Amazon Prime: Is It Worth It?

Do you frequent Amazon.com? If so have you considered anAmazon Prime membership? No, this is not a credit card offer and I am not a paid endorser.

Here is my story. Two years ago I got pulled into the Amazon Prime program when they offered me the chance to try it out for a month for free. I never thought that I would wind up joining this program much less loving it. My plan was to try Amazon Prime for a few weeks and then to close my trial account before they charged me the $79 annual membership fee.

After the first month though I didn’t close the account as originally planned. I was hooked. In exchange for my annual fee I get free two-day shipping on most of the items that Amazon stocks. We are talking millions of items here: books, music, photography equipment, even groceries! I can get all of these items in two business days with no additional shipping fees.

Free second day shipping is great but if I am really in a rush I can upgrade to next business day delivery for just $3.99 per item! Yup, $3.99 per item with no minimum order.

Is this a good deal for everyone? Absolutely not. If you don’t shop at Amazon frequently then this is definitely a waste of your money. It is also worth noting here that the Prime shipping discount only applies to the items that Amazon itself sells. The shipping discount does not apply to all of the items that you can find from other retailers who are taping into Amazon’s search engine. Is this a major concern? Not for me, but it is worth knowing up-front.

For me, the discounted shipping has greatly exceeded the annual fee and the ease of ordering / huge selection saves a lot of running around town. A gallon of gas is my area is running about $2.85 per gallon right now. Life in Montana often means long drives to get camera equipment, computer software, external hard drives, and photography books. As fuel prices have skyrocketed, I find myself using my Prime delivery discount more and more. Thanks to Amazon Prime, it is often cheaper and easier for me to have supplies delivered then it is to drive all across this big state looking for photography / computer equipment. If you are already a frequent Amazon customer, or if you live way out in the country like I do, check this service out.

Filed Under: (02) Product Reviews

Tags: amazon • Discount • equipment • photography • Prime • Shopping • software