Amazon Prime free trial is a 30-day payment-free period for which an individual can use Amazon prime. Amazon Prime began as a dependable, quick and free shipping program for goods ordered from Amazon.
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The company has since diversified into other areas like discount on groceries, streaming movies and music, reading books, rapid delivery options, among others.
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In this e-book, I will elucidate what Amazon Prime is, and show you the pros and cons of using the service.
I will also give you information that will help you decide if Amazon Prime is right for you. I will teach you how to cancel your free trial subscription, and show you how to operate Amazon Prime free movies and books. Let’s dive right in.
Table of Contents
Sign Up for the Amazon Prime Free Trial
Amazon Prime Free Trial members enjoy all the same benefits as paid members.
To sign up for the Amazon Prime free trial, your account must have a current, valid credit card. Payment options such as an Amazon.com Corporate Line of Credit, checking accounts, pre-paid credit cards, or gift cards cannot be used.
- Go to Amazon Prime Free Trial.
- Click Start your free trial.
- Follow the on-screen instructions if prompted.
You’ll be enrolled in the free trial of Amazon Prime and have access to FREE Two Day shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, and access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. For more information about Amazon Prime, go to Amazon Prime Terms & Conditions.
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What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is a paid service that provides people who shop on Amazon with a variety of distinct benefits. Amazon Prime has more than 100 million members worldwide.
Many people think that the only advantage of Amazon Prime is access to free shipping and streaming services. But as you will soon discover, there’s more to Amazon Prime than these.
Let’s get into details of some of the services available to Prime subscribers.
Shipping:
This is one of the well-known benefits of subscribing to Amazon Prime. Eligible items can be shipped free of charge within two days to addresses in the contiguous United States.
Also, free same-day delivery is available for qualified ZIP codes. Most of the items that Amazon trades meet the requirements for free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime.
However, Basketball hoops, treadmills, and other oversize items get free standard shipping rather than the free two-day shipping. Also, except the seller offers free two-day shipping, items sold through third parties don’t qualify for free two-day shipping.
Prime Pantry:
This Prime service allows subscribers to access groceries, pet care, and household items at a discount price. Prime Pantry includes unlimited free shipping on Pantry orders above or equal to $40.
For shipping of Pantry orders below $40, the user will pay $7.99 shipping fee. Subscription to Prime Pantry costs $4.99 per month in addition to the cost of being a prime member.
Prime Now:
People who subscribe to this service enjoy the benefit of delivery on several products from local stores within two hours.
However, with an additional $7.99, you can opt for a one-hour delivery. For example, subscribers in New York City can get delivery of beer and spirits from Vintage Grape, Union Square Wines or Westside Market.
Amazon keeps expanding the number of cities that Prime Now delivery covers. The goods that Prime Now offers are mostly groceries, small gifts, and toiletries.
However, as Amazon increases its local partners’ base, more products should be accommodated. Prime Now is available as an app for iOS and Android devices, and can also be accessed through the Prime Now website.
Prime Video:
This service provides a platform for streaming of TV episodes and movies without limit to paid members of Amazon Prime. Several original contents like Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, and Man in the High Castle are available to Prime Subscribers.
Prime Video is open to people using the Amazon Prime free trial. It also allows users to add video subscriptions to Starz, AMC, Showtime and several other streaming entertainment channels. You can decide to subscribe to Prime Video alone for $8.99 per month.
Twitch Prime:
Twitch is a popular game-stream broadcast service that most gamers are familiar with. Amazon Prime subscribers get access to Twitch Prime where they can watch Twitch streams. They will also have access to monthly in-game bonuses and some free games.
Prime Music:
This service offers ad-free, unlimited access to over two million songs for Prime subscribers. It is a streaming music service that allows users to create a custom playlist. If users don’t want to create a playlist, they can enable Amazon to create a customized profile that suits their desires.
Prime subscribers can also download songs and listen to them online while their membership lasts. Prime Music costs $3.99 per month for Amazon Echo users but with access to the Echo device only stream on all devices, Prime Music costs $7.99 per month.
Amazon Prime Photos:
This is a service of Amazon Prime that grants you access to Amazon Cloud Drive where you can save an unlimited number of photos.
Kindle books:
This is the Amazon Prime service that allows users to borrow books to read. At the moment, there are over a million books available to be borrowed in the Kindle Lending Library.
