Amazon considers doubling the cost of Amazon Prime

Amazon announced Thursday that it might increase the cost of Amazon Prime subscriptions, as it released lackluster quarterly earnings. During a conference call with investors, the company said Prime subscription, which offer members receive free two-day shipping and access to Amazon’s instant video service and Kindle “lending library,” could increase from $20 to $40 to cover rising fuel and shipping costs.

Amazon Prime subscriptions have cost $79 a year ever since the free two-day shipping service launched in 2005. Since then, however, the company has been adding perks, including a catalog of movies and TV shows available for streaming and the option to lend up to one Kindle e-book a month. Well, after weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, the company is considering raising the price of Prime by $20 or $40. Chief Financial Officer Thomas Szkutak announced the possible move in a conference call with analysts, though he stopped short of giving a timeline or sharing details of how they’d go about implementing the hike.