Amazon increases the price of Prime nearly 17% to $139 per year

[left-of-center2012]

Source: CNBC

Amazon is raising the price of its annual Prime membership to $139 from $119, the company announced on Thursday as part of its fourth-quarter earnings results.

Amazon last hiked the price of Prime in 2018, when it increased to $119 from $99. Four years before that, it raised the subscription fee to $99 from $79.

Amazon’s annual increase amounts to about a 17% rise in price. Amazon also raised the monthly price of a Prime membership from $12.99 to $14.99, the company said. New members will see the increased prices on Feb. 18, and current members will be billed at the higher rate after March 25.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/amazon-increases-the-price-of-prime-nearly-17percent-to-139-per-year.html

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Launched in 2005, Amazon Prime gives members access to free two-day shipping, as well as access to exclusive movies and TV shows, among other perks. As of last April, the service had more than 200 million subscribers worldwide.

The membership program remains one of the biggest growth levers for Amazon’s core retail business. Prime members spend considerably more on Amazon than non-Prime customers, and they also shop more often.

[ColinC]

1. AH CRAP

[Traildogbob]

2. Somebody

Gotta pay for the yachts.

[nattyice]

57. And dismantling bridges.

[Traildogbob]

58. That stuff ain't free!

[Hortensis]

67. And for delivering my vacuum parts to my door.

Delivery isn't really free, especially in a time of pandemic inflation. But, boy, does it save us big time on money, gas, exposure to disease carriers, even though we do pay for it.

There's such a thing as balance. No, we certainly don't need the Bezoses -- something to remember every election: vote to get rid of them, and see Nancy BELOW for that.

However, we do need all that goes into delivery, and delivery costs are rising.

[Meadowoak]

3. If you happen to have a SNAP card, you can get Amazon Prime

At half price. I currently pay $6.41 mo. For Prime.

[left-of-center2012]

9. That's what I do

And it's more than paid for with free shipping.

[Miguelito Loveless]

42. SNAP card?

[Meadowoak]

44. Food stamps

[Miguelito Loveless]

53. Ah,

Supplemental Nutrition! Didn't click for some reason.

[peacebuzzard]

48. Thanks for this! I am going to sign up my disabled sister.

I do everything for her with shopping and bills, this is great news.
I just recently cancelled my membership because I didnt use it often and most items were subpar, and I had to return a large percentage.

[Cha]

63. Thanks for the reminder.. I

wondered if they were still doing that?

[Meadowoak]

64. Anyone on Medicare is also eligible for the half price deal on

Amazon prime membership.

[roamer65]

4. Gotta keep that big space penis flying.

[Martin68]

5. It is a very good deal. It's up to the individual to take advantage of it - or not.

The best return policy in the business, great discounts, and an excellent review system. I often use their reviews to make decision on which product to but and buy it elsewhere if I can find it cheaper.

[NurseJackie]

29. Agreed! (And, we also enjoy Prime Videos and Prime Music)

[BaronChocula]

6. Every time you watch Reacher

a Dutch bridge gets torn down.

[brooklynite]

51. And then gets rebuilt at no public expense...

Why people think this is a big story is beyond me.

[EX500rider]

66. I agree...not to mention the shipyard should know how big a boat they can build, not the customer.

[Demsrule86]

68. I just binged Reacher...I love it. There will ben a season 2 in 21 ...could be January or June.

[Hoyt]

7. Worth it to me and big help during COVID. TV and music are worth price.

Plus, MacKenzie Scott is putting a lot of the profits to good use.

[yaesu]

11. Its sad that we live in a country where we need to depend on billionaires to fund critical programs.

[Hoyt]

15. Don't think millions of small stores, farms, etc., would have pulled

it off. While spending at lot of time on my grandparents’ small farm in 50s and working in mom&pop grocery stores and businesses was enjoyable, glad we didn’t have to depend on them nowadays. Not my preference, but just a fact.

[yaesu]

8. Bezos has to pay for that mega yacht he's building. nt

[tenderfoot]

10. Got to pay to dismantle that bridge in the Netherlands

eom

[left-of-center2012]

12. As posted in #3 above

"If you happen to have a SNAP card,
you get it at half price …"

[left-of-center2012]

13. I suspect those who don't use it ...

will be the ones who criticize it.

