it anyways.
 
no!!!! I only started prime. I don't order much from Amazon at all... I actually use it more for streaming. I do like prime delivery though... I just don't use it much since I don't buy a lot.
 
Interesting. In the UK we get free next-day shipping with Prime, but we don't get the VOD services, which is a real shame as otherwise I'd be a lot more inclined to sign up. As it is, I just wait for free Prime 30-day trials and use them to get all my Christmas shopping. I certainly wouldn't pay anything for the service as it stands, I'm just not that impatient that I need all my stuff right here, right now.
 
I would renew (even with the higher price) but given that they are throwing so many things into Prime now, they might be better off breaking out the pieces (Kindle features, streaming, shipping) and having subscription prices for each separately ... or put something into the mix that ties you to the Amazon architecture even more (a free Kindle perhaps)
 
Thuleman said:
$40 increase would be a non-issue for me. The wife buys so much stuff from Amazon that they lose money on shipping even if they raise prices. Also, the Prime streaming video and Kindle library is awesome.
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And thats why they need to jack up the price, going from 1million to 19million, they are liking taking a massive hit in profits from this paying for all that free 2 day shipping, sure they get bulk prices from couriers, but still, thats a huge jump in shipping!

i would be iffy, i dont really use the amazon prime video service, i think they need to come out with 2 services

1. amazon prime - just 2 day shipping
2. amazon prime with the online media options
 
MrGuvernment said:
And thats why they need to jack up the price, going from 1million to 19million, they are liking taking a massive hit in profits from this paying for all that free 2 day shipping, sure they get bulk prices from couriers, but still, thats a huge jump in shipping!

i would be iffy, i dont really use the amazon prime video service, i think they need to come out with 2 services

1. amazon prime - just 2 day shipping
2. amazon prime with the online media options
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They aren't taking a hit on free two day shipping even at those levels. At that point and with their distribution points, it's minimal if any difference from ground. In a lot of cases they are probably using ground because it services in two days but they don't pay the second day rate (even though it's advertised as free two day shipping).

Second, most of their shipments are parcel/small box where there is plenty of market capacity. Fuel/diesel has been pretty constant lately and unless they are really getting pinched on the inbound side, the transport costs should be minimal.

Third, I suspect the video rights are the culprit here. I used to pay $79 for Prime without the video...then they added it and kept the price the same. There is really no way this could have been done without the pre-thought of raising Prime prices down the road.

So the question becomes:

Customers once paid $79 for non video Prime but then you gave them video for "free". How will customers react if prime pricing reversts to 79 (no video) or will they accept basically a 50% price increase to keep their current service?




It really becomes an ecosystem question and Amazon is selling you the Kindle stuff (free lending), video (prime video) but they combined two non material services with a physical good/service to complete the package. My guess is they have a retention rate they expect to remain that probably don't fully utilized prime and this is gravy. Their primary goal is to close the gap on the heavy users who use Prime a lot.
 
I don't have prime. I just use the free 5 to 7 day shipping which for me usually means 3 or 4 days. The minimum order used to be $25 but now its $35. If I need an item that is less than $35 I can always put come coffee in the order to make it over $35.
 
I'll pay it. I really only have online options for a lot of stuff. It sucks the only electronics store that I'm even close to is Best Buy and thats 30 min. Microcenter and Frys are ~3 hours. One trip and I have prime paid for.

The only things I can get locally are day to day goods.
 
Ahh, it is probably a keeper for me because we pretty much buy everything from Amazon accept groceries. (and I would buy that from them if the price was right).
We dumped cable so for TV watching it is streaming or reruns of 70s TV shows on METV.
Amazon Prime was the ONLY streaming network to offer the HGTV shows my wife likes like HouseHunters. (Blaah) That is really the main reason we are Prime members.
 
Until they start charging tax in my state it's still the cheapest place to buy 95% of my shit.
 
If the market will bear the price, then why not raise it? Altruism?
 
Smashed Ixnay said:
I love Prime, but even if it cost $100, then that's a bit too much for me. The good thing is they are building two factories here (Lakeland and Tampa, FL), so I won't need to have Prime as I'm 20 minutes from the Lakeland area and 45 minutes from Tampa, but I'll have to pay sales tax now. $40 increase is crazy.
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This. Double whammy for FL soon. I rather go down to my local Tiger Direct.
 
I hope they don't raise it. I've been considering dropping as is, but its just a good enough deal now that I can't... but if the price goes up, the scale swings the other way. Many local stores have been price-matching Amazon lately anyway. I've successfully got Best Buy, Walmart, and even Target to price match items sold directly by Amazon (not one of their market place sellers). So if the government gets their way to taxing all of us who haven't been subjected to online sales tax, and Amazon jacks their price up, I'll have to believe the glory days of cheaper products online will be coming to an end. I like the idea someone else posted about splitting up the service and cost so those of us who don't use the video streaming can opt out for a cheaper rate. If Amazon offered something Netflix doesn't, it would be worth it, but I can't recall a single time I used Amazon's streaming video in place of Netflix. I've rented video's, but nothing from the free streaming.
 
Pringals said:
I hope they don't raise it. I've been considering dropping as is, but its just a good enough deal now that I can't... but if the price goes up, the scale swings the other way. Many local stores have been price-matching Amazon lately anyway. I've successfully got Best Buy, Walmart, and even Target to price match items sold directly by Amazon (not one of their market place sellers). So if the government gets their way to taxing all of us who haven't been subjected to online sales tax, and Amazon jacks their price up, I'll have to believe the glory days of cheaper products online will be coming to an end. I like the idea someone else posted about splitting up the service and cost so those of us who don't use the video streaming can opt out for a cheaper rate. If Amazon offered something Netflix doesn't, it would be worth it, but I can't recall a single time I used Amazon's streaming video in place of Netflix. I've rented video's, but nothing from the free streaming.
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If Amazon split up prime shipping and videos, no one would subscribe to the video portion, because Amazon video is not part of most major streaming devices.
 
