Amazon’s minimum spend doubled: customers must now spend £20 to get free delivery
Company has been gradually increasing the price that has to be spent to qualify for its ‘super saver delivery’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amazon has doubled the money that customers must spend to have their items delivered for free, requiring them to spend £20 to qualify for “super saver delivery”.
The site once sent any item to customers for free. But in 2013 it introduced the minimum spend of £10, and the doubled price seems to have begun this week.
If orders are below £20, customers must pay for first-class postage. Amazon charges about £2 to £5, depending on the size and kind of item.
The only exception to the new pricing rules is that if an order includes £10 or more of books, it will be delivered for free.
The change — which had been rumoured last week — is thought to be partly an attempt by Amazon to push customers towards its £79-per-year Amazon Prime subscription service, though the company didn’t explain the increase. That gives customers unlimited free next day delivery — rather than the three to five day delivery of the super saver scheme — as well as access to other services including Amazon’s streaming video product.
Amazon Prime costs £79 a year but can be tried with a free subscription.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments