# Kindle Prime Members



## wdeen (Dec 29, 2011)

Curious about those of you who are Kindle Prime Members. Are you liking/disliking the ability to borrow books? Why/why not?


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Becoming a prime member simply for the 12 free books a year is rather worthless, but that's not what Amazon Prime is about anyway. It's FREE 2 days shipping no matter how big or small your order is. Then they added the bonus of 1 free book borrow a month, and free streaming videos on top of that.

Just for the books? Don't bother. Shipping? we're on our second year because we love it so much. Movies & TV streamed to us for free, great bonus.


----------



## lindnet (Jan 25, 2009)

I do like the ability to borrow a book a month.  It's just an extra little perk that I'm happy to take advantage of.  I probably would not have signed up for Prime just for the shipping, but with the videos and books added in, it's quite a bargain.


----------



## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

I've been a Prime member for almost three years just for the free 2-day shipping!  I'm about to renew my Prime membership and in all honesty, it's the free shipping that is the deciding factor for me.  The Kindle lending library is a nice perk, but I've not yet used it because I haven't found a great selection of books that interest me in the lending library.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Sure, it's nice.  By itself it's not a reason to sign up for Prime, but I'd been toying with the idea of paying for Prime after my free Amazon Mom Prime membership expired.  The addition of the free streaming video was nice, the books sweetened it a bit more.  But as to the question, what's not to like about 12 free books a year?


----------



## tubemonkey (Aug 10, 2010)

I got Prime because of the videos. It's cheaper than Netflix. Shipping is a bonus and now books are another bonus.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I've had Prime for the shipping.  And now the video...  The books are a bit of a perk, but not enough to tip me over...

Betsy


----------



## KimberlyinMN (Dec 30, 2009)

I've only borrowed one book... I like the free 2-day shipping.   I keep forgetting about the video part.  I'm so used to Netflix being everywhere I am. (Phone, television, NC, laptop, netbook...)  One of these days, I'll remember.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

planet_janet said:


> I've been a Prime member for almost three years just for the free 2-day shipping! I'm about to renew my Prime membership and in all honesty, it's the free shipping that is the deciding factor for me. The Kindle lending library is a nice perk, but I've not yet used it because I haven't found a great selection of books that interest me in the lending library.


Have you tried going here? There are over 66K book available.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=&x=14&y=24#/ref=sr_nr_p_85_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1325163927&rnid=2470954011

From there, you can sort by genre, sub-genre, star rating, series, and even particular authors.

I got Prime on a free trial a few years ago when I needed something quickly for a trip and didn't want to pay the huge shipping to get it fast. Now I love it. I also recently got a Roku and watch movies and TV shows free. I have rented a couple of movies but I had promotional codes and they ended up costing me $0.00.

I haven't borrowed any books, either, but mainly because I barely have time to read what's on my Kindle now, but yes, I intend to take advantage of it at some point.


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I got the 30 day free Prime and intent to get it when the 30 days are up. I have already paid for it with all of the things I've ordered in Dec. alone. I can find so many things on Amazon at a much cheaper price and then have it shipped and received in 2 days. I was looking for a power cord for my grandson's netbook and it was $80 to $100 at Office Depot, Radio Shack and everywhere else I went. Found it for $8.08 on Amazon and received it in 2 days. Can't beat that. I have figured out that I have to make sure it says Prime before buying to get the benefit.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Kathy said:


> I got the 30 day free Prime and intent to get it when the 30 days are up. I have already paid for it with all of the things I've ordered in Dec. alone. I can find so many things on Amazon at a much cheaper price and then have it shipped and received in 2 days. I was looking for a power cord for my grandson's netbook and it was $80 to $100 at Office Depot, Radio Shack and everywhere else I went. Found it for $8.08 on Amazon and received it in 2 days. Can't beat that. I have figured out that I have to make sure it says Prime before buying to get the benefit.


When I search, I make sure I sort by Prime eligible.

I got the same power cord for my netbook. Haven't had to use it yet because I have a nine cell battery (also purchased from amazon). I got the power cord as a backup when I take my netbook to McD's just in case the battery fails. $8 is cheap enough to give me peace of mind.


----------



## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

I've also been a Prime member for years.  I need to have packages shipped to different places across the country and appreciate that Prime allows for that.  Then came the movies.  Now books.  What next?

For those of you who sort your Amazon searches by Prime eligible - do other options not marked Prime but that ship for free anyway show up?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm in agreement with the concensus:  The reason to get prime is that you've prepaid for two-day shipping.  If you order a lot from Amazon this is very much worth it. . . .either you can save time because you don't have to wait for free 'super saver' shipping. . .or you can save money when you have to have it quickly.  I think of it as a bit of both.

