Amazon Prime

I've written about how Amazon Prime is one of my favorite subscription services. But it seems that the benefits are slightly becoming less valuable.

Before, you could share your shipping benefits (Free 2-day shipping) with four other family members; now, you can only share it with one other person. (Those who are sharing with more than one other person already; you are grandfathered in and those people will retain your membership benefits)

Then, there's Amazon Pantry. It is an exclusive Amazon Prime Member Exclusive (as stated on the package tape). You would assume it is a service that would be beneficial service as it comes with a paid subscription. But I found it to be quite expensive. Amazon Pantry is a service to purchase "everyday" items and other household goods (e.g. food). Unlike Prime shipping, you have to pay $5.99 for shipping for each "box" you fill up. It doesn't take much to fill up a box either nor do the prices of the item make up for the shipping. In my opinion, it'll be easier and cheaper to just go to a local supermarket and purchase those items.

Another added Amazon Prime "Exclusive" is the Amazon Dash Button... You only need to pay Amazon $5 for the button, which allows you to essentially one click buy a specific item. I really wish I was joking.

But Amazon Prime does still have its benefits:

• It's still nice to receive credits for choosing "No-Rush Delivery", varying from digital media credits to credit for certain category of items. 

• For Kindle owners, you still have the lending library (one book per month). 

• Unlimited Photo Storage

• A limited free music streaming service

• Prime Instant Video including some good exclusive content