Is Amazon Prime worth it?

[solascriptura]

I buy a lot of things from Amazon, but never really felt that I needed Prime in order the get the items in less than 3 days.  However, with Prime day coming up I'm beginning to wonder if I should buy Prime.  I know that Prime is essential for a lot of people, but is it really essential?  Just looking for some opinions.

[City Mouse]

We do a lot of shopping on Amazon, and do find the free shipping worthwhile, I don't want to wait until I have enough things I need to have the volume required to get free shipping. It also prevents me from buying things we don't really need at that time just to get bumped up to free shipping. 

 

[regentrude]

I don't normally need the fast shipping, but it is nice not to have to spend the minimum $35 to get free shipping. I don't have to desperately look for an additional item to buy just to make it above the minimum

[Pen]

I don’t think it is “essential”— but do find it helpful. I think the cost of prime is probably more compared to shipping cost or getting some item I might not need to get free shipping. 

But I live in rural area and have a chronic health issue so that prime helps me avoid trips for shopping. Or paying someone else to shop for me. So the convenience makes it worth it to me. 

[Lady Florida.]

It really depends on how you use it. We originally started when it was just a shipping program and we still use it for shipping. However, we don't have cable or satellite so we take advantage of Prime video. We listen to Prime music often on our phones as well as on Alexa (and often use a Prime music station as our Alexa alarm sound). I haven't used the photo storage option but I keep meaning to try it. 

If you're only going to use it for shipping, which is how it started, you should get an idea of whether or not it would save you money. And if it doesn't really save money do you find the convenience of fast shipping (usually 2 days) as well as not having to reach a minimum in order to get free shopping worth the cost. For us it's totally worth it. YMMV.

ETA: To answer your question - No, it's certainly not essential for most people.. However, it's convenient and comes with a lot of perks. The decision for anyone considering Prime is not just whether the cost is worth it but whether it's also worth the convenience and the perks.

[marbel]

Yeah, as others have said, it really depends.

We use prime video and music.  I find it very useful not to have to hit a certain dollar amount for free shipping. The other day someone's phone charging cable just died - we ordered a new one and it was here within 2 days.  No messing around trying to figure out if there were more things we needed - or worse, buying something we don't really need now to save on shipping. 

We are not frivolous buyers by any means, and we don't always need instant gratification. But when we do need something right away, it's great.  

[historically accurate]

I told DH that he can pry Amazon Prime out of my dead, cold hands. ? I use it for video & shipping. It's so handy not to have to spend extra to get something. 

[Wheres Toto]

It's worth it to us.  I buy a lot of stuff for my 4-H STEM club and my science classes from Amazon. Sometimes I need things quickly because I was late deciding on an activity, and sometimes I wouldn't be able to find what I need without going to multiple stores, even in my area where I can find just about any kind of store imaginable.

We also use it to watch movies and tv shows.  We got rid of cable a few years ago and Prime is one of our sources for stuff we want to watch.

[ashfern]

We use it mostly for the streaming video & music. The shipping is a bonus for our house.

[2_girls_mommy]

Free shipping is nice. The streaming videos make it worth it to me. Like others, we don't do cable. We do Netflix and Amazon. I know we can do audiobooks too, but I haven't messed with that yet. It is on my learn to do list too. I think once we are downloading audio books it will really be worth it. But I do not find it essential. We just added braces to our family and a monthly payment. I may decide to drop the Prime for a year until I finish paying those off when the time comes for the payment. We shall see. I don't enjoy Prime day, and have never actually bought anything. 

[GailV]

As others have said, it depends.  The fast, free shipping is nice.  I like some of the videos I can stream, especially yoga videos. We shop at Whole Foods on a regular basis, so it works well for us that way (they've had some specials that have been exactly right for us, others might not feel the same).

OTOH, I never bother with Prime Day.

[Arctic Bunny]

1 minute ago, Indigo Blue said:

Not to derail the thread...but can I rabbit trail and ask how the Prime Video works? Could we watch it on our TV? It's not a Smart TV or anything. How does this work?

We have an Apple TV, and we have the Prime Video app on there. So we use the Apple TV to access iTunes, Netflix and Prime Video. 

[Arctic Bunny]

We easily save the cost of Prime on shipping. Video, Music, and photo storage are nice bonuses. When I started using the photo storage, I had to accept that Prime was going to be a permanent thing.

[EKS]

For us it is worth every penny.

[GailV]

We run streaming through our DVD player,  and hook the various services up to the television that way.

Dd watches most things on her phone (Netflix, Hulu, Prime).   I've streamed Prime videos on my iPad while sitting in waiting rooms during various music/dance lessons.

