The e-commerce giant Amazon India has recently hiked the minimum spend to be eligible for free shipping. This makes a non-prime customer spend more to earn free shipping. It’s unclear how the rates are fixed, but the intentions are.
Amazon India has been trying to expand their customer base since the launch back in 2013. However, with the intro of Amazon Prime service back in July 2016, Amazon shifted their focus to the Amazon Prime customer base.
Amazon Prime Benefits
- Guaranteed free One-Day, Two-Day and Standard Delivery on eligible items.
- Instant access to unlimited video streaming.
- Grab the best deals first- 30-minute early access to top Lightning Deals.
You get to try the Prime for 30 days or more until you feel it’s unavoidable and subscribe to it. The annual Prime subscription costs about Rs 499, which Amazon says is an introductory discount price. But still, there might be many around who haven’t felt the need of this membership. So here is what Amazon did to get the attention of non-prime customers.
- Hiked the minimum spend to be eligible for free shipping from Rs 499 to Rs 599.
- Hiked the delivery charge from Rs 40 to Rs 50 for orders below free shipping margin.
| Shipping Charge & Speed | Prime Members | Non-Prime Members |
| 2-4/ 4-7/ 7-10 Business Days* | Free | Free for orders above Rs. 599 |
| Rs. 50 per order below Rs. 599 | ||
| Guaranteed Morning Delivery | Rs. 50 | Rs. 150 |
| Guaranteed Same-Day Delivery | Rs. 50 | Rs. 150 |
| Guaranteed One-Day Delivery | Free | Rs. 100 |
| Guaranteed Two-Day Delivery | Free | Rs. 80 |
Amazon India has also updated some delivery restrictions. For instance they have reduced the upper limit of Cash On Delivery from Rs 50,000 to Rs 30,000. During the past year Amazon India and several other e-commerce websites reduced the return window for certain commodities. This was done to curb the misuse of the return system. Even after several years of presence, most of these e-tailers can’t provide a country wide delivery and fulfillment.
Even with these hiked delivery charges and restrictions, the safety of a product is still a concern to every customer. Almost one in ten customers are reporting damaged, misplaced, or stolen shipments. So what do you think on this move by Amazon and others? Are they upto the mark in fulfilling your orders? Peace!