A new Amazon Prime feature may prove to be positive for small businesses, but potentially limiting for buyers looking to take advantage of the site’s two-day shipping.

The recently released Prime feature is known as “ship by region.” Currently, all items purchased through Prime can be shipped nationwide, but the update will allow sellers who ship from their own factories to limit the radius to a certain distance.

When news broke of the new program, buyers initially became concerned that this would limit their $99/year Prime subscription to fewer and fewer sellers, according to a Sept. 1 GeekWire article. Amazon quickly addressed the misunderstanding.

“These are blatant mischaracterizations of a program that is excellent for both businesses and Prime members,” said Julie Law, a public relations representative for Amazon, in the GeekWire article. “In fact, Prime members nationwide continue to receive unlimited Free Two-Day shipping on more than 20 million items. This remains unchanged, which is counter to these stories.”

Almost 40 million of Amazon’s customers subscribe to its Prime service, according to a Feb. 3 USA Today article. The site boasts a 50 percent discount for college students interested in purchasing a membership, making it affordable for students on a budget.

“They ship really quickly,” said Andrew Caplan, a freshman in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He added that he hopes to make the most out of the platform’s streaming services.

Of the many the packages that are sent to SU’s campus each day, Lilibeth Wolfe, a main desk assistant at Sadler Hall, said most of them come from Amazon. About 150 to 200 packages are typically delivered during her four-hour shift, she said, but added that, “it depends on the day.”

Amazon’s success has only grown in recent years. The first-ever Prime Day was held on July 15, a day that was intended to compete with Black Friday deals. It became the largest device sales day ever worldwide, according to a July 16 GeekWire article.

Published on September 9, 2015 at 10:46 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu