Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world – you can quickly become a shopping junkie there. With a Prime membership you not only save on shipping costs, but also get many additional services. But when is the Prime subscription really worth it?
Amazon is the undisputed number one in this country when it comes to online shopping. No wonder, with the gigantic offer. With the Prime subscription, Amazon offers its customers a special offer that combines free shipping and additional services such as Prime Music and Prime Video. Such free shipping could be particularly useful for shopping events such as Black Friday. But Amazon Prime is not worth it for everyone.
That costs an Amazon Prime subscription
Over the years, Amazon has raised the cost of the Prime subscription from time to time. After a price increase in 2017, the service cost 69 euros per year or 7.99 euros with monthly billing for a long time. But in September 2022, Amazon will raise prices again. Customers in Germany then have to pay around 30 percent more for the Prime subscription. From September 2022, Amazon will charge EUR 8.99 per month for the Prime subscription, which can be canceled monthly. The annual subscription increases in price to 89.90 euros. Customers then pay EUR 7.50 per month instead of EUR 5.75. The company justifies the price increase with high inflation and increased operating costs.
The costs also increase for students. So far, these have been EUR 34 per year (approx. EUR 2.83 per month) or EUR 3.99 with monthly billing. With the price increase, however, they have to pay EUR 44.90 per year (approx. EUR 3.74 per month) or EUR 4.99 per month.
Amazon is more than just a mail order company. The company builds its own hardware and offers various services. For example, you can use the platform to stream films and music, read books and magazines, save pictures and files in the cloud, order fresh groceries like you would from the supermarket and much more. Much of it can be used with individual subscriptions or via an Amazon Prime membership. We have listed below exactly which services Amazon Prime customers receive via their subscription.
Free Shipping
A main argument for the Amazon Prime fee is the free and prioritized shipping. In most cases, not only standard shipping is free (otherwise only from 29 euros shipping value), but also premium shipping with delivery on the next working day. It is important that the Prime logo appears next to the product price.
Anyone who shops often on Amazon will benefit from around 23 orders a year. However, this cannot be calculated exactly, since shipping is generally free of charge from 29 euros. Here, however, the delivery on the next day is also missing. In addition, Amazon calculates different shipping costs for media products and clothing than for electronic items, for example. You can find a detailed listing of the shipping costs on Amazon here.
Stream films, series and music
If you like streaming from the Internet, you could also get your money’s worth with an Amazon Prime subscription. In addition to thousands of films, documentaries and some even exclusive series, which are included free of charge in the subscription with Amazon Prime Video, current films can be rented for an additional fee of usually around 3.99 to 4.99 euros. Again and again, Amazon also offers rental films for customers with a Prime subscription for only 99 cents. Although the competitor Netflix offers more selection, it also costs more per month.
The music service Amazon Music is also included, although it is a limited flat rate with over two million songs, selected playlists and personal radio. The music can be heard both online and offline. Compared to services like Spotify and Apple Music, the flat rate included in the Prime subscription is much smaller and doesn’t even offer many songs and artists. The range has grown in recent years, so music lovers can also use the included service their costs come.
The company has also increased the cost of Amazon Music. Since May 2022, customers who want full access to over 40 million songs, pay 8.99 euros a month (instead of 7.99 euros) or 89 euros a year (instead of 79 euros). In this case, it is still cheaper than the competition, which usually charges 9.99 euros and offers a similar range of functions.
Also Read: 8 Tips and Tricks for Amazon Prime Video Users
read books and magazines
The Prime Reading service included in the Amazon Prime subscription has been around for a few years. Hundreds of books, newspapers, magazines and comics can be read not only on Kindle devices, but also on Android and Apple iOS devices. A special reading app makes consumption easier. With this service in particular, however, one is easily lured into buying other books and magazines for an additional fee.
Free games with Amazon Prime subscription
What used to be called Twitch Prime is now Prime Gaming. Anyone who is a Prime member at Amazon also gets access to the gaming platform Twitch. There, customers regularly receive in-game rewards, so-called loots, and free PC games for their money. In addition, you will not receive ads while streaming on Twitch.tv.
Upload photos, videos and documents to the cloud
Amazon also offers cloud storage with the Prime service and advertises that members can upload an unlimited number of pictures in order to have access to them anywhere and anytime via the Internet. In addition, 5 gigabytes of memory for videos and documents are freely available.
Will Amazon soon replace the supermarket?
Also exclusively for customers with a Prime subscription Amazon Fresh to disposal. This is an online supermarket for groceries that can still be delivered within the same day. The minimum order value is 20 euros without a deposit. However, there are delivery fees, which at Amazon Fresh are currently 1.99 euros instead of 3.99 euros per delivery. From a purchase value of currently 60 euros, there are no delivery costs.
Incidentally, Amazon has other advantages for Prime customers to offer. Here are six little-known services included with membership:
Conclusion
Amazon offers a whole bundle of savings and special services for customers with a Prime subscription. However, they are only worth the annual fee of just under 90 euros if you actually use them. Anyone who places an average of at least one order a month on Amazon, streams a film or a series, likes to listen to music that doesn’t have to be cutting-edge and maybe browses online books and magazines, will get their money’s worth . Bargain hunters also benefit from so-called lightning deals and premium days by having access 30 minutes earlier than regular customers.
If you already have Netflix and Spotify accounts and shop cheaper elsewhere via price comparison portals, you will hardly benefit from Amazon Prime.