Amazon Prime

Parents Forum
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<p>I just returned from DD orientation and learned that her U will be using gmail accounts for students beginning this year. Since they will not be .edu accounts, am I correct in assuming that they will not be eligible for the free student Amazon Prime account?</p>

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<p>Especially with Borders now going out of business, I don’t think I’ll be giving up my Amazon Prime account anytime soon. The Amazon search software, the enormous selection, plus low-cost shipping makes an unbeatable retail experience for people like me who live in outlying, rural areas.</p>

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<p>You’ll want to clarify with them about the address. One of my co-workers is headed to Saint Louis University this fall-- I saw his email account is linked with gmail, but it was still a .edu address. When he logged in, he used his .edu address but then the gmail inbox is what opened up…</p>

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<p>Our school changed their email system to a choice of either microsoft or google email. The students get to keep the same .edu email adress as before.</p>

<p>Is it correct that you can get an additional year by using a different .edu adress? I changed fromthe CC I originally registered under to 4 year school, so I do have a different .edu email adress. It would be great if I can get an extra year free. I use the prime quite a lot for ordering books and at christmas time.</p>

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<p>This will not be very popular, but I think that all the non-students who have and continue to try to piggy-back on a student account are actually contributing to upcoming changes. Amazon is neither dumb nor clueless; they do know that many have ABUSED Amazon’s generosity. It is absolutely shameful that Amazon members who had paid prime accounts let them expire for the sole reason that their children might have a free account that could be abused. Did anyone really believe that this was the objective of Amazon’s decision to offer FREE accounts. Did anyone really believe that the non-sharing clause applied to … someone else?</p>

<p>I also believe that Amazon missed an opportunity to bring extensive restrictions to the free student accounts but keep the price lower at the renewal level. One restriction should have been that the free delivery was ONLY at ONE address in the same city as the .edu address, and no more than two shipments a year at the home address. The same restrictions should have been imposed at the renewal, but the renewal could have been priced at 19 dollars per year for students. This would have been better for the students. </p>

<p>As far as non-students go, the decision should be to pay 79 dollars or not. In the end, all the shenanigans will only result in Amazon making changes to a very generous policy. It is not farfetched to believe that Amazon might impose restrictions of the deliveries and no longer allow free 2-days shipments to third-parties. Amazon Prime is one of the best features around; do not be greedy and make them rethink the current policies!</p>

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<p>We live in a small town and hour away from Sacramento, so shopping is very limited in town and selection is also limited. We have no bookstore so we’ve always used Amazon to ship our books. What I find now that I have Amazon Prime is that I’m actually using Amazon more and selecting items that may cost a little more to get the 'free" shipping. </p>

<p>I was one of those people who almost always used the “free” 5-7 day shipping which I feel was sometimes deliberately delayed so it wouldn’t arrive sooner. Don’t feel bad or guilty about using the free AP as I’m shopping more and Amazon is benefiting from that.</p>

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<p>Great post, xiggi.</p>

<p>I was fine with paying $39 for Prime (I was really considering going for the $79, as far out of my student budget that is), especially since I’m planning on studying abroad in the spring and thus wouldn’t have a use for it for at least five months. </p>

<p>This was a wonderfully generous thing of Amazon to do-- shows that they’re still one of the great, customer-friendly companies out there.</p>

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<p>Ther is a flip side to the Amazon deal. Their marketing folks are dumb like a fox. It is quite possible that they knew full well students would let friends/family share their account, with Amazon’s hope that the friends/family would fall in love with Prime and when the student graduates, will open up an account of their own. It may certainly work in our house! Good for Amazon to be to creative in their marketing, and to have the patience to wait til the student graduates (or 1 year, which ever comes first). It is free advertizing for Amazon, as the students do the advertising for them. Quite brilliant.</p>

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A lot of students live in a different city from where their university is located (up to 1-1.5 hours of driving).</p>

<p>Some students spend two semesters (30 weeks) at their university and the rest of the year (24 weeks) in their home town. Or they have internships or summer research in different states.</p>

<p>Some students have exchange or co-op semesters.</p>

<p>Student life is too hectic for such restrictions to work…</p>

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<p>And students may send gifts to other addresses as well.</p>

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<p>If I already have an amazon.com account with amazon prime, how can I add my student to get a year free? Can I just add his email as an alternate email on my amazon account? I use my prime a lot and I don’t think I want his school email to be the primary email for it as he wouldn’t want to get most of the emails (though I guess we could set up some kind of forwarding filter on his gmail, which his .edu mail forwards to).</p>

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<p>^^have him open a separate account; I don’t think this works for outstanding ones (tried that)…</p>

<p>fwiw, Prime has become my obsession this summer…so easy and Amazon always has cheaper stuff than anywhere else (some thing by a mile)…</p>

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<p>Why not the share features of YOUR account. See <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_manage_share?nodeId=200444180#share[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_manage_share?nodeId=200444180#share&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>The free account has limitations, and will cost your student 39 dollars next year. One such limitation is “Customers who receive their Amazon Prime shipping benefits through Amazon Student will not be able to share their benefits with additional people.” </p>

<p>Regardless of the view that Amazon is crazy like a fox, sharing the student account is not authorized. And, fwiw, unauthorized uses of the benefits might have to be reimbursed.</p>

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<p>We’ve had prime for over 5 years. Totally addicted. Just wondering if we can get a year for free by sharing our account with DS. I know he can have his own account and we can share our prime benefits with him, and I know that we can’t have separate accounts and share student benefits, but if we had a single shared account, seems like we could share without breaking any Amazon terms and conditions. btw, if a student has his own account and doesn’t have his own credit card, how can he pay? Can he use a debit card or…? (He has an authorized card on our account, but were planning on it being only for emergencies and medical expenses.)</p>

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<p>The way it worked last year when I did it was that I just entered my .edu e-mail address into the Student page on my existing account. The only e-mail I got to my .edu address was to confirm it. All the other e-mails still go to my original address.</p>

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<p>Do you happen to have a need for more than 4 sharing members in your household? </p>

<p>Unless I miss something, I do not think that the free student account offers a better option than simply having his own account under your Prime Account. Also, if you maintain your paid Prime account, there should not be any violations as you can transfer your benefits.</p>

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<p>blinkangel44 - same for me.</p>

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<p>No, I don’t need to share with more than 4 members. I just want (if possible/ethical) a year for free instead of paying my usual $79 this year. Happy to share with 0 others except for those members of my family whom I allow to login to my account and purchase things with my credit card (as I already do with my DH for convenience – we do not have 2 separate amazon accounts, we share one). So if my, my DH <em>and</em> my DS were to share my one account, since DS has a .edu address, could we get a year of prime for free? From what blinkangel says, the answer is yes (at least to the possible question – the ethical question may be a bit fuzzier).</p>