and have the purchases we make directly from their warehouse or one of their participating 3rd party vendors shipped to us directly or anywhere in the country we need it to go via 2 day delivery for FREE. Of course, there’s a fee to join Prime, which is currently $79 for a full year.$79 sounds pretty steep, doesn’t it? Let’s look at that number. If one were to buy only the items they need (and not extra items to get up to Amazon’s $25 Super Saver Shipping threshold) it would break down this way: Regular shipping for books is $3.99 and for music, DVDs, VHS etc.. Amazon charges $2.98. If one bought 20 or more books in a year’s time through Amazon (singly), the Prime program justifies itself. If one were to buy 27 or more DVDs, CDs etc the same would be true. That still sounds like a lot of dough! However, if one has the periodic need for other items like yard tools, kitchen appliances, video game players etc, the savings is more significant as it costs much more to ship these larger and often heavier items.
Here’s where the Prime Membership has really been a boon for us. Ever wait too long to shop for someone’s birthday, graduation or wedding? Ever need a close-to-the-last-minute gift? With Amazon Prime’s free 2 day shipping, there’s no cost involved to receive the expedited delivery service of 2 day receipt. And Amazon will let you send these last-minute-gifts to any US address at no additional charge! For books, expedited service usually costs $6.99 and Amazon charges $5.19 for expedited shipping on other media items (like DVDs, CDs). At these rates, expedited service translates into 12 annual book purchases or 16 annual DVD or CD purchases to reach the break even point. Though we haven’t used it, Prime members are often offered the ability to upgrade their 2 day shipping to ONE day shipping for just $3.99 more. Read the rest of this entry »
