Is Amazon Prime worth it?

RoytheRobot

RoytheRobot

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Okay, is it worth it? 

Is there a good selection of movies/tv shows?? (I currently have Netflix)

Can you get the student discount? (I'm a student)

Is it available for US territories?

I would like to know. Thanks

 
RoytheRobot said:
Okay, is it worth it?

Is there a good selection of movies/tv shows?? (I currently have Netflix)

Can you get the student discount? (I'm a student)

Is it available for US territories?

I would like to know. Thanks
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Amazon gives Prime free for 6 months for students..

just the free 2 day shipping though, not the streaming videos/borrowing ebooks

after 6 months, then it's 50% off with full prime benefits

http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201133670

 
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The fiance and I order stuff from Amazon regularly.  It's a rare week that we don't order at least one thing from them, and often multiple orders, as we order everything from blurays and movies to food and toiletries as we both hate shopping in person.

So it's 100% worth it for us just for the shipping.  The streaming is just an added bonus.  We don't currently use it much as we just mooch off my mom's Netflix streaming, and I have a Netflix disc subscription with Bluray.  I used it before my mom got an account and gave us her log in though, and the selection is decent.  Netflix has more, and there's not much on Amazon and not Netflix, but if you don't have Netflix it's not bad.  I wouldn't get Prime over Netflix though if you don't need the 2 day shipping.

If you have a Kindle, they also let you borrow one book a month for free if you have Prime.  Selection isn't super great though.  Some gems in there, but a lot of romance and indie stuff.  Unless it's changed it has to be a Kindle and not a tablet/phone with Kindle app to use the lending library.

 
I would say no...but my wife has it so I use it as much as possible.  Most of the stuff I order is available for the Super Saver Shipping, and I'm usually not that concerned about getting it in 2 days vs. getting it in 7.

The TV/Movie streaming selection is okay...not great.  I've never had Netflix so I can't compare, but although Amazon has some good movies, they haven't added anything super in a long time.

 
I personally dont order enough for it to be worth the cost, but the trial has been VERY useful this last month since I ordered my new TV, got my PS4 delivered, etc.  My parents are actually just getting into Amazon so I may try to get them to split a membership with me now.

 
I would say the student price is worth it. I love being able to get things in two days, especially big items like a TV or my Xbox One. It really boils down to how much shopping you think you'll do at Amazon. If nothing else, try the trial out.

 
I personally think it is worth it, but I could see how others wouldn't think so. 

Most of the exclusive shows they have are things I am interested in, and the shipping is great. 

If you haven't seen shows like Justified, The Shield, Larry Sanders, or a lot of Viacom shows then it can be worth it. 

 
Here's the best thing you can do. Find 4 other people and share your prime with them. You are allowed to do it. You can charge them $16 for it. That'll cut the cost for you and you'll keep all the benefits. 

 
GuyWithGun said:
The TV/Movie streaming selection is okay...not great. I've never had Netflix so I can't compare, but although Amazon has some good movies, they haven't added anything super in a long time.
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I may be biased since I work on this, but really? Prime streaming adds new shit around every two weeks, a lot of new content as well.

 
As someone who orders supplements every month from Amazon, given how they are cheaper than Bodybuilding, I think the $6-7 dollars a month/$80 a year is worth it for free two day shipping, or one day shipping when I forget I'm low on something.

 
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I consider amazon prime a must have for me.  Prime shipping means that I do not have to worry about whether the items qualify for free shipping or not and the 2 days shipping helps me better estimate when I can expect to receive my items. 

Prime video is also excellent. I last had netflix streaming probably 2-3 years ago and at that time it was in no way comparable to prime instant video.  Beside movies,  the tv shows are also very good. I've been rewatching the star trek TV series.  Hell... I will probably pay for prime just for the instant video cuz it is pretty cheap and I feel that it is comparable (if not better) than other streaming services.

 
SneakyPenguin said:
I may be biased since I work on this, but really? Prime streaming adds new shit around every two weeks, a lot of new content as well.
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Okay, after re-reading my post, it does sound a little too harsh. There are some really good movies on there, but checking the site Amazon Prime Instant Video over the past 90 days there are 188 movies that have been added. So, over 2 per day, but probably only 3 or 4 of them I'd actually watch, and none of them I'm really super excited about. TV shows have 159 submissions in the past 90 days, 5 or 6 of the shows I would watch the added season if I had time, but again, nothing super exciting to me (except that it looks like Daily Show and Colbert Report get updated with a new episode pretty quick). So, that's why I said they haven't added anything super in a long time.

I'm not saying there isn't anything good or great on there, there is a lot of good stuff. (After reviewing some of the TV Stuff in particular, there is a ton of good stuff on there). It's just that I haven't been really excited about anything that has been released in the past few months. Like, when the Avengers, Thor, etc were put up, or when there is a new TV show I like that is acquired, especially something that I haven't seen yet and have been wanting to, that's awesome.
 
