# Amazon Prime Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon-prime/ 26 people recommended Amazon Prime in Hacker News comments, 23 had mixed feelings and 98 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 12 months, in 22 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended, mainly for rising price and more ads; those who recommend it cite fast, cheap delivery and bundled perks like video and cashback. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Slow or unreliable delivery at times (5 comments in the sample): "it struck me as significantly dishonest that they were promising fast shipping and not delivering" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087801)) "between the not-infrequent annoyances with shipping and the endless search results full of total junk and/or fake products it wasn’t as convenient as I’d thought" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46259105)) "I've heard from a ton of people out in the boonies that Prime ships very few -and sometimes no- items to them same day or…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087115)) - Ads added to Prime content and search (4 comments in the sample): "My main gripes are related to search being borderline unusable as it becomes more ad-dominated by the day" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47409011)) "All I wanted was to browse the videos that are included in the subscription…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45856733)) "I canceled my Prime subscription precisely because they continued to keep mixing ad supported content with my ad free content." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50210109)) - Hard to cancel, pushy re-signup (3 comments in the sample): "I quit Prime (after spending tens of thousands over the years) and Amazon immediately started treating me like a third-class citizen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46710605)) "Checkout is now a minefield of dark patterns, filled with buttons that would reactivate my Prime membership in one click." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49354270)) "The problem with cancelling Prime is the unrelenting haranguing to re-sign up and the clearly punitive delivery charges." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46309486)) - Price rises over time (2 comments in the sample): "Now they seem to raise the price pretty regularly, so that ship has sailed for Amazon." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46155206)) "I stopped Prime and stopped using the platform because all of those went downhill and unreliable as their prices went up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50105454)) ## Why people recommend it - Savings exceed the membership fee (4 comments in the sample): "Prime with ads is a good value proposition, you get shipping but get a discount on the part that doesn't interest you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47770950)) "which turned out to be way cheaper than you would expect I think mostly due to the Prime subscription" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50086059)) "The cash back accumulation per year is always greater than the membership fee for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446893)) - Saves trips to the store (4 comments in the sample): "getting stuff delivered to my door before I'd have gotten around to the hassle of going to the store…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46163256)) "I genuinely despise Amazon as a company, but factually I can order something by 9pm and pick it up from my doorstep after I sleep…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45833093)) "There’s a whole layer of complexity your life loses when you know you can get life essentials within a few hours with no planning." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087242)) - Fast or next-day delivery (2 comments in the sample): "When all Prime is 1-2 day “free” delivery for me, that’s hard to beat." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49707160)) "Amazon will have it in stock and deliver it within a couple days" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45815762)) ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Amazon Prime", https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon-prime/ (26 recommend, 23 mixed, 98 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.