Do you know how many Americans have an Amazon Prime account?
95 million… that’s almost 1 in 3 Americans. That statistic shakes me to my core every time I read it because it just goes to show how omnipresent Amazon really is.
For those of you who don’t know, Amazon Prime is a subscription service that provides members with a variety of perks like free two-day shipping and access to Amazon Prime Video which has shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (which I highly recommend).
Becoming an Amazon Prime member comes with a ton of benefits, but since there’s no such thing as a free lunch, there’s a cost.
Price of an Amazon Prime membership
In 2019, the annual Amazon Prime membership is $119/year and the annual Prime student membership costs $59/year. Monthly members pay $12.99/month and students pay a monthly price of $6.49.
Still deciding whether or not the membership is worth it? I’ll give you a closer look into what comes with a Prime membership and how to sell on Amazon Prime.
The Amazon Prime membership price increased in 2018. When Amazon Prime started in 2005, it was $79/year. But this increase hasn’t stopped people from becoming a member.
There are further discounts available for EBT and Medicaid holders that brings the monthly price down to $5.99, which is about $72/year.
Don’t get me wrong, $119 is a lot to dish out in a year for a membership. Make your decision about whether or not the membership is worthwhile for you based on the pros and cons below.
How Amazon Prime works
After you sign-up for Amazon Prime using your Amazon account, you automatically have access to all of the benefits. Most people purchase Amazon Prime for the free shipping because they don’t know the other perks of becoming a member. And since nothing is perfect, there are some drawbacks to purchasing the Prime membership.
Pros
The word “membership” itself sounds exclusive and being part of something special just feels good. Amazon Prime members have access to certain things that the average Amazon shopper does not, including:
- Free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items
- Free one-day delivery on select items
- Prime Now (free one-hour delivery on select items in select cities)
- Free same-day shipping in eligible zip codes
- Digital services discounts
- Whole Foods discounts
- Lightning sales
- Amazon Key (allows couriers to enter when you’re not home)
- Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
- Amazon Family
- Membership sharing
- Exclusive access to Amazon Prime Day
Cons
The biggest con with an Amazon Prime membership is losing money. You must analyze your ordering habits to determine if you actually need all of these perks. Test out the membership with a free 30-day trial. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Use those 30 days to test the waters and see if the Prime Membership is right for you.
Selling on Amazon Prime
The first step to selling on Amazon Prime is learning what to sell on Amazon. Since more than 50% of Amazon’s sales are from third-party sellers, exploring the right products to sell before jumping in will help you in the long run.
After you land on a product to sell, it’s important to look into Amazon FBA fees, which is the way to go if you’re going to make a business off of selling on Amazon.
You’ve seen the stats above and know that Amazon Prime is the place to be selling, but how do you get your products on Amazon Prime? In order to be eligible to sell on Amazon Prime, you must be selling with Amazon FBA and have a high number of sales.
The most lucrative way to make money is by creating a private label so you have control of your business. Sometimes when buying wholesale, and reselling on Amazon your profit margin is slim because you have to buy the product from elsewhere, which gives you no control of the supply chain cost. And the larger your sales, the higher the chance your product will be eligible to be an Amazon Prime product. I wish I could tell you exactly how high your sales have to be to sell on Amazon Prime, but unfortunately, that information is not available to the public.
Tip: Get more help with your Amazon business by using tools for Amazon. These tools help companies manage and optimize sales on Amazon.
Alexa, write the conclusion
Amazon Prime is worth the annual membership if you’re a frequent online shopper. There are more perks than there are pits, but it’s up to you whether or not you want to join the other 95 million members.
Have you heard of the Amazon Treasure Truck? If you’re in the right city, you can access their daily discounted deals.