I've barely used the prime videos. . .I'm just not much into movies.

I've borrowed one book. . . .will possilby use that feature more.

Bottom line:  I've had Prime for several years and the extras they've recently added are just gravy.


----------



## wdeen (Dec 29, 2011)

Thanks for the replies and info. Sounds like it's a good overall package with lots of nice perks.


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> When I search, I make sure I sort by Prime eligible.
> 
> I got the same power cord for my netbook. Haven't had to use it yet because I have a nine cell battery (also purchased from amazon). I got the power cord as a backup when I take my netbook to McD's just in case the battery fails. $8 is cheap enough to give me peace of mind.


My grandson's netbook was dropped and when I was coming home from visiting him in Texas, I live in Florida, I told him I would try and fix it. He couldn't find the power cord right as I was leaving. I told him not to worry about it I would just buy another. I had no idea that it was that expensive or I would have made him find it. That was at Thanksgiving and if I hadn't found it on Amazon I was going to make my daughter mail his which he found right after I left. At least they will now have a spare once I fix his netbook. That is if I can fix it.


----------



## Guest (Dec 29, 2011)

Like others, I have Prime because of the shipping discount.  I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon, and it saves me a lot of money.  Mike loves the streaming movies on his Fire.  But I'm not really interested in borrowing a book.  The majority of books available for borrowing are indies anyway, and indies price thier books at a point where I'd rather pay for the book and read it as many times as I want than borrow it to read once.  I mean, really, it almost feels like stealing to borrow for free a book that only costs 99 cents.


----------



## teeitup (Nov 1, 2008)

I've been a member of Amazon for years and always used the Super Saver shipping if possible so didn't think I would need the Prime but decided to give it a shot with the free month trial a year or so ago.  It's definitely been worth it.  Over half my Xmas was bought and shipped by Amazon and it saved me wear and tear on my body, car and pocketbook.  Also used it this year for a Secret Santa book exchange in a reading group and the recipient got the book in 2 days, no more media mail.  I also streamed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (foreign version) which I wanted to see before the USA version came out.  Compared to the poor streaming I got on Netflix (which I cancelled when they had the upgrade snafu), it was excellent and I plan to use it more in the coming year to try some of the British series which I've never watched before.  So I am definitely a PR rep for Amazon Prime.


----------



## tubemonkey (Aug 10, 2010)

teeitup said:


> I also streamed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (foreign version) which I wanted to see before the USA version came out. Compared to the poor streaming I got on Netflix (which I cancelled when they had the upgrade snafu), it was excellent and I plan to use it more in the coming year to try some of the British series which I've never watched before. So I am definitely a PR rep for Amazon Prime.


It looks like Prime is headed for an eventual subscription service. Once they get the video content built up, I bet they go head-to-head with Netflix and Hulu+. The icing on the cake will be free 2-day shipping and a lending library.


----------



## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

And the borrowing program seems to work for you all?  No glitches or problems?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've only borrowed one so far but had no problems.  Can't get another until January but I decided to set up a special wishlist on Amazon for books I'm willing to borrow but don't want to pay for.


----------



## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

We signed up just for the shipping.  We buy lots of stuff online because we can't find it in our local stores.  Since Amazon has most of what we buy.....  We started streaming with Netflix, but have discontinued it because Amazon meets our streaming needs.  I have never used the borrow book feature, but may in the future.  The free shipping has paid for itself many times over.  YMMV.

Stan


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I've only borrowed one so far but had no problems. Can't get another until January but I decided to set up a special wishlist on Amazon for books I'm willing to borrow but don't want to pay for.


The only "glitch" we've had is that my daughter went to buy a book in November (when my Prime account was activated), saw "read for free" on a book she was buying and clicked on it and ended up being the first "Prime borrower" on our account without realizing it. Which was fine, one less book to pay for. Otherwise it's just a matter of remembering to return the book when we've finished it. And that reminds me - I need to find January's "borrow" - no sense in missing a month. Better yet, have my daughter look for one - she flies through books like nobody's business.


----------



## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

I got the 30 free days of prime and love it.  Definitly going to go for the year's membership.  Already I saved about thirty dollars in shipping and handling.


----------



## Martel47 (Jun 14, 2010)

I like prime for shipping and the videos.  We nixed Netflix a while back, and while Prime doesn't have the same selection (and a lot of stuff still has to be paid for if I want it   grr) I never used Netflix that much.  

