In the course of adjusting the terms and conditions, many had already guessed it, now it’s official: Amazon is increasing the prices for the Prime subscription. The changes will take effect from September.
In mid-June, Amazon announced an “update to the Prime terms and conditions,” which suggested that the price of an Amazon Prime subscription could also increase in the future. Now the price increase for Amazon Prime is official. TECHBOOK reveals what customers will have to pay from September.
Around 30 percent price increase on Amazon Prime
Amazon has been able to keep Prime subscription costs stable since 2017. From September 2022, however, prices will rise significantly. While Prime customers used to pay 69 euros a year or 7.99 euros a month, Amazon then charges a whopping 89.90 euros a year (about 7.50 euros a month). That’s an increase of at least 30 percent. With monthly billing, the costs increase by one euro to 8.99 euros.
Students also have to dig deeper into their pockets. Here the price increase from Amazon Prime is even 32 percent. Instead of the previous 34 euros, the provider will then charge 44.90 euros per year (about 3.74 euros per month) or 4.99 euros with monthly billing (previously 3.99 euros).
Amazon cites the increased costs worldwide as the reason for the price increase for the Prime subscription. Above all, the high inflation and the increased operating costs would make things difficult for the company. For this reason, Amazon had already increased costs in the USA in February. Many markets within Europe are now following, with the price increase for Amazon Prime being quite different in the individual countries. In the UK, the third largest market, Amazon is raising prices by around 20 percent, for example – slightly less than in Germany. In Spain, Italy and France, on the other hand, the price increase for Prime is even higher than in Germany at an average of 39 to 43 percent.
As Amazon is currently informing its Prime customers by email, the price increase for Amazon Prime will come into effect on September 15th. If your annual subscription is renewed before this date, you’re in luck. Prime customers will then benefit from the previous, lower costs for a year.
You can read here whether the Prime subscription from Amazon is still worthwhile after the price increase:
Adjustment of terms and conditions heralded price increase
The price increase from Amazon Prime does not come as a surprise. There were already signs of this in June. Subscribers received an e-mail informing them about the new terms of use of the service. In general, there was little concrete information in the mail. However, it contained a summary of the changed terms and conditions:
There it said, for example: “We are entitled to change these conditions, the Prime service or parts thereof, insofar as these changes are minor or objectively justified (…). “. There it said: “We are entitled to adjust the membership fee at our reasonable discretion and objectively justified and objective criteria.” And further:
“An increase in the membership fee can be considered and a reduction in the membership fee must be made (…) in order to pass on the cost increases and/or cost savings that arise for us, which are based on external circumstances that are beyond our control and which relate to the specific costs of the Prime service in your country.”
Mail from Amazon
The fact that Amazon repeatedly pointed out a possible price adjustment in its e-mail made people sit up and take notice. The procedure was reminiscent of April, when Amazon Prime Music users initially informed about new terms and conditions, only to announce the price increase in May. The suspicion was therefore obvious that Amazon could now also proceed with its Prime subscription. However, the company did not want to comment on this. When asked by TECHBOOK, an Amazon spokeswoman replied in very general terms: “We have updated the Amazon Prime Terms of Participation to provide even more detailed information on how and when we can make changes to these terms, to our Prime service or to the conditions for the Prime membership.”
Also interesting: A comparison of the major music streaming services
Prime customers have a special right of termination
Before the current Amazon Prime price increase, the last change was already five years ago. In 2017, the price rose from 49 to 69 euros per year. Recently, as mentioned, Amazon Music has also become more expensive, as has Amazon Kids+ in some cases. What was particularly surprising about the music price increase was that it was primarily Prime customers who were affected and not subscribers who only paid for music streaming.
In order to adjust subscription prices upwards, there must be a clear legal basis. Amazon created this with the change in the General Terms and Conditions in June. If you don’t want to pay the higher costs, you can cancel your Prime subscription within 30 days of receiving the information email. Membership will then continue until the end of the current payment period.
Also read: Amazon must simplify Prime termination under pressure from the EU
However, there are a few things to consider when canceling: Anyone who cancels their Amazon Prime account loses access to all Amazon services, including Music and Prime Video. The linked devices then no longer have access either. Purchased or borrowed content, for example on Amazon Prime Video or the Kindle, is then also gone. Photos and videos that are stored in the Amazon Photos media library should therefore be backed up beforehand.