Amazon hikes Prime membership to $99 per year

[The Straight Story]

NEW YORK (AP) - Amazon is betting that shoppers will pay $20 more for its popular Prime two-day free shipping and video streaming service of movies and TV shows.

The mega online retailer said Thursday that it is raising the price of Prime to $99 a year as it seeks to offset rising costs of fuel and transportation. It's the first price hike since Amazon rolled out the service in 2005.

The move could please investors at a time when Amazon continues to face pressure to boost its bottom line after years of furious growth. As more Americans shop online, Amazon has spent heavily to expand its business into new areas - from movie streaming to e-readers and groceries - often at the expense of its profit.

But the price increase also threatens to scare away online shoppers who tend to resist fee hikes. The company, which warned it would probably raise the price of Prime by $20 to $40 in January, is bolstering the membership program by adding more items available for two-day shipping and rolling out a greater selection of streaming TV shows and movies.

http://www.wsfa.com/story/24964299/amazon-hikes-prime-membership-to-99-per-year

[liberal N proud]

1. Hooked em, now just reel them in.

[Blue_Adept]

12. Considering it hasn't changed in seven years...

Amazon is playing a reallllly long game. Well, they are in general, but still.

[Agschmid]

35. They had to beat the competition first, even at $99 prime is likely as loss leader.

Expect more price increases as competition dwindles.

[Codeine]

2. I've saved probably three times that amount in less than a year of Prime.

Totally worth it if you shop online with any significant frequency.

[The Straight Story]

7. I certainly think it is worth it to many folks

When I had it I only used the shipping part a few times. Was more for movies and Kindle stuff.

In my position right now any deal would be a bad one But when things get working well again I think 99 is fine (should be a slogan).

[Codeine]

9. The streaming and Kindle stuff has been a wash for me, really.

Most of the free Prime streaming has looked pretty dismal, and all the free Prime Kindle stuff looks to be semi-professional quality at best -- I'm not one who applauds the loss of the publishing gatekeepers, since the result seems to leave readers sifting desperately through reams of garbage for the occasional nugget of quality.

[The Straight Story]

19. I was thinking more of the book borrowing

Which was nice for me (though I think the minimum 30 days was way too much).

Movies were ok, but sound quality on a few were god awful.

Still a way better deal than netflix (which I used to have but it just sucked so I dropped it).

[Codeine]

24. I haven't done the borrowing thing yet.

Not even sure how it works -- I should look into that.

[tammywammy]

3. Still worth it.

That's $8.25/month. A whopping $3 more than a Netflix or Hulu Plus account.

[tridim]

4. What ever happened to the sales tax thing that was supposed to be in effect by now?

Not that I'm complaining.

$99 is still worth it for free (cheap, fast) shipping, but only without sales tax.

[tammywammy]

6. I pay sales tax on Amazon purchases

[Codeine]

13. I get hit for sales tax all the time on my Amazon stuff.

But I have an Amazon fulfillment center all of about ten miles away, so it may be a state-by-state thing.

[d_r]

27. we have it in Tennessee

if my mother in law in Flordia (where they don't charge sales tax) buys something on amazon and has it delivered to the grandkids here in Tennessee (where they do charge sales tax) she has to pay Tennessee tax on it. It is by the deliver to address, not the pay from address. Which doesn't really make sense to me.

But I really like amazon prime. I don't even stream the videos from it because we have netflix, but I like the free shipping for even a small thing. Much easier than going to the store for something. Even if the tax is a wash.

[JJChambers]

5. 99 is a bargain.

120 would be a bargain. 150 up, I'll have to crunch some numbers. But still probably a bargain.

I don't begrudge a company that wants to offer a quality service at a reasonable, albeit increased, price.

[functioning_cog]

10. there's one born every minute

[JJChambers]

17. Lol

Anyone who enjoys streaming video and makes semi-regular internet purchases will save gobs of money by utilizing Prime.

[Codeine]

16. Truly.

People should add up a year's worth of shipping and see how much they would save with Prime. I resisted for years, stupidly.

[JVS]

22. Don't forget the free streaming.

[Nye Bevan]

29. I would keep it if they raised it to $200.

Probably even $300. Beyond that, I would start with the number crunching.

