Amazon expands its prime delivery service to other online retailers

April 21 (UPI) -- Amazon said Thursday it will allow other retailers to use its Prime delivery network to fulfill their orders.

Buy With Prime will "extend the convenience of Prime shopping to online stores" beyond Amazon, the company said in a statement.

The company said Buy With Prime brings fast and free delivery, free returns and a seamless checkout experience directly to merchants' online stores.

"With the introduction of Buy with Prime, we're expanding where members can enjoy trusted and convenient Prime shopping benefits beyond Amazon, adding even more value to their membership," said Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime.

While using the new service is free to consumers, it's not free to retailers.

Amazon said pricing for the merchants will be based "on a service fee, a payment processing fee, and fulfillment and storage fees that are calculated per unit."

Since there's no fixed subscription fee or long-term contract required, according to Amazon, retailers can expand selection or cancel at any time.

In the press statement announcing the new service, Amazon said "merchants will simply pay for what they use."

Buy With Prime is the latest move by Amazon to compete with major national shippers including the U.S. Postal Service, UPS and Fed-Ex.

Amazon is on track this year to become the largest delivery service in the nation, according to Amazon's Dave Clark.