Kindle Prime Members

[wdeen]

Curious about those of you who are Kindle Prime Members. Are you liking/disliking the ability to borrow books? Why/why not?

[BTackitt]

Becoming a prime member simply for the 12 free books a year is rather worthless, but that's not what Amazon Prime is about anyway. It's FREE 2 days shipping no matter how big or small your order is. Then they added the bonus of 1 free book borrow a month, and free streaming videos on top of that.

Just for the books? Don't bother. Shipping? we're on our second year because we love it so much. Movies & TV streamed to us for free, great bonus.

[lindnet]

I do like the ability to borrow a book a month.  It's just an extra little perk that I'm happy to take advantage of.  I probably would not have signed up for Prime just for the shipping, but with the videos and books added in, it's quite a bargain.

[planet_janet]

I've been a Prime member for almost three years just for the free 2-day shipping!  I'm about to renew my Prime membership and in all honesty, it's the free shipping that is the deciding factor for me.  The Kindle lending library is a nice perk, but I've not yet used it because I haven't found a great selection of books that interest me in the lending library.  

[Meemo]

Sure, it's nice.  By itself it's not a reason to sign up for Prime, but I'd been toying with the idea of paying for Prime after my free Amazon Mom Prime membership expired.  The addition of the free streaming video was nice, the books sweetened it a bit more.  But as to the question, what's not to like about 12 free books a year? 

[tubemonkey]

I got Prime because of the videos. It's cheaper than Netflix. Shipping is a bonus and now books are another bonus.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I've had Prime for the shipping.  And now the video...  The books are a bit of a perk, but not enough to tip me over...

Betsy

[KimberlyinMN]

I've only borrowed one book... I like the free 2-day shipping.   I keep forgetting about the video part.  I'm so used to Netflix being everywhere I am. (Phone, television, NC, laptop, netbook...)  One of these days, I'll remember.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

I've been a Prime member for almost three years just for the free 2-day shipping!  I'm about to renew my Prime membership and in all honesty, it's the free shipping that is the deciding factor for me.  The Kindle lending library is a nice perk, but I've not yet used it because I haven't found a great selection of books that interest me in the lending library.  

Have you tried going here? There are over 66K book available.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=&x=14&y=24#/ref=sr_nr_p_85_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1325163927&rnid=2470954011

From there, you can sort by genre, sub-genre, star rating, series, and even particular authors.

I got Prime on a free trial a few years ago when I needed something quickly for a trip and didn't want to pay the huge shipping to get it fast. Now I love it. I also recently got a Roku and watch movies and TV shows free. I have rented a couple of movies but I had promotional codes and they ended up costing me $0.00.

I haven't borrowed any books, either, but mainly because I barely have time to read what's on my Kindle now, but yes, I intend to take advantage of it at some point.

[Kathy]

I got the 30 day free Prime and intent to get it when the 30 days are up. I have already paid for it with all of the things I've ordered in Dec. alone. I can find so many things on Amazon at a much cheaper price and then have it shipped and received in 2 days. I was looking for a power cord for my grandson's netbook and it was $80 to $100 at Office Depot, Radio Shack and everywhere else I went. Found it for $8.08 on Amazon and received it in 2 days. Can't beat that. I have figured out that I have to make sure it says Prime before buying to get the benefit.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

I got the 30 day free Prime and intent to get it when the 30 days are up. I have already paid for it with all of the things I've ordered in Dec. alone. I can find so many things on Amazon at a much cheaper price and then have it shipped and received in 2 days. I was looking for a power cord for my grandson's netbook and it was $80 to $100 at Office Depot, Radio Shack and everywhere else I went. Found it for $8.08 on Amazon and received it in 2 days. Can't beat that. I have figured out that I have to make sure it says Prime before buying to get the benefit.

When I search, I make sure I sort by Prime eligible.

I got the same power cord for my netbook. Haven't had to use it yet because I have a nine cell battery (also purchased from amazon). I got the power cord as a backup when I take my netbook to McD's just in case the battery fails. $8 is cheap enough to give me peace of mind.

[ellesu]

I've also been a Prime member for years.  I need to have packages shipped to different places across the country and appreciate that Prime allows for that.  Then came the movies.  Now books.  What next?

For those of you who sort your Amazon searches by Prime eligible - do other options not marked Prime but that ship for free anyway show up?   

[Ann in Arlington]

I'm in agreement with the concensus:  The reason to get prime is that you've prepaid for two-day shipping.  If you order a lot from Amazon this is very much worth it. . . .either you can save time because you don't have to wait for free 'super saver' shipping. . .or you can save money when you have to have it quickly.  I think of it as a bit of both.

I've barely used the prime videos. . .I'm just not much into movies.

I've borrowed one book. . . .will possilby use that feature more.

Bottom line:  I've had Prime for several years and the extras they've recently added are just gravy.

[wdeen]

Thanks for the replies and info. Sounds like it's a good overall package with lots of nice perks.

[Kathy]

When I search, I make sure I sort by Prime eligible.

