Amazon Prime is an extremely popular service that Amazon offers to subscribers. Standard annual membership is $119 per year. An annual Amazon Prime membership for students is $59 per year. They also offer a month-to-month membership for $12.99 per month and $6.49 per month for students.

With the membership, you get 2-day delivery on most items, provided they have the Amazon Prime logo. You also get a plethora of (what I like to call boring) videos to watch. However, if you look at most of the small items you buy, the prices are often higher and include “free postage” but other places that sell the same item are cheaper and if you add in the cost of shipping it ends up being the same price without the yearly fee OR LESS.

Without Prime will you get your packages in 2 days?

Depends on where you are ordering from. Many of the places you order from are all over the country, if you order from someplace close to you, you will get it sooner.

Amazon Prime is BEST when used with big items like couches and furniture. On the other end of that, many of the companies that make the furniture have free shipping as well. Amazon Prime has its ups and downs. For me, mostly downs which is why I canceled it.

1. Free two-day shipping

Good if you buy big items or need something in a hurry. You can always just go to the store that sells the item.

2. Free release-date delivery

On books. If you are over 40 this is great. Otherwise, who cares.

3. Free 2-hour delivery

On food mostly. Problem is there are MANY services that do that now. Of course, you could always just get in your car or walk to the store and get it yourself. Are we REALLy that busy?

4. Free (or flat-rate) grocery and household item delivery

Um, Costco?

5. Alexa deals

Repeat, you can always go to the store. Who has time to ask Alexa for her deals to waste money on random stuff that you don’t need?

6. Restaurant delivery

Many services already do that. Did you see the greasy guy who took a sip of the kid’s shake before delivering it in that video for Door Dash (below)? Yeuch, makes you think twice about people delivering your food. Lesson: Never shop when the DELIVERY GUY is hungry

7. Whole Foods Benefits

How’d that work out? Not too well. Amazon had to rethink this concept after it failed miserably. Who even thinks of Whole Foods and discounts in one sentence? EVERYONE knows Whole Foods is elitist and extremely overpriced and a “discount” would literally land STILL above the average price of a Ralphs or Krogers. No thanks to this.

8. Unlimited video streaming

I don’t know of one person who watches Amazon videos. Do you? Netflix is supreme and while they JUST went up on their prices to a paltry $10.00 to $12.00. I’d pay triple that each month for their amazing original programming and movies. Sorry Amazon, you’re too late on this one. Why didn’t I buy that Netflix stock?

9. Limited music streaming

Sorry, I’m old school on this one. I’d rather rely on my OWN music collection. The people who grew up after the 80s will never know about the ‘EXPERIENCE” of buying vinyl. Oh, wait there is a huge resurgence with Millenials and Gen-Xers with vinyl. That’s a great thing. Now that iTunes has announced it’s ending what will happen to all that music we RENTED … yes RENTED not purchased.

10. Unlimited photo storage

Cloud storage on Amazon S3 is actually a good deal, but you don’t need to have the threat of it being canceled each year if you don’t maintain a subscription with Amazon Prime. Simply sign up for Amazon S3 on your own and pay the small fee each month.

11. Access to Amazon Elements

Who cares?

12. Access to Amazon Dash

A service that lets you reorder paper towels or laundry detergent. How about just getting up and going to the damn grocery store, Target and Costco anyone?

13. Early access to Lightning deals

More ways to spend and waste your money on sh you don’t need or want.

14. One free e-book per month

A free ebook? Oh joy. Most of them only cost $3.99 anyway or less. Considering the HORRIFIC reputation Amazon has for taking a HUGE chunk of a writer’s profit for their ebooks and books, this is not something I support.

16. Free books and magazines

(sleeping) who reads magazines anymore?

17. Free Washington Post

(sleeping) You can get ALL the news that you want and MORE online

18. Free audiobooks

You can listen but you don’t own, so essentially you are RENTING these books. My suggestion? Try the Scribd app. It’s a LOT cheaper than Amazon and not as limited.

19. Free games

Who cares

20. Exclusive phone discounts

This might be worth looking at but most of the carriers have specials each month for MUCH greater savings.  Recent “sale” items: the LG V35 ThinQ ($650 at Amazon) ($650) and G6 Plus ($450), Moto Z3 Play ($350 at Amazon) ($450) and G6 ($300) and Nokia 6($140 at Amazon) ($149). The GREAT thing about this is they’re all sold unlocked that’s how you want to buy your cell phones today for any carrier.