OK, I’m a moron. I knew Amazon Prime existed and made shipping cheaper, but I never really looked into it. Until yesterday. OMFG, it is awesome!
I watched the first season of The Twilight Zone last night on my iPad. Free. I can read certain books for free on my Kindle. Then there is the savings on shipping, that alone will pay for the membership.
Is there a downside?
The only downside I’ve noticed is that I get upset that I have to pay for shipping, and it’s slower, when I order from an Amazon retailer, and not Amazon itself. 
You have to pay the full $79 annual fee up front. Their video selection isn’t quite up to par with Netflix, but it’s not terrible. Other than that I’ve got nothing. Those are pretty minor qualms and the shipping discount more than makes up for them (assuming you buy a lot of stuff from amazon).
I’ve though about getting it before but personally I don’t buy enough from there to make it worthwhile. I would primarily use it for streaming video, and while it’s cheaper overall than Netflix ($17/year less, streaming only), the slimmer selection is a dealbreaker.
Depends on what you’re buying from them. The don’t-have-to-leave-the-house factor makes it tempting to buy drugstore stuff etc from them, but their prices on that kind of stuff are often much higher than your local store’s. Even their Subscribe And Save deals are becoming less and less competitive with Sam’s Club, Costco etc. I recently stopped getting diapers and baby wipes from them for this reason.
Well you got my curious so I went on over to Amazon to check. It’s $79 a year. I don’t do much TV watching or movie watching, and I imagine those who do would already be set up with a Netflix account. The free shipping only applies when you order directly from Amazon, and Amazon prices on books often aren’t as cheap as what you can pay for a used book. Considering that regular shipping is $4, and free on orders over $25, I doubt I’d buy enough products for it to be worth the $79 annual membership fee.
The free Kindle book each month looks enticing, but I usually take my time with the books I read and it would suck to have them recapture the book before I was finished reading it (which I assume is what they mean when they say “A Kindle book to **borrow **for free each month from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library,” bolding mine).
So in essence, the cost would be the only downside, but it’s the only one I need.
I’m piggybacking on my dad’s Prime account, so I don’t get the videos or anything. All I get is the free 2-day shipping.
Is there a downside? Absolutely. Every time you go to Amazon, Amazon is already there. Behind you. Rubbing your shoulders and whispering in your ear, “Hey, baby. You want free 2-day shipping on this? I can get this to you the day after tomorrow, and all you have to do is press that little “one-click” button. Just one click, baby. You won’t even feel a thing.”
I buy a decent amount of stuff from Amazon. In addition, my gf (who I live with) will now have me order her stuff. We do not watch regular TV, but the free offerings are mostly things I’d enjoy. The lending book policy works well for me.
I’m soooo happy with it.
In my experience they don’t recapture the book from the lending library – you just can’t borrow more than one book at a time or more than one per month. My daughter read The Hunger Games series through it and it took her about five months.
I love Amazon Prime – I almost always compare prices but taking free shipping into account Amazon is usually cheaper.
And they do have a few instant videos that Netflix doesn’t have. (Yes, I have both. Don’t judge me.)
I’m not certain of the exact numbers, the the average Prime customer spends hundreds of dollars a year more on Amazon than the average non-prime customer. That’s why Amazon likes it when you go prime.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but be aware of the little voice.
I think that’s the downside of it; because you know you spent 79 bucks on the service, you consciously or unconsciously spend more money at Amazon than you would have otherwise, to feel that you’re getting your money’s worth. I think some people with a Costco or Sam’s Club membership do the same thing.
I haven’t found a downside. You can even save on used books. Look for “Fulfillment by Amazon” and shipping will be free.
When the revloution comes you will be slapped in chains and forced to work as a slave in the Amazon salt mines or be Jeff Bezos personal pleasure slave…
and the 80 bucks.
I looked through the video offerings and I thought they were shocking. Tons, TONS of old movies, like Westerns from the 1960s. A very very few newer things. We have it on trial and we’re watching Dr. Who, but otherwise, eh. I was hoping to replace Netflix with it, but no way is that gonna happen.
The fact that families can share a membership pretty much gobbles up any potential downside for my household. The $79 membership fee pays for itself pretty early in the annual cycle.
When you search, you can also just check the “Prime Eligible” box.
Personally, I’ve never even been tempted, because
(1) I don’t have a fast enough internet connection to make streaming video feasible, and
(2) if I want free shipping, I just select Free Super-Saver Shipping.
But that’s more lack-of-upside than actual downside.
Watched Tommy Boy. Chris Farley died too young.
Exactly.
You start buying things that you kind of want because you’re determined to get your $79.00 back. After you’ve passed that threshold, you start buying more and more from Amazon - because “I needed it anyway. And it’ll be here in two days! For free!” And Amazon gets to know you better and targets you even more successfully getting you to buy more stuff - that will ship for free! in two days! The little voice is evil.
In fairness, Amazon has some instant-watch stuff that Netflix doesn’t (and vice versa). While their free selection of instant-watch stuff is not all that great, it does give you alternatives. Rental movies etc. also have different selections but of course you don’t need Prime to rent those.
Some items that you get shipped free from Amazon Prime are cheaper through third-party sellers (or even other sites entirely), though the shipping isn’t free there. Depending on the item, the shipping cost may or may not make up the difference in price. But there’s the tendency to jump on stuff that’s Prime without doing that number-crunching.
Wait - what? I can share my membership with the household? I didn’t realize that - if my husband wants to order something he just logs into my account, but it’d be nice if he could order under his own account. Ditto the kids.