[Skittles]

14. no

people who use it but cannot afford the rate hike on everything - not everyone gets it at half price

[left-of-center2012]

16. "cannot afford the rate hike"

It's going up $2 a month on the monthly rate
and you get free shipping on every order which averages $9 every time.

So some may quit Prime to save $2 and then they'll pay $9 shipping on every order.

[Skittles]

17. I'm referring to the rate hike on EVERYTHING

Last edited Fri Feb 4, 2022, 12:40 AM - Edit history (1)

it all adds up and much of it is sickening corporate greed.

how many people do you know who get 17% raises, for example? And this company has OBSCENE profits already

[LisaL]

18. Yep, Amazon also started to charge $9.95 for delivery from Whole Foods.

Last edited Fri Feb 4, 2022, 04:27 AM - Edit history (1)

It used to be free until recently.

[LisaL]

26. It's a recent thing.

"Whole Foods shoppers may have received a shock this week if they noticed a new $9.95 delivery fee on orders placed through Amazon Prime."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/28/business/walmart-amazon-prime-fee/index.html

[left-of-center2012]

27. I must have ordered before becoming a Prime member

That would be why I paid a delivery fee.
Now everybody pays ?

[LisaL]

31. Yep, even Prime members have to pay.

NT

[Demsrule86]

69. Yep, and now I order a pickup or go in the store. I love to browse Whole foods.

[LiberalFighter]

36. Provided you use Amazon enough to make it worth it.

I don't buy anywhere near 16 times a year. Maybe once or twice. And have no need for the other so called benefits.

[forgotmylogin]

56. I am in the same boat, I finally did subscribe to Prime.

It's really good for things you would need to go out of your way for, like when cat chewed through a phone charger cord, I can just shop and compare many more than I'd see in store and buy that without accumulating $50 worth of other stuff for free shipping before hitting the purchase button.

Also very useful for items that are hard to find in a store or bulk amounts you can't normally get. I probably covered my subscription fee once just by purchasing a large bottle of generic liquid sucralose sweetener for $20 that has lasted over a year instead of getting tiny 1oz bottles of liquid Splenda every month which cost $4.99 each in the grocery store.

It's also really helpful when my elderly father who lives in another state needs something - I can just buy and ship it directly to him instead of finding it in a store somewhere and driving an hour each way to deliver it. Also shipping Christmas gifts - Prime applies for your account no matter where you ship.

You can also get a small discount for subscribing to certain items on a schedule, or choosing to group multiple purchases so they're delivered one day a week at once instead of separate shipments.

[littlemissmartypants]

20. I dropped my subscription in 2018. That same year my mailbox

Out on the road to the property was destroyed three times by reckless and impaired drivers. I got tired of putting up new mailboxes so I got a P.O. box. I had also grown tired of cardboard delivery boxes. Since I got the post office box, they won't deliver to my rural route address and many times my attempts to order resulted in being undeliverable even to my post office box. Long story short, I gave up because they have made it too difficult for me to get a delivery. So it matters not if the shipping is free or the price of a ticket on the penis spacecraft. I may browse, but I never buy. Amazon has done nothing but create obstacles to my engagement. Their loss, my savings account's gain. Case closed.

[wishstar]

70. I thoroughly enjoyed a 30-day trial last December but dropped it since I bought everything I needed

I didn't want a trial but the item we wanted was only available through Prime and no where else online and was a great bargain compared to store prices. But then as it turned out we had to make several other important purchases and it came in very quick and convenient and of course cheaper than elsewhere. They also came up our long driveway to leave the packages at the door rather than down below at the road at the mailbox whereas UPS has crammed things into the box or just tossed packages on the ground beside the mailbox at times.

Wouldn't mind another free 30-day trial next holiday season!

