Here’s me, shilling for Amazon Prime

I’m about to do a bit of direct marketing for Amazon. Usually I do indirect marketing by hyperlinking books I’ve read. This is a straight-out pitch, however. I have two reasons for doing this. First, there’s something in it for me — $2 per person who signs up for a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial by using the link below. Second, I genuinely think this is a great product, at least for certain people.

So, I’ll start with the big Amazon Prime link.  If you use this link to sign up for Amazon Prime’s 30-day free trial, I get $2:

Incidentally, a handful of $2 payments will neither make nor break me.  The reason I’m shilling for this is because, depending on how you shop and watch movies, Amazon Prime is a genuinely good thing.  My brother-in-law has been swearing by it for years.  For $79 per year, he can order just about anything he likes from Amazon without worrying about shipping costs.

The only other way to get free shipping from Amazon is to (a) order only things that qualify for Super Saver Shipping and (b) make sure your order exceeds $25.  That latter condition often means deferring orders until you have enough little things to equal $25 or adding in stupid little things that you don’t need to help the order reach $25 (because, if you’re as cheap as I am, you’d rather pay for and own a stupid little thing than pay for shipping).  My brother-in-law has probably saved hundreds annually on shipping or on buying stupid little things to avoid shipping.

Where I discovered Amazon Prime’s true utility is with my mother, a shut-in.  Since she’s both OCD and a hoarder, she goes through a lot of stuff.  It was nightmarish to try to structure Amazon purchases for her to get free shipping.  It was also impossible for me to drop everything on a regular basis and run out to go shopping for her.

I finally said “What the heck!  Let’s try the Amazon Prime.”  It’s been an wonderful blessing.  I no longer worry that she’ll inadvertently spend massive amounts on shipping; she can order the stuff she wants when she wants it; and she’s enjoying watching old Masterpiece Theater shows for free on her iPad.  When the 30-day free trial ended, I didn’t think twice about committing her to the annual $79 fee.  It was a bargain at the price.

If you can trust yourself to remember to cancel at the end of the 30-day period if you don’t want Amazon, give it a try.  Or if you’d like the endless convenience of free shipping and free movies and TV shows (although the blockbusters aren’t free at first), sign up for the free month, and then just let Amazon bill you $79 for the next 12 months.  I think Amazon Prime is a great product and I heartily recommend it.