I got the same power cord for my netbook. Haven't had to use it yet because I have a nine cell battery (also purchased from amazon). I got the power cord as a backup when I take my netbook to McD's just in case the battery fails. $8 is cheap enough to give me peace of mind.

My grandson's netbook was dropped and when I was coming home from visiting him in Texas, I live in Florida, I told him I would try and fix it. He couldn't find the power cord right as I was leaving. I told him not to worry about it I would just buy another. I had no idea that it was that expensive or I would have made him find it. That was at Thanksgiving and if I hadn't found it on Amazon I was going to make my daughter mail his which he found right after I left. At least they will now have a spare once I fix his netbook. That is if I can fix it.

[Bards and Sages (Julie)]

Like others, I have Prime because of the shipping discount.  I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon, and it saves me a lot of money.  Mike loves the streaming movies on his Fire.  But I'm not really interested in borrowing a book.  The majority of books available for borrowing are indies anyway, and indies price thier books at a point where I'd rather pay for the book and read it as many times as I want than borrow it to read once.   I mean, really, it almost feels like stealing to borrow for free a book that only costs 99 cents.

[teeitup]

I've been a member of Amazon for years and always used the Super Saver shipping if possible so didn't think I would need the Prime but decided to give it a shot with the free month trial a year or so ago.  It's definitely been worth it.  Over half my Xmas was bought and shipped by Amazon and it saved me wear and tear on my body, car and pocketbook.  Also used it this year for a Secret Santa book exchange in a reading group and the recipient got the book in 2 days, no more media mail.  I also streamed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (foreign version) which I wanted to see before the USA version came out.  Compared to the poor streaming I got on Netflix (which I cancelled when they had the upgrade snafu), it was excellent and I plan to use it more in the coming year to try some of the British series which I've never watched before.  So I am definitely a PR rep for Amazon Prime.

[tubemonkey]

I also streamed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (foreign version) which I wanted to see before the USA version came out.  Compared to the poor streaming I got on Netflix (which I cancelled when they had the upgrade snafu), it was excellent and I plan to use it more in the coming year to try some of the British series which I've never watched before.  So I am definitely a PR rep for Amazon Prime.

It looks like Prime is headed for an eventual subscription service. Once they get the video content built up, I bet they go head-to-head with Netflix and Hulu+. The icing on the cake will be free 2-day shipping and a lending library.

[balaspa]

And the borrowing program seems to work for you all?  No glitches or problems?

[Ann in Arlington]

I've only borrowed one so far but had no problems.  Can't get another until January but I decided to set up a special wishlist on Amazon for books I'm willing to borrow but don't want to pay for.

[Shastastan]

We signed up just for the shipping.  We buy lots of stuff online because we can't find it in our local stores.  Since Amazon has most of what we buy.....   We started streaming with Netflix, but have discontinued it because Amazon meets our streaming needs.  I have never used the borrow book feature, but may in the future.  The free shipping has paid for itself many times over.  YMMV.

Stan

[Meemo]

I've only borrowed one so far but had no problems.  Can't get another until January but I decided to set up a special wishlist on Amazon for books I'm willing to borrow but don't want to pay for.

The only "glitch" we've had is that my daughter went to buy a book in November (when my Prime account was activated), saw "read for free" on a book she was buying and clicked on it and ended up being the first "Prime borrower" on our account without realizing it.  Which was fine, one less book to pay for.  Otherwise it's just a matter of remembering to return the book when we've finished it.  And that reminds me - I need to find January's "borrow" - no sense in missing a month.  Better yet, have my daughter look for one - she flies through books like nobody's business.

[geniebeanie]

I got the 30 free days of prime and love it.  Definitly going to go for the year's membership.   Already I saved about thirty dollars in shipping and handling.

[Martel47]

I like prime for shipping and the videos.  We nixed Netflix a while back, and while Prime doesn't have the same selection (and a lot of stuff still has to be paid for if I want it  grr) I never used Netflix that much. 

I just checked out my first Prime Lending book a couple of days ago and rushed to finish it before the first so I can get another.  But, like the Prime Video, I've found it to be less than ideal.  I know it's not all Amazon's fault, but the books available are mostly either books I've already read or don't want to read.  And they are difficult to search on my DX.  I spent about an hour trying to find a book available that piqued my interest.  Luckily I had that hour while I was waiting around without other internet, but that much 3g kills my battery on the DX.

So there are bugs to work out, but it is great for shipping books quickly.  Especially in my Graduate degree, this is important.  Sometimes a class doesn't "make" and I wait to purchase the books to make sure the enrollment guarantees the course will take place.

I did see the announcement on the Amazon front page that they planned on rolling out more Prime benefits in 2012.  I can't wait to see what they are.

[RickRS]

The Prime Lending Library resets on the first of the month, so if you're on your free month trial from a Christmas gift (as I am) you might want to pick a book today so you'll have a chance for two loaners before the trial period expires.

The free two-day shipping is the main reason to get Prime, a book a month wouldn't justify the cost for me, otherwise.  I'm not likely to continue, because I don't order from Amazon that much, and the Super-Saver shipping works fine in my case.