I just checked out my first Prime Lending book a couple of days ago and rushed to finish it before the first so I can get another.  But, like the Prime Video, I've found it to be less than ideal.  I know it's not all Amazon's fault, but the books available are mostly either books I've already read or don't want to read.  And they are difficult to search on my DX.  I spent about an hour trying to find a book available that piqued my interest.  Luckily I had that hour while I was waiting around without other internet, but that much 3g kills my battery on the DX.

So there are bugs to work out, but it is great for shipping books quickly.  Especially in my Graduate degree, this is important.  Sometimes a class doesn't "make" and I wait to purchase the books to make sure the enrollment guarantees the course will take place.

I did see the announcement on the Amazon front page that they planned on rolling out more Prime benefits in 2012.  I can't wait to see what they are.


----------



## RickRS (Dec 28, 2011)

The Prime Lending Library resets on the first of the month, so if you're on your free month trial from a Christmas gift (as I am) you might want to pick a book today so you'll have a chance for two loaners before the trial period expires.

The free two-day shipping is the main reason to get Prime, a book a month wouldn't justify the cost for me, otherwise.  I'm not likely to continue, because I don't order from Amazon that much, and the Super-Saver shipping works fine in my case.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Martel47 said:


> I just checked out my first Prime Lending book a couple of days ago and rushed to finish it before the first so I can get another.


No need to rush. . . . .you can take as long as you like to read it. It's just that if you finish it, say today, and return it, you still can't borrow another until tomorrow. But if you don't finish until the middle of next week, that's o.k. too.


----------



## wdeen (Dec 29, 2011)

Thanks again to all for the responses. Gonna sign my wife up and see how it goes.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Martel47 said:


> I just checked out my first Prime Lending book a couple of days ago and rushed to finish it before the first so I can get another. But, like the Prime Video, I've found it to be less than ideal. I know it's not all Amazon's fault, but the books available are mostly either books I've already read or don't want to read. And they are difficult to search on my DX. I spent about an hour trying to find a book available that piqued my interest. Luckily I had that hour while I was waiting around without other internet, but that much 3g kills my battery on the DX.


I search for books on the computer, add the ones that interest me to a wish list, then when I'm ready to borrow something I go to the Kindle to actually check it out. The Kindle's browser just isn't made for heavy-duty browsing like that.

And no need to rush to finish a book by the end of the month. You checked out the book in December - even if you finish it in January you can still check out another book in January. I think - someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the next time you can check out is based on your previous check-*out* month, not the return month.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I'm just added on to my mom's prime account, so I can't use the free books or video streaming as only the primary account holder gets those.

Love the 2 day shipping though and would pay for it myself if they ever disable adding family members to accounts.  But that's just because I order a ton, any book borrowing/video streaming is just a nice bonus on top of the 2 day shipping.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Meemo said:


> I think - someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the next time you can check out is based on your previous check-*out* month, not the return month.


That's how I understand it as well. Except that if you don't finish until February, you don't get to borrow an extra one that month to make up for January.

You can't borrow until you've returned the last one.

And you can't borrow unless it's a new month since you last borrowed one.


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I did the free 30-day trial. I've watched a number of videos, but the selection isn't great, nowhere near Netflix level and their selection isn't terrific either. Then I suddenly had to order a rather heavy item and the free 2-day shipping came in very handy...and I did borrow an ebook I didn't want to buy at the retail price.

I don't know if I'll continue, but I might!


----------



## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

@dreameesver

I agree with you; don't buy it if you won't use it.  We got it for the free shipping, but I just found a bunch of old Star Trek series on Prime. Sure is great to watch them with no commercials.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## Beatriz (Feb 22, 2011)

lindnet said:


> I do like the ability to borrow a book a month.  It's just an extra little perk that I'm happy to take advantage of. I probably would not have signed up for Prime just for the shipping, but with the videos and books added in, it's quite a bargain.


I agree with you. You get quite a few perks.


----------



## RickRS (Dec 28, 2011)

Meemo said:


> And no need to rush to finish a book by the end of the month. You checked out the book in December - even if you finish it in January you can still check out another book in January. I think - someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the next time you can check out is based on your previous check-*out* month, not the return month.


I think the deal is you can borrow one book per calendar month. I signed up just after Christmas and borrowed a book about Dec. 27. When I checked to other books yesterday while I still have the borrowed book on my Kindle, Amazon Prime free button showed a warning that I couldn't use until January 1st. So it appears you can borrow another one anytime after the start of the month, and return just has to occur before you borrow another.