Pringals said:
I hope they don't raise it. I've been considering dropping as is, but its just a good enough deal now that I can't... but if the price goes up, the scale swings the other way. Many local stores have been price-matching Amazon lately anyway. I've successfully got Best Buy, Walmart, and even Target to price match items sold directly by Amazon (not one of their market place sellers). So if the government gets their way to taxing all of us who haven't been subjected to online sales tax, and Amazon jacks their price up, I'll have to believe the glory days of cheaper products online will be coming to an end. I like the idea someone else posted about splitting up the service and cost so those of us who don't use the video streaming can opt out for a cheaper rate. If Amazon offered something Netflix doesn't, it would be worth it, but I can't recall a single time I used Amazon's streaming video in place of Netflix. I've rented video's, but nothing from the free streaming.
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I'm figuring its the digital streaming end driving the increase.

They either want to improve their offerings which is a little behind on new titles usually, or they are being squeezed by content providers like Netflix.
 
thekipper said:
3. You just started charging sales tax (well tomorrow) and then you want to raise Prime by $40 annually.
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You realize they don't get to keep that money, right? That's the government, not Amazon.
 
Spidey329 said:
Couple this with the fact they charge tax now (in my state), makes them a lot less attractive.
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The sales tax thing was inevitable. If Amazon has a facility in the state you live in, most every state law they have to collect sales tax.

Feb 1st Amazon starts collecting state sales taxes in Tennessee where I live.
This is a big price hit because Tennessee operates on a consumption based tax system instead of an income tax. So the sales tax is high (9.25%) on what you buy.
BUT this is a less oppressive form of taxation.
I can CHOOSE to pay taxes by my buying habits. Income taxes would be forced from me.
So buying from Amazon that is a near 10% increase.
Is it still a better deal than local stores. Hands down YES. Local retailers get HUGE markups on merchandise. Big ticket item; they have a major distribution hub not 50 miles from me. If it comes from there I usually get it the next day.
 
Contact your state elected officials if you don't like paying sales tax. Amazon is just passing the sales tax to your local state. They aren't making any more money.
 
Still worth it. In 2013 I've ordered at least a twenty grand worth of stuff. :D
 
AMD T-type said:
ITT: A bunch of people who don't understand the concept of inflation.
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I can't relate inflation for something of convenience. The consumer doesn't need it.
The bean counters did the math, and they figured with the loss of memberships, they'll still generate more profit on less members with the higher prime cost.

That's all to it.
 
Rizen said:
You realize they don't get to keep that money, right? That's the government, not Amazon.
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Sure, but it also means I don't keep that money now either:) It's a net cost increase for me regardless of the reason.

No sales tax on internet purchases is absolutely part of what helped Amazon grow. If you don't think that was key incentive for people to buy from them, I cannot help you.
 
thekipper said:
Sure, but it also means I don't keep that money now either:) It's a net cost increase for me regardless of the reason.

No sales tax on internet purchases is absolutely part of what helped Amazon grow. If you don't think that was key incentive for people to buy from them, I cannot help you.
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I sense a marginal B&M come back.
 
Amazon has been on a slow train to fuck-up's ville for a while now.

$40 my ass.
 
At $10/mo it's probably better for me to go a la carte on the shipping fees. I don't use the video stuff because Netflix.
 
No thanks. Prime has been getting less and less desirable every time it changes. Add on items, fluxuating overnight prices, etc. I get why it was necessary, but that wasn't what I signed up for last time I forked over for Prime.

I'm already considering going prime-less. If they up the price, that's a guaranteed goodbye for me.
 
Funny, I was already planning not to renew unless rates go down because of this new UPS SurePost bullshit. Basically, past few months they're cheaping out and using a UPS service that hands the package off to USPS for the final delivery. Mixed record on actually getting it to your mailbox on the second day, and creates some other problems for me even if they do, being in an apartment.

That, and it seems like every decent TV show I want to watch is exempt from the free Prime streaming, so it's basically a shipping-only service in practice.
 
Ashbringer said:
Am I the only one who doesn't get prime? Most stuff I order is free shipping. If it's not, Ebay will have it with free shipping. I don't get the benefits of Prime.
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You're not alone. I just add things to my cart as I find them, but wait to order until I get enough in there for free shipping. If the price goes up on something, I'll save that item for later.
 
Lots of doom and gloom here. I disagree. I've often wondered how they aren't losing their shirts over prime. Even at $150 price point - Amazon prime is a heck of a deal (for me). I'd probably pay up to $200 bucks a year before I'd start questioning the cost, just based on shipping alone. I've also dropped netflix streaming and I'm using prime video as a bonus. I think the cost hike is justified and I'm willing to stay on board. Loving Amazon these days...
 
Kueller said:
You're not alone. I just add things to my cart as I find them, but wait to order until I get enough in there for free shipping. If the price goes up on something, I'll save that item for later.
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But not everything becomes available for free shipping - no matter what size your cart is at checkout (or am I wrong here?) While yes, lots of things are free shipping (and I used to wait the 3-5 days slow boat free shipping wherever I could) I was still exceeding the cost of prime. Maybe you know something I don't / your shopping skills are better than mine - if so please do share ;)
 
I hate to say it, but I would accept a price increase to ~$99 because Netflix is $96 for video alone. Anything higher than that and I start to question the value. NC is getting hit with sales starting Saturday.
 
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