The first question people always ask is; “does Amazon Prime qualify me for free shipping?” The simple answer is: “no”.
Some Amazon packages, like the Kindle, do qualify for free shipping. The Kindle comes with a free one year subscription to Amazon Prime, and they also have free two day shipping if you purchase a Kindle.
All other Amazon items, including books, video games, music, clothing, electronics, etc., do not qualify for free shipping. However, all of those things are part of Amazon Prime.
For a new Prime member, they are required to pay a minimum of $99 to get their free shipping. If you are a current member and you have a balance left over from your subscription, you can apply it towards your next order. You do not have to pay the full balance or the additional fee if you use the free gift card.
Why is it that a free shipping subscription doesn’t qualify for free gifts? There are actually three different reasons. Here they are:
First, many of the free shipping subscriptions don’t come with any free gifts or gift certificates, so the membership is used as an incentive to keep them subscribing. Amazon does not actually profit off of the delivery of the products through their membership, because they are already profiting off of the commission the sales associate receives for the sale of the product.
Second, many companies are reluctant to take an incentive program that may be related to products they don’t have in stock, as they believe that could lead to losses and even bankruptcy. They don’t want to lose customers by having them come back later to buy from them. If they have been loyal customers for awhile, and you give them a discount, they may get nervous and cancel their membership, which will cost you money, just as it would if you were to try to send them a discount coupon.
Third, Prime members have been known to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to customer service. That’s why they keep returning, because they enjoy the perks of being a Prime member. People who are in the know about all of the perks of Prime can attest to how much it has improved their lives.