[happypamama]

It has been for me.  Not needing to get the minimum for free shipping is really helpful.  Sometimes I need something that's like $5 or $7.  I'm 25 minutes from WalMart/Target, so it's going to be several days or a week before I'll get there.  So Prime saves me from needing to buy too many things or from needing to spend time/gas money to run out for one or two small things.  Plus we do use the music and the photo storage.

[Rachel]

You can purchase it by the month now, it may be worth it for you to try it out for a month or two before committing for a year. 

For us it is worth it at Christmas time, we have nieces and nephews in 5 states so shipping presents really adds up. I also really enjoy the streaming music without commercials.

[Lady Marmalade]

With an average of 60 shipments from Amazon over the course of one year... Yeah, Prime is worth it just for shipping alone!

[PeterPan]

They also put tons of videos and shows on prime AND have lots of music for free. We must have really boring/cheap tastes, because usually when we want stuff it's available for free. So for me, it's half about the great shipping (which SO TOTALLY saves my butt) and half about the streaming services.

Of course you want it. 

[itsheresomewhere]

2 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

With an average of 60 shipments from Amazon over the course of one year... Yeah, Prime is worth it just for shipping alone!

Just 60? Slacker ?

 

For us, it is worth every penny.  I love my subscribe and save, amazon video and music besides the savings on shipping.

[Robin M]

Totally!   We get more than our money's worth of free shipping for books and anything else as well as get 2 hour delivery to our house.   Christmas time, it is a life saver since our family lives all over the U.S.  We watch all our Doctor Who on Amazon Video.  Prime has totally spoiled me rotten for regular shipping from anywhere else.   It is so worth it for our family.

[gardenmom5]

I love prime.   it's not just the faster shipping, I don't have to order only when I have at least $35 worth of stuff in my cart.

prime has a number of free services for members.  music, video, they've come out with a prime photo storage

I also got the amazon credit card - 5% back on amazon purchases.  it's not required, but I spend enough that it more than covers what a prime membership costs.  (just like we have costco exec. membership - that more than pays for the membership fee in cash back every year.)

[gardenmom5]

if you are okay delaying your shipment (by about a weekish or so) - they often run promotions.   my favorite is $1 towards a prime video for each delayed shipment.  and if I have an order coming from three places (it's happened) - each one offers it.

 

eta: prime is now offereing ONE free kindle book per month.  probably from their chosen selection.

[solascriptura]

Wow, I guess its unanimous.  I get free cable and internet so I never considered Amazon video to be a perk of Prime.  I think that is what would push me over the edge.  Free shipping minimum has gone back down to $25 on Amazon.  It's kinda scary.  I'm pretty sure that Amazon is going to take over the world.

[itsheresomewhere]

2 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

if you are okay delaying your shipment (by about a weekish or so) - they often run promotions.   my favorite is $1 towards a prime video for each delayed shipment.  and if I have an order coming from three places (it's happened) - each one offers it.

 

eta: prime is now offereing ONE free kindle book per month.  probably from their chosen selection.

It is for several new releases for the next month.  Some months have really good choices  and then there are others.  It is usually a choice of a thriller, romance, fiction and non-fiction.  

[Suzanne in ABQ]

It's worth it for us, though only occasionally for the fast shipping.  We like it more for the free shipping with no minimum order (we try ton ONLY buy Prime items, so we never pay shipping.    We really like the added bonus of free TV streaming.  With the Amazon Fire Stick, we use Prime as much (or more) than Netflix or Hulu.

[desertflower]

Worth it for us too.

[PurpleHeart]

As everyone said above, fast+free shipping is pretty worthwhile if you buy a lot online. If you go to physical stores really often then maybe it's less worth it.

[Tsuga]

11 hours ago, solascriptura said:

I buy a lot of things from Amazon, but never really felt that I needed Prime in order the get the items in less than 3 days.  However, with Prime day coming up I'm beginning to wonder if I should buy Prime.  I know that Prime is essential for a lot of people, but is it really essential?  Just looking for some opinions.

 

Essential? Goodness no. Unless you are running an online business or something.

Cheaper in the long run? For us, yes. We live in an urban area with a high COL, and get a lot online cheaper. One-day free shipping is really helpful to us. We use the music, the movies, and Amazon fresh occasionally.

For my sister who lives in a rural area, where they ship a lot of stuff, it's worth it on shipping alone. They save roughly $200-500 per year on shipping as they are a middle-income family in a low COL area, so they spend a LOT online because they have a good disposable income.

I know a lot of people who use prime to order for other people or a large family. I use it for my whole family of six. So that's a lot of random stuff.

But I can see a lot of scenarios in which it's not worth it. If you only order one or two things a year and don't use groceries, then no, it's not a money saver. For a middle-income family of three in an urban area, with a parent staying home or possibly working part time, I would imagine you could get most of your purchasing done without a subscription.

