Amazon Prime membership increases by nearly XNUMX%. It's a sudden shock to two hundred million people around the world, the kind of shock that makes you stop and ask yourself, "Why am I paying for this?"
Before you ditch Amazon Prime, hear me out: It's probably worth it.
I can't deceive, my first reaction was: "What?! Amazon is increasing the annual subscription fee for Amazon Prime by €20? That is insane.
Amazon does that.
It took me a while to lighten up and realize that amortized over twelve months it's only €1.60 more per month. Then I remembered how Netflix had just increased their monthly fees by roughly €2 per month to their top tier.
Inflation, it seems, is not just about our bread, milk and gasoline, but is also affecting technology and media consumption.
Now that I've stopped banging my head on the table in frustration, I can step back and reflect on what Amazon currently offers for $50 a year (or $XNUMX a month).
For what reason Amazon Prime, anyway?
I think back to when Amazon was just a nascent online book seller, looking at Waldens and Barnes and Nobile buildings across the country. We thought it was remarkable that a single online store could house so many books and ship them quickly to virtually anywhere on the planet.
Everything seems so picturesque now.
Today, Amazon sells just about anything you can think of, and most can arrive at your door in forty-eight hours or less. But the great thing about Amazon Prime is that, for millions of items, it guarantees free shipping within a couple of days (like endless email updates on when your product shipped and when someone else shipped it). ).
With our lockdown, our pandemic addiction to giving it all away, it was pretty hard to put a cost on that. When we weren't venturing out for a bundle of toilet paper, we could often find thousands of squares of spare on Amazon.
Beyond the anecdotal evidence, we know that the creator and former director of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, earned €75 billion at the height of the pandemic in XNUMX. This understanding can, for many, create an unwanted tension between the convenience of Amazon Prime and the understanding that it makes the richest man on the planet even richer.
However, if you can put that aside, there's even more value in Prime beyond an expansive online store and near-instant delivery.
Hidden value
Fifteen years ago, when Amazon Prime Video launched as Amazon Unbox, absolutely no one knew that it would transform into a full-fledged film and TV investigation. Which would spawn binge-worthy hits like The Boys and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or Oscar-worthy movies like The Sound of Metal.
I confess to having seen all these programs, such as traditional content and movies on the platform. It may not be as deep as Netflix or as IP-heavy as Disney+, but it has its charms and is part of the Amazon Prime bundle. There is also the Lord of the Rings thing.
Likewise, I enjoy free monthly books, music (I could get more current music with Amazon Music Unlimited, but I refuse to pay for more music streaming services), and ready answers for all sorts of Amazon Alexa facts and trivia ( like how to monitor many of my smart devices).
I don't shop at Whole Foods, but I admit I've considered moving to the massive, somewhat granola-ey grocery store for members-only deals. Amazon Prime will still save any and all of my photos in full resolution (requires an app).
There's clothes through Wardrobe that lets you try on before you buy, the pharmacy's new prescription service (I've got some to fill and can't wait to try on), and, of course, the huge shopping extravaganza known as Amazon Prime. Day, that safety pin. Festivus and also-commerce that threatens to cover the sun of online shopping. However, it only does this if you are a member. If you don't pay for Amazon Prime, you don't have access to these deals, especially the wild flash sales that offer some truly incredible discounts.
Yes, I speak from experience and, no, I am not ashamed of it.
Why go hiking?
Amazon is going to spend at least €XNUMX billion on Prime Video in XNUMX. But that's just a small slice of Amazon's spending pie. As Amazon pointed out in its earnings release (where it half-buried the new membership increase), it faces rising wage costs (rising labor costs). Amazon Labor is considering unionization to secure better wages and working conditions) and shipping costs. In the latter, people from all over the planet pushed Amazon's shipping infrastructure to the max, but somehow it didn't essentially break.
This is undoubtedly a huge increase, but few online services offer so many features for the monthly cost. Netflix doesn't offer to send you anything in a couple of days. Disney+ does not offer a discount at Disney World. Amazon is, at the moment, the only plurality of online services in the city. And always and at all times it is worth it.