Is amazon prime worth it??

[MyKidsMom1820]

I am trying to decide on getting rid of the dish and switch to solely having amazon prime for entertainment. Is this a good idea??

We don't watch very much TV and I think dish is way overpriced. The kids watch a half hour in the morning and a half hour while I am preparing dinner. And other than that we usually watch movies on the weekends... my husband is concerned about getting dexter and trublood, but I noticed you can just buy the season?? is this in addition to the amazon prime membership?? I think if we bought the season in addition it would still be cheaper than dish (around 50 bucks a month but more if we are having hbo or showtime while those shows are running)

Also I am still buying diapers and we bought a ton of stuff from amazon when I had the free amazon mom promo.

Any thoughts? TIA!

 

[sissy_ib]

I am trying to decide on getting rid of the dish and switch to solely having amazon prime for entertainment. Is this a good idea??

We don't watch very much TV and I think dish is way overpriced. The kids watch a half hour in the morning and a half hour while I am preparing dinner. And other than that we usually watch movies on the weekends... my husband is concerned about getting dexter and trublood, but I noticed you can just buy the season?? is this in addition to the amazon prime membership?? I think if we bought the season in addition it would still be cheaper than dish (around 50 bucks a month but more if we are having hbo or showtime while those shows are running)

Also I am still buying diapers and we bought a ton of stuff from amazon when I had the free amazon mom promo.

Any thoughts? TIA!

We have Prime and don't watch use Amazon Instant Video. Not everything is included. Go in to the Instant Video area and click on Prime Eligible on the left hand side and it will only show you what is free with Prime. True Blood and Dexter and shows that are not included.

 

[AshleeH]

We don't use it for the video membership, but as far as just ordering things from Amazon, it more than pays for itself! At least it does for us.

I actually was a little mad at my husband for signing up for it and not telling me before he did it - and now I might use it more than he does! I'm also one of those people who absolutely loathes paying for shipping (especially on big ticket items - I think that if you spend a certain amount with someone, shipping should be included) so for that alone, I love it.

I've actually started purchasing more things from there and it has significantly cut down on my Walmart trips! I now go to Walmart maybe twice a year (and do my grocery shopping elsewhere) and that, to me, is worth the money.

But the biggest perk for me is books - I love reading and even though I have a Kindle Fire, I still buy a lot of actual books and ordering them for release day delivery (with no shipping) is my favorite thing. I live in a small(ish) town - Walmart and Kroger are horrible about putting out new books on release day (or even release week) and the only bookstore we have does not have a large selection, so Amazon has saved me a lot of gas money by not having to drive 45 minutes to the nearest town to get the books I've been waiting for.

 

[disprincessatheart]

we use it for the shipping and the books too. With almost everything we buy now, we check the price on amazon and it's normally cheaper and we can get it with free shipping. We bought some brita filter water bottles for our upcoming disney trip last week - they came in 20 hours! And I didnt have to deal with going to walmart, spending gas, wrangling my toddler in walmart, and didnt pick up any junk I didnt need while wandering a store! That part alone (less random purchases while shopping in a store) has paid for the membership!

 

[ssawka]

I think it is worth it, but I still get the $39.99 student rate. At that price it is totally worth it! It is great when you realize you need something and you don't have time to run out to the store. Just order it on Amazon and it's there in a day or two. We do use Amazon Instant Video, but the interface is not as good as Netflix. But for being included it is a good deal!

 

[Nayan]

Prime is really only worth it if you order either quite a bit of stuff or order often. Prime does include video but the offerings are lacking and if you want to use it solely as your TV viewing you'll be very disappointed. Dexter and those types of shows are offered but they cost extra and quite honestly the video quality is awful.

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

I think it is worth it, but I still get the $39.99 student rate. At that price it is totally worth it! It is great when you realize you need something and you don't have time to run out to the store. Just order it on Amazon and it's there in a day or two. We do use Amazon Instant Video, but the interface is not as good as Netflix. But for being included it is a good deal!

is the student rate available for all college students?? my husband is still technically a college student tho he graduates in a few weeks

 

[Disneefun]

I don't use it much for the video and I wouldn't recommend that someone get it just for that. Netflix is cheaper. However, if you order a lot from Amazon, prime is totally worth it and the video and kindle lending are nice added perks.

We got it b/c the mail service is awful here and that's how Amazon shipped everything with free shipping. So I upgraded to prime for the peace of mind of knowing my stuff would get here on time. I order so much from them now I think I keep my UPS guy employed single-handedly. And it saves me gas and hassle at the stores.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I think Amazon Prime is worth it, but I agree, not just to get free videos. The selection just isn't there yet.

Keep in mind that you will need a device which can stream Amazon videos to your tv, such as a ROKU box, a dvd player, some tvs, or gaming system which has this capability.