[Jim_S]

21. Power, money, greed, and monopoly. Disgusting!

This company should be broken up. AWS (Amazon Web Service) should be separate from their online retail store. If you want to sell anything online with Amazon you have to agree to not sell it cheaper on your own website or they will boot you off their platform. Amazon has ‘stolen’ good product ideas from vendors and had them copied and made in China to sell on their site. And as far as Amazon Prime Videos, that come ‘free’ (or used to) with your prime membership, for some of them, you now have to pay @$2 or more, and many now have commercials. This company needs to be broken up—yesterday. It is not healthy for our economy. And don’t even get me started about how they were underhanded in their dealings with a union vote. I say all this while my daughter-in-law works for Mr. Evil. Break-em-up!

[EX500rider]

61. "monopoly" Wow, so they are the only online retailer? Who knew?

I have heard of this place called www.walmart.com & www.ebay.com etc...

[turbinetree]

22. Well someone has to pay for that ship being built in Amsterdam and to dismantle a bridge

so that it can set sail to be registered in the Bahamas or some other place....tax free....so that he can live in retirement...and then everyone can yell about inflation...which is being caused by Prime so they can blame Biden....

[TreasonousBastard]

23. I dropped my prime membership when I realized I never...

bought anythimg except a few things unavailable anywhere else.

I wonder how mant prime members are Walmarr haters?

[PatrickforB]

24. Well I can really see this. Poor Jeff Bezos' net worth has declined from

$207 billion clear down to $177.1 billion!

The poor little fellow just HAS to raise the price of the membership because, hey, he needs higher profits!

[moondust]

25. Jeff wants an aircraft carrier now?

Wayyyyyy too much will never be nearly enough.

[NurseJackie]

28. I'm keeping it. It's still a good deal for us.

[rpannier]

30. Needs the money to pay for having parts of a bridge removed and put back on

so his super yacht could get out to sea

[left-of-center2012]

32. As was noted in earlier posts

[sl8]

33. They don't mention any change to the Prime Video rate.

The current current rate for Prime Video (not the "full" Prime), is $8.99/mo. I don't see any mention of a price change for that service.

Shipping & Delivery › Amazon Prime ›
Amazon Prime Price Change

On February 3, 2022, we announced price increases for our Prime membership plans. The updated pricing will apply to Prime sign-ups beginning on February 18, 2022. For current Prime members, the new prices will apply after March 25, 2022, on the date of their next renewal.

Upcoming changes:

The price of the monthly Prime membership will increase to $14.99/month, and the price of the annual Prime membership will increase to $139/year.
For Prime Student members, the price of the monthly membership will increase to $7.49/month, and the price of the annual membership will increase to $69/year.
For qualifying EBT and government assistance recipients, the price of membership will increase to $6.99/month.
Your Prime Membership may be subject to sales tax in some states.

For more details about, or to make changes to your membership go to Manage Amazon Prime Membership.

[twodogsbarking]

34. Anyone have it and not get charged?

Asking for a friend.

[left-of-center2012]

35. How would that happen ?

"Prime" is something people purchase.

[twodogsbarking]

41. I'll mark you down as no.

[left-of-center2012]

45. Duh

[twodogsbarking]

55. OK, I'll change your answer to duh.

[Happy Hoosier]

38. Between prime video and the shipping? Still pretty cheap for me. NT

[MineralMan]

39. My wife said this morning, "No problem."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are buying more from Amazon than previously. Plus, we stream some stuff and read Kindle books a lot. I've noticed Amazon delivery vehicles in our small townhome development several times each day, too.

Did they raise the Prime membership price? Let me do the math...shrug.

[NurseJackie]

47. "Shrug..." Yes, that, exactly.

In some ways, all the Amazon-hate and Bezos-hate is amusing to watch. Now I'm not saying that they're perfect, but the level of angst is just ramped-up to levels that are out of proportion to reality.

I've noticed Amazon delivery vehicles in our small townhome development several times each day, too.

Same here... morning deliveries and afternoon deliveries.

PRO TIP: If you live near an Amazon Distribution Center there's really no need to pay extra for faster shipping. Unless there's something that we ABSOLUTELY NEED GUARANTEED for "next day" delivery... we just use the standard delivery options and 90% of the time, it arrives as quickly as if we had paid-extra.

