PSA: Amazon Prime going up to $99, lock in lower rate now

[notposting]

You can lock in the $79 rate for this year if your membership charges or renews before April 17. After that it, it will be $99/year.

Thankfully, my annual renewal date is April 15th

And yeah, we'll be sticking with it -- though I do wonder if they toyed with the idea of tiers of service or optional add-ons.

edit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200966690
Sign up for free trial now, and it would charge before the cutoff date if you want to keep it.

edit2: post 14

There is a hack for gifting a subscription to yourself:

http://lifehacker.com/get-another-year-of-amazon-prime-for-79-even-as-a-cur-1543360940

This was not a hot deal but since so many use Amazon and their prime shipping, I allowed it stay,

as a PSA. Now there is threadcrapping going on in the thread, which is against the rules.

The thread has served its purpose.

For those of you that want to continue the merits/faults of Prime, there's a thread in OT you can go to.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2373175&highlight=amazon+prime






esquared
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[Medikit]

You can lock in the $79 rate for this year if your membership charges or renews before April 17. After that it, it will be $99/year.

Thankfully, my annual renewal date is April 15th

And yeah, we'll be sticking with it -- though I do wonder if they toyed with the idea of tiers of service or optional add-ons.

edit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200966690
Sign up for free trial now, and it would charge before the cutoff date if you want to keep it.

Also sign up for Amazon Student if you have access to a .edu address.

 

[staryoshi]

Prime student is also increasing to $49. Both Prime options are still a better value than Newegg Premier for PC enthusiasts as well as general consumers

 

[slpnshot]

Noooo, my subscription renews in May.

Meh, I can deal with the 20 extra a year with how often I buy things on amazon. I even get the packages in one day more often than not because I'm close to the California warehouse.

That said, I'd gladly opt out from their video service if I could have reduced pricing.

 

[Leyawiin]

/sigh. I'll keep paying it. Buy so much more than just PC hardware from them.

 

[chizow]

Prime student is also increasing to $49. Both Prime options are still a better value than Newegg Premier for PC enthusiasts as well as general consumers

You can get free Newegg 2-day shipping via ShopRunner, which has been free for me forever just for signing up at the right time and also free to most Amex members. ShopRunner also gives free 2-day for a number of other great stores that in total, rival Amazon imo.

In any case, I will be cancelling my Prime membership once they try to charge me $99, Prime is a scam anyways, Amazon charges you $79-99 a year just for what most retailers like Newegg do for free: fast shipping turnaround times at their standard shipping speed.

 

[clok1966]

no way to reup for a year early?

 

[WilhelmII]

Still worth it to me for shipping alone. Video and books are just a bonus. 9 times out of 10, I will order from Amazon over Newegg, just for the return policy. No restocking fees.

 

[exar333]

Still worth it to me for shipping alone. Video and books are just a bonus. 9 times out of 10, I will order from Amazon over Newegg, just for the return policy. No restocking fees.

This.

Prime shipping is 2-days MAX. I often can order at 10-11PM and get the order 2 calendar days later, it's crazy. MUCH faster than NewEgg. I like the egg just fine, but Amazon has so many more products. Prime is amazing.

 

[dbk]

prime student not bad

 

[chizow]

This.

Prime shipping is 2-days MAX. I often can order at 10-11PM and get the order 2 calendar days later, it's crazy. MUCH faster than NewEgg. I like the egg just fine, but Amazon has so many more products. Prime is amazing.

Certainly depends where you live I guess, Amazon can take up to 3 days with Prime for me on the EC not counting the day you order (before 3pm EST) because they use USPS sometimes, where Newegg is often Next Day for free with their standard free UPS service even if I order as late as 5-6pm EST because their NJ warehouse is just up I-95. I've never had a Newegg order not ship the same business day if I placed it before 3pm EST.

Amazon on the other hand is the only place on the planet that actually makes you pay more for decent service or they actually DEGRADE your service level; the standard Free Shipping for Amazon means Amazon literally sits on your order for 3-5 days before finally getting around to shipping it to you because the time with the carrier is exactly the same.

Like I said, Prime is a scam, I've been using them less and less so cancelling my membership will be no biggy.

 

[staryoshi]

You can get free Newegg 2-day shipping via ShopRunner, which has been free for me forever just for signing up at the right time and also free to most Amex members. ShopRunner also gives free 2-day for a number of other great stores that in total, rival Amazon imo.

