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posted by martyb on Friday April 20 2018, @02:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the prime-mover-advantage dept.

Amazon has reported that it has reached 100 million Prime subscribers worldwide:

The big numerical reveal on Wednesday was Amazon.com Inc. finally spilling the beans on the number of Prime members (more than 100 million). It also disclosed another number that shows how much it relies on an army of people moving physical merchandise around the world: $28,446.

That's the median annual compensation of Amazon employees. Amazon reported this number for the first time under a new requirement that companies disclose the gap between pay for the rank-and-file and the person in the corner office. (Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, reported total compensation of $1.68 million last year. As in prior years, he didn't take a stock bonus, collected a salary of $81,840 and had $1.6 million in personal security costs that Amazon covered.)

However, there's still more work to be done for the company to reach more Americans:

But that figure only gives a surface-level view into the success and current challenges of Amazon's loyalty program — chief among them, how to keep growing in the country where Prime is the most popular and the biggest money-maker: Right here in the U.S. [...] As of August 2016, 60 percent of U.S. households with income of at least $150,000 had Prime memberships, according to research from Cowen and Company. Compare that with around 40 percent of households that made between $40,000 and $50,000 a year, and just 30 percent of those who earned less than $25,000.

[...] In 2017, Amazon unveiled Amazon Cash, a way for shoppers who don't have credit or debit cards to load money into their Amazon accounts by handing over cash at partnering retail stores. In the process, one roadblock to shopping on Amazon for those without bank accounts was lowered.

Two months later, Amazon introduced a 45 percent discount to the Amazon Prime monthly fee for those shoppers who receive certain forms of government assistance; the service cost them just $5.99 a month. And just this March, Amazon added Medicaid recipients to the group eligible for that discount.

Related: Amazon Prime... For Medicaid Recipients


Original Submission

Related Stories

Amazon Prime... For Medicaid Recipients 79 comments

Amazon launches a low-cost version of Prime for Medicaid recipients

Amazon announced this morning it will offer a low-cost version of its Prime membership program to qualifying recipients of Medicaid. The program will bring the cost of Prime down from the usual $10.99 per month to about half that, at $5.99 per month, while still offering the full range of Prime perks, including free, two-day shipping on millions of products, Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos, Prime Reading, Prime Now, Audible Channels, and more.

The new program is an expansion on Amazon's discounted Prime service for customers on government assistance, launched in June 2017. For the same price of $5.99 per month, Amazon offers Prime memberships to any U.S. customer with a valid EBT card – the card that's used to disburse funds for assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC).

It could be a way to get users with certain health care requirements on board before Amazon launches its own health insurance company.

Also at USA Today.


Original Submission

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday April 20 2018, @02:14PM (8 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday April 20 2018, @02:14PM (#669648) Homepage

    CIA Fifth-columnist. Trump will bring you down.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 20 2018, @02:16PM (7 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday April 20 2018, @02:16PM (#669649) Journal

      Bezos is actually a rich billionaire. Trump is just another single-digit billionaire, if that.

      Bezos is also developing his own ICBMs.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @03:00PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @03:00PM (#669661)

        "Bezos is also developing his own ICBMs" Will they be included with Prime membership or are they the new delivery system called ICBM-AMZL? Placing a Prime order and choosing ICBM-AMZL for 5 second delivery might upset my neighbors.

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 20 2018, @03:09PM (1 child)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday April 20 2018, @03:09PM (#669664) Journal

          Amabezos Blue Origin suborbital and orbital ICBMs can strike any target on the planet.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday April 20 2018, @05:34PM

            by bob_super (1357) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:34PM (#669724)

            That's why they have to build new headquarters away from Seattle, where the average launch conditions are far from perfect.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @03:09PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @03:09PM (#669665)

          Bezos cannot continue his nuclear program while his people starve, living on handouts from the international community. We will invade and put an end to his dictatorship!

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:58PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:58PM (#669712)

            Trump's going to build a wall around Amazon to keep the AMZL Uber delivery drivers from crossing the street.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @12:49AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @12:49AM (#669867)
        He already has an army of drones [soylentnews.org], and how much further along are his cruise and ballistic missile programmes?
  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Friday April 20 2018, @02:56PM (2 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Friday April 20 2018, @02:56PM (#669660) Journal
    "Numerical reveal?"

    The tone of this press release is disturbing. What makes you think I care? Amazon "news?" Let me know when they die. Otherwise I'm not interested.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Friday April 20 2018, @03:14PM (1 child)

      by Freeman (732) on Friday April 20 2018, @03:14PM (#669666) Journal

      You're going to be waiting a Very, Very Long time.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday April 20 2018, @04:40PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday April 20 2018, @04:40PM (#669700) Journal

        It takes a very, very long time to factor large prime members.