----------



## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

lindnet said:


> I do like the ability to borrow a book a month. It's just an extra little perk that I'm happy to take advantage of. I probably would not have signed up for Prime just for the shipping, but with the videos and books added in, it's quite a bargain.


I agree.
While I do buy a lot from Amazon I usually don't need the advantage of the free two day shipping but...with the books and now videos added in, it makes it worth it to me.

Even if I just used it for the book a month, I think it would pay for itself over the 12 month period or come pretty darn close.


----------



## Skydog (Mar 16, 2009)

I've been a Prime subscriber for a couple of years now and find it a very good value for the shipping alone.

What's more interesting is the recent statement from Jeff Bezos that there are even more things to come to Prime in 2012.  Can't wait.


----------



## Capri142 (Sep 25, 2009)

Amazon has hit one out of the ball park with Amazon prime. I use it all the time. We did All of our Christmas shopping on Amazon this year. The most stressful free Christmas shopping season ever. The we made our list of who we wanted to buy for, what we wanted to buy. put a few logs in the fireplace, opened a good bottle of wine and spent an hour or so Christmas "shopping" on amazon. No shipping cost, no taxes, no hassle with driving or crowds and every thing arrived as it should have within a few days. A side benefit with all of the Amazon boxes we had boxes to wrap gifts in!

The lending is still rather new, I have used it for two books that I would most likely not have bought and enjoyed both of them.l Si its an added perk for Prime users.....Nice.

  The Video streaming has not been used much. We have Netflix and seem to be happy with that so far...maybe somethinhg to look into more in the future.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

MLPMom said:


> Even if I just used it for the book a month, I think it would pay for itself over the 12 month period or come pretty darn close.


Prime costs $79 per year. You can get, at most, 12 books a year via prime lending.

$79/12 is $6.58.

So if, on average, you spend more than that on each book, yes, it is at least breaking even. I think lot of us here probably have lower 'cost per book' averages, though, as we tend to, as a group, be high volume readers and, therefore, definite bargain hunters!

You can figure out your average cost -- the data is all there on Amazon -- but I've not crunched the numbers for myself.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Prime costs $79 per year. You can get, at most, 12 books a year via prime lending.
> 
> $79/12 is $6.58.
> 
> ...


Would work out well for me as I mostly buy mainstream books and they're usually in the $7-10 range.

If they add support for Amazon video streaming to the Xbox 360 down the road (or I get a new Bluray player that has it built in) I may get my own Prime account instead of sharing my mom's as it would mostly pay for itself. I don't have a way to stream Amazon content on my TV currently though, and don't want to watch on a PC or spend the money to buy a device that can stream it to the TV at the moment. Though I really don't have time for it at the moment anyway. Already canceled Netflix streaming and just stick with 1 disc at a time as I wasn't using the streaming much lately as I've been working a lot and spending a lot of free time watching sports and playing video games.


----------



## Eltanin Publishing (Mar 24, 2011)

I thought I'd share one interesting experience with Prime shipping with you. I ordered a gift to arrive on the Thursday before Christmas. It didn't arrive. Luckily its arrival on Friday didn't screw anything up too badly, but I was annoyed, so started a chat with Amazon. I said that if I HAD paid for fast shipping and it didn't arrive as promised, I'd get a refund of shipping, right? They said yes. But they said I hadn't paid for my 2-day shipping. I said no, but I had paid for Prime in order to get fast shipping, and I wasn't getting what I paid for. I wanted _something_. It was more the principal of the thing to me, rather than simply wanting cash. So after he saw my point, we agreed on a $5 Amazon credit (not refund).

I don't believe I'm a greedy person. I just wanted them to be aware of my displeasure, and offer some restitution for the situation. What do you think? What would you do if something didn't arrive in the promised 2-days?


----------



## Xopher (May 14, 2009)

+1 for getting Prime for shipping. I order enough items throughout the year that more than make up for the shipping charges. Free video streaming is just an added perk. I'm so far behind on my reading list, I haven't taken advantage of the book lending yet.

My wife and I head up to Boston to visit with my parents a few times each year. When we go, we usually hunt through our DVD collection to find something interesting to bring - something for everyone to watch one night, and others for us to fall asleep to (no TV in the guest room, so we watch on my laptop). This past trip, we brought one DVD and ended up watching everything else using Prime streaming videos. My father's home office has a large 40" monitor hooked up for presentations. We were able to log onto Amazon from that computer and watch a few videos as well. Having the ability to watch from anywhere is a nice feature. I'm actually thinking about getting a Roku to hook up in my home office.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> Would work out well for me as I mostly buy mainstream books and they're usually in the $7-10 range.


