Amazon Business Prime
The University of Richmond has partnered with Amazon to utilize its Business Prime option to leverage cost-savings through business-only pricing, quantity discounts, sales tax exempt purchases, and free shipping. Our partnership also simplifies the purchasing process and allows our employees to take advantage of the wide selection and competitive prices on the Amazon Business marketplace. The membership is paid upfront by the University to not overburden individual departmental budgets.
Join the Amazon Business Prime Account!
Making Amazon purchases through the Business Prime account is just as easy as through your personal Amazon account and is the only approved method for purchasing via Amazon at the University. To begin making purchases for your department with Amazon you'll need a valid richmond.edu email address and a University Purchasing Card (PCard).
To join the University of Richmond Amazon Business Prime account:
- Contact the Purchasing Specialist (administrator of our Amazon Business Prime account) at procurement@richmond.edu and ask to receive an invitation to join the account. You should receive an invitation within two business days.
- For further guidance, access the Instructions for joining our Amazon Business Prime account or email procurement@richmond.edu for additional assistance.
- Once you have received your invitation, click the link and sign up using your University of Richmond email**.
- Start purchasing! Be sure to use the University PCard when making purchases from the Amazon Business Prime. No other method of payments are accepted.
**Note: If you already are using your richmond.edu email address for a personal Amazon account you will need to transfer this account to a personal email address (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo accounts, etc.) before accepting the invitation to join the University's business account.
Frequently Asked Questions
By joining the University’s Amazon Business Prime account for University purchases, you will immediately have access to the following benefits:
- Free Two-day Shipping on over 100 million Prime-badged products
- Free Consolidated Shipping – choose to receive orders in fewer deliveries
- Discounted Expedited Delivery – pay less for one-day shipping on millions of items
- Free Delivery on Special Items – some large, heavy products that require special handling
Unfortunately you cannot use your @richmond.edu email as both a personal Amazon account and as part of the University’s Business Prime account. If you plan to make any purchases from Amazon for University business and you are using your @richmond.edu email address for a personal Amazon account you will have to switch the account to another email then setup a new Business Prime account using the @richmond.edu email address.
Further, Amazon does notify the University of faculty/staff @richmond.edu emails being used outside our Business Prime account and therefore prefer, but not require, personal Amazon accounts not use the @richmond.edu email address.
Yes. If you are making any purchases on behalf of the University through Amazon, you need to sign up for the business account. Luckily, it is a simple process! Contact the Purchasing Specialist at procurement@richmond.edu to be added to the business account.
No. You should not use the University's business account to make personal purchases. The University's tax-exemption form is linked to the business account and should be used for University business purchases only.
No. A University PCard (individual or departmental card) is required when making purchases through the Amazon business account.
No. You can only sign up using your University email address.
All orders must be shipped to a University of Richmond Address. If you have a special need for another shipping address, please contact the Purchasing Specialist at procurement@richmond.edu.
No. The University’s tax-exemption is for University use and purchases only and should not be added to a personal Amazon account.
Should you have any difficulty, Amazon Business Customer Service may be reached by phone at (866) 486-2360.
You may contact Amazon Business Customer Service at (866) 486-2360.
No, the Amazon Business Prime membership is charged to the University’s central account. Individual departments are not responsible for the cost.
Please contact Amazon customer service, (888) 280-4331.
