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canyonwalkerAmazon announced last Friday the cost of Amazon Prime is going up. Annual subscriptions increase by $20, to $139/year. Monthly subscriptions increase by $2/month, to $14.99. Ah, inflation!1
In the news coverage about this price increase I saw one clickbait-y headline about "How people can save $100s or even $1000s with this Prime change!" I was curious if the article would reveal some not-widely-known or new benefit of Prime membership, or— more likely— would be a snarky way of saying, "Shop elsewhere." ...It was a snarky way of saying, "Shop elsewhere."
Coincidentally I had just seen this effect myself a week or two earlier: Amazon, long known for being the cheaper alternative to traditional retailers, is not always the cheapest anymore!
In the situation 2 weeks ago I was shopping for some OTC health supplies. Only one vendor on Amazon offered what I needed— which itself was weird, because there used to be several— and they stated delivery would take 4-5 weeks. So much for free 2-day delivery with Prime, huh? 🙄 I decided to check at Walmart.com and not only found the same item available with delivery promised in just a few days but also priced 10% cheaper!
Subsequently I've found other items, including haircare products and household items, on better deals at Walmart.com. Not only are they 10-20% cheaper at Walmart.com but they're in stock when Amazon's sellers are saying it will take weeks for delivery. Amazon used to be the only place I'd check for online shopping for a wide variety of things. Not anymore.
1. It's actually not inflation, per se, but rather Amazon's need to show growth to its investors. Subscriber numbers are flattening out, so to show revenue growth Amazon— like a bunch of other big-name online companies recently— is increasing membership price.
In the news coverage about this price increase I saw one clickbait-y headline about "How people can save $100s or even $1000s with this Prime change!" I was curious if the article would reveal some not-widely-known or new benefit of Prime membership, or— more likely— would be a snarky way of saying, "Shop elsewhere." ...It was a snarky way of saying, "Shop elsewhere."
Coincidentally I had just seen this effect myself a week or two earlier: Amazon, long known for being the cheaper alternative to traditional retailers, is not always the cheapest anymore!
In the situation 2 weeks ago I was shopping for some OTC health supplies. Only one vendor on Amazon offered what I needed— which itself was weird, because there used to be several— and they stated delivery would take 4-5 weeks. So much for free 2-day delivery with Prime, huh? 🙄 I decided to check at Walmart.com and not only found the same item available with delivery promised in just a few days but also priced 10% cheaper!
Subsequently I've found other items, including haircare products and household items, on better deals at Walmart.com. Not only are they 10-20% cheaper at Walmart.com but they're in stock when Amazon's sellers are saying it will take weeks for delivery. Amazon used to be the only place I'd check for online shopping for a wide variety of things. Not anymore.
1. It's actually not inflation, per se, but rather Amazon's need to show growth to its investors. Subscriber numbers are flattening out, so to show revenue growth Amazon— like a bunch of other big-name online companies recently— is increasing membership price.
