Amazon Prime: Worth the Money?

By Tara

My husband signed us up for an Amazon Prime trial subscription awhile back, then conveniently forgot to cancel it before the trial subscription ran out, THEN went ahead and ordered something using that Prime membership that we never meant to have. So, now we're stuck with it, I think. And for $80 a year, it's probably not the worse mistake we've ever made, as we order off of Amazon, a lot.

Since we're stuck with it, I spent the weekend looking into what else we get with the membership, in addition to the free shipping on Prime eligible items, and now I'm kind of jealous that this is assigned to my husband's account, and not mine. Did you know you could borrow books for free for your Kindle? It's only one per month, but still, I am all about as many free books as I can get. However, that only works for Kindles attached to the Prime account, which would be my husband's Kindle, not mine.

(So, I fully intend to switch the membership to my account when this first year is up, of course, if we decide to keep it.)

Also, we spent the weekend testing out the Prime Instant Videos library, and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be, when it comes to choices. There are a ton of kids shows to choose from, and since we are WAY behind on movie viewing, anyway, quite a few movies that we haven't seen, yet. (We watched Iron Man 2, if that's any indication of where we stand on the movie front...)

And with all seasons of The West Wing and Dawson's Creek available for free, I absolutely know what I will be doing with my upcoming maternity leave. I have lofty goals, I do...

(logo from Amazon.com)

Comments

[Anyabeth]

Prime memberships are for the household. He can attach your account at no extra cost.

[cate]

I love Amazon prime. The instant videos are awesome. But mostly I love it to get my time back. I do the vast majority of my errands through amazon now. Like if my kids need anything - soccer socks, dance shoes, a present for a friend's birthday - I just get it online.

[Hillary]

Do you have huluplus? How do the TV options compare?

[Serror]

Yes, you can be added to the Prime account. Go to "Your Account" then under settings "manage prime account" then you will have the option to add family members to your account.

I find Amazon Prime is great at Christmas. I have done basically all my christmas shopping on Amazon for the past two years.

[Christy]

We've had Prime for a few years and I don't think we could live without it now. We have always ordered a lot from Amazon, but with Prime I order A LOT more, and like Cate said I use it for errands and don't have to leave the house as often.

I really love that I can order gifts for my out of state family with prime and get it sent directly to them fast and free.

[Lisa]

I had it free for a year on Amazon Mom and got sooooo spoiled with just the shipping (no videos for free members and preKindle).

But now with two Kindles and lots of online ordering going back to the 10 day wait for packages is killing me. I planned to cancel NetFlix and switch to Prime sometime before now and Christmas and just this morning amazon sent me an e-mail offer to sign up for prime and get a $70 credit for "amazon baby" purchases. YES PLEASE! I clicked right over and signed up. Yes my girls are out of diapers now, but I am sure we will be able to find $70 in products that qualify (if anything we can just get Christmas gifts for my baby nieces and nephews).

I think it's worth it even without the mom credit.

[Dawn K]

Lisa-
I got that same email this morning! I couldn't click fast enough. We have a toddle and one due in January, so I can't wait to decide what to order (cloth diapers, whee!). I also can't wait to have steaming during the newborn nursing phase, and I'm anxious to see how the one book a month lending works out.

[Megan @ Mama Bub]

I just went through all of the email I deleted this morning, and I got the same $70 off email. I had gotten one for $30 off a few weeks ago, and ignored it, so it looks like Amazon is really wanting your Prime membership! I was planning to get it for the streaming alone, but the Kindle benefits and shipping make it worth it for me.

[Dawn K.]

I think too that you can also sign up for Amazon Mom for free (basically just a check mark in a box) and you get the discount on disposable diapers and wipes if there is a baby in your future, as it sounds. I am a semi big coupon person, and AM with the Subscribe and Save discount made the diapers almost as cheap as the store. Considering they are delivered to your door, and you don't have the siren call of Target clearance racks to up your bill, I found it to be a pretty good deal for just a dollar or two more than diapers at the big box.