Only hours ago, Amazon posted on its website that the minimum purchase required to receive free shipping in the United States has been increased from $25 to $35. The $25 limit had been in place for over ten years. The sheer amount of time the old limit was in place likely explains the 40% increase to $35.
Still, the news of an increase in threshold is baffling when we're so close to
Black Friday 2013 - only 37 days away. It's possible that Amazon is taking the opportunity to raise their limit literally within a day after the news of Walmart's change in free shipping policy to a $50 limit. It may seem like Amazon is still offering the better deal, however keep in mind that Amazon lack of physical stores means it doesn't offer free in-store pickup like Walmart - and Walmart offers it with no minimum purchase.
At a time when getting ahead of the competition is crucial, Amazon may turn off customers to other vendors, like Best Buy.
Best Buy still offers free shipping on $25 (most orders), but that also begs the question - will they too raise their threshold? Best Buy could raise their limit to $30 or even match at $35 and still remain competitive given that they, like Walmart, also offer free in-store pickup.
There are still ways to get around Amazon's $35 limit. First of all, signing up for a
free 30-day trial with Amazon Prime still offers free 2-day shipping on just about everything. If you want to take advantage of your free trial of Prime, it may be best to wait until the middle of November when you can take advantage of free 2-day shipping during Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales - each of which traditionally lasts the entire week on Amazon rather than one day. Amazon also offers free shipping on all
Subscribe & Save items with no minimum purchase. These items are typically household supplies, groceries or other essentials that get a 15% discount and free shipping just for signing up to receive on a cyclical basis. You can choose to receive items up to every 6 months and the subscription carries no obligation, which means there is no penalty for canceling the subscription even after placing your first order.
One valuable tip is that
you can share your Amazon Prime membership with up to four people making your annual $79 Prime membership only $15.80 per person - a pretty great deal for unlimited 2-day shipping in a year.
See DetailsStill, Amazon Prime is only $79 per year after the 30-day free trial, but it's only a matter of time before even that long-standing price goes up. Even so, Amazon.com has the largest selection of products known to man and are known for their great prices on electronics, which typically cost over $35 anyway. Will we see other vendors raise their free shipping threshold? How will the new $35 limit for free shipping affect you?
Further Reading:=====================================
RSS: Black Friday 2015 Ads
