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If you don't use the links but found it interesting or helpful at all, you could maybe use the 'Buy me a Coffee' links below and make a gesture that way. I get visitors from many other countries where my affiliate links won't work; so if you found it useful the price of a coffee isn't a big deal. It all counts and is always appreciated! My business isn't a huge moneymaker so I have to bring in supplementary income where I can. Thank You!
Exclusive Big Event for October!
If you've just landed on this post, I'm sorry but you have just missed this Prime Event. There will be more in future so join up and don't miss out! Prime Big Deal Days is currently ongoing with exclusive deals only for Prime Members during the 8th and 9th of October. Don't miss out, join Prime today via one of my links below and grab some bargains!
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are the new 'In Thing' these days. Everywhere you look there are new Subscription Services popping up and some that were free are now charging for them. Media companies are jumping in with both feet to bring new subscription platforms and in the future it looks like this will be the same across the board. In Ireland, we seem to be added last to the list of these companies so when they come on board it can be hard to decide which ones to go with. With all these companies offering the same or very similar sounding packages, are any of them offering more value for your hard earned money?
Yes, there is. Have you heard of Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime
I have had an account on Amazon UK since 2006. For as long as I can remember, every time I logged in I saw the Prime Logo which became more prominent as time went by. I ignored it for so long, not even interested in reading what it offered. When I finally came around to reading up on it, I have to say that I really hesitated and I still resisted when it came to actually signing up. Why spend money on a subscription every month? Did I really need it?
When first reading about the subscription charges I thought they were a bit excessive, why would I pay nearly €10.50 odd per month? How could I justify paying that money every single month?
I eventually joined Amazon Prime by taking up the 30 day free trial and my original thoughts were that I would cancel at the end of the trial and not be out of pocket. Smart, right? From the start though, I noticed that I was personally benefiting from being a Prime Customer because of their Free Shipping option and the amount of packages I was ordering every month. More below.
Benefits of an Amazon Prime Account
Amazon Prime offers free shipping on lots of products. Not all, you must remember that Amazon has thousands of independent sellers that sell products with added shipping costs. Many of these sellers seem to charge a low amount for shipping so if Amazon doesn't sell the product you won't break the bank by buying from one of these sellers.
In Ireland, if you are a basic Amazon UK account holder and currently order at least 2 packages a month from Amazon you would justify the Prime Membership monthly cost at your ease. If you order more than 2 packages a month then you are really saving. As an Amazon customer I would regularly order more than these quantities per month so am making a substantial saving per annum. Generally, these are products that I can't source in Ireland through any Irish retailer. I always check first.
I have added the Amazon Prime listed benefits in bullet points.
Amazon Prime members can:
Access unlimited, FREE Delivery on millions of items
Enjoy unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows, through Prime Video
Read as much as they want from a rotating selection of more than a thousand books, recent magazine issues, comics, Kindle singles and more, on any device at any time
Securely store an unlimited amount of photos with anywhere access through Prime Photos
Listen to over two million songs on Prime Music
Get exclusive, early access to daily Lightning Deals
I currently pay GBP £8.99 per month but there is a saving by paying the annual rate of £95.00. I must switch over as I had forgotten about the different rates and was only reminded when I started writing this post.
Sign up here for a 30 Day Free Amazon Prime Trial.
Prime Day Deals to be had!
Prime Day is run on the 8th to 9th October and you can pick up some great deals if you have signed up for a Prime Membership. Simply sign up using any of the links on this Blog Post to avail of great special offers and free shipping where applicable. Don't just take my word for it, try it out yourself!
Sign up here for a 30 Day Free Amazon Prime Trial.
Added Benefit of Having a Prime Account
As a Prime Customer, you also have access to the Amazon Prime Video app which allows you access to tons of TV Shows and Movies for free. They may not have the same quantity of content as other platforms but you will be pleasantly surprised how much is there. Watch one or two movies or TV Shows a month and add the money saved on shipping and the price is most certainly worth it. If you compare that to buying a few DVDs or attending the Cinema once or twice a month then it is most certainly a great saving. I have a few other media apps which I am considering cancelling but I will keep my Prime Membership as is due to the value for money it offers.
