Amazon increases Prime membership fee to $99 per year

124

Comments

  • Reply 61 of 81
    plovellplovell Posts: 824member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Also available for Prime subscribers is the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows users to choose from more than 500,000 books to borrow with no due dates. Once titles have been borrowed from Amazon's website, they can be accessed through the official Kindle for iOS application.

    Is this really true??

     

    Everything that I have seen says that the Lending Library is such that borrowed books can be read on Kindle devices ONLY, and NOT on iPhone/iPad using Kindle for iOS.

     

    It would be nice if this were true but I fear it is not.

  • Reply 62 of 81
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    plovell wrote: »
    Is this really true??

    Everything that I have seen says that the Lending Library is such that borrowed books can be read on Kindle devices ONLY, and NOT on iPhone/iPad using Kindle for iOS.

    It would be nice if this were true but I fear it is not.

    You're correct; it's Kindle devices only.
  • Reply 63 of 81
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    What does the cost of Amazon Prime have to do with their ebook market?

    Was answering a monopoly question. Please do not pass Go or collect $200. :)
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    That doesn't constitute a monopoly. Using your logic Apple had a monopoly when they had a 90% share in the tablet market. Right now roughly 80% of digital music downloads is from iTunes, is that a monopoly?

    Yes. Monopoly in itself isn't illegal. But Apple didn't have predatory pricing nor did they force others out by threats.
  • Reply 64 of 81
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    jungmark wrote: »
    Yes. Monopoly in itself isn't illegal. But Apple didn't have predatory pricing nor did they force others out by threats.

    There's more than one way to skin a cat, and there's more than one way to make sure that the competition can't compete. You can undercut them in price, or you can out innovate them, and while one is more honorable than the other the end result is the same. At the end of the day does a dying company really care about why it was unable to compete?
  • Reply 65 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NOFEER View Post



    HEY AMAZON BREAK IT UP

    I do nt want the other services don't use them why pay for them

    Amazon the new cable company



    How do we contact amazon??



    Got news for you buddy. Amazon Prime was $80 before the Movies and Books were added -- for free. So it's just a convenient argument on your point that you are now "paying" for them. I'm going to believe "increased fuel and transportation costs" way before I believe, the argument that you are now going to make, that this price increase is just a ruse to charge for these e-books and the video service.

     

    Free 2-day shipping is either worth $99/year to you or not.

  • Reply 66 of 81
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 31 Flavas View Post

     



    Got news for you buddy. Amazon Prime was $80 before the Movies and Books were added -- for free. So it's just a convenient argument on your point that you are now "paying" for them. I'm going to believe "increased fuel and transportation costs" way before I believe, the argument that you are now going to make, that this price increase is just a ruse to charge for these e-books and the video service.

     

    Free 2-day shipping is either worth $99/year to you or not.


    i don't want to pay for something i DON'T use,  i want to save $240 a year which pays for an iPhone upgrade 

    the easiest thing for me to do is 

    STOP USING AMAZON PRIME AND BUY FROM OTHERS

    THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

  • Reply 67 of 81
    nofeer wrote: »
    i don't want to pay for something i DON'T use,  i want to save $240 a year which pays for an iPhone upgrade 
    the easiest thing for me to do is 
    STOP USING AMAZON PRIME AND BUY FROM OTHERS
    THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

    You obviously don't have Prime now, you are complaining of a price increase that literally impacts you in zero ways. It would take you 12 years comparing current to new rates to "save" $240 with the difference.
  • Reply 68 of 81
    Amazon Prime is great, but if you don%u2019t feel like paying 25% more, check out ShopRunner. They%u2019re giving Amazon Prime members free one year membership to try their free two day shipping at www.shoprunner.com/amazon-prime.
  • Reply 69 of 81
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member

    what's this about   its a price increase for services i DON'T want

    so you pay it

    i'm dropping prime 

     

    above thanks   i'll try that site

     

    what amazon needs to do is charge for the service as i discussed    how about this novel idea

    prime  $

    prime with streaming and borrowing  $$

     

    lets try to keep customers not alienate them

     

    i've been a prime member for as long as there has been prime

     

    so what's loyalty to customer's anyway???

  • Reply 70 of 81
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    gatorguy wrote: »
    Hadnt paid attention until you mentioned it but my Amazon orders went way up after signing on for Amazon Prime. Can you figure out what year that was? I get my monies worth, as Amazon probably does too.

