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Amazon Prime - worth it for readers?
I don't use my prime for book stuff, but if you have a Kindle there is the Kindle Owners Lending Library. Once a month you can borrow an e-book from the prime collection. There of course is prime free two day shipping on most of the things you buy from Amazon. That's about all I can remember, maybe someone else knows more.
I don't think there are any free audio books with prime. The other day I downloaded a kindle book that was free and there was the option to add on the audio for $1.99. But I don't listen to many audio books so it's possible I've never noticed.
I think it depends on how much you use Amazon. I have a friend who has been a Prime member for years now, and she shops so much (not just for books) that for her it's absolutely worth it to get the free shipping. Especially if you buy big heavy items, free shipping can make a huge difference in savings.
I agree with Anna. For books alone, I don't think it's worth it unless you order a ton of books. I order a lot so it's worth it for me because of free shipping
And I don't think you get any discount on audios.
For physical books, you can always order at least $35 and get free shipping anyway.
I buy a lot of things from Amazon, so I have Prime because of the free shipping. Every month I can choose from among several pre-release books on offer and get one for free. I also love Amazon Prime Video which is free and has movies, tv shows, original programming and more. I also have an Amazon Echo and use Prime music all the timeIf the only thing you use Amazon for is books, unless you spend $99 in shipping charges per year it's not worth it.
annapi wrote: "I think it depends on how much you use Amazon. I have a friend who has been a Prime member for years now, and she shops so much (not just for books) that for her it's absolutely worth it to get the..."I'm the same way, I use my prime account ALOT and the $99 a year is definitely worth it.
I don't buy physical books so Prime doesn't save me anything there. We do shop quite a bit and Prime saves shipping and 2 day delivery is nice. I watch Prime Video (love the Bosch series!) and occasionally get a free monthly pre-release book. I think we probably break even with the $99 membership but it's nice to have if you are going to do more than shop for books.
Oh - we do everything on Prime. We have thrown parties using themed or pretty napkins, plates, forks, centerpieces and party favors. We have ordered schoolbooks, vitamins, cosmetics, pantry food items. kitchen stuff, dog stuff, jewelry, shoes, gifts, basically anything we need arrives the next day. School supplies is a big prime use. Hair clips, candles, bandaids, pens, we have ordered a ping pong table, a pool table, and a trampoline through prime. All of the Chanukah gifts. Football jerseys. Camp stuff, fans and stationary, and package stuff. We use amazon prime for everything and anything! Hope that helps….
I have had Amazon Prime for a few years; primarily I use it for the shipping benefits. If and when I get a kindle paperwhite, I will get some ebooks and benefit from that. I've rarely watched anything on Amazon Prime, mostly because I go looking for very specific things they don't have.That said, I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon (love their customer service, hate some of their greedy, monopolizing behaviours).
I shop strictly through Prime because I am such a procrastinator. I also signed up for the Kindle Unlimited which acts like a limited library for (I think) $10 a month. I borrow about 3 books a month. I live in a tiny little town in the Smoky Mtns., GA. We have a very small library, and the nearest bookstore is a good 45 minute drive. Oh, and this is a used book store. So, needless to say, the Internet and Amazon is a lifeline for me.
I am like Amy . . .basically buy TONS of household stuff using Prime. From paper towels to razor blades to gifts and printer paper. Dog food. You name it. However I would characterize the book benefits as nice, but not worth the money alone. The free two day shipping is incredible however.
I've been a Prime member since it started. I buy tons of stuff from Amazon and it's great to get free two day shipping on most items. I also love the free streaming and free music. In my opinion it's not worth it if you're only looking for book related stuff but absolutely worth it for the shipping, movies and music.
This is a fascinating thread. All I can say is that if Amazon were depending on customers like me, they wouldn't be selling anything other than books.
I buy everything from Amazon, we get shipments 2-4 days a week. Prime is awesome for that, plus photo storage, free movies, etc. they don't give discounts on audio beyond what you already get. I wouldn't be without it
Wow! I just looked at a couple of products, and Amazon is really expensive! Prices are about twice local.
Anita wrote: "I am like Amy . . .basically buy TONS of household stuff using Prime. From paper towels to razor blades to gifts and printer paper. Dog food. You name it. However I would characterize the book bene..."I use the subscription service, but don't know if you need to be a prime member or not; I get bulk things that way and other things. But I try to spread my shopping around a bit and finally joined ebates to help keep getting cash back, etc. even if I want to go to ebay and get free shipping (some sellers there have that), or get other deals not available even to Amazon Prime members at other places. But ebates is very limited when it comes to Amazon.
I'm a tightwad and wait to complete my purchase until I have enough items in my cart to qualify for free shipping without Prime. They foiled me this time by making my main item only available to people with Prime. It is a great deal and hard to get locally at a good price. The minimum for free shipping seems to be going up, too, on many items.Next question, is it easy to cancel Prime at the end of the 30 day free trial?
It's very easy. Go to "Your Account", then pick "Your Prime Membership" from the drop down menu. Log in and then look on the left side of the page. You'll see "End Membership".
