In this article, let’s find out ‘Is Global Shipping Free With Amazon Prime?’.
With an Amazon Prime subscription, you can access a wide range of services, including Amazon Music; Prime Video, where you can stream the latest movies and shows, including Amazon exclusives; Prime Reading, where you can borrow e-books, audiobooks, and more to read on your Kindle; free fast delivery; free in-game content; etc.
Moreover, the prime membership also avails you of offers like cashback, special discounts on particular products, early access to the best deals, exclusive deals of the day offer, free one- or two-day delivery, etc. Furthermore, you can purchase smartphones and other electronics with no-cost EMI, as well as get up to six months of free smartphone screen replacement.
The current Amazon Prime membership fee is $14.99 per month and $139 annually. For students, the fee is $7.49 per month and $69 annually. Check the original website to see if you are eligible for any other discounts or offers before subscribing. Your membership may also be subject to taxes in some countries, so make sure you choose the best membership plan for you and your family.
Is Global Shipping Free With Amazon Prime?
One of the many benefits of an Amazon membership is free delivery; however, the situation may be different when it comes to global shipping charges. Although domestic shipping is free, global shipping is not free with Amazon Prime. You have to pay the shipping charges yourself for global shipping.
Amazon offers free two-day shipping within the United States, but global shipping costs extra and can be expensive. It also takes longer to arrive. It’s important to check if the items you selected are eligible for international shipping. However, if your order meets certain criteria, such as the minimum cost and shipping to an eligible location, you can select FREE Amazon Global Standard Shipping at checkout.
But this option is only available for qualifying items. You can’t combine or delete items from this order. If you change the items in this order, it may cause extra charges. Items sold and shipped by third-party sellers are also ineligible for free Prime shipping. That should also be noted while selecting the items.
It is important to keep in mind that some items may not be eligible for international shipping, and some destinations may have restrictions or limitations on the types of items that can be shipped.
The global shipping charges depend upon these various factors:
- Item
- Shipping option
- Destination Country
- Custom duties or taxes
- Products sold by third-party sellers
Item
Your global shipping charges depend primarily on the items that you purchase. The charges may vary in accordance with the size and weight of your item. Items that exceed the dimensional shipping limits, like length or breadth, may be ineligible for shipping. Heavy items and perishable goods that should be handled with care cost more to ship than other items.
Furthermore, the cost of shipping for most non-media items is usually set by the sellers. Another thing to consider when ordering items for international shipping is whether your item is a restricted product. Moreover, if you buy items from the same seller, you can save on the separate shipping charges for the two items.
Shipment method
The items you have purchased are shipped to your destination through different shipment methods. This may result in variations in shipping charges. Furthermore, shipping perishable goods that require cooling or other special handling may result in additional fees.
Destination Country
After selecting the item, you have to make sure that it is eligible to be shipped to your country. The shipping costs will be displayed in the bill during checkout. Shipping to some countries may be more expensive than shipping to others. Shipment to the United States, on the other hand, is generally lower than in most other countries. But some items may not be shipped to your selected address for other reasons for which you may need to contact the seller.
Custom duties
Recipients of global shipping may be subjected to import duties or taxes. You can see the estimated import fee during checkout process for the eligible countries. In the United States, the import fees may range from 0% to 37.5%.
Products sold by third-party sellers
Not every item on Amazon is “Prime” eligible. Check for the Prime logo on the product detail pages of the item you selected. If an item does not have the Prime logo, then it is sold by a third-party seller. They ship their merchandise from their own warehouses. And depending on the item, they may decide to charge for shipping. Some third-party sellers may not ship the item to your selected destination if it’s a high-risk or perishable item that is hard to handle.
So, when you buy something from Amazon using your Amazon Prime membership, keep these things in mind and make sure that the item you chose is eligible and meets all of the requirements for global shipping, if it is available. If global shipping is not free, which is the case most often, you may select the seller who sells the same item with lower shipping costs.
Sometimes, some items may not be eligible for shipping to the particular billing address that you provided. In that case, you can provide a different address and see if it solves the problem. For more details, go to the original website and check out their shipping policies.