Of course, the question then is, are the books you would buy, available to be borrowed instead?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Eltanin Publishing said:


> I thought I'd share one interesting experience with Prime shipping with you. I ordered a gift to arrive on the Thursday before Christmas. It didn't arrive. Luckily its arrival on Friday didn't screw anything up too badly, but I was annoyed, so started a chat with Amazon. I said that if I HAD paid for fast shipping and it didn't arrive as promised, I'd get a refund of shipping, right? They said yes. But they said I hadn't paid for my 2-day shipping. I said no, but I had paid for Prime in order to get fast shipping, and I wasn't getting what I paid for. I wanted _something_. It was more the principal of the thing to me, rather than simply wanting cash. So after he saw my point, we agreed on a $5 Amazon credit (not refund).
> 
> I don't believe I'm a greedy person. I just wanted them to be aware of my displeasure, and offer some restitution for the situation. What do you think? What would you do if something didn't arrive in the promised 2-days?


I've never had a Prime shipment not come when promised. If that happened, I'd definitely contact them.

I have had a shipment logged as delivered when it hadn't been. The carrier showed it delivered one evening and it clearly was not here. It was not DUE until the next day. He did bring it the next morning and I shared that I didn't think it was appropriate to mark it delivered if it hadn't been. He had some BS about marking it that way so his delivery records looked better since he knew he'd be bringing it first thing in the morning. I further shared how that wasn't exactly accurate, was it, and requested the name and contact information of his supervisor. I never actually called but I hope I scared the guy a little bit. I expect most people getting deliveries don't really check such things so he never got 'caught' before.

I also reported the experience to Amazon. . . .the item was received in a timely fashion, but I told them they shouldn't use shippers that falsify their delivery records to make it look like they do a better job than they really do.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Of course, the question then is, are the books you would buy, available to be borrowed instead?


I saw several I've read, or are on my to be read list, available. So I'd be good for a while. Whether availability it gets updated often enough to stay worth it long term is a different story though and remains to be seen.

Heck, I could get by just reading from the local library for the most part if the wait times weren't so d*mn long! Hate waiting when I want to read stuff, and I hate even more having no control over when something you put a hold on comes due. I like to only read one book at a time, so that system just doesn't work for me as I'm always reading something and then something comes off hold and my library only gives 4 days to check the book out before it goes on to someone else and you're dropped from the queue. That was often not enough time for me to finish what I was currently reading, so I just stopped using them other than occasionally checking to see if something I want to read happens to not have a wait time which is very rare.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I've never had a Prime shipment not come when promised. If that happened, I'd definitely contact them.
> 
> I have had a shipment logged as delivered when it hadn't been. The carrier showed it delivered one evening and it clearly was not here. It was not DUE until the next day. He did bring it the next morning and I shared that I didn't think it was appropriate to mark it delivered if it hadn't been. He had some BS about marking it that way so his delivery records looked better since he knew he'd be bringing it first thing in the morning. I further shared how that wasn't exactly accurate, was it, and requested the name and contact information of his supervisor. I never actually called but I hope I scared the guy a little bit. I expect most people getting deliveries don't really check such things so he never got 'caught' before.
> 
> I also reported the experience to Amazon. . . .the item was received in a timely fashion, but I told them they shouldn't use shippers that falsify their delivery records to make it look like they do a better job than they really do.


I had that happen with a shipment I'd been tracking once. It showed as "delivered" on the tracking, which I'd been obsessively checking sitting next to my window. I ran out to the porch...nothing. Called the shipper who started looking into it.

Doorbell rings. Package is delivered. The deliveryman said he marked all the packages in a route as delivered so he didn't have to mark each one individually as he did it. I called the shipper back and the CS rep I spoke to said "He's not supposed to do that." Haven't had a shipper to my house do that since.

Betsy


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> The deliveryman said he marked all the packages in a route as delivered so he didn't have to mark each one individually as he did it.
> 
> Betsy


See, that's an o.k. strategy. . . . .except he shouldn't mark them until _they've actually been delivered_. 

It doesn't seem that hard, to me though. . .it's all scanners and stuff, it's not like he has to open a log book or even fire up a computer to do it.


