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My love-hate relationship with Amazon
Lots of people hate Amazon. I have been there too and even boycotted them for a while. The fact that they don't pay much tax here in the UK and make it tough for smaller businesses to compete is annoying. But, I have made my peace with them now. Amazon pay all of the taxes they are legally obliged to - I feel like we should focus our anger at the Government for allowing loopholes and lobby for change if we want to be proactive about this.
Amazon are also a large local employer. Yes they are a huge business but Steve also works for a huge employer. Just because Steve does not work for a small business does not make his job any less important and the same goes for Amazon employees. I absolutely love supporting small businesses and spend a lot of time and money doing so but at the same time, I am not embarrassed or ashamed about supporting the big guys either, there is room in my life for both.
Finally, the service I receive from Amazon is second to none and they have been super reliable throughout the pandemic. I now actually do all of my general and grocery shopping (excluding meat/fish/veg/fruit which I buy from local businesses) through Morrisons via Amazon Prime as the service is so much better than with actual Morrisons.
Same-day grocery delivery with Morrisons via Amazon Prime |
There are usually no substitutions and if there are, the Amazon packer will text you to check they are ok as they shop and it still amazes me that you can order groceries to be delivered within a few hours with no delivery fee if you spend over £40 or for £3.99 if you spend between £15 and £40 (if you are a Prime member). No other company offers such a convenient service and it means I hardly ever need to set foot in a supermarket now which is my worst nightmare at the moment.
Anyway, over the past few months I have started reading again. I like reading via the Kindle App on my iPad. I know some people prefer actual books but I am 100% team Kindle. As I was browsing the store I stumbled upon a way to access lots of FREE books and magazines (well when I say free, I mean 'included with Prime membership').
Amazon Prime Membership
Amazon Prime membership costs £79 for an annual membership or £7.99 per month and you can cancel at any time.
You can cancel at any time (if you do not want to be charged - set a reminder on your phone to cancel).
There are lots of benefits which you can also share with one other member of your household. For us, Steve shares my benefits on his Amazon account and I have Harry's card details saved on mine so if he wants to buy anything, he can go through my account and use his card.
Prime benefits include:
- Unlimited one-day delivery on thousands of items - perfect if you need something in a rush and can't get to the shops
- Prime Now - same day delivery on certain items
- Prime Video - stream shows and films. You can now add the Prime Video app to your Sky Q too. Steve and Harry have recently enjoyed The Boys and I absolutely love This Is Us which is available exclusively to Prime Video.
- Amazon Music - listen to 2 million songs
- Amazon Fresh / Morrisons - same day grocery delivery
- Prime reading - free books and magazines which I will chat about more below
How to access FREE magazines and books with Amazon Prime
1 - Visit Amazon.co.uk and make sure you are signed in and have an active prime membership (remember you can sign up for a free 30 day trial if you fancy it).
2 - From the menu bar, scroll down to 'Books and Audible'.
3 - Select 'Prime Reading'
New titles aren't usually available but if you have a browse there is bound to be something you like. The free books are divided into sections and there are children's books available too.
Scroll down to the magazine section to check out the current selection of free magazines currently available.
When you have finished, simply click on the title and select 'remove'. Remember, you can borrow up to 10 magazines or books free of charge at any one time.
Titles change all of the time but at the moment, free magazines available with Prime include:
- Chat
- New
- Good Housekeeping
- Grand Designs
- Delicious
- Easy Cook
- Marie Curie
- Olive
- Style at Home
- Women's Fitness
There are over 100 to choose from and they are all recent issues too.
If you have Prime Membership and need some time out with a magazine, I highly recommend checking this service out. I am so pleased I discovered it as I love browsing food magazines but they can work out to be quite expensive.
If Amazon is not for you, I recommend checking out bookshop.org who support our local bookshops (I like to buy gifts from here) and your local library which may be able to offer you free online content and audiobooks via Borrowbox (or similar).
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