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Wow! I just looked at a couple of products, and Amazon is really expensive! Prices are about twice local."I always price compare, Amazon is generally cheaper for me.
BTW, to answer your question - is Prime worth it for readers. If it's just about books, then I say probably not
LOL depending on how many books you buy in a year, of course...
I'm an Amazon monster! I've probably already made my Prime membership worth it in free shipping this year. As a new grandma, I have gotten a bunch of baby things (clothes, portable high chair, toys, books, car seat, diaper liners, etc...). I find the prices about what I can get at Walmart or Target, and if it saves me a trip to those stores I'm grateful.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Wow! I just looked at a couple of products, and Amazon is really expensive! Prices are about twice local."Elizabeth: Are you in Alaska? If yes, that might be why. I don't doubt for a second that Amazon runs algorithms on each Prime member, (or shoppers in general), to ensure that they are making a profit on every sale regardless of where that shopper is located. Regardless of where you live, I agree 100% that you definitely have to watch Amazon's pricing! I used to buy RedBarn brand beef dog food roll from them at $6.99 per 4-lb roll. Between one order and the next, their price suddenly jumped to $15.99 per roll! Needless to say, I am buying it elsewhere until Amazon comes to their senses.
With Prime, another thing they have begun offering is to forego the 2-day shipping and receive a $1.00 credit toward e-content, (kindle books, mp3 music, video, etc). I have been using that quite a bit to get free kindle books that I want to read. I am careful to not buy books that are available in KOLL, (Kindle Owner's Lending Library), or at my local library. For me, this has netted me about a dozen books in the past couple of years at no extra charge.
I use Prime streaming quite a bit for both music and video. At $99.00 per year, it's about the same price as Netflix streaming, (which I also have), and has the added bonus of a ton of free music plus the 2-day shipping for physical products - which I use a lot. So yeah, the more Prime features that you use, the more worth it the program becomes.
Nicole wrote: "BTW, to answer your question - is Prime worth it for readers. If it's just about books, then I say probably not ..."
That's what I figured. I was hoping it would give me additional audio books but that would undermine Audible and it should have been obvious to me that they're not going to do that. I buy digital so shipping is irrelevant for ebooks and audio.
Oliver has convinced me cancelling will be easy if - and a big if - I can hold the thought at the appropriate time.
Can you share the audio streaming? Do I access through a password on my Roku or my laptop?
Yes, I am in Alaska. (Thus, my screen name.) But prices are generally higher here, so I was definitely surprised to see how high are the prices at Amazon for the things I typically purchase. One item I checked was about 20% cheaper, but as I buy that only 4 times a year, it wouldn't begin to make up for spending $99 to get it. We drive about 5,000 miles per year. Going to the store isn't a big deal.
ScoLgo wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "With Prime, another thing they have begun offering is to forego the 2-day shipping and receive a $1.00 credit toward e-content, (kindle books, mp3 music, video, etc). I have been using that quite a bit to get free kindle books that I want to read. I am careful to not buy books that are available in KOLL, (Kindle Owner's Lending Library), or at my local library. For me, this has netted me about a dozen books in the past couple of years at no extra charge.."I love the $1 credit towards e-content as I often can wait a week or so for my items.
How much does the prime video overlap with Netflicks?
Personally I would rather go to the store and get my item same day than order online. So I cancelled Prime before our thirty day window was up. It also conincided with the closing of Shelfari at which point I stopped using Amazon entirely. However, given how little shopping I did through them, the loss of my small amount of business and my Prime account wasn't a big deal, for them or me. If you are just buying books, a Prime account just isn't worth it.
Prime is totally worth it for me. I get ebooks at discounted prices. I pre-order a lot of new releases. I also order other things from Amazon. I save a lot of money with the free shipping and the time it takes and gas used trying to find it in a store.
Sara wrote: "Personally I would rather go to the store and get my item same day than order online. So I cancelled Prime before our thirty day window was up. It also conincided with the closing of Shelfari at wh..."Our local bookstore doesn't always have the books I want that day, but I do feel guilty when I forget to order books from them since they offer a 20 percent discount on most new books. The primarily sell used books, but some new and also feature local authors. I need to frequent them more often.
I absolutely think Prime is worth it for me but I live at least a 50 minute round trip from the closest store. I especially love some of the Amazon Original series for streaming (Bosch Season 1 and 2 and The Man in the High Castle). You can also choose a free book from the Kindle First program every month. You don't need to own a Kindle, just a Kindle app. Your mileage may vary, of course.http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/kind...
Olivermagnus wrote: "I absolutely think Prime is worth it for me but I live at least a 50 minute round trip from the closest store. I especially love some of the Amazon Original series for streaming (Bosch Season 1 and..."LOVED The Man in the High Castle!
Olivermagnus wrote: "You can also choose a free book from the Kindle First program every month. You don't need to own a Kindle, just a Kindle app. I wasn't aware of the Kindle First program. It's certainly worth watching even without Prime.
Sara wrote: "Personally I would rather go to the store and get my item same day than order online. So I cancelled Prime before our thirty day window was up. It also conincided with the closing of Shelfari at wh..."Ha ha, I HATE shopping and will do anything to avoid it. The only shopping I really do is for food. And this morning when I was driving to a meeting, I saw some person with a bunch of green cold pack bags that said Amazon on them. I'm like, "what IS that?". I wonder if Amazon has grocery delivery here. I may never go to a store again.