        Because there are no factors.

        Instead, Amazon should do a numeric reveal of large composite members.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by MrGuy on Friday April 20 2018, @03:30PM

    by MrGuy (1007) on Friday April 20 2018, @03:30PM (#669673)

    ...I thought Amazon was announcing they'd discovered the number of prime NUMBERS, which would indeed be surprising.

    (Yes, I know the proofs that there are infinitely many primes).

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Virindi on Friday April 20 2018, @03:35PM (12 children)

    by Virindi (3484) on Friday April 20 2018, @03:35PM (#669679)

    I used to order stuff from Amazon all the time. I practically shopped there for everything.

    But over time the stuff I wanted to buy became mostly "2 day shipping" where they define "2 days" as something like 5 actual days.

    And for most classes of item I care about, it is significantly more expensive than anywhere else. It seems like half of what they sell now is China products of the type where everyone slaps a different fake brand name on the same product...and the ones on Amazon are double or more the price of ebay/aliexpress/whatever. But of course you have reviews agonizing over whether to choose fakebrand1 or fakebrand2 of the identical product.

    Speaking of reviews, they used to be worth something, now they are useless. Every product is packed with "top rated" reviews that are overly glowing. I have tried giving negative reviews (calling out specific problems with the product) and they always get instaburied. Reviews are a 'like' echo chamber. BUY BUY BUY! 5 STARS!

    For products that are not a Chinabrand, you have to watch carefully who you are buying from. Counterfeit products being sold by third party sellers are ubiquitous and Amazon doesn't seem to care at all. Worse, reviews do not tell you who the seller was, so all you see is a bunch of "it was counterfeit!" and "dunno what people are talking about, it is fine". This has been a problem for MANY years, so it can't be that Amazon is not aware of it. They must think they benefit.

    There are still things I buy from Amazon but not nearly as much as I used to. They tend to be big-name yet specialized products that might otherwise be difficult to find. Like say, industrial stuff, or car parts.

    I don't get people who "buy everything on Amazon", it seems to be a disease. They refuse to buy anything that is not on Amazon, and buy only from there. They act like it is so convenient but they are actually getting ripped off royally. I have noticed that these people tend to buy Chinaproducts as well, so they are often not just paying 10% more, but 500% more than they should. When I point out that an identical item can be had on Ebay, with shipping that is just as fast, for 1/5 the price, they have no answer. They just say, "oh I only use Amazon".

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:46PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:46PM (#669703)

      I get a vague sense that they price up the items when I am about to order stuff.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday April 20 2018, @05:32PM (4 children)

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:32PM (#669723)

      I just made my first trip to WalMart in about a year this morning (3 miles from home). I needed distilled water, windshield washer fluid, toothpaste, silicone caulk and 4 drinking glasses - the shipping on $0.82 gallon jugs just isn't practical, so... First thing I saw upon entering was a (somewhat wilted) $15 potted plant, really? the low-price leader starts off with this?

      Things I might otherwise buy at WalMart, I often get from Amazon (toothpaste, staples, etc...), because it is about the same price - delivered to my door, and it's actually a lot faster and easier to shop on Amazon - those drinking glasses took over 10 minutes of in-person time to find and select, and the selection was pretty limited. However, I did try shopping for drinking glasses on Amazon and their prices were pretty insane - $5 for 4 glass glasses the size and shape I wanted from WallyWorld, while the closest competition on Amazon is over $15.

      People who never get out in the world might think that $15 for 4 glasses is a normal price, and with them Amazon wins big.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 2) by Virindi on Friday April 20 2018, @05:45PM (3 children)

        by Virindi (3484) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:45PM (#669727)

        Toothpaste is a lot cheaper than Amazon at my local grocery store. But for toothpaste, I merely buy whichever type is currently on the best sale. If someone always bought the same brand it might be competitive, dunno.

        Office supplies are definitely a ripoff at brick and mortar stores. I would think Walmart would be good for that though? Dunno, there isn't really a Walmart near me. It is a bit of a drive. I live in the city.

        • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday April 20 2018, @06:13PM

          by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday April 20 2018, @06:13PM (#669745)

          We're in a big low density city, so we've got WalMarts in something resembling a 6 mile grid coverage.

          --
          🌻🌻 [google.com]
        • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @10:07PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @10:07PM (#669823)

          Toothpaste was only invented to make brushing your teeth more enjoyable through different textures and tastes. You don't need it to keep your teeth clean. Save even more money by not buying it.

          • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday April 21 2018, @01:33AM

            by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday April 21 2018, @01:33AM (#669884)

            Save money, but gag on the old plaque that accumulates in the brush.

            I can skip toothpaste for one brushing, or two, but eventually (even when thoroughly rinsed) the nasty taste in the brush gets overwhelming - toothpaste fights that back, and seems to remove stuff from surfaces slightly easier than brushing alone.

            --
            🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Justin Case on Friday April 20 2018, @05:53PM

      by Justin Case (4239) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:53PM (#669731) Journal

      Speaking of reviews, they used to be worth something, now they are useless.

      This!

      When I cannot see (and for technology, actually test) the physical product, the best online shopping can offer is other people's experiences. I've written hundreds of Amazon reviews, from glowing to damning. I like to reward good companies (rare) and help to kill off cheaters.

      Not today.

      I bought a camera a few months ago that worked just long enough to get past the return period. Then recently I discovered that the red blinky light that says "I'm recording" kept working, but the actual, you know, RECORDING part... not so much. So you could believe you're getting all that critical video... until it comes time for viewing what you -- oops -- didn't get.

      No exaggeration: I attempted to record a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Now I don't have it. The record light was cheerfully blinking the whole damn time.

      So, can't return, but warn others right?

      Not so fast cowboy.

      The item is still on sale, however, reviews are currently blocked because too many of them are negative.

      WHAT???!!!!!

      There is still a good mix of positive and negative reviews. Just what you'd expect to see. No way to warn other victims to stay clear.

      TRUST --> gone

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @11:02PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @11:02PM (#669841)

      When I point out that an identical item can be had on Ebay, with shipping that is just as fast, for 1/5 the price, they have no answer. They just say, "oh I only use Amazon".

      Like what?

      Every time I've checked, eBay is about the same (usually a hair more expensive, but nothing dramatic) than Amazon. There are auctions, of course, if you want to wait a few days and hope you get lucky, but in terms of "buy it now," not so much. I've never seen anything even 1/2 the price, let alone 1/5.

      Do you have any concrete examples, preferably something we audience at home could search for right now?

      • (Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:21AM (1 child)

        by Virindi (3484) on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:21AM (#669903)

        I went back and checked a bunch of things that I had known in the past to be a big difference and, surprisingly, now Amazon seems to have most of them at a decent price. Third party seller competition seems to have really stepped up in the last couple years.

        The high things are like, 20% more on Amazon, but it looks like that tends to be for cheap stuff. Still looks like you will pay a few bucks per item for the privilege of Amazon though for most items.

        I guess things have changed.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01 2018, @11:10PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01 2018, @11:10PM (#674357)

          Fair enough. Thanks for following up.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @01:14AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 21 2018, @01:14AM (#669876)

      I only use Amazon. Why? Because "it just works." Sure, some prices are higher than they used to be several years ago, but not by much. As others have mentioned, I've found the prices of toiletries and office supplies actually cheaper on Amazon.

      As for the competition... eBay? PayPal sucks, and I've found it harder to find items on eBay than on Amazon. A couple of years ago, I tried buying a big ticket item on Best Buy's web site as it was on sale for a good price. I paid the money, but Best Buy canceled the order the next day with no explanation and refunded the money. Never had that problem with Amazon.

      Now reviews are a legitimate problem. Your best bet is to filter them to verified purchases only.

      • (Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:01AM

        by Virindi (3484) on Saturday April 21 2018, @02:01AM (#669892)

        Now reviews are a legitimate problem. Your best bet is to filter them to verified purchases only.

        No...half of the problem is the "Did you find this review useful?" buttons. Manufacturers employ swarms of minions who click "no" on every bad review, causing the review to be buried. Then they click "yes" on good reviews, which brings them to the front page. This technique works even if all individual reviews are genuine.

        Even though manufacturers do send people items for free reviews, "verified purchse" is not a way of solving that. The reviewer could always be given a gift card or something to buy it.

        "Verified purchase" is kinda a scam; what it is really verifying is that people bought it on Amazon and not from a competitor. But, I have personally encountered plenty of useful reviews where the person stated they purchased the item somewhere else...

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by acid andy on Friday April 20 2018, @04:10PM (4 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Friday April 20 2018, @04:10PM (#669690) Homepage Journal

    I think there must a big proportion of people with Prime that signed up for it by accident. The checkout process has stuff about trying Prime plastered everywhere prominently and then the buttons to continue without it seem to be pretty well hidden. I suspect the tactic is working. Then there are people that think Prime is saving them money. I think you'll only save money if you buy enough stuff. There's the supposed faster delivery but I think that can be hit or miss depending on where you live.