In any case, I will be cancelling my Prime membership once they try to charge me $99, Prime is a scam anyways, Amazon charges you $79-99 a year just for what most retailers like Newegg do for free: fast shipping turnaround times at their standard shipping speed.

I've used ShopRunner before, but it was an inferior service to Amazon Prime for my usage.

Newegg's standard shipping is dog slow. You have to subscribe to Premier just to reach their old level of service, which is still slower than Prime. Amazon has never failed to delivery my items at the advertised speed - and I've placed hundreds of orders through them. ($4 overnight and $8 Saturday delivery have been incredibly clutch in many instances)

Amazon has the best customer service of any etailer by a wide margin and Prime comes with a few additional perks that other shipment expediting services lack as well.

It's unfortunate that you're unsatisfied with Prime, but for many it's an invaluable boon.

 

[chizow]

I've used ShopRunner before, but it was an inferior service to Amazon Prime for my usage.

Newegg's standard shipping is dog slow. You have to subscribe to Premier just to reach their old level of service, which is still slower than Prime. Amazon has never failed to delivery my items at the advertised speed - and I've placed hundreds of orders through them. ($4 overnight and $8 Saturday delivery have been incredibly clutch in many instances)

Amazon has the best customer service of any etailer by a wide margin and Prime comes with a few additional perks that other shipment expediting services lack as well.

It's unfortunate that you're unsatisfied with Prime, but for many it's an invaluable boon.

Newegg standard UPS 3-day is dog slow? I guess what is essentially free overnight delivery isn't dog slow, but again I am sure it depends how close you are to their warehouse. The only time Newegg's delivery is slow is if you purchase something small and it goes through DHL or UPS MI, which is no different than Amazon's standard saver shipping services in terms of time.

The difference is, Newegg actually ships it out THEIR door that day and the time is spent with the carrier, rather than Amazon just sitting on the order for 3-5 days until they feel like processing it and it is delivered in the usual 2-3 days Prime would arrive. It's funny because what you describe with Premier is EXACTLY what has happened with Prime, where they have trained Prime subscribers to pay for what they USED to provide in terms of service free of charge prior to Prime.

And for customer service being the best? Nah. Sure Amazon has a general no-hassle return policy, but how long do you think that is going to last now that so many take advantage of it? They used to not charge at all for return shipping with Prime, but now, unless the mistake is explicitly their fault, they will charge you shipping at the minimum. Free Returns with Shoprunner. Also, Amazon no longer offers price matching within 30 days, discontinued years ago. I still hit up Newegg and get those credits and considerations no questions asked. Same for any B&M for 14-30 days depending on their policy.

In any case, I think Amazon is about to see many of their customers do not find Prime to be invaluable and the increase in price will just be offset by at least 20-25% decrease in subscribers resulting in a net gain of nothing in Prime membership revenue and a net loss in overall sales lost by customers who can find alternatives without having to pay a fee just for expected good service.

 

[batmanuel]

no way to reup for a year early?

There is a hack for gifting a subscription to yourself:

http://lifehacker.com/get-another-year-of-amazon-prime-for-79-even-as-a-cur-1543360940

 

[Rio Rebel]

And for customer service being the best? Nah. Sure Amazon has a general no-hassle return policy, but how long do you think that is going to last now that so many take advantage of it?

So your argument is Amazon's customer service is not the best because you assume that in the near future they are going to change it because too many people take advantage of it? What an odd argument.

They used to not charge at all for return shipping with Prime, but now, unless the mistake is explicitly their fault, they will charge you shipping at the minimum.

Patently false. I just returned an item yesterday (one of the infamous Kingston SSD's with new slower nand) because it did not perform as advertised, and I printed a ups label and shipped it free as always. Yes, they now distinguish between returns that are their fault by some of the options you have in replacing/refunding/exchanging, but shipping back the item for free is still an option.

In any case, I think Amazon is about to see many of their customers do not find Prime to be invaluable and the increase in price will just be offset by at least 20-25% decrease in subscribers resulting in a net gain of nothing in Prime membership revenue and a net loss in overall sales lost by customers who can find alternatives without having to pay a fee just for expected good service.

Now this statement is one that rings true, although 20-25% may be a high estimate. As a somewhat satisfied Prime customer who utilizes the streaming content as well as the shipping, this price increase will make me reconsider renewing - along with the ever increasing number of "add on" items and the fact that Prime streaming is now limited to drm capable players. Also, now that they charge tax in Indiana the prices are not as consistently lower (I know the arguments here about tax responsibilities, just pointing this out as something that potentially affects me as a consumer.) The value proposition for Prime has been changing, and not for the better.