----------



## BillyInSan (Jan 3, 2012)

I haven't borrowed yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I also use Prime for watching movies and for great shipping. : )


----------



## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

Were any of you Prime regulars ever offered a discount from Amazon? A guy on Amazon in one of the discussions was saying that Amazon always offered him a discount, that
he never paid full price for it. I can't see why he'd lie, (he said he's renewed for as low as 40.00 a year) but at the same time, I felt skeptical. So has anyone ever been offered a discount or got a deal on Prime?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

There are special Prime categories. . .for Moms, for Students.  I'm skeptical of anyone who says they got it for $40.  I'm guessing we don't have the whole story.

But it doesn't really matter to me. . .I find it well to be worth the $79 a year. . .for which I will be billed again in less than 2 weeks.


----------



## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

He didn't say he was a student, he just said he never renewed right away and Amazon would then always send him a special offer. I think he must of been exaggerating though. I can't see them ever offering it for as low as 40.00 really. I heard about a special they ran for 59.00  a year once, but that was about it.


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> There are special Prime categories. . .for Moms, for Students. I'm skeptical of anyone who says they got it for $40. I'm guessing we don't have the whole story.
> 
> But it doesn't really matter to me. . .I find it well to be worth the $79 a year. . .for which I will be billed again in less than 2 weeks.


My first year as a Prime student was Free, now I'm using my second year and the renewal rate was $39 as a Student. It will remain $39/year renewal for the next 2 years.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Yep, that's how it worked for all student accounts.  I imagine they'll keep it that way as students probably spend a lot on average since textbooks are expensive.  So they can make a lot of money by giving them discounted Prime accounts to get them ordering all their books from them rather than shopping around.


----------



## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I love it.  I ordered six smaller Prime items yesterday, a holiday, at 3:15 p.m. Central  They were delivered by UPS this morning at 9:30.  Gotta love Amazon.

My BFF has an Amazon account, but doesn't have Prime.  Is there a way to gift her a year of Prime?


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

BTackitt said:


> My first year as a Prime student was Free, now I'm using my second year and the renewal rate was $39 as a Student. It will remain $39/year renewal for the next 2 years.


Right!

I realize my post wasn't very clear. . .what can I say. . .it was BC -- Before Caffeine. 

I was trying to communicate that I knew there were special prices for moms and students and such but that it didn't seem right that a person not in one of those special categories -- like say, ME -- was able to wrangle a half price deal on prime unless there was more to the story.

I mean, if I called Amazon and said, "look, I like Prime, but I don't want to pay $79 for it, I only want to pay $40" they might even ask some questions to see if I fit in a category that might qualify for a discount. But if not, I'm still going to have to pay $79. Or just cancel it. I don't think they want people in the program badly enough that they'll give a discount just to keep 'em signed up.

I can, however, conceive of a discount being offered if there had been some fairly egregious service break over the last year. . .something more than just one package a day late. I mean, we do that in the tax office all the time. . ..if some goof of mine causes my client correspondence that he shouldn't have to worry about, I'll absolutely give him a break on the price next year to the extent that I'm allowed. . .a combination of "I'm really sorry" and "Thanks for not losing faith in me."

Which is why I say there's more to the story. . . . . .


----------



## Mit Sandru (Aug 19, 2011)

I like it, and considering that I'm buying a lot on Amazon, it more than pays for the shipping. The free borrowing is good too


----------



## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

As noted in my earlier post, I was considering renewing when my 1-month trial was over. 

Since then, I've had two occasions where the two-day shipping came in very handy! 

I'm almost certainly going to renew now.

The books are a bonus.


----------



## KingAl (Feb 21, 2011)

Isn't the Student Prime membership $39 per year (after the first year for free)?


----------



## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

KingAl said:


> Isn't the Student Prime membership $39 per year (after the first year for free)?


Yes, the student prime membership is $39/year after the free time has expired.


----------



## D/W (Dec 29, 2010)

KingAl said:


> Isn't the Student Prime membership $39 per year (after the first year for free)?


It's $39 a year for up to four years (college students). Here's more information about Amazon Student.


----------



## Zero (Jan 27, 2011)

I have prime through "Amazon Mom" - so I get the free shipping, but not the movies.  Since I already have Netflix...is there a huge difference in the types of movies available?  Netflix has been great for my kids, and we find a lot of movies (age 2 to 8 category) that they watch all the time.  How is Amazon's prime movie offering?


----------



## robertk328 (Jul 8, 2011)

BTackitt said:


> Becoming a prime member simply for the 12 free books a year is rather worthless, but that's not what Amazon Prime is about anyway. It's FREE 2 days shipping no matter how big or small your order is. Then they added the bonus of 1 free book borrow a month, and free streaming videos on top of that.
> 
> Just for the books? Don't bother. Shipping? we're on our second year because we love it so much. Movies & TV streamed to us for free, great bonus.


