Not content with merely showcasing a series of LOTR hand portraits, Amazon Prime has another announcement on this fine Thursday: It’s jacking its price up for for U.S. members! Starting February 18 for new members and March 25 for existing members, the annual price for Amazon’s service will climb to $139 from $119 — about a 17 percent markup. Members who subscribe monthly will not be spared: The new rate will be $14.99 a month from $12.99. Amazon, a company that posted $386 billion in revenue in 2020, said it needed to raise prices due to “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs.†The supply chain shackles us all — especially when your company has a [checks notes] peeing-in-bottles problem? Not great! Amazon last raised prices in April 2018, and it isn’t the only streaming provider doing so this quarter; it follows Netflix’s lead from last month. And why not? All the gold leaf on those fancy Rings of Power portraits didn’t come cheap.