5 Reasons you need Amazon Prime right now
While many folks have gotten their shopping done during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other special events throughout the holiday season, there’s always bound to be one person who hasn’t quite gotten their stocking stuffers secured just yet. You could brave the cold and venture into brick and mortar stores to cross off those last few items on your shopping list, but that isn’t always the best route for a few different reasons:
- You can’t always find what you’re looking for inside the specific stores in your area
- The prices tend to be better online
- And sometimes, well, we just like to be lazy
With Amazon being the first online stop for many shoppers we thought it’d be a good idea to show you why you shouldn’t proceed to order anything without having an Amazon Prime subscription. It offers many benefits that can not only help you save money on shipping, but also take care of some other holiday needs that may arise. Let’s run them down!
Most products on Amazon ship extremely fast, but if you need to ensure your gifts make it to doorsteps in time for Christmas then you’ll likely want to opt for two-day shipping. With Amazon Prime, Amazon guarantees 2-day delivery on all Prime-eligible items, of which there are a ton.
Not only is there that guarantee, there’s also the fact that it’s free — no need to shell out extra dough for increased peace of mind. And should you really push the clock and need 1-day shipping, you can pay anywhere between $4 and $8 on most items, instead of the usual $15-20 you’d have to pay without Prime. This alone is usually worth the cost of admission for anyone who shops with Amazon on a daily or even weekly basis.
Access to Amazon’s daily lightning deals 30 minutes before the rest of the crowd
Of course, saving money doesn’t only have to apply to shipping. Amazon likes to put hundreds of items on sale for ridiculous prices through their lightning deals each day. If you’re worried that a deal that’s too good to be true is going to be sold out before you get a chance to order, Amazon Prime now gives you the added benefit of accessing those deals 30 minutes ahead of the rest of the pack. Nothing like a steep discount to help make your gift purchasing decision that much easier.
Holiday entertainment with Amazon Prime Instant Video, 500,000 eBooks and Amazon Prime Music
Whether you’re traveling to see family for the holidays or hosting a crowd at your own home, Amazon Prime equips you with enough multimedia to keep the family entertained. Amazon Prime Instant Video gives you access to a large library of movies and television shows, Amazon Prime Music has thousands of free songs (check out our review right here), and you even get access to over 500,000 Kindle eBooks through the Kindle Lending Library, all for no cost over the typical $99 per year Amazon asks for.
Unlimited photo storage to save your holiday memories
Amazon recently added another cool perk for folks who decided to sign up for Prime — unlimited photo storage. While the gigabytes of space you’re afforded from other services are typically more than adequate for storing quick photos, a large collection of high quality images (like those taken with DSLR cameras) could take up a rather big chunk of space. If you need somewhere to store tons of photos for long-time safe keeping, there’s no good reason to venture outside the comfy confines of your Amazon Prime account (especially considering Amazon prides themselves not only on server speed, but also availability and stability, as well).
It’s free for 30 days if you haven’t already tried it!
The last reason is the most obvious, and it should be the one that tips you over the edge: you’ll get the first 30 days for free, which you can sign up for right here. Even if you decide you don’t like it, you’re not on the hook to continue the membership past that initial 30 days.
You’ll get full access to all the perks paying members enjoy during that time, so whether you’re just looking to save money on some last minute shipments or looking to let Netflix rest for something a bit different you should definitely give it a go.
It’s worth mentioning that you get a full year of Amazon Prime with the purchase of an Amazon Fire Phone, so you’re potentially getting a serviceable smartphone and Amazon’s premier service for just over $100 each. Not a bad deal there. Oh, and students can also get the service for free for a whopping 6 months, after which they only pay $50 per year. What are you waiting for?