+1!


----------



## robertk328 (Jul 8, 2011)

tubemonkey said:


> I got Prime because of the videos. It's cheaper than Netflix. Shipping is a bonus and now books are another bonus.


The videos are better too, at least compared to when we had Netflix last year.


----------



## Jeff Shelby (Oct 2, 2011)

I've had my Prime membership for two years now and while the ability to borrow is great, I keep it mainly for the 2 day shipping.  I'm a lazy shopper   The addition of the streaming movies is a great added benefit, too.


----------



## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Zero said:


> I have prime through "Amazon Mom" - so I get the free shipping, but not the movies. Since I already have Netflix...is there a huge difference in the types of movies available? Netflix has been great for my kids, and we find a lot of movies (age 2 to 8 category) that they watch all the time. How is Amazon's prime movie offering?


Netflix has a much broader selection. Doubt you'll find much on Amazon that's not on Netflix.

Both are very good for older movies and tv shows, indie films, foreign films and documentaries. Not so much for recent Hollywood movies.

Currently I just have Netflix 1 disc at a time plan. I canceled the streaming as I just wasn't using it enough. I love the more obscure stuff from time to time, but not when I can't even find time to keep up with recent releases. I'll add streaming back sometime when I have more free time probably though as I had close to 200 things on my instant queue (have over 200 on my disc queue currently as well).


----------



## teachmath912 (Dec 10, 2011)

I tried the Prime membership and decided to cancel it.  I don't order enough things from Amazon to be excited about the 2-day shipping, and to be honest, the few times I have ordered from Amazon, my stuff has arrived in 3-4 days anyway, so it doesn't matter to me.

I am a little upset with the way they do the book loaning.  Initially I was excited thinking that I would be able to borrow books and there was not a long waiting list for some like there is on the download library that I go to- but then I discovered that I could only take one book a month.  Even if I finish the book in a week, I still need to wait the entire month before being able to get a book again.  With the download library, I can take out 3 books at a time and can return and then take out another book whenever (well, they have a two week borrowing period, but that is enough for me.)  Also, I am finding that a lot of the books they are offering with the Prime membership are books that either have been free at some point or are free right now.  

Needless to say, I am no longer a Prime member.  I have Netflix and will just use that for the videos that I want to watch.

Is anyone else as disappointed with Prime as I am?


----------



## StephenLivingston (May 10, 2011)

Being able to borrow books is great.  Being limited to one per month is not so good.
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.


----------



## KingAl (Feb 21, 2011)

teachmath912 said:


> I tried the Prime membership and decided to cancel it. I don't order enough things from Amazon to be excited about the 2-day shipping, and to be honest, the few times I have ordered from Amazon, my stuff has arrived in 3-4 days anyway, so it doesn't matter to me.
> 
> I am a little upset with the way they do the book loaning. Initially I was excited thinking that I would be able to borrow books and there was not a long waiting list for some like there is on the download library that I go to- but then I discovered that I could only take one book a month. Even if I finish the book in a week, I still need to wait the entire month before being able to get a book again. With the download library, I can take out 3 books at a time and can return and then take out another book whenever (well, they have a two week borrowing period, but that is enough for me.) Also, I am finding that a lot of the books they are offering with the Prime membership are books that either have been free at some point or are free right now.
> 
> ...


No. I think it's great.

The lending library (and the streaming video) is just icing on the cake. Since Amazon has to pay the publishers for the privilege of lending you books, it is easy to see why Amazon limits you to one per month.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm not disappointed with Prime - I've realized that if I order late in the week that I won't be getting my stuff in literally 2 days, but that's okay, I still get it faster than with regular super-saver shipping.  I don't mind the lending limits, I've got more than enough books hoarded to read, plus the Overdrive library books - Prime lending is just icing on the cake, and I've got a nice little wish list going for those books.  I've enjoyed the free streaming videos as well, and have a wish list going for them, too.  So I'm happy - I'd thought about joining Prime for a while even before the videos and Kindle lending became available - all those options made it worth it for me.

And as far as the Kindle lending goes, Amazon walks a fine line there between keeping the authors/publishers happy, and keeping customers happy.  The system they've got probably doesn't make either totally happy, which means in the end, it's probably reasonably fair to both.