To know if you can borrow a book, search for it on your Kindle device, Amazon Website or Kindle app.
If the Prime logo appears next to the book, then it is available for borrowing. With your Prime Subscription, you can borrow such books for a month.
Free-time Unlimited:
This service offers thousands of movies, books, educational apps, games and TV shows for children between 3 to 10 years old. Recently, FreeTime Unlimited has been expanded to include specialty content for children between 9 and 12 years old.
Prime members save $2 per month on this subscription service. It is accessible through Kindle e-readers, Fire TV and Fire Tablets. It also allows parents to remotely sort and filter content for their children based on their perception of right and wrong.
Amazon Prime subscribers exclusive
Amazon Prime subscribers also have exclusive access to some items. For example, you cannot purchase some video games like FIFA 16 on Amazon except you are a Prime Subscriber.
Also, Amazon recently made the console for Nintendo Switch inventory available for Prime Subscribers alone.
However, Amazon Prime is not available for individuals who purchase products from Amazon for resale. It is also not available to those who ship products to potential or actual customers.
Amazon’s Elements
Furthermore, Amazon Prime subscribers have access to Amazon’s Elements line of products that range from vitamins to baby wipes. With this, Amazon tells the user where the product they want to purchase is from.
Also, if a subscriber opts for free, no rush shipping, Amazon gives them money to buy e-books, music, and video. If the delivery of a Prime subscriber’s orders arrives after the two-day shipping guarantee, the user could enjoy the extension of Prime membership by a month if the customer service is informed.
Amazon Prime membership fee is $12.99 per month or $119 per year. The first 30 days of the annual subscription is free, and that is what we refer to as the Amazon Prime free trial. One good thing about the free trial is that you can cancel it at any time.
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Prime Free Trial For Students
Amazon provides students with a substantial price break. Amazon Prime Student account is free for the first six months. The student will have to subscribe to Amazon Prime after the first six months but at a 50% discount.
During the six-month free trial, students can neither access streaming music and video nor borrow books. But they will have full access to free shipping.
However, after the expiration of the six-month trial, if they decide to subscribe to Amazon Prime at the discounted price, they will have access to all of the Prime benefits including access to exclusive deals like video game pre-orders.
How to Sign Up For Amazon Prime Free Trial
To sign up for Amazon Prime, visit Amazon’s Prime’s website and follow the instructions there. You will need a credit card and a free Amazon account.
IF you want to cancel your subscription at any time, log in to your account and select “Manage Prime Membership.” Select End Membership if your subscription is still active or “Do Not Continue” if you are using the Amazon Prime free trial and don’t want to commence a paid subscription.
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Is Amazon Prime worth it?
The discussion about the worthiness of Amazon Prime is individual specific. That is, there can be no one-answer-fits-all response to this question.
However, to help you in determining whether Amazon Prime is worth it for you, I will discuss the pros and cons of subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Benefits of Using Amazon Prime
Free Shipping:
For individuals frequently who shop online, shipping fees can add up to a significant amount.
Subscribing to Amazon Prime, however, eliminates the cost of shipping most items. Free shipping is one of the first perks of Amazon Prime. So, if you often shop online, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime for free shipping.
Fast Shipping:
Traditionally, shipping of items ordered online takes about five to seven days or more before delivery is made.
However, with a subscription to Amazon Prime, you have the opportunity of having your goods delivered within two days.
It is worthy of note that while two days is the Prime standard, other options can hasten the delivery. That is, you can decide to request delivery in one day or less for a small extra cost.
There is a two-hour delivery plan for groceries and toiletries in many cities. Individuals who subscribe to Amazon Prime have the privilege of knowing the release dates of several new entertainment products.
If fast shipping is what you need for most of the products you order online, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Stream Videos:
With an Amazon Prime account, you can stream videos limitless. Streaming from Amazon Prime account is available on any device.
Original contents like “Mozart in the Jungle” and “Transparent” are available to Amazon Prime subscribers.
If you are bored with the platform you use for streaming videos at the moment, or you want a platform where you can stream videos and TV shows, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Access to Exclusive Brands:
People who subscribe to Amazon prime have access to some exclusive products that are not available to regular users of Amazon. For example, some game consoles are restricted to Prime users.
An entire section of Amazon’s website is dedicated to Brands that offer exclusive products accessible only to Prime subscribers.