 

[PliotronX]

As a result of the Time article, I got in on the free trial as a college student but quickly discovered it's not that useful for smaller items though the bigger purchases will make it handy. For my purchasing patterns I don't think it's worth a hundred bucks a year however...

 

[philipma1957]

Certainly depends where you live I guess, Amazon can take up to 3 days with Prime for me on the EC not counting the day you order (before 3pm EST) because they use USPS sometimes, where Newegg is often Next Day for free with their standard free UPS service even if I order as late as 5-6pm EST because their NJ warehouse is just up I-95. I've never had a Newegg order not ship the same business day if I placed it before 3pm EST.

Amazon on the other hand is the only place on the planet that actually makes you pay more for decent service or they actually DEGRADE your service level; the standard Free Shipping for Amazon means Amazon literally sits on your order for 3-5 days before finally getting around to shipping it to you because the time with the carrier is exactly the same.

Like I said, Prime is a scam, I've been using them less and less so cancelling my membership will be no biggy.

it depends if you watch the free streaming and you buy a lot of stuff it is worth it. besides I use my bing money to pay for it. so the cost to me is doing 5 minutes of searches on bing each day.

still I have to check my renewal date my thanks to the op

 

[notposting]

We have 2 small children and are buying a house so we'll be keeping Prime. Plus I renew right before the cutoff

We use the video, borrow books, and ship ship ship ship like crazy.

 

[cboath]

People act like this is $20 a month...it's a year, or 1.67 a month.

Reminds me a bit of when they changed the trash system out here and had the audacity to raise the rate a whole $1 a month for the same service. The amount of people flipping out over the increase was just mind-boggling.

Can anyone else name a service that hasn't raised it's rate in the last 7-9 years?

I don't have the world's largest family, but between xmas, birthdays, mother's day, father's day, stuff for me, etc, i'd eat in excess of $100 shipping a year anyhow. True, I could use free standard shipping when available, but the odds of me ordering 2 weeks in advance is usually slim

 

[chizow]

So your argument is Amazon's customer service is not the best because you assume that in the near future they are going to change it because too many people take advantage of it? What an odd argument.

I think the problem is people are confusing "too big and disconnected to notice" as "good customer service". Amazon's current policy is in place because it is easier/cheaper for them to just take everything back and deal with it as a refurb or as a credit with the mfg. Once the level of abuse becomes bad enough, they will adjust their policies, the same as virtually every retailer on the planet has been forced to do. The most common thing I see now are people returning perfectly good graphics cards or CPUs simply because they are not satisfied with the overclock. Does that sound like good customer service or abuse of a policy that is probably being abused and likely to be changed?

I am sure I don't need to provide examples, because I am sure you are well aware of how policies have changed over time by just turning over your receipts or reading the fine print from stores like Best Buy or Newegg to find they have a different return policy for just about every different item category they sell. Another example is Amazon's own reversal on their 30-day price matching policy.

Patently false. I just returned an item yesterday (one of the infamous Kingston SSD's with new slower nand) because it did not perform as advertised, and I printed a ups label and shipped it free as always. Yes, they now distinguish between returns that are their fault by some of the options you have in replacing/refunding/exchanging, but shipping back the item for free is still an option.

I've already acknowledged this, so not sure how it is patently false. Yes you still get free returns if the product is damaged or defective through no fault of your own, but virtually EVERY good online retailer does this, so to expect this basic level of service from a premium service is nothing outstanding, imo. In fact, many online stores allow free preference returns or exchanges as well.

Now this statement is one that rings true, although 20-25% may be a high estimate. As a somewhat satisfied Prime customer who utilizes the streaming content as well as the shipping, this price increase will make me reconsider renewing - along with the ever increasing number of "add on" items and the fact that Prime streaming is now limited to drm capable players. Also, now that they charge tax in Indiana the prices are not as consistently lower (I know the arguments here about tax responsibilities, just pointing this out as something that potentially affects me as a consumer.) The value proposition for Prime has been changing, and not for the better.

Yep I agree, there are always going to be reasons to stay or go, but I do think the 25% increase is going to result in a significant decline in Prime subscribers simply because there are plenty of alternatives. Just one example I already gave is Costco + Amex + Shoprunner. For what is effectively $55 per year, you get all 3, for me that is a much better value than Prime at $100.

I'll just go back to what I did before joining Prime full-time, sign up for the free month that 2nd week of November and then cancel within 30 days, until they take away that option of course.

