AMAZON has upped its minimum amount for free deliveries from £25 to £35 sparking a furious backlash from customers.
The updated threshold will mean shoppers must pay 40% more to avoid a delivery charge if they want the goods brought to their home.
The change appears to have taken place this week after the website was quietly updated.
Commenting on X, Sakhalin Husky said: “I just noticed that @AmazonUK has increased the minimum spend for free delivery to £35…
“That’s a lot for a lot of people in these reduced times.
“Not very well publicised considering how entwined they are in our lives now.”
Another wrote: “That’s way too high!! Also, you didn’t exactly publicise it, very sneaky!”
Most types of deliveries are free for Amazon Prime members, except for superfast “Same Day & Overnight Delivery” services which cost £1.99 if the amount spent is under £20.
Non-Prime members can avoid paying a delivery charge on a low-value item by ordering it to be collected from a “Pickup Location”, like an Amazon locker.
But not all items are eligible to be collected in this way.
On the HotUKDeals website, one user said: “I use the collection and locker services which has no minimum basket size. And very conveniently, there is a location available across the road which offers both.”
But another responded: “Only a matter of time until they start charging for locker delivery.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “There are a number of external factors influencing shipping costs right now.
“We are constantly innovating and working to bring more value to our customers, and customers who are not Prime members will receive free shipping on all orders above £35.
“Prime members will continue to benefit from unlimited fast, free One-Day Delivery on millions of items regardless of order value.”
What is an Amazon Prime membership?
If you are a regular Amazon customer then signing up for Amazon Prime could save you money,
Most people know about benefits such as free delivery and member deals, but there are many more perks too.
If you are a new Amazon Prime customer you will get your first month free when you sign up.
After that, the annual price is £95 or you can pay monthly for £8.99 or £5.99 if you just want Prime Video.
Signing up for Prime opens up several benefits that mean you can save some cash and we have the full list below.
What are the benefits of being an Amazon Prime member
There are lots of benefits to being an Amazon Prime member but some are more well known than others – here is the full list.
- Unlimited one-day delivery
- Same-day delivery
- Amazon day delivery – choose a delivery day that suits you
- Early access to deals
- Exclusive discounts
- Save 15% when you spend over £40
- Grocery deliveries
- Deliveroo Plus – free delivery on your favourite restaurants
- HelloFresh free shipping
- Prime Video – access to thousands of movies and TV shows
- Special offers on video rental
- Odeon cinema offers
- Amazon Music
- Prime reading- choose from thousands of books and magazines
- Amazon first reads – read next month’s new Kindle releases free
- Prime Gaming
- Amazon photos – unlimited photo storage
- Amazon Household – allows you to share benefits with others
- Save over 40% with Amazon kids
- Student discounts
More ways to save at Amazon
The Amazon Warehouse hub is where returned goods are relisted to be resold with further reductions.
This is a great idea for shoppers who don’t mind buying something pre-loved, but that’s still in great condition.
A range of products are sold in the Amazon warehouse and you can find everything from kitchen appliances to laptops and lawnmowers.
We spotted a used Russell Hobbs steam iron selling for £16.82 in the Amazon Warehouse, which was labelled as “like new”.
The same model was listed on the Russell Hobbs website for £24.99 reduced from its original price of £49.99.
The Amazon Outlet has hundreds of items that are surplus to requirements and being sold off at a substantial discount.
Unlike the warehouse, these items are brand new goods but just ones that Amazon or its partners want to move quickly.
All of the deals are for a limited time and you can search by category, price and discount.
The Amazon Renewed section is a great way to bag big discounts on previously owned products and handy for tech items such as phones, tablets and games consoles.
All of the items in the renewed section are pre-owned and refurbished items that have been professionally inspected and tested to meet quality standards.
Amazon has a special tab marked “Today’s Deals” where shoppers can find different limited-time offers each day.
You can search by department, price and discount and some of the offers are “recommended” to you based on your purchase history and views.
There are some huge discounts to be had on the deals of the day, and we spotted some offers that were almost 50% off when we checked.
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