So, if you need access to exclusive content on Amazon’s site, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Access to Special Deals and Savings:
Through Subscribe and Save, Amazon Prime offers 20 percent off diapers and baby food. Subscribers to Amazon Prime enjoy additional savings and exclusive deals on pre-sale items. If you need to save money purchasing baby products, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Free Reading:
Amazon Prime offers a library of books, news stories, magazines, among others to subscribers. There are over a million books available to Prime subscribers.
Prime users can access these books through Tablets, phones or Amazon Kindles. If you are an avid reader and you want a platform where you can borrow a book for a month, or download several books, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Unlimited Photo Storage:
Subscribers to Amazon Prime don’t have to worry about saving pictures on their phones which has limited storage capacity.
You can upload your photos to the Amazon Cloud Storage for free. Aside from storing images, Prime Photos also organizes pictures uploaded to the Cloud Storage and offers a robust search function that is available for use on any device. If you need unlimited space to store your images, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Access to Twitch Prime:
People who play video games often also have a special offer from Amazon Prime. Every month, Amazon Prime offers free in-game loot and various other pleasant surprises within their computer games.
Amazon Prime subscribers also get to stream Twitch Prime platform ad-free. If you are a consistent video game player, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime for fantastic offers.
Access to Prime Music:
Users of Amazon Prime have over two million songs to choose from. They can create a playlist from songs or albums.
They can also allow Amazon Prime to create a customized playlist for them. This service is available on any device. If you are a music lover, you may consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
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Access to Audio Channels:
When Amazon Prime members download the Audible app; they can start listening to different channels and audio programs. They are also eligible to one free audiobook every month.
If you desire to have a free audio book every month and listen to several audio channels, consider subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Access to Rewards Card:
Amazon Prime offers user members a Rewards Visa Card. This card provides 5 percent back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods.
Apart from this, the Prime Rewards Card also releases 2% back at gas stations, drugstores, and restaurants. It also gives 1% back on all other purchases. To enjoy these Rewards, subscribe to Amazon Prime.
Now that we have discussed some of the benefits that accrue to people that subscribe to Amazon prime, let’s consider the cons of using Amazon Prime.
Cons of Subscribing to Amazon Prime
Cost of Subscription:
Subscribing to Amazon Prime costs $119 annually and $12.99 per month. That is really on the high side for many people, especially those who don’t shop online frequently.
So, if you don’t shop online often, you may consider not subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Prime Music is limited:
It is true that Prime subscribers have access to over two million ad-free songs. However, compared to some other music streaming platforms, that figure is not much.
Prime subscribers have to pay an additional $7.99 per month to enjoy more songs like their counterparts who use Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music.
Prime Video does not compare favorably with Netflix:
Amazon video has many contents available to Prime Subscribers. However, it does not compare well with Netflix or Hulu in terms of quality and quantity of content.
On Amazon Prime, many movies and shows are only available to buy or rent. Therefore, while Amazon Video is good, it is not yet a replacement for other streaming platforms.
Amazon Prime is not profitable for people who don’t do big online shopping:
if you don’t shop consistently, you will not value the free and fast shipping that Prime offers. The cost of subscribing to Prime will be way too much for you.
Therefore, if you don’t shop frequently or you don’t purchase up to $40 worth of goods at once, you may not need to subscribe to Amazon Prime.
Privacy Concerns:
At the moment, tech firms don’t have a good reputation for securing the privacy of consumers.
When you subscribe to Amazon Prime, your details are kept on Amazon’s database. Especially, now that Amazon has diversified into health care, members of the Amazon Prime may be afraid for their privacy.
No opportunity to test products:
Several people don’t buy the idea of online shopping because they prefer to see and touch what they want to buy before purchase.
Most people will consider shopping online for clothes, groceries, and toiletries ridiculous. For those who think this way, Amazon Prime is not worth it.
Higher Propensity to making unnecessary Purchases:
Due to the ease of going from browsing to check out, and the free shipping offer, Prime users can end up purchasing a lot of products that they don’t need. This ease of spending can lead to piling up several unused, unneeded junks.
Also, when the subscription is about to end, users can be tempted to make purchases of things they think they will need in the future. This can lead to spending beyond the budget and waste of resources.
Having considered the pros and cons of using Amazon Prime, it’s up to you to decide whether the cost of subscribing for the service is worth it for you or not.
However, you can register for the Amazon Prime free trial which will allow you to test the service for 30 days.