 

[chizow]

People act like this is $20 a month...it's a year, or 1.67 a month.

Reminds me a bit of when they changed the trash system out here and had the audacity to raise the rate a whole $1 a month for the same service. The amount of people flipping out over the increase was just mind-boggling.

Can anyone else name a service that hasn't raised it's rate in the last 7-9 years?

I don't have the world's largest family, but between xmas, birthdays, mother's day, father's day, stuff for me, etc, i'd eat in excess of $100 shipping a year anyhow. True, I could use free standard shipping when available, but the odds of me ordering 2 weeks in advance is usually slim

It's not just the absolute dollar amount, it's the principle of it too. Fact is, Amazon is charging you a premium for what is just expected good service. It's $20 now, but it sets the precedent that they can and will raise the price as they see fit. We've seen it before, Netflix being a recent example for me, Cable subscription prices as another. And as we have seen in both those cases, when prices reach a certain point or the escalations generate enough angst, people will find alternatives.

 

[chizow]

it depends if you watch the free streaming and you buy a lot of stuff it is worth it. besides I use my bing money to pay for it. so the cost to me is doing 5 minutes of searches on bing each day.

still I have to check my renewal date my thanks to the op

Yeah I don't use the streaming at all since I have a Prime cablecard DVR and all the online on-demand services that I get with FiOS (HBO Go, Shotime on demand etc), my wife uses the free book per month I guess, but she generally buys her books anyways so she probably wouldn't notice.

Using bing to pay for it doesn't make it free, since you could use that money on actual product from Amazon rather than just their premium shipping service....

As much as people want to knock Best Buy, they've actually gotten a lot more of my business the last year or two because their premium model is what I agree with, a purchase-based premium system where you get faster shipping based on how much you buy (Best Buy Elite/Plus).

 

[cboath]

Not sure I understand the principal thing they've done wrong here.

Would it be better if the service was 79 in 2005 and increased $2 a year to 99 today?

Prices are up on everything across the board the last 10 years, but because they held off on increasing it 10 years and they do so now at 20% they're evil?

To me, Sunday Ticket was evil. In the 10 years I had it, the price jumped from 149 to 349 (i did use a couple tactics to get it down more personally). Sure, they finally dropped it to 199 last year, but it's up another 20 this year.

One price increase in 10 years? Meh. Does it mean they could increase it in the future? Sure, but i don't recall any promise from 2005 that they'd never raise it. A price incease on something like that has been a possiblity every year of its existence, it just never materialized until they were forced to do it.

Like I said, it should come down to simple mathematics....if it's going to save you money, it's a no-brainer.

 

[cytoSiN]

I have no problem with this price increase. But the Lifehack works, so why not take advantage for one more year? +1 to this post and the Lifehack.

 

[chizow]

Not sure I understand the principal thing they've done wrong here.

Would it be better if the service was 79 in 2005 and increased $2 a year to 99 today?

Prices are up on everything across the board the last 10 years, but because they held off on increasing it 10 years and they do so now at 20% they're evil?

To me, Sunday Ticket was evil. In the 10 years I had it, the price jumped from 149 to 349 (i did use a couple tactics to get it down more personally). Sure, they finally dropped it to 199 last year, but it's up another 20 this year.

One price increase in 10 years? Meh. Does it mean they could increase it in the future? Sure, but i don't recall any promise from 2005 that they'd never raise it. A price incease on something like that has been a possiblity every year of its existence, it just never materialized until they were forced to do it.

Like I said, it should come down to simple mathematics....if it's going to save you money, it's a no-brainer.

The principal aspect of it is they shouldn't be charging you AT ALL for Prime, all you are paying them to do is to NOT sit on your order for 3-5 days and to just ship it as fast as they are capable, which is what I would expect from any other online store on the planet.

But Amazon doesn't do this, the Free Super Saver for *MOST* items is the EXACT same shipping method, UPS 3 day, LS, or USPS Priority from a warehouse or distro center within 1-2 business days from you, the only difference in shipping time vis-à-vis Prime is how long they sit on your order before they ship it out the door.

Adding to that is they are now asking for $20 more for something that should be free or going down in price as more adopt it and share the costs.

But yes, it does come down to simple mathematics and for me, it will be cheaper and more effective to go with alternatives to Prime.

I have no problem with this price increase. But the Lifehack works, so why not take advantage for one more year? +1 to this post and the Lifehack.

Prepaying prepaid premium shipping fees. Yeah, no thanks. Might as well buy $1000 worth of gift cards from them too to save $10.