As usual, Amazon is pushing its Prime service these days, offering a free monthlong trial. On the surface, it seems like a reasonable offer for heavy customers: pay $79 and you get free two-day shipping with no minimum order amount and overnight shipping for $4.

Blogging at LiveCheap, Omie Ismail says the service isn’t worth it because Amazon limits the items you can use the free shipping on, and also — as we’ve reported in the past — raises prices of certain items for Prime customers.

Omie also found another drawback:

After my experience with the non-Prime purchases, I found myself looking only at the Prime eligible items. Invariably, the Prime items carried a higher price tag especially at low price points. Items that were $8 from most vendors were $13 through Amazon.com. So I would get free 2 day shipping, but it was embedded in the price. Considering that I’d already paid for the shipping advantage by subscribing to Prime, it felt like I was taking money from one pocket and putting it in another.

Current and former Amazon Prime users, is Prime a good deal or a trap to exploit customer loyalty?

Amazon Prime: Is It Worth It? [LiveCheap]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.