After Amazon had already mentioned a higher minimum order value for free shipping on its own help pages a few weeks ago and quickly removed this entry, the new provisions for free shipping orders without Amazon Prime apply Yes, since this morning.
Free shipping from 39 instead of 29 euros
The changed provisions are now appearing again on the Amazon help page. While same-day delivery for Prime customers costs EUR 4.99 per item for orders under EUR 20 and is free for orders over EUR 20, standard shipping for normal customers remains unchanged at EUR 2.99 or EUR 3.99, depending on the product category , if the order value is less than 39 euros, whereby delivery should take place one to two working days after dispatch. Deliveries to pick-up stations and lockers from Amazon itself always cost 2.99 euros with an order value of less than 39 euros, i.e. the cheaper rate. Previously, without a Prime membership, there were no shipping costs for orders over 29 euros. Premium shipping with delivery on the next working day, on the other hand, costs EUR 3.99 per delivery for all products and is still independent of the total value of the orders.
The delivery of books and calendars is still free of charge with Fulfillment from Amazon, regardless of the order value. Selected products can also continue to be exempt from shipping costs, which is stated on the respective product page – this can also only refer to shipping to Amazon's pick-up stations.
Amazon itself gives that the increase in the order value was by no means taken lightly, but that it was the first adjustment since 2017. The current increase is due to the increased delivery costs, which Amazon itself has no influence on, which is why the price structure had to be adjusted.
Amazon had increased the price for Amazon Prime* in September 2022. Membership, which includes free premium shipping from Amazon, currently costs EUR 8.99 per month or EUR 89.90 per year – instead of EUR 69.
180 instead of 30 days return guarantee?
The return guarantee of 180 days that was sometimes displayed on Amazon a few days ago, which is otherwise valid for 30 days , the company describes as an error that led to some products being misrepresented on the product detail pages. A general increase in the return period is currently not planned and Amazon is still working on solving the problem.
(*) The links marked with an asterisk are Affiliate Links. In the case of an order via such a link, ComputerBase participates in the sales proceeds without increasing the price for the customer.