Is Amazon Prime worth it? A Pre-Prime Day Assessment
Should You sign up for Amazon Prime?
Well, If you plan to, you should do it now in order to be eligible for Prime Day! But with the latest price increase, Here’s the question l keep getting.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
With a $119 price tag, there is much to debate.
If you are on the internet, chances are you shop on Amazon. Prime is a program where Amazon tries to retain their customers by creating a membership. Once they get you to pay a membership, you are more likely to shop at their store. Its human nature. Once you pay for something, you are more committed to it.
To sweeten the deal, Amazon gives many perks together with Prime Membership to entice you.
But is the Prime Membership deal worth the money?
Well, that has a lot to do with your shopping & shipping habits.
If you are the “I need it now!” type, it may be. But for those who are just a bit more organized – you may be getting for a rotten deal! You just may be paying for loads of freebies you won’t ever use or won’t even remember that they exist. (I personally never streamed audio from Amazon!)
Another thing to consider is this: Ever since the behemoth that is Amazon came onto the playing field, the old “Big Guys” like Walmart, Target & others have been losing their customers steadily until they realized that if they don’t up their game as well, they will be out of the market.
The competition is on!
So how does Amazon Prime compare to Walmart & target membership programs?
Pros:
- Free 1 Day Shipping (And even same day in select locations)
- ½ hour early access to lightning deals. (Not too exciting, since almost all the deals are around half an hour later)
- Extra benefits such as streaming video, audio TV & 1 free ebook (choice from 6) per month
- Peace of mind that you can always buy that $3 item & not pay for shipping.
Cons
- Large Price tag! At $119, you can actually pay for shipping almost 20 times during the year when you need that $6.49 stapler & need nothing else so you don’t reach the $25 minimum for free shipping. (like how often does that really happen?)
- Many products ship free anyhow including anything over $25 & things that are not sold & ship by Amazon like these USPS US Flag 2018 Forever Stamps.
- Other stores are competing & now offer free shipping at lower intervals like Target (see below)
Did you know? Students get Amazon prime free for 6 months. After your six-month trial ends, your Prime Student membership makes you eligible to receive 50% off Amazon Prime and includes access to all Prime benefits. View Benefits
Target REDCard Member: Sign up here
Pros:
- It’s FREE!
- 5% off every purchase on top of all discounts & promos.
- Free 2-Day Shipping on most items
- One 10% off coupon to use in store each year.
- Access to RedCard members-only deals.
- 15% off Diapers subscriptions (Amazon gives up to 20%, but you need 5 subscription items each month)
They don’t give any freebies like streaming audio
- Cheaper than Prime – at $98 (unless you are eligible for the college or low income discount on Amazon)
- Free Shipping on all items sometimes same day (like Amazon Prime)
- Pickup in store credit
- Mobile scan & go while shopping in store
They don’t give any freebies like streaming audio
