Amazon shoppers are in for quite a shock if they rely on free shipping on items.

Non-Prime members will now have to spend $49 to receive free shipping on qualified items. The previous amount was $35, a 40% increase.

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This is the second price increase to receive free shipping on items from Amazon in less than 3 years. The price increase on shipping will not affect Amazon Prime members. Speaking of Amazon Prime, the price increase could be a likely motive to persuade shoppers to enroll in Amazon's Prime membership. I do have to say that I have been a prime member now for almost 2 years and have been happy with the membership. Free 2-day shipping is merely one of the perks of the $99 annual membership fee. Prime also offers unlimited streaming of movies,TV shows and movies. In a report from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners showed that almost half of the population in the United States have Prime Accounts.

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Will the price increase at Amazon make you consider enrolling in a Prime membership?

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