Amazon Set to Increase Prime Membership Fee By 17% for US Customers

[MacRumors]

Amazon is increasing its Prime membership subscription prices in the U.S., the company has revealed in its Q4 2021 earnings results.

According to the company, the fee for a Prime subscription is set to increase for the first time in four years, rising to $15 per month (up from $13), or $139 per year (up from $119).

The price hike, representing an almost 17% increase, will go into effect for new customers starting February 18, 2022, while current members will see their plans go up after March 25, 2022.

Amazon says the increase will pay for the "continued expansion" of Prime perks, along with higher employee salaries and more expensive shipping costs. Amazon hasn't said whether the Prime price change will apply in other countries.

An Amazon Prime subscription includes "free" one-day shipping on purchases made on Amazon, access to Prime Video, Prime Music, and other Amazon digital platforms and services.

As noted by Engadget, Amazon's recent Prime Video spends are also likely to have been a factor, with the upcoming first season of the new "The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power" series reportedly expected to cost $465 million. Amazon last year also acquired Hollywood studio MGM for $8.5 billion.

Amazon's net profit jumped nearly 57% in 2021 to $33.4 billion, due in part to the lingering effects of the global health crisis, which has had a positive effect on Amazon's core shopping business. Amazon stock jumped 13% in pre-market trading on Friday following its strong fourth-quarter earnings.

Article Link: Amazon Set to Increase Prime Membership Fee By 17% for US Customers

 

[steggerwoof]

So their net profits jumped 57% to $33 billion but they have to charge customers more to increase salaries, if this comes to the UK I'll cancel my membership.

 

[contacos]

So their net profits jumped 57% to $33 billion but they have to charge customers more to increase salaries, if this comes to the UK I'll cancel my membership.

Bezos 500 Million Dollar Yacht does not pay itself!

 

[Quu]

Amazon says the increase will pay for the "continued expansion" of Prime perks

I literally only have Prime for fast and "free" delivery and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

 

[44267547]

As a Prime customer, I really only ever signed up with them for the ‘free two day delivery’, and in some cases one day delivery. But it’s reaching a point, where I don’t necessarily need things ‘next day’ anymore, and to keep justifying these price hikes, is not really attractive to me, when I really don’t use the likes of the movie service or the other services for that matter.

If you’re somebody that frequently orders from Amazon and you really need/want the two day delivery and that would exceed the value of your membership costs, then I could see this being non-issue for some customers.

As inflation continues to rise in other areas in our economy, I suspect that will force consumers to second-guess their renewal. But again, it really depends how much they actually utilize all the services combined.

 

[yabeweb]

I literally only have Prime for fast and "free" delivery and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

Well, all you need to do is factor how many items you get shipped and if the shipping fees you'd pay are more than the prime subscription or less.

If you order a lot it is still cheaper to have prime, otherwise, you can save some bucks, but then you have to ask yourself if waiting more for the package is worth that much.

For me, I rarely order on Amazon nowadays, so no prime for me, I can wait a couple of days for the item.

 

[Quu]

Well, all you need to do is factor how many items you get shipped and if the shipping fees you'd pay are more than the prime subscription or less.

If you order a lot it is still cheaper to have prime, otherwise, you can save some bucks, but then you have to ask yourself if waiting more for the package is worth that much.

For me, I rarely order on Amazon nowadays, so no prime for me, I can wait a couple of days for the item.

I did originally include the same insight in my original comment but removed it before posting cause I didn't wanna get into some debate about it haha - But yes if the price of Prime increases to more than delivery then we'll obviously cancel it.

My original point was going to be I feel they're fast approaching that point.

 

[TechRunner]

I've stepped away from Amazon for most things besides Kindle ebooks, and don't really use any of their other services, which is why I cancelled my subscription a few years back. But for those who still have it, this might be a tough pill to swallow when you consider the other services also raising their prices (I'm looking at you, Netflix) that they may also be involved with. That's the downside of having a stable full of subscriptions. If everyone raises prices, your monthly outlay can jump a fairly significant amount.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Bezos 500 Million Dollar Yacht does not pay itself!

Nor does dismantling the bridge to get it out to sea:

A Historic Bridge Must Be Dismantled To Get Jeff Bezos' $540 Million Yacht Out Of Dock - Jalopnik

A Dutch company is currently building a 417-foot mega yacht for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that, once complete, will be the largest sailing vessel in the world. The only problem? Its three masts are too tall to leave the shipyard without dismantling a huge piece of Dutch history and...

jalopnik.com

 

[laptech]

This is going to be replicated across many industries across the world because companies are not going to be prepared to take a hit on their profits. Any rises for the company, be it rent, utility costs, taxes, insurance, employee wage increases will all be paid for by the customer in the form of increases in the cost of the service that it provided to them. Amazon will increase their prices to their customers but you can be damn sure that when they are to produce their yearly figures it will show they did not take any hits on their profits.

