Report: Amazon Prime price may rise

Seattle – The price of subscribing the Amazon Prime preferred shipping program will reportedly increase. According to the Huffington Post, Tom Szkutak, CFO of Amazon, said on a Jan. 30 investors call that the company is considering raising the current $79 yearly fee for Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping, by $20 to $40 in the U.S.



The main rationale for potentially raising the cost of Amazon Prime is reportedly that it has not changed since the program launched in 2005 and fuel and shipping costs have gone up significantly. Szkutak did not give a timetable for when the price change may occur or if existing customers would also have their annual fee raised.



In addition to free two-day shipping on 19 million items, Amazon Prime offers features such as access to Amazon Prime Instant Video and a digital library for Kindle owners. Amazon has previously said that Amazon Prime has tens of millions of members.