It's been great for me and the GF. She tends to buy stuff off of Amazon much more than I do but I love the instant video. I don't mind the increase
Awesome, they didn't raise the prices for me!
"Students with a .edu email address will pay $49 for an Amazon Prime membership."
really? There is (or was) an option to add "authorized users" or something to that effect to allow other people in your household to use your Prime membership.
From slickdealsIf your current Prime membership is scheduled to expire on or after April 17th, and therefore would auto-renew at the $99 price, you can effectively lock in the $79 price by taking the following steps:
(1) Look up your Prime expiration date. (Let's say yours is June 11th.)
(2) Purchase a Prime Gift Membership here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/p...ng_landing
Set the delivery date as the date after your membership expires (in this case, June 12, 2014).
Enter your own e-mail address as the gift recipient. It is okay if this is the exact e-mail address already associated with your Amazon Prime account.
Place order (total will be $79).
(3) Turn off your Prime auto-renew. (End membership - at expiration)
(4) On the day after your membership expires, you will receive an e-mail from Amazon with the gift membership. Follow the instructions to apply it to your account.
This is a pretty straightforward way to save $20.
If your renewal date is after the cutoff, follow these instructions to buy a "Gift" Prime membership at the current rate.
From slickdeals
It is even better because you can use your gift card balance to pay for the gift membership.
I am not renewing because it's like crack. Once you have it, you want to use it.
Continue, for 2 reasons:
1. I understand businesses need to increase their prices to stay competitive
2. It's still a HUGE costs savings to me, even at $100
I've started ordering a lot more household items off Amazon...dishwasher detergent pellets, diapers, etc. Saves me a trip to the store and is more convenient because if I'm out of something, I can just open the Amazon app on my phone, order it, and it shows up in 2 days for free.
My only real complaint with the new system is that more & more stuff is becoming "add-ons". When I first signed up, I was kind of ticked off that a lot of stuff was sold by third parties & weren't eligible for Prime. The latest tactic is to force you to buy X amount of dollars in order to get the little stuff shipped free. I don't know why they can't just drop ship it in a padded envelope bag if it's something small like that.
But still, it's economical & convenient, so it's worth it.
Continue, for 2 reasons:
1. I understand businesses need to increase their prices to stay competitive
2. It's still a HUGE costs savings to me, even at $100
I've started ordering a lot more household items off Amazon...dishwasher detergent pellets, diapers, etc. Saves me a trip to the store and is more convenient because if I'm out of something, I can just open the Amazon app on my phone, order it, and it shows up in 2 days for free.
My only real complaint with the new system is that more & more stuff is becoming "add-ons". When I first signed up, I was kind of ticked off that a lot of stuff was sold by third parties & weren't eligible for Prime. The latest tactic is to force you to buy X amount of dollars in order to get the little stuff shipped free. I don't know why they can't just drop ship it in a padded envelope bag if it's something small like that.
But still, it's economical & convenient, so it's worth it.
I agree... The add ons don't bother me much. I order something at least once a week from Amazon so as long as you plan around that... no big deal.
I can't tell you how much prime has saved me in gas and time in regard to my getting in the car and heading to the store.
Renew. The benefits outweigh the $20 increase, at least so far
However there is at least one lawsuit pending against Amazon for alleged artificial inflation of prices to cover shipping
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/lawsui...e-third-party-prices-inflated-cover-shipping/
I didn't renew my Amazon Prime account (expired in January) and I am surprised how little money I spend on things now.
Really? I'm the opposite...I've started buying food stuff like Cheerios & tuna, as well as supplies like paper towels & detergents right off Amazon. You can set them up for recurring delivery (at a discount too) for stuff you commonly order. Really streamlines that aspect of household management!
I've been trying to migrate to 100% online ordering for everything, although it's still a work in progress. I keep extras of stuff like ketchup & deodorant so that when I do run out, I have a spare so I can re-order online without having to run down to the store. And I have tried out my local Stop & Shop's grocery delivery service for fresh stuff (Peapod), which works pretty well - I don't know if they get first-pick of the produce or what, but everything that showed up was good quality.
Eventually I'd like to only hit up the store for an emergency, to get oddball stuff (like weird vegetables from Whole Foods), or to find new products. That would be ideal...not that visiting the store is a huge hassle or anything, but it's like having an electric car...it's just way more convenient to have in your life.