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Amazon Just Killed the Way I’ve Mooched Free Shipping For Years
I don’t remember the last time I paid for shipping on Amazon. When I head to the site to buy something, I just expect it to be shipped for free. In fact, long ago I’d stopped even looking for the Prime shipping logos on listings. Yet, all this time, I had never actually paid for Prime. That’s because, back in the day, Prime users could essentially add someone to their plan. With this, while I didn’t have access to Prime Video streaming or other features, I did enjoy the same shipping perks as full-fledged members… until now.
Earlier this week, Amazon sent out an email noting that the program that had granted me Prime perks for so long was finally being discontinued. I say “finally” since Amazon had apparently long since disabled this option, but allowed those who had already been added to remain. In other words, this is very much a “be thankful it lasted as long as it did” situation.
While I wouldn’t call myself an Amazon power user by any means, I do shop the site with some frequency — maybe once a month on average. Therefore, I was initially sad about potentially losing my free shipping perk. But then I remembered how I used to get items shipped for free back in the day: spending more than $35. Sure, there are times when we’ll order something small, but on the whole, I’d say that my wife and I are pretty good about holding off until we have several items to purchase before placing our order. So, if we continue that strategy, we really shouldn’t see much of a difference.
Even before I came to that realization, I knew one thing: I really didn’t want to pay $130 a year for Prime. We already have too many streaming services (although some are covered by other credits or discounts), so I’m really not interested in adding another. In the grand scheme of things, $130 may not be very much, but it’s still an unnecessary expense.
That said, as I kept reading, I realized that Amazon was also extending a special offer with its bad news. Those who were part of the previous program would be able to get a year of full-fledged Prime for just $14.99. However, sign-ups for this offer didn’t open until today. This meant that, when I initially went to take advantage of it, I only saw the full price or $14.99 per month pricing. In the end, though, I was able to sign up today and, sure enough, that $14.99 for the year offer was for real. Of course, it will now renew at $130 a year from today — but I’ve already set alerts to remind me to cancel before then.
Love them or hate them, I do have to give Amazon a bit of credit on this one. First, it was pretty generous for them to even have a Prime perk-sharing feature at all. Second, it was nice that they let me keep it all this time. And third, even after that, they’re letting me upgrade to my own membership for a nominal fee. I realize these tactics aren’t completely altruistic, as the hope is that I’ll just keep my subscription and pay whatever fee they’re charging in 2026, but I still think it’s a decent gesture. Now I just need to decide if I want to spend the next year making the most of my Prime subscription or weaning myself off the site. I’ll be sure to let you know either way.
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