 

[laptech]

Nor does dismantling the bridge to get it out to sea:

A Historic Bridge Must Be Dismantled To Get Jeff Bezos' $540 Million Yacht Out Of Dock - Jalopnik

A Dutch company is currently building a 417-foot mega yacht for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that, once complete, will be the largest sailing vessel in the world. The only problem? Its three masts are too tall to leave the shipyard without dismantling a huge piece of Dutch history and...

jalopnik.com

Money is power, always has and always will be and the Dutch have proven this to be true because they would have been fully aware that the boat would not go through the bridge once it's completed but still they allowed the boat yard to build the boat and the Dutch were not about to let an historic bridge stand in their way.

I wonder what more price rises Amazon will introduce so their boss is able to carry on buying bigger and bigger boats for himself.

 

[jayducharme]

I literally only have Prime for fast and "free" delivery and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

I had the free trial of Prime. Very few of the products I ordered were delivered when promised. Most of the time I got a notice that the shipment was delayed. So I never signed up for the payed version. IMO, since their entire business model is built around shipping, I shouldn’t have to pay extra to ensure that they do their job.

 

[lpc2]

I bailed on Prime when it went up to $119. I am even less likely to pay $139. Their video content has only had a few interesting shows and I can get free shipping by buying $25 worth and waiting a bit longer.

 

[yabeweb]

I did originally include the same insight in my original comment but removed it before posting cause I didn't wanna get into some debate about it haha - But yes if the price of Prime increases to more than delivery then we'll obviously cancel it.

My original point was going to be I feel they're fast approaching that point.

Well it already reached that point for me.

I get free delivery at our local store / amazon storage anyway, so apart from waiting, there's no much difference for me, it's just cheaper without prime.

 

[one more]

Something tells me the rest of the world will follow quite soon. This big corporate greed at the time where 99% of the world are just starting to recover from the last two-year slump is, frankly, repulsive.

 

[ItchyRat2160]

Raising customers prices to pay for staff pay increases, when they're earning the kind of profits that they're reporting, and paying Jeff Bezos (and the rest of the executive team) what he's being paid, is sickeningly greedy. I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Danfango]

So their net profits jumped 57% to $33 billion but they have to charge customers more to increase salaries, if this comes to the UK I'll cancel my membership.

Yeah same. Service has gone down the toilet in the UK as well. It’s a 50% hit rate on deliveries being on time and The Expanse has finished now.

Also Bezos is a **** ?

 

[somnolentsurfer]

Here’s a thought: why not pay for employee wage increases with less exorbitant profits, or more equitable employee remuneration across the organisation?

 

[Danfango]

Here’s a thought: why not pay for employee wage increases with less exorbitant profits, or more equitable employee remuneration across the organisation?

You haven’t quite got the point of capitalism yet by the sounds.

 

[O.N.Y.X]

Here’s a thought: why not pay for employee wage increases with less exorbitant profits, or more equitable employee remuneration across the organisation?

That’s not how modern slavery works.

 

[Digital Dude]

I don't use my Prime account as much as I used to. Not all that crazy about the company anymore, especially since more and more of the things I purchase are from their associate vendors versus the Amazon warehouse. So I end up waiting a few days for an item to arrive. Then, if there's a mistake, it takes a few cheetah flips to get it sorted out. Likewise, the movies available are generally B-Rated stock, and anything else costs extra.

So after reading about the increase, together with comments from other fellows forum members, I opened up a new tab and canceled my account. I know; cheap thrills, but it felt pretty good! ?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

With the cost of energy going up 50% and national insurance going up in April too, it’s things like this that would get the chop should they decide to increase it.

When Jeff Bezos is constantly on the news with his £500m boat and record earnings being advertised, I think it’s about time some of this profit was fed back into the company to be honest. I have Prime for the delivery and video, but I’m no mug and would cancel in a heartbeat if it’s given a disproportionate price increase.

 

[MVMNT]

How long till $150?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I really hope in the future they see a decline in revenue or see many prime members not renewing their membership account.

 

[randian]

They cite the cost of the NFL contract in part. They should have made that an add-on subscription, but instead everybody has to pay for it whether you watch pro football or not.