Membership has its privileges in Amazon's physical bookstores
Non-Prime members shopping in the e-commerce giant's brick-and-mortar stores pay list price for books and other items.
Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in its hometown of Seattle.
The next time you shop at one of Amazon's three physical stores, the cost of that physical book you're holding will depend on whether you have Prime, according to a GeekWire report.
Prime members -- who pay $99 a year for free, two-day shipping and other perks -- get the same discount they see online. Non-Prime members pay the full list price. For devices like the Echo and Fire tablets, in-store and online prices are the same, regardless of whether a customer is a Prime member or not.
Amazon has stores in Seattle, San Diego and Portland, Oregon, and plans to open a fourth in the greater Boston area. Chicago will have a store of its own too, the company said in August.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on GeekWire's report.
Prime customers are estimated to spend roughly twice as much with Amazon than non-Prime shoppers. Yet Prime's popularity is also hurting Amazon's bottom line, thanks to rising shipping costs. The company last week said third-quarter shipping expenses jumped 43 percent, eating into Amazon's profit.
Amazon appears to have a plan around the problem. In just the past month, the online retailer rolled out Audible Channels, Prime Reading and an updated Prime Music -- three new ways to woo members that don't require shipping.