Sign up here for a 30 Day Free Amazon Prime Trial.
Other Amazon Products
Amazon has other subscription products that you can sign up for too. Music, Audible, Kids, Kindle. These offer a great variation from one source instead of multiple companies.
Amazon Music
If you like your music on the go you can have access to up to 70 million songs with no adverts
Unlimited access to 70 million songs – including all the latest and greatest artists and albums, as well as thousands of playlists and stations
Ad-free listening – uninterrupted, high quality audio
Offline listening – download to listen to your favourite music, wherever you are
Hands-free listening with Alexa – exclusive voice feature
Sign up here for a 30 Day Free Amazon Music Trial.
Amazon Audible
Audible is the publisher and distributor of the world’s largest selection of digital audiobooks and spoken-word content. Audible customers can listen anytime and anywhere to professionally narrated audiobooks across a wide range of genres, including bestsellers, new releases, sci-fi, romances, classics, and more.
An Audible Trial offers a great way for a customer to try audiobooks. With their Trial, you will receive:
One free audiobook of your choice
The ability to choose from 200,000-plus titles, including bestsellers, new releases, sci-fi, romances, mysteries, classics, and more
The option to cancel easily, anytime; audiobooks already purchased are yours to keep, even if you cancel
Sign up here for a 30 Day Free Amazon Audible Trial.
Amazon Kids
How does it work?
Amazon Kids+ is an all-in-one subscription that gives kids access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, Audible books, and games on compatible Fire, Android, iOS, and Kindle devices.
Parents also receive access to easy-to-use parental controls that allow them to find the right balance between education and entertainment. Parents can personalise screen time limits, set educational goals, filter age-appropriate content, and also manage web browsing and content usage based on their preferences.
Amazon Kids+ has so much to offer, including:
A world of content for kids to explore within a completely kid-friendly environment
Promotion of reading and math with educational apps and thousands of books
Flexible parental controls where you can choose what content each child sees, set educational goals and time limits. You can manage these settings from their device, or remotely from our Amazon Parent Dashboard
Ability to personalize each kid’s experience with profiles, and let them watch where they want to – on Fire Tablets, or Kindle eReaders
Sign up here for a 30 Day Kids Plus Trial
Amazon Kindle Unlimited
What is the Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial offer?
The Kindle Unlimited Free Trial is a great way for customers to explore over 1 million books, thousands of audiobooks, and popular magazines on any device.
Great benefits of Kindle Unlimited include:
Unlimited Access to over 1 Million eBooks
Rotating selection of popular magazines
Thousands of books with audible narration
Read anytime, on any device with the free Kindle app
After the 30-day free trial, the subscription will review on a monthly basis. Members have the option to cancel their subscription any time.
Sign up here for a 30 Day Kindle Unlimited Trial
Conclusion
If you are in the market for some new entertainment then Amazon will certainly have something for you. Enjoy the benefits of Prime membership, if used wisely will actually save you money. Like I mentioned at the top of the Post, I would appreciate you signing up for your Free Trials using one of my links above. If my recommendations match up with your experiences maybe you will keep your membership and explore some of the other options listed here. It took a bit of time to write this Post and add my own experiences so using my Affiliate links means I may earn from qualifying signups/ purchases.
Thank you for Reading my Post, David
Ads are Going Soon
I used to run ads on my website but they were slowing things down and generally annoying everyone. I have since removed them in favour of the 'Buy me a Coffee?' button.
If you didn't use the links in this post but found it interesting or helpful at all, you could maybe use the 'Buy me a Coffee' link below and make a gesture that way. There's no pressure though it all counts and is always appreciated! My business isn't a huge moneymaker so I have to bring in supplementary income where I can. Thank You!
Good summary, don't forget the Amazon Gaming benefits though, you can get a lot of free games with that too (if you're into that sort of thing) :-)