[tridim]

30. Shhhhhhhhhh!!!!

[ksoze]

8. It can be had in reality for $25 per year

Since you can gift or share the Prime benefits (less video streaming) with up to four co-workers or "family" members. Hope they did not get rid of that secret gem.

[Aerows]

11. Still worth it

but I wish they would drop UPS as a carrier. UPS in my area can't get here before 8PM if their lives depended on it. And it might. Sooner or later they will be wandering someone's property in the dark and get shot at. I don't condone that, but it is going to happen when someone is outside at 10PM, if a paranoid gun owner lives there. They will declare "Stand your ground" and the UPS driver that couldn't be bothered to show up before 10PM will still be dead regardless of the verdict.

[Codeine]

21. God UPS sucks for home delivery.

I have everything shipped to my work because they deliver so much earlier to businesses. I don't want some dude banging on my door with a box of books after I've worked all day and I'm trying to relax with the kids or eat dinner or whatever.

[madfloridian]

14. I do so much shopping on Amazon in all areas....

that I save so much money even at current prices. All the extras help as well. I'll stick with Prime, thank you. Videos of new series are priceless.

[Romulox]

15. I'll likely cancel. I don't care about the video stuff, and this increase seems to be related

to Amazon's desire to turn Prime into Netflix.

[Codeine]

18. Actually, it probably has to do with the fact that Prime customers are shipping

enormously-increased amounts of product all the time. The $79 I paid about five months back doesn't even begin to cover the shipping costs incurred by all the Prime purchases my fiancee and I make.

[tammywammy]

20. Exactly.

I order a ton of stuff from Amazon, I'd be spending more than $8.25/month on shipping if I didn't have Prime.

[Romulox]

23. I can wait an extra day. Second day shipping wasn't ever anything I was willing to pay for

*before* I got Prime. So when they ask me to pay more for it, it's only natural for me to re-assess whether it's still worth it to me.

Not really.

Of course, regular shipping (3 instead of 2 day) shipping on most items is still free. So Prime really isn't a money saver, it's a get-stuff-faster time saver. If it costs so much to provide the service, then perhaps it's just not worth it to some.

[Codeine]

26. Yeah, that's true.

On some level I'm paying for the privilege of being an impatient douche, I imagine.

[WhiteTara]

25. This is the greediest company I know.

They almost make banksters look like nice guys.

[DesMoinesDem]

31. Greediest company you know?

The prices are so low that they barely break even.

[Agschmid]

36. I think they actually don't by some economic measures...

Former Amazon employee Eugene Wei has a thorough analysis of Amazon's business model, and why everyone seems to misunderstand the company.
Last week, Amazon reported its second straight quarterly loss. Instead of dumping the stock, investors bought more pushing Amazon to new heights and prompting analysts to slap $400+ price targets on it.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-profits-what-people-dont-understand-2013-10#ixzz2vu7aDj57

[tularetom]

28. Maybe they now can afford to upgrade their free Prime video selections

I've had the prime membership since 2010 and I think the selection of TV shows and movies has actually decreased since then. A few series that used to be prime, have reverted to pay items and I'm unaware of anything new that has been added.

Since I got Hulu I don't browse the Amazon pages nearly as much. I can watch a lot of foreign detective shows on MHZ and I subscribe to Acorn which carries an excellent selection of shows from the UK.

I'm pretty close to being able to pull the plug on satellite TV service.

[Adrahil]

32. Still worth it NT

[elias7]

33. Prime is bullshit

If you sign out and order the goods you think you're getting for a discount, you would have gotten those things free anyway. I've had prime for 1 1/2 yrs and haven't saved a dime. Check it out: anything that is listed as prime would have shipped for nothing anyway. ITS A TOTAL SCAM!

[greatlaurel]

34. You are spot on!

Their two day shipping is bunk, too. Maybe it works if you live near a shipping center. I have found that it takes longer when I have done the two day shipping. After they ripped me off for that the last time, I have not ordered from them since and I am having no problem finding the things I need.

Judging from all the Amazon propaganda I have seen online and on TV, I would say they are in big trouble. This price boosting is proof that they are in trouble. Overextended, for sure. We will see them having major cutbacks within the year. Big trouble on the horizon, might want to consider selling some stock.