Amazon hikes minimum spend for free delivery

Household money

Updated on 01 May 2015 | 8 Comments

Shoppers now need to spend much more to save on delivery with the online retailer.

Amazon has doubled the amount shoppers need to spend in order to qualify for its Free Super Saver Delivery service, unless you're buying books.

Previously you needed to have a basket worth £10 to save on delivery, but now you need to reach a much higher threshold of £20 to dodge the charge.

The new minimum applies to items from all Amazon departments apart from books. Orders including at least £10 or more of books will still qualify for free Super Saver delivery.

The changes apply to products fulfilled by Amazon only; normal delivery charges will continue to apply to items supplied by third-party sellers.

Amazon has updated the details on its website and the new minimum threshold is now in effect.

Shoppers with pre-orders or orders for items not in stock placed before 1st May 2015 that qualified for Free Super Saver Delivery won’t be impacted.

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How Amazon’s delivery charges have changed

Amazon used to offer free delivery on all items no matter what you spent, making it a hugely convenient place to pick up random items.

That all changed back in July 2013, when the online giant introduced a £10 minimum spend to get free delivery.

At the time the threshold only applied to certain departments.

Books, DVDs and Blu-ray, music, video games and software products were exempt, which meant shoppers were able to add any item from these categories to dodge the charge.

But in January 2014, Amazon closed this loophole and extended the £10 minimum spend across all its departments.

Now less than 18 months later Amazon has moved the goalposts once again.

Another push for Prime?

Amazon’s latest hike could be seen as an attempt to push its Prime subscription service.

Amazon Prime costs £79 a year and offers members free unlimited one-day delivery with no minimum order size, access to Prime Instant Video, unlimited photo storage as well as the ability to borrow from the Kindle library at no extra cost and read one of four pre-release Kindle Books free each month.

With Free Super Saver Delivery, which takes three to five days for orders to arrive, getting harder to score, Prime may now be starting to look more appealing to regular Amazon shoppers looking for an easier life.

What do you think of Amazon’s latest move? Will it encourage you to shop around? Let us know in the Comment box below.

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