Is Amazon Prime worth it? All the reasons why you should subscribe
The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days is back and here’s how you can gain exclusive access to the red-hot deals.
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Previously, subscriptions were reserved for your favourite magazine or comic book, but nowadays, they are a common part of life – you can watch TV through a charge-by-the-month streaming service, sit down to an easy dinner courtesy of your weekly meal delivery kit and listen to Beyonce’s latest album drop via a music subscription.
So it’s only natural that retailers like Amazon are taking subscriptions and turning them on their head.
Enter: Amazon Prime which is a shopping and entertainment subscription like no other – this subscription has multiple perks including access to exclusive deals and discounts, and member-only sales events.
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days is a relatively new sales event (think of it as like a second Prime Day) running fromOctober 8 to October 13, 2024 – so you’ve got five whole days to shop the mega jaw-dropping deals.
Prime Big Deal Days comes with a plethora of incredible sales and savings across categories ranging from tech, beauty, home, fashion, kitchen and everything in between.
And it comes in perfect timing to get a headstart on your Christmas gift shopping this year.
Similar to good ol’ Amazon Prime Day, you have to be an Amazon Prime Member to gain exclusive access to this red-hot shopping event.
Not an Amazon Prime member? You can become one here for $9.99 a month (or $79 a year) – this will get you free shipping and fast delivery, as well as access to TV shows, music, games, books, exclusive deals and shopping events.
To make things even better, Prime members in Sydney and Melbourne now get free one-day delivery to most postcodes with no minimum spend.
Eligible items will be tagged with the “Prime FREE One-Day” or “Prime One-Day” icon and you can order up until midnight for next-day delivery.
Not a prime member? Sign up for a free trial right now.
Amazon will continue to offer its free fast delivery for all other Prime members, with plans to expand its free one-day delivery to other parts of Australia.
More Prime highlights? Audible is currently offering a 30 day free trial for a very limited time. After the 30 days are over, you’ll be charged $16.45 a month, but you can of course cancel at any time.
Prime members get cool bonuses on Audible, including bonus credits to spend on your favourite audiobooks.
You also get access to Prime Video, which at $9.99 a month is much cheaper than Netflix’s $10.99 minimum cost and has top rated content exclusive to the video platform, including the popular show everyone is talking about, The Summer I Turned Pretty.
A story about first love, first heartbreak and the perfect summer, this coming-of-age TV series follows a girl who is caught in a love triangle between two brothers.
Exclusive to Amazon, you can only stream these movies and shows via Prime Video, which is included in your Amazon Prime membership – all the more reason to sign up right now.
There are currently about 200 million people globally who have a subscription, and the reason for the insanely high number can be boiled down to the below list of benefits.
#1: YOU GET TO SAY GOODBYE TO SHIPPING FEES
You found that dream dress at 40 per cent off, then bam, you’re hit with $49 shipping? Not here. With the membership you get free two-day domestic deliveries for eligible items – no matter how little or much it costs.
Prime members in Sydney and Melbourne also now get free one-day delivery to most postcodes, with no minimum spend.
Eligible items will be tagged with the “Prime FREE One-Day” or “Prime One-Day” icon and you can order up until midnight for next-day delivery.
You can also enjoy free international delivery on Prime eligible orders over $49 from Amazon Global Store – which are products purchased from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
#2: YOU GET ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF MOVIES AND TV SHOWS
Stream or download hit movies and TV shows via Prime Video at no extra cost. Prime Video is only available to Prime members and with Prime membership only costing $9.99 this is a great way to get all your favourite shows as well as shopping benefits (and vice versa).
Like all streaming services, the catalogue is always changing and boasts more than 2000 titles.
#3: YOU ONLY NEED TO WAIT TWO DAYS FOR YOUR ITEMS
Yep, domestic deliveries come within two business days to most places (Amazon says 90 per cent of places) in Australia. And if you can’t wait that long, Prime members can save money on all priority deliveries, receiving deliveries in as fast as one business day.
You can check out if you are in a two-day delivery area here.
You also get free release-day deliveries from pre-ordered items like games and movies, ensuring you are always one step ahead of the pack.
#4: YOU GET TO SHOP THE INTERNET FRENZY THAT IS AMAZON PRIME DAY
Each year Amazon hosts its famed Amazon Prime Day, which is two days of huge deals and great discounts (hello half-price Kindles, heavy slashed Instant Pots and 70 per cent off robotic vacuums), which you can only get access to if you are a member.
