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10/23/2013

Recent free shipping policy changes at Amazon and Walmart


In the last few days, both Amazon and Walmart have made major changes to their shipping policy.


Amazon's minimum order size for free SuperSaver shipping has changed from $25 to $35. This is the first time in more than a decade that Amazon has altered the minimum order for free shipping in the US (of course, Amazon is only a 19 year old company, so.....).

On the bright side, Add-On items still ship for free for Prime members with a $25 minimum purchase, and Subscribe & Save items ship for free no matter what size the order is (with no Prime membership required).

So if you're not a Prime member, is it time to make the jump over to Prime?

I love my Amazon Prime membership and I use it so often, it has paid for itself many times over. Admittedly, I split that $79 fee among a few of my friends (closely adhering to Amazon's rules on how to do this). But I totally understand any hesitation in signing up for Amazon Prime; $79 is a lot of money, and truthfully, if you take advantage of SuperSaver shipping and are always able to get to the $35 free shipping minimum, you can get around Amazon Prime.

But this month, you want to have Amazon Prime, or you will miss out on some great deals.  And if you're not ready to pay for it, sign up for the free trial here.

Trust me on this. The Black Friday deals start about a month before Black Friday actually happens, and Amazon is a hotbed of fantastic Black Friday deals that sell out quickly.  If you're not already a Prime member, sign up for your free Amazon Prime 30-day trial membership, now, this week, asap. The deals are going to start flying around here, and Amazon prices change like the wind, so you want to be ready with a full frugal arsenal. You might not have time to make sure your purchases add up to $35 and you don't want to lose out on the savings opportunities.

Now on to Walmart.


Walmart's shipping policy used to be all over the place.  They had certain "Home Free"  items that shipped free with a minimum order, and other items that never shipped free. Some items were eligible for free in-store or FedEx office pickup; some weren't.  It was kind of a mess, and you basically had to add an item to your cart to see how much shipping would be and what kind of options you had.

Thankfully, Walmart has a new free shipping policy that works on nearly every item in the store, making purchasing easier and more predictable:
  • In-store pickup for everything is free.
  • On orders over $50, value shipping is free.
  • On orders under $50, value shipping is a flat $4.97.
I applaud Walmart for finally getting their act together in this uniform free shipping policy.

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