Same thing holds true for the "No Rush" delivery option. We'll often choose that and earn a dollar or two with of digital credits for Amazon Prime Streaming. It doesn't take long to earn enough bonuses to rent/stream a movie for free... or to even buy a movie outright with no time-limits.

[MineralMan]

50. There's a new Amazon distribution center right here

in Maple Grove. We never pay for faster shipping. It's amazing, really, I think.

I'm not on our Prime account, so I just email a link to my wife if I want to order something, and she orders it. However, I don't order that much stuff anyhow. If someone gives me an Amazon card, I just add it to her gift card account.

[ruet]

40. Dead End Capitalism Strikes Again.

The company raised wages and offered generous signing bonuses to attract workers in a tight labor market. To avoid delivery disruptions, it rerouted packages over longer and costlier distances to get them to facilities with enough staff to handle them.

I ask, yet again, who do we get to pass our cost on to?

[Swede]

43. Well $500 million yachts don't pay for themselves.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/02/03/jeff-bezos-yacht-historic-bridge-dutch-city/6646980001/

[left-of-center2012]

46. And Prime members don't pay ...

For shipping, music, movies, Kindle, etc

[NurseJackie]

49. It's like a Costco membership... totally worthwhile for the convenience ALONE.

But in our case, we earn-back the membership fee AND MORE in overall savings and extra benefits.

Last few Christmases, for every gift that I would have needed to ship to others... I let Amazon do it for me. Even with the added cost of their gift bags, it saves me TIME and it saves me MONEY. I would have spent double the amount trying to wrap-box-and-ship everything myself.

Since Covid, we're leading almost-a-shut-in lifestyle... and it's truly been a blessing for us.

[left-of-center2012]

52. I also have a DoorDash membership

It's $9.99 a month but they take $5 off two orders each month for a total of $10 off each month so it turns out to be free.

Being a shut-in, elderly and disabled 75 year-old I treat myself to two DoorDash orders each month.

I think I'll get a 'Denver omelet' from Denny's soon.

[NurseJackie]

54. I like DoorDash, but I don't subscribe (yet)...

... instead, I have the "Capitol-One" app added to my web browser. Just like the commercials say, most times, whenever it detects that you're on a check-out page, the app will present you with coupon codes for you to try. Or... it will also AUTOMATICALLY apply coupon codes.

Even if there's no coupon-code available, most of the time, there's a "rebate" of 1-2% that the Capital One app keeps track of. Whenever you get $5 or $10 in rebates, you can spend it on a gift card.

Right now I have almost $20 in rebates that I've accumulated over the past 6 months. I'll get a Lowe's gift card with it.

[Akoto]

59. Honestly, still worth the price to me.

I'm physically disabled and can't drive. Amazon gets a lot of stuff to me which I otherwise could not easily get, and the shipping savings alone from my Prime membership pay for the fee many times over. The other things provided by Prime are also cool!

[left-of-center2012]

60. I totally agree

[cadoman]

62. worth it to support the refuge from the fascism on Spotify

Thankfully had this dandy little service ready to spin up some Neil Young!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

65. Amazon Profits Show Resilience Even as Labor, Supply Crunch Weigh on Results

Amazon says profit nearly doubled in the critical holiday period, as the company managed to control labor and supply costs better than expected

Link to tweet

Amazon Profits Show Resilience Even as Labor, Supply Crunch Weigh on Results
The e-commerce giant managed to control labor and supply costs better than expected and saw gains in its cloud-computing and advertising businesses.

[Emile]

71. Not worth it!

[left-of-center2012]

72. Instead of paying the $2 a month increase

You can pay the $9.99 per package shipping fee.

Or you can shop somewhere else and pay their shipping fee.

[Emile]

73. Walmart.com is free shipping

I have ordered things from Amazon with free shipping too and not spend a dime for Prime.

[left-of-center2012]

74. I have shopped Walmart online for a few years

The only way I get 'free shipping' is by paying for Walmart Plus membership.

It's similar to amazon, doordash, etc where,
if you buy a membership, shipping or delivery is free.

Just like that old saying "you can pay me now or you can pay me later"

[Emile]

76. I never had that experience. I shop for items that say free shipping.