--- description: Amazon's latest move comes as the online retailer wars intensify. title: Amazon: Free Shipping for Small Items image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Amazon Introduces Free Shipping for Small Items by [Kia Kokalitcheva/Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Kia Kokalitcheva/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 11:53 PM CUT by [Kia Kokalitcheva/Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Kia Kokalitcheva/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 11:53 PM CUT Amazon has introduced free shipping on all small lightweight items, with no minimum purchase necessary. The online retailing giant’s new initiative means that all shoppers can buy thousands of products like cosmetics and phone accessories without having to fork over extra for delivery, according to a [_Bloomberg_](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-02/amazon-debuts-free-shipping-on-small-goods-without-minimum-order "undefined") report. Until now, only subscribers to Amazon’s Prime membership or those whose orders totaled at least $35 qualified for free shipping. Now, even certain $5 orders will reach your doorstep with you having to pay for postage. One difference, however, is that shipping will take five to seven days instead of the two days Amazon offers to Prime members. Amazon seems to be targeting cost-conscious shoppers who are more reluctant to commit to the Prime membership’s $99 annual fee but who will likely shop more from Amazon because of the free shipping. The move can also help Amazon remain competitive in the face of other retailers like [Walmart](http://fortune.com/video/2015/05/14/can-walmarts-shipping-service-beat-amazon-prime/ "undefined") and [Target](http://fortune.com/2015/02/23/target-amazon-ecommerce/ "undefined") recently announcing their own fast-shipping programs for low fees. These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/"},"headline":"Amazon Introduces Free Shipping for Small Items","datePublished":"2015-06-02T23:53:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:35.966Z","description":"Amazon's latest move comes as the online retailer wars intensify.","url":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/","keywords":["Tech","Amazon","E-Commerce","free","Amazon Prime","Shipping","free shipping","delivery","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kia Kokalitcheva/Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/","name":"Amazon Introduces Free Shipping for Small Items"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See The Unique Way Amazon Ships This Teddy Bear","description":"Go Behind the Scenes at Amazon to see how the products you buy make it to the shipping truck","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IY8KG0y3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-01T04:19:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IY8KG0y3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3906659/amazon-free-shipping-small-items/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```