----------



## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

I thought similarly, but super saver shipping has always been for orders over $25 for me. I buy lots of stuff for less than that so Prime has saved me a lot of trips to the store and a lot of $$ on cheaper stuff. also, we live in a small town and our stores don't have a lot in stock.

I agree with you on the movie selection. We watch a lot of old Tv shows instead rather than movies most of the time.

Stan

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Sandpiper said:


> My BFF has an Amazon account, but doesn't have Prime. Is there a way to gift her a year of Prime?


Five people can share an account, but only the main account will be able to get the free prime videos & free prime kindle lending... the others do get the shipping advantages though. Just go to your amazon account & click Manage Prime Membership, from there you can invite members.


----------



## krm0789 (Dec 21, 2010)

cagnes said:


> Five people can share an account, but only the main account will be able to get the free prime videos & free prime kindle lending... the others do get the shipping advantages though. Just go to your amazon account & click Manage Prime Membership, from there you can invite members.


I believe you're only supposed to share with family members living with the same household, per the Prime help section: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200444180. I don't know if they check to see if you're actually at the same address or not, but they do ask you to define the relationship when you extend an invitation.


----------



## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

krm0789 said:


> I believe you're only supposed to share with family members living with the same household, per the Prime help section: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200444180. I don't know if they check to see if you're actually at the same address or not, but they do ask you to define the relationship when you extend an invitation.


I didn't read the tou's beforehand and haven't had a problem, since it doesn't look like they check addresses. I have two family members who live in my home town & two sons who lives in a different state on my account.


----------



## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

I think it is great that Amazon.com  lets you rent one book a month,considering that they are in the business of selling books.  But I got Prime for 
vidios and shows and free shipping and handling.  The books are a bonus.


----------



## Pixilox (Jun 22, 2011)

geniebeanie said:


> I think it is great that Amazon.com lets you rent one book a month,considering that they are in the business of selling books. But I got Prime for
> vidios and shows and free shipping and handling. The books are a bonus.


Same here. I think the one free book a month is a nice bonus to go along with the videos and free shipping which is the main reason I signed up for it.


----------



## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

I got Prime for the two day shipping.

I surrendered my driver's license for medical reasons in 1985.

The cab fare to and from any stores in my area is $40, so ordering Prime was a no brainier for me.


----------



## laurie_lu (May 10, 2010)

Does the 2 day shipping include weekends?  I ordered something this afternoon and already got a notice that it will be delivered to my home on Tuesday?


----------



## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

laurie_lu said:


> Does the 2 day shipping include weekends? I ordered something this afternoon and already got a notice that it will be delivered to my home on Tuesday?


UPS does not deliver on sat.or sun. here. I've noticed that sometimes it takes 3 days.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------



## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

laurie_lu said:


> Does the 2 day shipping include weekends? I ordered something this afternoon and already got a notice that it will be delivered to my home on Tuesday?


I find it varies. UPS does deliver to where I live on weekends, so sometimes I'll get them on weekends, but more often I won't. Sometimes packages ordered on Friday or Saturday actually say Wednesday delivery for prime too, I've noticed.


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

sparklemotion said:


> I find it varies. UPS does deliver to where I live on weekends, so sometimes I'll get them on weekends, but more often I won't. Sometimes packages ordered on Friday or Saturday actually say Wednesday delivery for prime too, I've noticed.


Yeah,late Friday orders and most Saturday/Sunday orders will be delivered on Wednesday with 2-day shipping because those get counted as Monday orders, shipped on Monday....most of the time. As laurie_lu noticed above, sometimes that will vary and a 'weekend' order will get shipped faster and come on Tuesday with 2-day shipping rather than Wednesday. I've ordered all different times and days and often am surprised by how quick I get a shipping notice and what day it comes. It's kind of like Christmas year-round!


----------



## sparklemotion (Jan 13, 2011)

Steph H said:


> Yeah,late Friday orders and most Saturday/Sunday orders will be delivered on Wednesday with 2-day shipping because those get counted as Monday orders, shipped on Monday....most of the time. As laurie_lu noticed above, sometimes that will vary and a 'weekend' order will get shipped faster and come on Tuesday with 2-day shipping rather than Wednesday. I've ordered all different times and days and often am surprised by how quick I get a shipping notice and what day it comes. It's kind of like Christmas year-round!


Yes! I love that!  And on the subject, I placed an order over the weekend that said delivery would be Wednesday, but I received it today/Tuesday, so yay!


----------



## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

I placed an order Sat. night and it will be here Tue. eve.. This is typical for me if I order on the weekend.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


----------

