[Dilbert San Diego]

I guess I’m ignorant. What’s with this Amazon membership? I have bought some things from Amazon but never joined a club or signed up for anything or paid any fees to Amazon. Are you supposed to be a member to shop there? I’m clearly misunderstanding how it works.

[trisham]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com#Products_and_services

[sparklite2]

You needn’t be a member to shop there.
But if you shop often enough to benefit from getting free two-day shipping for $99 a year, Prime is worth it. Plus, you get a whole lot more that just free shipping.

[Dr. Sivana]

I have bought some things from Amazon but never joined a club or signed up for anything or paid any fees to Amazon. Are you supposed to be a member to shop there? I’m clearly misunderstanding how it works.

I don't think it's necessary. You can shop as a a guest. The signup allows one click shopping, and a sign-in is needed to review products.

We use prime as the Amazon video selection is okay, plus the shipping. There is free music too. The quality of the streaming music is inferior, and a lot of classic pop/rock music aren't the original versions but one-offs or live performances of the songs.

[goldstategop]

Amazon recently increased its minimum free shipping requirement to $50.

If you don’t want to spend that much, Amazon Prime is definitely the ticket since you can buy as little or as much as you want and still get free shipping.

Its no longer worth it to stay a non-member because now its costs a lot more.

[Reddy]

Amazon Prime gives you free shipping (plus other perks) and pays for itself if you order just minimal items in a year. We buy our dog food from them and it gets here in two days with free shipping and it’s cheaper than the pet store.

[MD Expat in PA]

You do not have to sign up for a Prime account to shop on Amazon but with a Prime membership you get free 2-day shipping on Prime eligible times, which are a most except from some 3 party sellers. When I shop on Amazon, I refine my search to Prime Eligible. If I can’t find it, I will remove the search to include non-Prime eligible items and then decide if it is worth paying for shipping. With the membership you also get video and music streaming. While I’ve order some specialty food items like loose tea and spices and Keurig Vue cups which I can’t find in any stores anymore I haven’t tried their Prime Pantry but know some people who have and they really like it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_left_v4_sib?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200444160

I do a good amount of shopping on Amazon all year round, but especially during Christmas and the membership more than pays for itself.

I also recently got into watching a TV show on FX – “The Americans” but I want to binge watch all the previous season’s episodes which I can watch for free with my Prime membership, before I watch this year’s season finale.