Amazon Prime Singapore was launched in Singapore as early as 2017, but the member benefits have gone through several changes since then.
Question is, is it still worth the subscription fee?
In this guide, we’ll talk about:
- What is Amazon Prime Singapore?
- The perks and downsides
- How it stacks up against other e-commerce subscriptions in Singapore
- Our recommendation
What is Amazon Prime Singapore?
As a quick overview, Amazon Prime is a paid subscription offering:
- Free and fast domestic shipping with no minimum purchase
- Free international delivery on eligible orders above $60
- Free video streaming on Prime Video
- Early access to Amazon Lightning Deals
- Access to a selection of free games along with in-game loot
The subscription costs $2.99 a month in Singapore.
We’ll get into more detail on each of these benefits next.
Delivery Benefits
| Local orders: | |
| One business day delivery | Free, no minimum order order |
| Release date delivery | Free, no minimum |
| Amazon Fresh 2-hour same-day delivery | Free on orders above $60 with a $20 discount for your first order |
| Ultra-Fast 1-Hour Delivery | $9.99 |
| Ultra-Fast 2-Hour Delivery | Free for orders above $60, but $5.99 for orders below $60 |
| International orders: | |
| Standard delivery (between 7 to 9 business days) on eligible International Store items | Free for orders above $60. For orders below $60, rates are calculated based on weight and size. |
How good are these delivery benefits?
Amazon Fresh is a great option for those unwilling to risk physical contact in an ongoing pandemic. The grocery selection is decent and pricing is on par with other supermarkets.
And considering other online grocery stores still require at least a day in advance notice for deliveries, Amazon’s 2-hour same-day delivery wins in this department.
Outside of Amazon Fresh, the 2-hour delivery is also a sweet deal if you happen to need a quick retail remedy. We once had to find 200 Sharpie markers on short notice (don’t ask). Luckily, Amazon had them in stock, so we ordered via Prime 2-hour shipping and made it just in time.
The downside?
Amazon’s domestic selection of products is sadly limited compared to Amazon US. And while they’ve improved the selection of eligible International Store items, it’s still nowhere near the gateway to cool US products it once was.
Read also: Top 8 Courier Services in Singapore: Which Is Best for You?
Shopping Benefits
| Prime Lightning Deals | Access to a selection of Prime member-only shopping deals on Amazon.sg |
| Prime Early Access | 30-minutes early access to Prime-eligible Lightning Deals on Amazon.sg |
How good are these shopping benefits?
Like the flash sales on Lazada and Shopee, Amazon’s Prime Lightning Deals are limited-time offers that last only as long as Amazon has stock. They refresh regularly, so you’ll find new deals pretty much every day.
Amazon fulfills and ships these orders from their warehouses, so you won’t find just any random seller here. Most of the products they sell are brand names, which is good news if you’ve been keeping an eye out for certain items. On occasion, Amazon also likes doing themed sales where all the products on offer are from one or two brands.
The downside?
Getting the best deals requires you to basically live on the Amazon website. But if retail therapy is your thing, there’s not much of a downside here.
Read also: 10 Best Cashback and Rewards Apps to Save You Money
Entertainment Benefits
| Prime Video |
|
| Prime Gaming |
|
How good are these entertainment benefits?
Amazon does have original programming, so you’ll find shows here that you won’t find on Netflix or the newly-released Disney+. Otherwise, the service is best for people who like older films and series like Sherlock Holmes, The Grand Tour, Hannibal, and The Man in the High Castle.
Other than that, one big plus here is that you can share your Amazon Prime Video subscription with up to 9 other “family members,” which brings the cost down to a mere $0.30 per person.
Gamers will find titles for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, XBox, and PC on Amazon Prime.
The downside?
Amazon Music isn’t available in Singapore, sadly. And while Amazon does have a few shows worth watching — some even award-winning — the selection pales in comparison to other streaming-focused services.
The same goes for Prime Gaming: it’s more of a bonus for a low-cost subscription than a real focus for Amazon.
How Does Amazon Prime Compare To Other Online Shopping Subscriptions?
Since Lazada shut down LiveUp recently, there aren’t many other e-commerce subscriptions in Singapore. Most online shopping apps like Shopee and Qoo10 simply try to gamify their apps, giving customers coupons or points for regular use.
Only one other long-time player has a somewhat comparable membership programme: Ezbuy.
A Quick Comparison of Amazon Prime vs Ezbuy Prime
| Items | Amazon Prime | Ezbuy |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Fee | $2.99 | $8.25 |
| Annual Fee | $35.88 | Prime Annual at $99 (or 6-month Prime Lite membership at $69) |
| International Delivery |
| Flat rate shipping of $2.99 |
| Additional Benefits |
|
|
You’ll notice a few things:
- Amazon Prime’s annual rate is significantly lower than Ezbuy Prime
- Amazon offers an additional range of entertainment that Ezbuy does not have
- The free international delivery is a big plus, and the $60 minimum isn’t hard to meet for shoppers ready to buy from an American merchant
However, Ezbuy’s connectivity to Taobao, China’s all-in-one marketplace, could be a draw for many shoppers. The growing number of Singaporeans loyal to Taobao may simply prefer shopping at China’s online megamall.
That said, the product selections both platforms offer are very different. Ezbuy has a ton more furniture — heavy and bulky items that would be ridiculously expensive to ship overseas. That makes their $2.99 flat rate shipping an excellent deal for new homeowners.
Amazon Prime vs Lazada and Shopee
Let’s go a step further to explore Amazon Prime’s local shipping perks and how they compare to popular online malls such as Lazada and Shopee:
| Items | Amazon Prime | Lazada | Shopee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Shipping |
|
| $1.49 to $3.99 |
| Delivery options | To doorstep |
| To doorstep |
Amazon Prime seems to have the upper hand here since members needn’t spend anything more than the monthly subscription to receive free deliveries. In contrast, Lazada and Shopee both charge based on weight or volume of orders, with fees that can go as high as over $13 per order.
The Verdict
If any of these describe you, paying $2.99/mo for Amazon Prime may be a good deal:
- You’re annoyed with RedMart’s limited delivery slots and want access to two-hour, same-day delivery for groceries
- You’re fine with Amazon’s selection of domestic products and can see yourself shopping there regularly
- You buy from Amazon’s International Store every month — or every other month — and hitting the $60 minimum is no big deal for you
- You’re bored with Netflix and Disney+ and want access to the Amazon Originals on Prime Video
Before you commit, take a look through Amazon.sg to check out the merchant and product mix. Amazon Prime also has a 30-day free trial so you can see if it really fits your needs.
But if you don’t shop at Amazon all that often (or you don’t like the limited selection on Amazon SG), Ezbuy’s ezShip service may be an alternative.
With ezShip, you purchase whatever you want from Amazon US, then ship your order to ezShip’s warehouse and have them send it the rest of the way to Singapore. Shipping fees are fixed per 500g, so your total cost may be lower than forking out international shipping charges.