If you use Amazon at all for online shopping, you’ll almost certainly have heard about Prime Day. (It’s actually two days, but I guess “Prime Day” has more of a ring to it.) On the 11th and 12th of July, there’ll be lots of deals on Amazon, but only for Amazon Prime members.
We don’t get to know in advance what those deals are going to be, but based on previous years, you can expect big discounts on books, games, music and technology. So if you’re a Prime member and thinking about buying a new printer, tablet, laptop, speaker, etc, I’d suggest you wait for Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
The savings can be pretty good, too.
But what if you’re not already a member? Is it worth signing up? Well, if you only want to use the Prime Day deals, you can sign up for a single month for £8.99 (or take out the month free trial if you’ve never been a member before). You can easily save a lot more than the month’s fee, if you were planning on buying something anyway – you just need to remember to cancel your membership before the end of the month.
Personally, I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for years. It’s definitely been worth it for me, but that’s because I use lots of the perks that come with a Prime membership – and there are many! I know it wouldn’t be for everyone, though, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you what you get for your £95 a year…
Free next-day delivery
If you buy physical products from Amazon, this is a big selling point. It doesn’t matter how many things you’re buying – how much or how little you spend – you can get free, fast delivery. Whether or not it’s actually next day depends on where you live, what product you order and what time of day you order it – but it’s always pretty quick.
Prime Video
This is what a lot of people take out Prime membership for. It’s an online subscription service that gives you access to lots of TV programs and films on demand. Exactly what’s on there changes over time, but there’s always an awful lot to choose from.
Prime Music
This is a service that I use a lot, actually – although it’s changed recently. You get access to thousands of songs to play through the Amazon Music app or website. You used to be able to choose particular songs to play, but most of the music doesn’t work like that any more. You choose an artist, genre, or even an individual song, and it’ll play music that’s like that song. Kind of like an on-demand radio station. I prefer it to YouTube music for most things – the music quality is pretty good, and it doesn’t have any adverts (yay!).
Prime Gaming
This is one that I tend to forget about and then kick myself when something reminds me (after all, I do have two video-game-obsessed boys at home). Every month, Prime Gaming gives away one of two complete games, as well as extra content for existing popular games. Once you’ve downloaded them, you can keep them forever, but what’s free changes each month. It’s worth mentioning that there are lots of freebies on Prime Gaming this month for Prime Day – much more than usual. (They’re giving away both Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate II if RPGs are your thing!)
Prime Reading
This is a great one that I use for myself and my eldest. It’s like an online library for Prime members with over a thousand books, comics and magazines to choose from. You can borrow up to 10 titles at a time, and there’s no limit to how long you can keep them (as long as you stay a Prime member).
Amazon First Reads
This is another book-based perk. Each month, Amazon emails you with a list of six or seven books – often from new authors, but not always – and you can choose one of them to keep for free. It’s not like Prime Reading where you borrow the book, it’s yours to keep forever.
Unlimited Photo Storage
As a Prime member, you can also store all your photos online. I’ve always been wary of doing this though, because you only get your free storage for as long as you’re a member. If you ever decide to cancel your membership, you’d need to find an alternative.
Same-Day Delivery on Groceries
Depending on where you live, you might be able to get same-day delivery on Amazon Fresh and Morrisons groceries. Last time I used them, they didn’t have the same sort of range as you’d get from a full supermarket, but they’re great for essentials.
There are a few other bits and pieces as well, but those are the main perks of being a Prime member.
I don’t tend to buy many physical things from Amazon any more – I prefer to shop locally when I can – but the membership is worth it to me just for the digital content.
Anyway, that’s it from me for this week.