Amazon is bumping the minimum purchase amount needed to get free shipping from $35 to $49—the first time the free shipping price has increased since 2013.
The original minimum purchase amount from the website to get free shipping was $25. Under the new policy, you need to buy $49 of items, or at least $25 worth of books, to get free shipping.
The shift has been attributed to Amazon’s goal of maximizing the number of Prime subscribers, who get free 2-day shipping for an annual fee of $99.
“Every business step Amazon takes, is to increase its Prime subscription. Their main goal is economies of scale (in everything they do). Its a simple but brilliant business model,” wrote a top-voted comment on Reddit.