[Lizzie in Ma]

For my family, yes.  I would easily blow past the cost of a Prime membership in shipping and handling fees in a month or two.  We order so many essentials from Amazon, between the 4 of us, an order goes out almost daily, plus stuff I order for my parents.  This week alone I bought two books, supplements, face serum, leggings and a dress, cat food, and a USB C adapter. 4 separate orders.

[bethben]

I think it’s worth it.  My main shopping is the grocery store and Costco.  I rarely get out to Walmart or Target type places so Amazon becomes my random stuff place.  It helps that Ds is going to college and gets the college kid discount.

[Lady Florida.]

7 hours ago, Tsuga said:

 

 

I know a lot of people who use prime to order for other people or a large family. I use it for my whole family of six. So that's a lot of random stuff.

 

We often buy gifts for family members who aren't local and have them sent to their house. I have both dss and family and my adult niece and family as regular addresses on my Amazon account. 

[Lecka]

It is currently a necessity because I am watching Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire!!!!!!

We got it for free shipping, we live in a more rural area now, and it’s nice not to need to drive into the larger town on the weekend when my husband is off work.  

We did cancel HBO whatever (streaming) when we got it.  

I doubt we will keep it permanently when we move from this location.  

But I think we will always have some streaming service.  But we will switch back to HBO sometime, and we still have Netflix.  

[Tsuga]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

We often buy gifts for family members who aren't local and have them sent to their house. I have both dss and family and my adult niece and family as regular addresses on my Amazon account. 

Oh yes, we do that too for presents. I forgot.

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

We often buy gifts for family members who aren't local and have them sent to their house. I have both dss and family and my adult niece and family as regular addresses on my Amazon account. 

this is why I got prime in the first place.  I hate mailing packages.

now, only 2dd lives far away, but I can easily send things to her and baby.

[Tsuga]

7 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

If it’s worth it, it’s not because of Prime Day! That hasn’t been very successful in recent years. I don’t think we’ve benefited from it much at all. Most deals we have taken advantage of were Black Friday or Cyber Monday or some listing that went down and camelcamelcamel alerted me. 

Dh uses the streaming a lot. I use mostly Hulu personally. We can watch our Amazon digital movies without Prime. 

I use the shipping feature but it’s often not 2 days at all. There’s processing time or a weekend hiccup in the way. Our post office is closed on weekends so I often can wait days to actually receive anything. The main benefit I suppose is the no shipping fee for Prime eligible items. Some items don’t have a Prime option, though. 

In urban areas not only do we have prime delivery on Sundays during the holidays, but we have private prime drivers who deliver all the time. Sunday deliveries get the USPS drivers overtime.

So it seems it really depends where you are.

Your post office doesn't deliver Saturdays? Man! I think people here would have a fit.

[Sunshine State Sue]

23 hours ago, solascriptura said:

 I get free cable and internet

Tell me more <big ears>  I'd like free cable and internet. 

[BarbecueMom]

I haven't used it yet, but Prime Wardrobe may become my new favorite thing for growing kids who are kind of in between sizes.  DS9 needs new hunting/snow boots, but I'm not sure which size.  I can put both sizes in a Prime Wardrobe box so it's easy to return the one that doesn't fit.  So much easier than dragging him (or all three of them) to a store to try the boots on.

[klmama]

13 hours ago, bethben said:

 It helps that Ds is going to college and gets the college kid discount.

Can someone explain about this discount, please?

[sweet2ndchance]

If you have a valid college email address with a .edu  on the end, then you can get a discount on Amazon Prime.

You can also get a discount on the Prime membership fee if you receive food stamps or Medicaid health insurance. You just have to take a picture or scan your EBT card or Medicaid card and send it in to them.

It is really worth it for us because we live extremely rurally so even if what we need costs a little more on Amazon than it would at the store, the store is typically 100 or so miles away and a full day trip. So when we compare gas costs to spending a few dollars more to have it delivered, it typically is more cost effective to order it unless we know we will be going to the city soon. But since we only so to the city once a month or so, we order more often than not.

I also order used books alot on Amazon, more and more online sellers are taking advantage of Amazon fulfillment which means it usually qualifies for Prime shipping.

Prime Day is fun and we usually do order a few things but we get more than our money's worth out of Prime so Prime Day is just a perk, not a reason to get Prime for us.

[Tsuga]

2 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

Well the mail usually gets redirected to the post office and the post office is not open on weekends. If it’s a very small package it will fit in my P.O. box. Most of the time I need to go during office hours or if it’s a big deal I could show up at the crack of dawn at the P.O. on Saturday when they work behind the scenes and request my package. The former postal worker told me they are there early on Saturday although not officially open. I’d probably call ahead or try to get the attention of a worker that knows me. I usually just wait til Monday (or Tuesday if there’s a Federal holiday). 