    2007- 5
    2008- 9
    2009- 5
    2010- 9
    2011- 10
    2012- 23
    2013- 25
    2014- 6

    Me, too. I guess Prime is a smart service since it appears to get users to buy more products.

    I am fairly close (in postal terms) to an Amazon distribution center so I usually received my packages within 2 days but last year I noticed the times between ordering and be ready to ship were taking longer and longer until sometimes it would take a week before it would be shipped, and then it would be a day or two after that before it arrived. I purchase Prime and orders started getting filled right away.

    PS: I also signed up for an Amazon credit card. No annual fee and I get 3% back for every Amazon purchase, and 2% back for any pharmacy, gas station, restaurant or office supply store. I use these services anyway so I might as well get a little something back in return. It's worth several hundred dollars a year to me.
  • Reply 71 of 81
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DarkVader View Post

     

    Forget it.

     

    Since they started charging sales tax here, I wouldn't consider prime at $9 a year, let alone $99.

     

    I only buy things that aren't eligible for prime from them now, since they don't charge sales tax on those.


    GREAT  idea, thanks

  • Reply 72 of 81
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    solipsismx wrote: »

    PS: I also signed up for an Amazon credit card. No annual fee and I get 3% back for every Amazon purchase, and 2% back for any pharmacy, gas station, restaurant or office supply store. I use these services anyway so I might as well get a little something back in return. It's worth several hundred dollars a year to me.

    Same here.
  • Reply 73 of 81
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 31 Flavas View Post

     



    Got news for you buddy. Amazon Prime was $80 before the Movies and Books were added -- for free. So it's just a convenient argument on your point that you are now "paying" for them. I'm going to believe "increased fuel and transportation costs" way before I believe, the argument that you are now going to make, that this price increase is just a ruse to charge for these e-books and the video service.

     

    Free 2-day shipping is either worth $99/year to you or not.


     

    So you think that Amazon trying to start a competitor to Netflix (that charges customers $10/month) and Hulu Plus (that charges $8/month) isn't increasing Amazon's costs?  You think the streaming rights to all those movies and TV shows, as well as lending rights to the ebooks don't cost them anything?  Now Amazon is starting to get their own exclusive shows too, you think that doesn't cost anything?  These things are costing millions of dollars, and I am way more convinced that they are the actual reason for the increase not shipping costs.

     

    As others have pointed out, if shipping costs were the driving factor why aren't they getting rid of free shipping for non-prime members, or at least raising the minimum purchase level to qualify again?  Many online vendors make you have to order $50 or $100 in merchandise before you get free shipping Amazon is only $35.

     

    The more I think about it, the more sense it makes for  Amazon to split the two offerings.  The way it is now they have to be losing quite a few members over $20 a year.  If they had instead split the offerings I would bet that the majority of Prime members that use the streaming service would have been more than happy to pay an extra $20 a year to keep that service.  After all that is only $1.67/month, way cheaper than Netflix or Hulu Plus.  Not only that but I bet a ton of new customers would have signed up for the streaming service that wouldn't normally be Amazon Prime members.  Lots of people don't like to shop online, or don't do it enough for $100 a year membership to be worthwile, but $1.67 a month for streaming content might interest them a lot.

     

    Heck, Amazon probably could charge quite a bit more for stand alone streaming only.  $30 a year is only $2.50 a month, still a great deal compared to Netflix and Hulu+.  $50 a year is just a little over $4 a month, still about half the price of the competitors.  Then they could offer a discount to members who get both.  Say streaming is $50 a year by itself, but for $100/year you get streaming and Prime shipping.

  • Reply 74 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DarkVader View Post

     

    Forget it.

     

    Since they started charging sales tax here, I wouldn't consider prime at $9 a year, let alone $99.

     

    I only buy things that aren't eligible for prime from them now, since they don't charge sales tax on those.


    You do realize that just about every state of the Union requires you personally to pay sales tax as part of your state tax return if that tax wasn't collected at the time of the sale?   It's called a 'use tax'.   You're just fooling yourself when using the 'no sales tax' model of shopping when making your purchase decisions.  Sure, you can choose not to claim your use tax on your tax return, and will probably get away with it - at least for now, but if you ever get audited, it will be the FIRST thing the tax auditor will look for.  Better have the last three years of your credit card statements on hand and enough money to cover the defaulted taxes due, interest charges and a penalty.  

