A DELIVERY perk for Amazon Prime members in select states has been put on a temporary hold.
The e-commerce giant confirmed the full stop to the technologically advanced service earlier this month.
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Those Prime members residing in Arizona and Texas will not be able to get deliveries on orders by drone, otherwise known as Prime Air, for the time being, per GeekWire.
Prime Air officially stopped on January 17, 2025, per what Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson told the publication.
Stephenson said Amazon decided of its own accord to address a software issue and was not directed to stop the service as the result of two drone crashes at the end of December in Oregon.
“We’re currently in the process of making software changes to the drone and will be voluntarily pausing our commercial operations on Friday, Jan. 17,” he noted.
“Our services will resume once these updates are completed and approved by the FAA.”
“Prime Air continued to deliver to customers safely within federal compliance until we voluntary paused the service on Jan. 17,” the Amazon spokesperson added.
Stephenson also confirmed that the crash took place at an Amazon facility in Pendleton, Oregon, about three hours east of Portland.
He emphasized that the crash was “not the primary reason for our voluntary operational pause.”
STILL TESTING
“We expect incidents like these to occur in those tests, and they help us continue to improve the safety of our operations,” Stephenson insisted.
“Our commercial operations with the MK30 drone have been conducted safely and in compliance with all FAA regulations and requirements.”
The MK30 drones are brand new for Amazon, and they first debuted in November within certain areas of Arizona and Texas that are already conducting deliveries by drone through Prime Air.
Amazon also still plans to expand its drone deliveries nationwide, per a May 2024 press release.
The FAA had given the e-commerce giant permission for the drones to fly outside of the operators’ visual line of sight at the time.
Another popular Amazon perk will also be taken away at the end of this month, but it seemingly won’t be coming back.
Prime time! Don’t miss out on perks
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Don’t squander those prime-ium benefits, says Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science…
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’re probably paying $14.99 or £8.99 every single month.
And if you’re only using it for faster deliveries, you’re ignoring loads of money-saving perks.
You’re already paying for Prime, so you might as well get your money’s worth.
First off, you can try Amazon Photos, which is extremely handy if you’re a serial snapper.
It gives you access to unlimited full-resolution photo storage, as well as 5GB for videos.
Second is Prime Reading, which serves up “a rotating collection of over 3,000 digital books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and more”.
It’s perfect for bookworms, and is totally free with your regular Prime membership.
It’s great to pair with another perk called Amazon First Reads.
This gives you early access to a brand new book for free every single month.
Third is one for gamers, and is aptly named Prime Gaming.
You’ll get free games and in-game content every month on a rotating basis.
And if you’re a fan of Twitch, you’ll even be given a free channel subscription to use each month.
On top of that, you’ll be able to play some free games using Amazon’s Luna cloud-gaming service.
Audiophiles will want to check out Amazon Music, which gets you ad-free listening to over 100 million songs, along with thousands of playlists and popular podcasts.
And here’s a bonus one if you’re in the US: free Grubhub+.
It’s one of the best perks because it gets you a year subscription that would normally cost $9.99 a month.
You’ll get unlimited $0 delivery fees on any order over $12 with your membership, but it’ll terminate if you cancel Prime.
By Sean Keach
GONE FOR GOOD
After January 31, 2025, Prime Try Before You Buy will not be available, per what a spokesperson confirmed to The U.S. Sun.
Prime Try Before You Buy has allowed members to test up to six pieces of eligible merchandise and send back what they don’t want.
A variety of clothing, shoes, and accessories qualify for the perk.
The Amazon spokesperson said its “new AI-powered features like virtual try-on, personalized size recommendations, review highlights, and improved size charts” negate the need for the Prime Before You Try perk.
It also helps with costs and time for shipping.
Some customers also said they were unaware the perk had existed before in a thread on X.
Amazon’s extended return policy on holiday gifts will also end later this month.
Another change from Prime members was also recently branded “unbearable” by some.
