Amazon's Making an Unpopular Change to Shipping Costs
One thing that we all have grown to love about shopping at Amazon is the fast and low-cost shipping. If you are a Prime member, you always get free shipping but if you're not a member, the threshold for qualifying for free shipping was low enough to apply to most purchases. However, that may no longer be the case with some changes that Amazon has been making to their shipping costs and customers aren't happy.
In a report from CNBC, Amazon is now implementing a $35 free shipping minimum for some people who aren’t members of the company’s Prime loyalty program. This is not sitting well with many.
This is what one Twitter had to say about the new increase.
Amazon's new minimum order amount for free shipping: $35 for non-Prime members. That's like saying, "Hey, you want free stuff? Pay us more first!" It's an ever-shifting bar, like a game of limbo where the bar goes higher every time you try to pass it. #ShippingWoes #PrimePerks
— mustafa chakmak (@Mustafachakmak) August 29, 2023
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People have gotten used to the $25 minimum order needed to qualify for free shipping and like it. Even so, Amazon has increased that amount to $35 for some zip codes. They are basically in a testing phase right now where they have implemented the $10 increase only in some random regions.
The problem many people have with this is all about fairness.
If one region gets free shipping with a minimum order of $25 and a bordering region is at $35, it's not exactly fair. And, unfortunately, it comes at a time when people are already struggling financially with inflation. It's another strike against the consumer in tough economic times.
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However, with growing expenses and slowing sales, Amazon is looking at ways to improve the bottom line. By raising the free shipping minimum to $35, it may push more people to sign up for a Prime membership. The membership cost is $139 a year and includes many benefits besides free shipping on all purchases.
There is no change proposed for Prime members and they will continue to have free delivery on millions of items with some items also qualifying for free one-day or same-day delivery.
For now, we will have to wait and see how the testing goes and how many regions will be subject to the $10 increase. They have raised the purchase minimum before, in 2016, all the way up to a $49 minimum. However, they reverted back to $25 a year later to compete with Walmart.
Currently, the $35 purchase threshold aligns with what Walmart is also employing.
??NEW DEVELOPMENT: Amazon $AMZN has raised the free shipping threshold for non-Prime members from $25 to $35. This new $35 benchmark for free shipping aligns with the minimum order requirement set by Walmart $WMT.
— The Retail Chronicle (@RetailChronicl3) August 28, 2023
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