     

    The myth of tax free internet sales

    http://www.ecommerce-blog.org/archives/the-myth-of-tax-free-internet-sales/

  • Reply 75 of 81
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    thetorrey wrote: »
    You have no interest in the story so pass it up.   But instead, you decided to add to your 14,000+ posts in order to complain about it.

    So what have you done here?
  • Reply 76 of 81
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    Beerstalker:

    my thought exactly
    others have given us ways around the increase and the credit card option is tasty
    but they need ala cart pricing just as i wish cable did
    pay for the services you use
    funny how free shipping sites are targeting amazon
    depends on how much heat customers AND businesses put on them

    pretty soon "streaming movies" with be like toys in the cereal box
    loss leader, that's why i wish hope, plan on apple doing it right

    (as an aside a friend gave me a six pack of Yuengling black and tan , i've never had this i've only had the "fix" from a bar
    the layered look--i gave him a minikeg of mississippi mud, its in a brown jug like moonshine-hasn't tried it yet)
  • Reply 77 of 81
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    tarfungo wrote: »
    You do realize that just about every state of the Union requires you personally to pay sales tax as part of your state tax return if that tax wasn't collected at the time of the sale?   It's called a 'use tax'.   You're just fooling yourself when using the 'no sales tax' model of shopping when making your purchase decisions.  Sure, you can choose not to claim your use tax on your tax return, and will probably get away with it - at least for now, but if you ever get audited, it will be the FIRST thing the tax auditor will look for.  Better have the last three years of your credit card statements on hand and enough money to cover the defaulted taxes due, interest charges and a penalty.  

    <h2>The myth of tax free internet sales</h2>

    http://www.ecommerce-blog.org/archives/the-myth-of-tax-free-internet-sales/

    While true, the state governments only focuses on businesses since they spend more money than individuals.
  • Reply 78 of 81
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tarfungo View Post

     

    You do realize that just about every state of the Union requires you personally to pay sales tax as part of your state tax return if that tax wasn't collected at the time of the sale?   It's called a 'use tax'.   You're just fooling yourself when using the 'no sales tax' model of shopping when making your purchase decisions.  Sure, you can choose not to claim your use tax on your tax return, and will probably get away with it - at least for now, but if you ever get audited, it will be the FIRST thing the tax auditor will look for.  Better have the last three years of your credit card statements on hand and enough money to cover the defaulted taxes due, interest charges and a penalty.  

     

    The myth of tax free internet sales

    http://www.ecommerce-blog.org/archives/the-myth-of-tax-free-internet-sales/




    You do realize that no one in his right mind EVER pays that, because you will NEVER be audited on it, right?  Have you ever heard of anyone being audited on personal internet purchases?  Ever?  I'd be surprised if it's happened even once.

     

    And in my state, there's nothing to audit.  The feds don't give a crap if I pay state sales tax.  There is no state income tax. 

     

    So yes, if I buy something online from out of state, it is tax free.

  • Reply 79 of 81
    tarfungo wrote: »
    You do realize that just about every state of the Union requires you personally to pay sales tax as part of your state tax return if that tax wasn't collected at the time of the sale?   It's called a 'use tax'.   You're just fooling yourself when using the 'no sales tax' model of shopping when making your purchase decisions.  Sure, you can choose not to claim your use tax on your tax return, and will probably get away with it - at least for now, but if you ever get audited, it will be the FIRST thing the tax auditor will look for.  Better have the last three years of your credit card statements on hand and enough money to cover the defaulted taxes due, interest charges and a penalty.  

    <h2>The myth of tax free internet sales</h2>

    http://www.ecommerce-blog.org/archives/the-myth-of-tax-free-internet-sales/

    Bingo. Gets me fired up. More Amazon manipulation. I live in SC, and they were looking at putting a distribution center here I think. But wanted to avoid collecting sales tax for a set amount of time. I think the state allowed this. I do get an email each January to claim, which I do
    jungmark wrote: »
    While true, the state governments only focuses on businesses since they spend more money than individuals.

    Doesn't make it right.
  • Reply 80 of 81
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by DarkVader View Post

    You do realize that no one in his right mind EVER pays that, because you will NEVER be audited on it, right?  Have you ever heard of anyone being audited on personal internet purchases?  Ever?  I'd be surprised if it's happened even once.

     

    [Insert comment about the measurable tyranny of the IRS here]

Sign In or Register to comment.