Over the holiday season, Amazon re-introduced Amazon Prime to the public, which was originally publicized in 2012. The newer version offers free two-day shipping, access to Amazon’s instant video archive and the ability to borrow eBooks from the Kindle owner’s lending library. It received millions of subscribers during the busy holiday season, becoming an immediate hit around the globe.

As for Amazon Prime’s benefits, its free Kindle lending library provides subscribers with over 350,000 eBooks that have no return date. In Kindle Firsts, every month, Amazon picks out four books that have yet to be released and allows members to read one. Its price tag also proves superior; while Netflix costs $7.99 per month, Amazon Prime charges about $6.50 per month–with the latter providing a wider variety of shows.

“With Amazon Prime you get a lot more for your money compared to Netflix,” sophomore Heidi Enger said. “There also seems to be way more choices to watch, plus the TV shows and movies available are newer.”

Although Amazon Prime touts its free two-day shipping, the luxury is not available for all items, and free shipping already existed for purchases over $35. For a guaranteed one-day shipping, Amazon Prime owners must pay an additional $3.99 per item.

“Amazon Prime seems really expensive, and personally, I would be paying for something I can’t even use,” sophomore Erin Slane said. “I have a Nook, so the Kindle lending library would be useless.”

Nonetheless, Amazon Prime has been in copious use over the holiday season: its two-day shipping was so heavily used that UPS and the U.S Postal Service could not keep up promised deadline. As a result, many Americans did not receive their packages in the two days as advertised.  Despite this, those interested might consider subscribing to Amazon Prime because cancellation at any time is permitted.

“I love Amazon Prime, and everything  that it comes with,” junior Rose Martinez said. “ My favorite part about it is the free two day shipping because I enjoy online shopping, and I like not having to wait a week or more.”