4 Surprising Services Amazon Offers — but Will They Save You Money?
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While services can help rake in the savings, others may end up costing you more. Here are four surprising services Amazon offers and whether they're worth the hype.
For those who love to read, Amazon has endless options. With a Prime membership, you can access a large selection of e-books, magazines and audiobooks from any device, and you don't need a Kindle. The perk is called Prime Reading, and it's free for members, which can mean big savings.
Avid readers have taken to Reddit to lament about expensive e-book costs for their Kindles.
'I think the kindle ebook prices are absolutely ridiculous. At max I don't think they should exceed $9.99 though on average I prefer not paying more than around $7 for an ebook. I've been seeing the range around $11.99 to $14.99. They should not cost almost as much as me buying the physical copy,' one user wrote.
With that in mind, you can save a significant amount, depending on how much you read. But it's important to note that you don't own the reading material with Prime Reading, though you have access as often as you'd like.
In addition, Prime comes with First Reads, a service where members can choose from a selection of new books one month before they're published and download one pick for free.
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Amazon is getting more involved in the healthcare game and purchased One Medical, a service that provides virtual consultations and more, in 2023, per CNBC.
Prime members can pay $99 a year, or $9 per month, to tap into several services, including virtual and in-person doctor appointments, on-demand care for some common conditions, and prescription refills. In addition to the annual fee, the cost for virtual and in-person visits apply, and some customers aren't happy with the service.
According to a Reddit thread, many believe the quality of care declined after Amazon acquired the company. 'I've been using one medical for about a decade and have noticed a sharp decline in its quality since being purchased by Amazon,' one user wrote.
Additionally, PBS reported last year that there were concerns about the safety of patients due to inexperienced call center staff.
There also has been a lot of confusion over pricing and whether insurance is taken, so this service may not always save money.
Life is busy, and one thing that makes it easier is delivery. No matter what type of food you're in the mood for, it can be at your doorstep in minutes thanks to services like Grubhub. But it will cost you. Each time you order, there will be a delivery fee, which varies, but when you have Amazon Prime, you have all the perks of Grubhub+.
The service would typically cost $9.99 a month, but it's free with Prime. It includes a $0 delivery fee, 5% back on pickup orders, exclusive deals and more. If you're a Prime member and not using this service when you order in, you're leaving money on the table since it's included in your membership.
Anyone who shops at Whole Foods knows it can be pricey, but as an Amazon Prime member, you can get 10% off sales and special discounts that other shoppers don't receive. While 10% isn't much, any savings at Whole Foods is appreciated.
And for loyal Whole Foods fans, Prime members can pay $9.99 a month for unlimited grocery delivery on orders of $35 or more. And let's be honest, it doesn't take much to rack up that amount.
Ultimately, services that Amazon offers won't benefit everyone, and while there are some good deals and savings, not every service is worth your money.
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- Yahoo
Stablecoins Are on the Rise. 3 Reasons Investors Should Pay Attention to This Popular Cryptocurrency.
Key Points New crypto legislation in Congress has paved the way for rapid expansion of the stablecoin industry. In addition to financial services firms, companies in industries ranging from retail to tech could launch new stablecoins. Stablecoins have the potential to disrupt existing industries and change the way investors value companies. 10 stocks we like better than Circle Internet Group › Passage of landmark new crypto legislation (the Genius Act) has led to a surge of positive sentiment about stablecoins. Some investors now think they have the potential to disrupt entire industries. Although some of this hype and buzz may be overblown, investors still need to pay attention. Here are three key ways that stablecoins could influence your investment strategy. 1. Impact on the business models of top companies Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, have the potential to affect the business models of companies that have nothing to do with crypto or blockchain. Take retail, for example. A handful of top retailers -- including Amazon and Walmart -- are now exploring stablecoins as a way of cutting down on credit card processing fees. At some point in the not-so-distant future, you might be paying for your online purchases with stablecoins, rather than credit cards. Or what about the financial services industry? Visa is a prime candidate for disruption, so it is already taking steps to prepare for the stablecoin era. And Western Union is also preparing for the day when customers use stablecoins rather than dollars to send cross-border remittances. So get ready to hear a lot about stablecoins on analyst calls and at investor conferences. After asking questions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), investors and analysts might start to ask about the impact of stablecoins. At the very least, investors need to understand how stablecoins might change or disrupt existing business models. 2. New stablecoin launches Also, get ready for a deluge of new stablecoin launches from some unlikely names. And it won't just be banks or financial institutions issuing them. Under the Genius Act, even nonbanks will be able to issue them. And that could really open the floodgates. Right now, Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and USDC (CRYPTO: USDC), the stablecoin issued by Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), account for a whopping 90% of the $250 billion stablecoin industry. According to the latest Motley Fool stablecoin research, Tether and Circle are smaller than the biggest national banks, but larger than typical midsized brokerages. So, they're definitely, a force to be reckoned with. Right now, I'm partial to USDC, because it's the unofficial stablecoin of Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN), which has a partnership agreement with Circle. I also am confident that it will never lose its peg to the U.S. dollar. I wouldn't have as much confidence in smaller stablecoins without such a proven track record or as many key partners. It's easy to see how this industry will become a lot more fragmented very soon, making it potentially even more confusing for the average investor. In June, Fortune reported that Apple, Airbnb, X, and Alphabet were exploring stablecoin launches. So, if you're an Apple fan, you might want to own an Apple stablecoin. The same is true if you're an Elon Musk fan -- wouldn't you want to own a cool new X stablecoin? 3. Ethereum Finally, there's the matter of which blockchain will emerge as the dominant platform for stablecoins. Presumably, investors will flock to blockchains that are seeing the most success with stablecoins. That's because stablecoins are key building blocks for everything that happens in blockchain finance. So the most popular blockchains for stablecoins should also get the highest valuations. Currently, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is getting a lot of buzz because it accounts for 49% of the stablecoin market. According to investment strategist Tom Lee of Fundstrat, stablecoins are going to create a "ChatGPT moment" for Ethereum, with the potential to really light a fire under its price. With that in mind, it's easy to see why high-profile investors such as Peter Thiel are now starting to increase their exposure to Ethereum as a way of investing in stablecoins. But Ethereum hardly has a monopoly on stablecoins. All Layer-1 blockchains, if they can support smart contracts, should also be able to support stablecoins. And that creates the opportunity for relatively unknown names to really pop. According to CoinGecko, Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) has a 34.1% share of the stablecoin market. By way of comparison, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) only has a measly 2.2% share. If you think that stablecoins are the future, then Solana (with a $100 billion valuation), might be way overvalued compared to Tron, which has a $30 billion valuation. What's the best way to play the stablecoin trend? It's obvious that there are a number of different ways to play the stablecoin trend. The easiest way is to invest in the issuers of stablecoins, such as Circle. That gives you maximum exposure to any potential upside. You could also invest in blockchains such as Ethereum that are dominant in stablecoins, with the expectation that their values are going to soar. By the end of 2025, investing in stablecoins could get very interesting. What if a popular company like Amazon, Apple, or Alphabet decides to launch a stablecoin? It might fundamentally alter the way investors view these companies. That's why, even if you've never paid attention to stablecoins before, you should now. Very soon, they're going to become impossible to ignore. Should you invest $1,000 in Circle Internet Group right now? Before you buy stock in Circle Internet Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Circle Internet Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Amazon, Circle Internet Group, Ethereum, Solana, and USDC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Ethereum, Solana, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Stablecoins Are on the Rise. 3 Reasons Investors Should Pay Attention to This Popular Cryptocurrency. was originally published by The Motley Fool