    --
    If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:18PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @04:18PM (#669694)

      I've gotten at least $150 worth of stuff for free by contacting customer service when stuff was egregiously late or the internal shipping tracker showed no information about when the item would arrive. Much of that was from a slightly discounted $100 grocery gift card that didn't arrive on time. If they can't get 2-day delivery right, it's my gain.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday April 20 2018, @05:23PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:23PM (#669719)

      I'm wondering if I'm counted in those 100 million, perhaps twice.

      I've signed up for free prime trials, twice now (at some point they decided to let me try again for free), and always canceled before the month is over.

      Wondering even more, since I hold one of two accounts in a household of 4... I assume these 100 million include people around the world, it would be really hard to get 100 million in the US alone (children, people who "don't internet", etc.)

      Meanwhile, I'll trade income with Bezos any day. Even if I currently make much more in salary and bonuses than he does, that $1.6M "personal security costs" sounds like it pays for all kinds of travel and construction on his residences, maybe even purchase (or lease) of "secure" places to spend the night, and I bet it's tax deductible.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @05:40PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @05:40PM (#669725)

      They used to go out of their way to get Prime orders delivered on time, or even early. Now, you are lucky if it ships by the promised (on the order screen, that "Want it [two days from now]? Order in the next 6 hours 43 minutes and..." part) delivery date. To make it even worse, they always use USPS for outbound delivery. USPS mail delivery is generally very good, the parcel side is awful. Their tracking numbers are a bad joke, often sitting at "package received from sender" for days. Their delivery timeframe is "may or may not be delivered this year, and you can not hold us to that". Amazon knows how bad it is, they use UPS for returns (so they have accurate tracking for stuff coming back to them).

        I am a Prime member, at least until the 3 botched orders from this past weekend are settled out and refunded (no, no 'Chinabrand' stuff in any of them). Then I am canceling my Prime and done with Amazon. They have lost the ability to ship on time and refuse to use a reliable parcel service. The trying to shift sales to 'affiliates' when 'sold and shipped by Amazon' was specifically selected is just a bonus turd in the punch bowl.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Virindi on Friday April 20 2018, @05:48PM

        by Virindi (3484) on Friday April 20 2018, @05:48PM (#669729)

        They very rarely use USPS now in my area. Almost everything is delivered by their own people, "Amzl". Which makes the games they play with their definition of "shipping time" even more ridiculous (they define "2 day" as "2 days to your house after it leaves the nearest warehouse", which has little meaning when they are doing both sides of shipping).

        Before Amzl, they mostly used a company called Lasership. I'm guessing that USPS now is more for rural areas?

  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Friday April 20 2018, @06:55PM

    by captain normal (2205) on Friday April 20 2018, @06:55PM (#669756)

    That's not much in California these days. In central California there is a huge Amazon "Fulfillment Center" in the small town of Patterson, right near Hiway 5. It is less than 20 miles to the much larger city of Turlock. The cost of housing in this area used to be much less than in the San Francisco Bay Area, but not anymore. There are Amazon employees living there in homeless encampments because they can't afford housing.

    http://www.goldenstatenewspapers.com/patterson_irrigator/news/local_news/homeless-population-soars-in-patterson/article_5ac6621b-99d9-52a1-85d6-ef1afae8c02c.html [goldenstatenewspapers.com]

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/13/california-homelessness-silicon-valley-tech-commuters [theguardian.com]

    --
    When life isn't going right, go left.
  • (Score: 1) by danuk on Saturday April 21 2018, @05:42AM

    by danuk (5137) on Saturday April 21 2018, @05:42AM (#669976)

    I had netflix. I cancelled and joined Prime, now I have ad free music, prime video AND the standard prime delivery benefits for the same cost as Netflix.

  • (Score: 2) by Kawumpa on Saturday April 21 2018, @10:01AM

    by Kawumpa (1187) on Saturday April 21 2018, @10:01AM (#670021)

    I really like people telling me how great Amazon is and how they buy almost everything there. Eventually the topic changes and they will complain about how their neighbourhood isn't what it used to be, what with all the little shops gone and how you can't get decent service anymore. Usually those same people complain about the federal deficit and how this hurts everybody and how much it spends on welfare or, even worse, undeserving refugees (who, let's face it, should fight for their country...and so on and so forth). It's funny how many people can't or won't connect the dots and link tax avoidance and worker exploitation practices by companies like Amazon with their own shopping behaviour and their local economy. If you want a nice neighbourhood, contribute to it and shop locally as much as you can.

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