I am a “Prime” member on Amazon, which means for some annual fee (I think it’s $79 or something like that) I never have to pay for 2-day shipping for any item that has the little “Prime” logo on it (which is a lot of items).**
What that means is no more worries about minimum purchases, or “qualifying” purchases before you get free shipping. YOU JUST GET FREE SHIPPING. ALL THE TIME. And it’s TWO DAY SHIPPING to boot.
Okay, technically, it’s not free, because you spent $79 – so it’s sort of like you’re pre-paying your shipping up front – but at a huge discount. Because I tell you, this will change how you shop and you will buy a lot more online than you ever would before.
I now buy EVERYTHING on Amazon. Everything and anything. I buy cereal, body lotion, espresso from Italy. You name it, if Amazon has it and I need it, I buy it and have it shipped free to my house. Usually at a great discount (love the “Subscribe and Save” which gives you a 15% discount on things you buy regularly, like cereal, which shows up at my house every 2 months). No shipping, no taxes, no in-store hassles. Five minutes online versus leaving work 30 minutes early to run to Target before I have to get home. Just voila, it shows up at your door.
It’s a little bit like the early days. Way, way back in the late 1990s, when the web was new, Amazon was new, and it all seemed way too cool to be true. That quickly wore off as sites charged ridiculous shipping fees, and you would wait … and wait … and wait for your item to arrive. With Amazon Prime, bing bang boom … it’s on my door within a few days. Amazing.
I often think about my crazy schedule and life, and juggling trying to do amazing work at my job and also be a competent wife and mother. At least Amazon helps out a bit with the “wife and mother” part. The job, that one’s on me.
** By the way, I am not sponsored or supported in any way by Amazon. This is just my unsolicited opinion from personal use of this service.