On July 11, Amazon will change its terms and conditions for the Prime subscription service. The wording is somewhat cryptic, but indicates, among other things, a price increase. What will change for Amazon Prime customers?
Amazon has already increased prices in recent weeks, for example for its music streaming service Amazon Music. An “update to the Prime terms and conditions” has now been announced, which suggests that the price for an Amazon Prime subscription could also increase in the future.
Amazon adjusts the terms and conditions for Prime service
Subscribers to Amazon Prime have received an email in the past few days informing them of new terms of use for the service. In general, there is little concrete information in the mail, which should only contain a summary of the changed terms and conditions:
If you take a closer look at the linked document with the marked changes, it says, for example: “We are entitled to change these conditions, the Prime service or parts thereof, insofar as these changes are minor or objectively justified (…).” Especially many Markers are located in paragraph 5.2 on “Membership Fee Changes”. There it says: “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 refers to the point of a possible price adjustment in its e-mail makes one sit up and take notice. The procedure is 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 is therefore obvious that Amazon is now doing the same with its Prime subscription. Amazon cites the costs of external service providers and the currently high inflation as possible reasons for a price adjustment due to external circumstances.
Will Amazon Prime prices go up?
The last price change on Amazon Prime was five years ago. At that time, 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 primarily affected Prime customers and not subscribers who only paid for music streaming.
So far, Amazon has not officially announced a price increase. When asked by TECHBOOK, an Amazon spokeswoman replied only very generally: “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.” The company is currently keeping a low profile.
Also interesting: A comparison of the major music streaming services
Amazon account can still be canceled until mid-July
In order to adjust subscription prices upwards, there must be a clear legal basis. Amazon has now created this; the new terms and conditions for Amazon Prime will apply from July 11, 2022. Anyone who does not agree has until then to cancel their account.
There are a few things to keep in mind: If you cancel your Amazon Prime account, you lose 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.