Brands that we usually see go on sale include Apple, Barbie, Bosch, Bose, Garmin, GHD, Instant Pot, Lego, Lenovo, North Face, Nintendo, Oculus and Samsung.
We recommend taking advantage of the 30-day free trial during this time. See more information on Amazon Prime Day here.
#5: YOU CAN LISTEN TO OVER TWO MILLION SONGS AD-FREE
As a member you also get access to Prime Music, which is the e-tailer’s answer (and cheaper alternative) to Spotify or Apple Music. You can stream songs on a variety of devices as well as download to listen offline. All usual suspect artists are there – think Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Lewis Capaldi. It’s also compatible with Alexa so you can dance around the house hands-free to your fave tunes.
Note, Amazon Prime Music shouldn’t be confused with Amazon Prime Music Unlimited, which is the next step up for music lovers, featuring more than 60 million songs as well as podcasts. It’s not covered in the membership costs but members can always upgrade. Head here to check it out.
#6: YOU GET THE VIP TREATMENT VIA EARLY AND EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO DEALS
This perk will pique the interest of savvy shoppers among us. As a member you enjoy 30 minute early access to Prime eligible lightning deals as well as exclusive access to special shopping deals and events.
Check out today’s deals here to see the types of items you could be adding to cart right now.
#7: SAVE BIG ON SELECT HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Amazon offers a Subscribe and Save service that means when you organise scheduled deliveries of grocery items and household essentials (you can check the list out here), you get a sweet 10 per cent off. However as a Prime Member you get up to 15 per cent off select items.
Hot tip: we recommend scheduling monthly deliveries of nappies, dishwashing tablets and toilet paper so you never have to do last minute trips to the shop again.
#8: DOWNLOAD FREE E-BOOKS
Snap up more than 1000 e-books with a free Prime Reading account. What’s great is you don’t specifically need a Kindle to read them, you simply access via the Kindle app then read on your own compatible device.
Like with Prime Music, Amazon also offers Kindle Unlimited, which is the next step up for bookworms, offering over one million titles. That isn’t included in the subscription but you can sign up here.
#9: YOU GET FREE GAMES EACH MONTH
Gamers assemble, as a member you get free access to Prime Gaming (formerly known as Twitch Prime) a video site dedicated to watching live-streaming games. You also get free games and in-game loot. Learn more here.
#10: GET ACCESS TO AMAZON FAMILY
Got a growing family? Prime members also become part of Amazon Family. This allows you to unlock up to 15 per cent off savings on nappies, baby wipes and baby food (through scheduled deliveries with Subscribe and Save as mentioned above) as well as access to age-based product recommendations (who doesn’t need that?) and exclusive offers. See more here.
HOW MUCH IS AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIP?
It comes in at $9.99 a month or $79 a year but you have the option to try before you buy with a 30-day free trial. You can also cancel your membership at any time.
HOW DO YOU CANCEL YOUR AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIP?
Last perk – you can cancel at any time, so you aren’t locked in to the service forever.
To cancel simply head to ‘Your Prime Membership’ from the ‘Your Account’ drop down menu, you can then click ‘End Membership’ and follow the prompts.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN AN AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIP?
An Amazon Prime membership gives you access to a variety of Amazon’s subscription services as well as shopping benefits like free shipping and exclusive deals. Here’s everything you get with the $79 a year (or $9.99 per month) membership:
• Access to Prime Video
• Access to Prime Reading
• Access to Prime Music
• Access to Prime Gaming
• Up to 15 per cent off Subscribe and Save purchases
• Access to Amazon Family
• Early and exclusive access to discounts and deals
• Ability to shop Amazon Prime Day
IS AMAZON PRIME VIDEO STREAMING INCLUDED IN AN AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIP?
Amazon Prime Video is included in Amazon Prime membership. In fact, having an Amazon Prime membership is the only way to get access to Amazon Prime Video in Australia.
IS AUDIBLE FREE WITH AN AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIP?
While Audible isn’t ‘free’ with an Amazon Prime membership, you can still take advantage of the 30 day free trial for a limited time only – this will get you two credits that can be used on any two audiobooks of your choice on Audible or Amazon, and access to the Plus Catalogue.
After the 30 days are over, you will be charged $16.45 a month and receive one credit per month.
Want to listen on the go? You can download the free Audible app on your iOS or android device. Or on any Alexa-enabled device, Sonos devices and more.
Love a deal? Don’t miss out on the news.com.au Coupons section. There, you can find savings on everything from tech and entertainment to food and drink.
And don’t forget to sign up to our free shopping newsletter.
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