I'm seriously lazy.
Anita wrote: Ha ha, I HATE shopping and will do anything to avoid it. The only shopping I really do is for food. And this morning when I was driving to a meeting, I saw some person with a bunch of green cold pack bags that said Amazon on them. I'm like, "what IS that?". I wonder if Amazon has grocery delivery here. I may never go to a store again.."Depending on where you live, they do!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pantry/info/
Anita wrote: "Sara wrote: "Personally I would rather go to the store and get my item same day than order online. So I cancelled Prime before our thirty day window was up. It also conincided with the closing of S..."I also hate shopping, but even more, I hate shopping and not finding what I want made domestically or what I want at all or what I want in bulk or what I want through my food coop. Amazon helps a little bit with that.
The or's are on purpose, and, as many of us know, it is a legitimate literary device :).
Anita wrote: "The only shopping I really do is for food. And this morning when I was driving to a meeting, I saw some person with a bunch of green cold pack bags that said Amazon on them. I'm like, "what IS that?". I wonder if Amazon has grocery delivery here. I may never go to a store again."We like going to the grocery store and go together, mostly. Well, let's say I never go without my husband, but, since he's the cook, he frequently goes by himself. Anyway, what is nice about actually going to the store is the ability to see new items that might be of interest. Browsing at Amazon is next to impossible - even just for books.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anita wrote: "The only shopping I really do is for food. And this morning when I was driving to a meeting, I saw some person with a bunch of green cold pack bags that said Amazon on them. I'm like,..."I avoid shopping with my husband like the plague. When I shop I'm either all business, or all business interspersed with chatting. I'm a label reader, into healthy food and have many soapbox issues and companies I boycott. He likes to mosey along, looking at different things, getting outraged at the prices of healthy food, etc. As far as I know, he doesn't boycott any companies nor does he read the labels on food packages. There are plenty of other things we enjoy doing together, but not shopping or a few other things.
Olivermagnus wrote: "Depending on where you live, they do!http://www.amazon.com/gp/pantry/info/ "
This requires immediate investigation.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "We like going to the grocery store and go together, mostly. Well, let's say I never go without my husband, but, since he's the cook, he frequently goes by himself. Anyway, what is nice about actually going to the store is the ability to see new items that might be of interest."Your husband cooks? That's fantastic!
However, I don't want to see new interesting items. Because then I might buy them. And I really don't want to buy them . . .because I don't like clutter. And I'm cheap. Except for things like e-books and baseball tickets. And those don't need browsing.
Karin wrote: "I avoid shopping with my husband like the plague. "When we both worked full time, we definitely shopped together more, but I can't say I miss it. Sometimes he will go with me to Home Depot (one of the times I need to see the physical item), and it really never ends well.
What? ebooks need infinite browsing. I could end up with 2000 Kindle books if I didn't browse.
Anita, let me know what you find out about food through Amazon!!
What is it about shopping people hate so much? I don't mind shopping myself, unless it is for clothing for me which I hate. And this why I love Stitch Fix who just sends me clothing I can try on at home and send back if it doesn't work.
Sara wrote: "And this why I love Stitch Fix who just sends me clothing I can try on at..."I shop Lands End mostly.
I do like lands end stuff too, but there is something extra wonderful about having a personal stylist. Some of my favorite items have been things I wouldn't have picked for myself.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "What? ebooks need infinite browsing. I could end up with 2000 Kindle books if I didn't browse."Um, yeah, um, 2000 Kindle books, um, haven't counted lately, but . . .
Sara wrote: "What is it about shopping people hate so much? I don't mind shopping myself, unless it is for clothing for me which I hate. And this why I love Stitch Fix who just sends me clothing I can try on at..."I just find it super boring for some reason. I don't really get that big a charge out of new stuff per se, so that may be part of it. I'd much rather be doing say, 500 other things - - coffee with friends, working out, watching baseball, napping, etc - - I don't know, I just really don't like it.
I like Stitch Fix though!!! Stitch Fix is the antithesis of shopping.
My dislike of shopping most certainly extends to clothes shopping for myself. That's definitely one of the worst kinds of shopping.
Anita wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "What? ebooks need infinite browsing. I could end up with 2000 Kindle books if I didn't browse."Um, yeah, um, 2000 Kindle books, um, haven't counted lately, but . . ."
LOL - yes, that book buying is just too easy, and they don't fill up shelves, so stay hidden.
I love to browse here at Goodreads. Besides seeing what my friends are reading and PBTers, there is that Readers Also Enjoyed section on the book page, and then there are Listopia to wander through - to say nothing of shelves.
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Wool Omnibus (other topics)Wool Omnibus (other topics)
So, my question is are audio books offered on Prime at a discount or free like ebooks? I thought I saw some but then couldn't go back and find them again so wondered if I followed a false trail at some point.
How happy is everyone with Prime. Is it worth $99 if I forget to cancel my free month in a timely manner?