Amazon’s new Prime subscriptions are a rip-off

Amazon Prime is a $99 a year subscription where you got Prime Video, Prime Music, and two-day free shipping. Now Amazon is unbundling their Prime services into two separate monthly subscriptions. Prime Video is going to cost $8.99 a month, which is a direct attack towards Netflixes service. The lower price is also more appealing to users who are getting sticker shock as they see their new $9.99 monthly price. The second monthly subscription is Amazon’s Prime free two-day shipping which is $10.99.

The Prime Video subscription is going to cost $107 a year, and Prime Shipping is going to cost $132 a year. Now I’m not sure what sane person would buy an unbundled version of Prime, especially when they both cost more than Prime’s yearly fee. Even if you only watch Prime Video’s there are cases where you’d want to buy something from Prime and want free two-day shipping.

While paying monthly sounds more appealing, under the surface you end up paying more each year. I’d rather pay $99 plus tax for Prime Video, Music, Books, and Shipping even if I don’t use all of the services. I’d be willing to bet that if you have Prime, you’re taking advantage of free shipping and the original content Amazon is making.

Both options are rip-offs, but the monthly costs will likely net Amazon more Prime Video subscribers. The unbundling of shipping and video is also telling of the direction Amazon is heading. Amazon’s revenue has been affected by increased shipping cost and investments in original content. By unbundling their two core services, they could generate more income and still make profit goals. Keeping investors happy.  Shortly we may only be able to get Prime Video or Prime Shipping, and not a whole package bundled together.

Tell us in the comments below what you think about Amazon’s two new monthly subscription plans and if you’d buy them over Prime yearly.

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