It might be a better deal to get something like ROKU with a streaming Netflix subscription. That would be $7.99 a month. If you add Hulu+ to get tv shows and movies, that's another $7.99 a month. You could also use ROKU to stream Amazon videos which aren't free, such as Dexter, without having to pay for a Prime membership.

You should be able to get network shows for free on your tv just using a digital antenna.

 

[QueenDoOver]

I love my Amazon shopping! I do watch the movies quite a bit and it works great! We also have netflix. I would think netflix and prime would both be less than the dish.

 

[ssawka]

is the student rate available for all college students?? my husband is still technically a college student tho he graduates in a few weeks

I sent you a PM.

 

[maganda]

is the student rate available for all college students?? my husband is still technically a college student tho he graduates in a few weeks

I have a regular Prime account but I'm pretty sure if he has a .edu email address he qualifies. If he doesn't he can probably show proof with a copy of his student ID.

I signed up for Prime prior to doing Christmas shopping last year and I definitely got my money's worth in shipping. I like the lending library as well. I think the video selection is pretty weak. We cut our Direct TV service three years ago and mostly watch network TV and Netflix now. There was so much junk on cable that we never watched and I love not having a huge cable bill every month.

 

[Suz D]

I don't use it much for the video and I wouldn't recommend that someone get it just for that. Netflix is cheaper. However, if you order a lot from Amazon, prime is totally worth it and the video and kindle lending are nice added perks.

We got it b/c the mail service is awful here and that's how Amazon shipped everything with free shipping. So I upgraded to prime for the peace of mind of knowing my stuff would get here on time. I order so much from them now I think I keep my UPS guy employed single-handedly. And it saves me gas and hassle at the stores.

I don't think Netflix is cheaper. $7.99 month x 12 is more than $79.99/year for Prime. We have our prime for the free (and quick) shipping and the videos and book loaning service are perks (the book service isn't that great since it's just one book a month, but it's free which is always a bonus).

We use ours all the time. The thing I like is that if you just want a small thing (like a $6.99 DVD) the shipping is free and fast instead of nearly 1/2 the price of the item.

 

[auralia]

Also love it for last minute birthday gifts etc. ships to who ever you like in just 2 days... Has saved me because I am so last minute about picking what to get kids for birthdays.

 

[flyergrad09]

I've had Amazon Student/Prime for about a year and a half, and I've never once used it to watch anything, but I also have access to my brother's Netflix through our Wii. IMO, Netflix has a better selection, then Hulu+, then Amazon Prime. But it all depends on the shows you want to watch.

That being said, I love the free 2-day shipping! The razorblades I use have become so ridiculously overpriced at Target, so I order them through Amazon! Anytime I need a present for someone, I buy it from Amazon if I can. It's to the point where I resent other websites that don't have the free 2-day shipping. I also have a Kindle, so being able to use the Kindle Owner's Lending Library is a nice bonus too, but if I didn't already have Prime, I wouldn't buy it just for access to the library.

 

[sksjasams]

I'm not sure about giving your account number to Mike, but I do agree you should try to work with DISH to get the price down. We have directv and they have always been very generous when we were considering switching.

Anyway, I LOVE prime for the free shipping. It is so nice to not try to make my cart equal $25 for free super saver shipping. The shipping is so fast, plus if you are really in a jam you can get one-day shipping for only $3.99. The convenience is so worth it for me.

Prime is not great for tv/videos though. Very limited selection. For example, my son and a friend wanted to watch Happy Gilmore. I had to pay $2.99 to rent it - a movie that old was not even available for free. PLUS, the worse thing (and they don't advertise this) is that there are no parental controls! I am not a big fan of netflix either, but at least it had good parental controls that limited the choices that show up when you are scrolling thru movies.

 

[letsgoreds]

I think it is 'worth' it like a Costco membership is 'worth it.' Are you saving a ton of $, considering the cost of the membership, probably not, but does it improve your quality of life? For us, it is Yes on both accounts.

Currently we have the free student account (DH is getting his MBA), so no video or book perks, but even when we did have the standard Prime account, the video component was not a big draw for us.

FYI, we dropped cable 2 years ago and haven't looked back. DH installed a good antennae in the attic, we invested in a HD TiVo (lifetime subscription) and LOVE not being tied to our TV. We watch less TV, and that is a good thing for us. There is more out there than you realize...

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

I've used Prime before and just finished a free month with the purchase of my Kindle Fire.
Although I loved getting the 2 day shipping - Amazon offers free shipping if you order $25 or above anyhow. And they always ship quickly even w/out Prime. If it is not shipped by Amazon then you pay shipping with or without Prime. I have also received Prime items 2 days late? What's the point of that.
Don't get me wrong...I love Amazon I just don't think Prime is worth it. The videos aren't that great yet, the lending library is just ok because alot of books aren't offered and like I stated earlier shipping is free (Over $25) anyway.
IMO