I have a street address but if I order from Amazon and they use UPS or FedEx it normally won’t come on weekends, even to the house. Ordering the 40 lb litter bags has been a headache. Lately I’ve resorted to two 20 lb boxes from Pet Smart. They were buy one get one half off last time so it worked out in my favor. I can actually carry those by a handle.

Man, what a pain. In some small towns the post office is open on Saturday, but postal infrastructure really does make a difference.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

17 hours ago, Lecka said:

It is currently a necessity because I am watching Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire!!!!!!

 

 

Oh, just wait until Season 3!

Great series.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

Amazon gave us a notice last year when we had saved enough in shipping to justify having Prime.  I think it took us until around October (we aren't big Amazon users), but combined with the streaming it is worth it.

DMIL has figured out having family with Prime is the same as having Prime lol.  We order and ship to her and she settles up when we visit.  For an 80+ year old with limited tech skills she has figured out a lot of life hacks.

[LucyStoner]

I'm not sure.  $119/year seems high but I suppose that at $10 a month, it's essentially priced comparably to a Netflix or Hulu subscription.  Which is why they are starting to price their membership by the month.  It's about as much as the Costco Executive membership and if you have and use a Prime membership and their Chase/Amazon-branded Visa, it comes with 5% cash back.  

At some point, Amazon Fresh started charging $349/year and I was like "ok, yeah, no, nope, not gonna happen."  I think it's now more like $15 a month (above and beyond prime) but it still seems excessive to me, especially when Prime Now is just paid by delivery and not subscription.  

[KungFuPanda]

On 7/10/2018 at 9:44 PM, solascriptura said:

Wow, I guess its unanimous.  I get free cable and internet so I never considered Amazon video to be a perk of Prime.  I think that is what would push me over the edge.  Free shipping minimum has gone back down to $25 on Amazon.  It's kinda scary.  I'm pretty sure that Amazon is going to take over the world.

This is a little scary. It’s the Ma Bell of retail. I’ve recently caught myself paying more on amazon because it’s easy. I need to nip that in the bud. A lawnmower I just bought was $40 cheaper from Home Depot and the shipping was also free. I need to go back to shopping multiple sites before Amazon is my ONLY choice. 

[Lady Florida.]

5 hours ago, ChocolateReignRemix said:

Amazon gave us a notice last year when we had saved enough in shipping to justify having Prime.  I think it took us until around October (we aren't big Amazon users), but combined with the streaming it is worth it.

DMIL has figured out having family with Prime is the same as having Prime lol.  We order and ship to her and she settles up when we visit.  For an 80+ year old with limited tech skills she has figured out a lot of life hacks.

Hello @ChocolateReignRemix ! Haven't seen you in a long time. Welcome back. 

[mschickie]

It is definitely worth it for us.  We order just about everything from Amazon including car parts.  The amount dh has saved in shipping for those parts (and the ease of getting them) has made it worth it to us.  The two day shipping has a spoiled too.  We occasionally use the Prime Video but to us that is just a bonus and not our main reason for keeping it.

[AngieW in Texas]

Prime is absolutely worth it for me. Aside from clothes and groceries, we buy most things through amazon.

We use Prime streaming to watch tv quite a bit.

I actually use Prime streaming a lot for the forensic science classes I teach. They have one series called Catching Killers that I use with every unit. Each episode talks about a particular forensic technique and covers two cases: one of the very first cases where that technique was used and a much more recent case using that technique to show how forensic science has progressed over the years. I highly recommend the series if you are interested. We watched The Poisoner's Handbook for class also. That episode of The American Experience fit in perfectly with our toxicology unit. My students were amazed to find that labeling laws on items being sold is actually a fairly recent requirement and that things like radium water were not only sold legally, but were promoted as being health tonics.

[Lady Marmalade]

1 hour ago, mschickie said:

It is definitely worth it for us.  We order just about everything from Amazon including car parts.  The amount dh has saved in shipping for those parts (and the ease of getting them) has made it worth it to us.  The two day shipping has a spoiled too.  We occasionally use the Prime Video but to us that is just a bonus and not our main reason for keeping it.

Car parts?!  We never thought of that!!

[Pegasus]

19 hours ago, sweet2ndchance said:

If you have a valid college email address with a .edu  on the end, then you can get a discount on Amazon Prime.

 

I resisted the high price of Amazon Prime membership for many years, then one day out of the blue a few years ago, Amazon offered me a student prime account: six months free and then half-price of the regular Prime membership after that.  I jumped at it and have really enjoyed the benefits. I never claimed to be a student and my Amazon account is associated with a regular Gmail.  I'm guessing that Amazon assumed I was a student because I was buying/renting textbooks but they never actually asked if I was a student and didn't ask for any evidence of school attendance.