Here's what you receive with an Amazon Prime membership in Australia.

Amazon Prime is a subscription service that allows you to

What started as an online bookshop has grown into one of the world's biggest technology corporations. Among all of Amazon's worldwide operations, its online shopping site is by far the most consumer-facing. And the company's Amazon Prime membership service is a big part of it.

Amazon Prime launched in Australia in 2018, and in only a few years, the platform has managed to establish a solid foothold in the country, providing buyers with a variety of discounts and perks for a flat monthly cost of only AU$6.99.

For that modest amount, Prime members have access to a slew of Amazon-exclusive benefits. So, what exactly is included? In a nutshell, if you join primevideo/mytv in Australia, you will get the following benefits:

• Domestic purchases get free two-day delivery.

• Orders exceeding AU$49 from the 'global store' area qualify for free standard delivery (i.e. international purchases shipped from the US or the UK)

• Prime Video, Prime Reading, Prime Music, and Prime Gaming are all available as part of the Prime subscription (formally called Twitch)

• Discounts and special offers are available before they are available to the general public.

• Amazon Prime Day offers big discounts.

What is Amazon Prime, and how does it work?

Simply explained, Amazon Prime is an all-in-one membership programme that provides members with a variety of services in exchange for a monthly (or yearly) price.

Its key selling point is that it gives Prime members access to Amazon's streaming services, which include a large library of movies and TV series, over two million songs that stream ad-free, and certain extra perks on some of the company's paying services.

Prime members also receive unique early access to some bargains and offers, as well as access to Prime Day, a members-only yearly sale (more on this later).

In the United States, Amazon Prime provides free shipping on millions of goods, same-day delivery (in certain circumstances, two-hour delivery), and access to Amazon's video and music streaming services, as well as unlimited ebooks and audiobooks and picture storage. Customers in the United States, on the other hand, must pay US$12.99 per month (US$119 per year) to get all of the items and services promised in Amazon's Prime package across the Pacific.

Unfortunately, there are certain limitations to what Prime members get in Australia, but it also costs us less — half of what Prime members in the United States pay.

What is the price of Prime in Australia?

Amazon Prime membership in Australia cost AU$6.99 per month or AU$59 per year — the latter is obviously better value, saving you just under AU$25 over the course of a year.

A 30-day free trial is available, as is usual with all of Amazon's subscription services. If you don't like the Prime service, you must cancel it manually before the 30-day trial period expires, or you will be charged the full monthly amount the next month.

What do Prime members of Australia get?

Amazon has promised free shipping to Prime members in Australia, but it's restricted to domestic orders only, and only those tagged as "Prime eligible." This is represented by a 'Prime tick mark' next to a product's price information, and it may be applied to anything sold and delivered directly by Amazon Australia or a third-party seller. So, no matter how little or how much your final purchase costs, if you purchase anything that's Primevideo.com/mytv eligible, you won't be charged for shipping.

Even if you're a Prime member, if the "Prime eligible" badge isn't displayed, you won't be able to get fast and/or free shipping.

Regardless of whether the product(s) you purchase are Prime eligible or not, and whether or not you are a Prime member, an order of locally sold products over $39 automatically qualifies for Amazon's free standard delivery policy.

It's also worth mentioning that Prime's free shipping service in Australia isn't the same as what's available in the US. Locally, Amazon promises two-day delivery, which is likely owing to the fact that the company only has two fulfilment centres in Australia, one in Melbourne and the other in Sydney. Despite this, the Australian East Coast does not qualify for same-day delivery, but we're hopeful that this will change as Amazon's local warehouse network develops.

However, when Australians were stranded at home due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, Amazon's delivery system was swamped by a surge in online purchases. Amazon was having trouble keeping up with its two-day Prime delivery commitment, therefore shipment was being delayed as a result. However, the situation in Australia has improved, and Amazon is now on schedule to meet its delivery commitments, albeit there are still occasional delays, especially with foreign orders.

Speaking of which, international items purchased from the site's 'global store' section (which lists products shipped and sold by Amazon US and, more recently, Amazon UK) are only eligible for free shipping if the total cost of the product(s) is AU$49 or more and the product(s) is marked as Prime eligible. Due to the spread of the coronavirus, delivery of things from the United States or the United Kingdom has been hampered, and they are no longer as 'expedited' as they once were.

Prime members also receive first access to Lightning Discounts (Amazon's limited-time deals that disappear within hours of being live), often viewing them 30 minutes before everyone else.