It's more than worth it for me just for the free 2-day shipping on most items purchased.  Not even done with holiday shopping yet and I'm sitting at 148 orders for the year.  Even if it only cost a couple bucks per order (and with some of these orders I'm sure it was closer to $15-$20) I'm way ahead money-wise.

The streaming service itself is very good, not only on PC but your gaming consoles also.  It has a great quality and far fewer glitches and stops than NetFlix or Hulu (and no stinkin' commercials!).  As for the selections, I've had no problem finding tons of content relevant to my tastes.

 
Thanks for your opinions guys, sadly the student discount won't apply for me since I live in Puerto Rico...

I haven't bought to much on Amazon especially since they charge me $10 for shipping for every order thanks to my location.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna subscribe soon since I think the free shipping is well worth it for the price.

Thanks again :)
 
I'm fortunate in I am both an employee and a student, so I guess the student discount will apply to me for... well... forever? For $40, I'm in. I'd have to think real, real hard on a dime more than that. 

 
NinjaPenguin777 said:
Here's the best thing you can do. Find 4 other people and share your prime with them. You are allowed to do it. You can charge them $16 for it. That'll cut the cost for you and you'll keep all the benefits.
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Actually, you can't do that. The only people allowed to share an Amazon Prime membership are members of the same household:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=13819201

Invitees
If you sign up for a free trial or paid Prime membership, you may invite up to four eligible household members (living at the same address) to enjoy the shipping benefits of your free trial or paid Prime membership at no extra cost (invitees). Customers who receive a Prime free trial through Amazon Student or Amazon Mom are not eligible to share their Prime benefits. (Please note that any member under age 18 may use the Amazon.com website only with involvement of a parent or guardian.) If you purchase a Prime membership as a small business, you may invite up to four co-workers to shop with this corporate account. An invitee's shipping benefits will automatically terminate if the purchaser of the membership ceases to be a member or removes the invitee.
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I've been sharing my membership with people not in my household for at least 4 years now without issue.  The only thing they don't get is the streaming services.  

 
Yeah, it's against the terms of service to have people outside your household on your account, but they don't seem to enforce it.

Makes sense as they're probably just happy having more people ordering from them more often due to the "free" shipping.  Especially since the secondary accounts don't get access to the streaming, Kindle Lending Library etc. anyway.

 
depends on how much you shop. I split my prime with coworkers so it's like 15 a person. The primary account is the only one that gets streaming though

 
Prime is worth it for the free shipping if you shop online a lot. But it truly shines when you have a Kindle (HD,HDX). Amazon instant video, book club, etc. I think my membership has paid itself over with all the free shit you get just by having a kindle.

 
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The video service is redundant if you have Netflix. Under the Dome was cool, though.

We used Prime a lot during the holidays. My girlfriend has the primary Prime account and I get shipping privileges under her so that we can shop separately and not ruin Christmas surprises.

It's not so useful for things that aren't time-sensitive likes gifts ordered in November that will be opened on Christmas Day, but it is nice to order Playstation All-Stars on a Friday and get it on a Sunday.
 
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Easily worth it if you fall into 2 out of 4 of these categories:

- You do a mojority of your shopping online, and a lot of that on Amazon.

- You have a smart TV or device that can use it's video streaming service

- You do not yet have a subscription to other video streaming services

- You own a Kindle or even use Amazon's kindle reading app on another device.

My biggest complaint is that there is no offical Instant Video app for android devices (of course there are workarounds). This is obviously to push their own Kindle devices more I guess but given that they have a video app for ipads it seems a strange deal to me.

 
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I have the 30 day trial to Prime and it's working pretty well for me. Even if I order late at night, I still received items in 2 days; in fact, the last item I ordered arrived the next day late in the afternoon.

Video selection seems pretty good. I heard Netflix doesn't carry Nickelodeon shows anymore but Amazon Prime video does.

As Duo said, you can't use the video service on an Android device. However, if you have a Kindle Fire HDX, they have a feature where you can watch instant videos OFFLINE. That to me is a big win over Netflix and might be worth getting the device/subscription.

 
I think it's great if you order stuff often from Amazon. I wouldn't bother if you just purchase things from there once in a while, because it kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. 

 
Cage017 said:
However, if you have a Kindle Fire HDX, they have a feature where you can watch instant videos OFFLINE.
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This is only for certain titles (ie. the crappy ones). It's still pretty cool, and I expect the titles you can do that with to expand, but right now, it's nothing too impressive.
 
If you're an avid Amazon shopper, it's most definitely worth it!

My Amazon prime subscription is expiring soon and I plan to renew it for the 2nd time.

I also have a Kindle 8.9" which benefits from the Prime membership.

Free coins and promotional credit here and there.

 
They are getting some nice streaming stuff. Justified season 4 is available, and I noticed they exclusively have some decent (niche?) shows, like Batman: The Animated Series(really, only us close to 30s will really enjoy it, who grew up with it, as the dark animation style might not appeal to current kids who are used to bright colors and CGI animation) and Stargate: Atlantis.
 
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