Amazon Prime’s Annual Price Increases By 20 Percent

Are you an avid fan of Amazon Prime? If so, you may need to decide if it’s still worth it as the price is increasing 20 percent according to Wired, making it’s annual cost go from $99 to $119, which is 20 dollars more. If you aren’t aware of what Amazon Prime offers, it allows two day free shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, some free e-books you can read for free, photo storage, exclusive savings, and more. Whether or not you wish to keep it may depend on how much you use these services. For instance, if you only use it once in awhile, it may not be worthwhile to continue. Or, if you use it at least a few times a month, it may be worth continuing, although it is completely up to you and your online shopping needs.

There are also a few drawbacks when it comes to Amazon Prime, as other stores are beginning to include similar free and timely shipping. It also affects small, local businesses, threatening to put them out of business. For instance, a lot of independent bookstores are struggling to stay open because of it, as well as a number of other businesses who are simply trying to make either a living or side money with their products.

With all of the services and products that Amazon offers, it can be easy to decide to get it on a whim, even though you could probably live without it. Whether or not you continue using it depends on what matters to you and how much you are willing to pay and as if you are a college student, you will most likely not have to pay as much per year, which doesn’t hurt when purchasing textbooks at least two times a year. Is the heightened cost of Amazon Prime worth it? You decide.