As we’ve said before, Amazon Prime is well worth the $10.99 a month (discounted to $100 if you buy it on a yearly basis) for the free shipping, the movies, the books, and the litany of random discounts. But is it worth a 20% price hike? Amazon is about to discover just what people think on that score.
According to Recode, the cost of a monthly Prime subscription is going up from $10.99 a month, or $132 a year, to $12.99 a month, or $156 a year. Students are also seeing a hike, from $5.50 a month to $6.50 a month. If you buy it on a yearly basis, you’re still only paying $8.33 a month, as the $100 yearly subscription price is unchanged. Amazon’s argument is pretty straightforward: “We give you lots and lots of stuff under Prime, that costs us money, so, unfortunately, we need a little more money from you.”
The obvious solution, if you can swing it, is to simply by the yearly subscription and have done with it. Consider it a 33% discount, which is undoubtedly exactly what Amazon is hoping you’ll think of it as. Yearly subscriptions are also harder to cancel (just ask your gym!), which probably makes it a bit more appealing to Amazon as a company. If you can’t, take a hard look at what you save from your subscription and ask if it’s still worth it. It probably is, if you’re squeezing all the value you can out of it. And don’t forget, if you’re in a roommate or cohabitation situation, that you can set up an Amazon Household and just split the bill down the middle.
Although if you’re just walking away on principle because they canceled One Mississippi, we totally feel you.
(via Recode)
