I'm disappointed that they've had to raise their prices. It's making Prime membership more exclusive instead of less. They've carved out specials for Moms and Students.NorCalDad wrote:We're in the same boat. I've seen Amazon go from cut-rate pricing on their diapers and other staples to a point where Costco and local stores can beat them on a regular basis. We hardly ever use their streaming library, which I consider a distant third place to Netflix and Hulu. I like the convenience of not having to deal with stores, particularly during holiday season. I also like 2-day shipping. But we no longer seem to get our money's worth from the $79 Prime, so we won't renew at $99. My take on the Prime increase and the price increases on other goods is that they are facing more investor pressure to turn a regular profit and are finally trying to take advantage of the dominance they built through many years of low prices, charging no sales tax and convenient services.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/201 ... cable.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info
Maybe a 2-tier Prime would make more sense, and maybe they'll roll out a $30-50 product with less benefits than full prime for intermediate buyers. Some people don't need videos, others don't need unlimited 2-day delivery, etc.
These memberships programs are getting too numerous to support all, so you have to start making choices between them to be cost effective. You can join Sams Club or Costco, and some folks join both, but there are diminishing returns because there's so much overlap. Similarly, Amazon is getting involved, and at some point, if you spread your purchases across too many membership fees, much of the volume discount disappears.
In some ways, I'd save money by not having Amazon or Costco. The convenience of making purchases makes me buy more than I need, either buy stocking up years worth of staple goods, or buying things just because they're good deals, just in case I need it.