Amazon cuts price of Ring's original Video Doorbell from ~$150 to $100 as acquisition closes, says it's looking into adding Ring to Amazon Key
Ben Fox Rubin / CNET :
Context & Ripple Effects
Amazon closed its $1B+ acquisition of Ring weeks ago, and the first visible move is a price cut: the original Video Doorbell drops from roughly $150 to $100. The stated interest in adding Ring to Amazon Key matters more than the discount — it signals the doorbell is being positioned as an access point for deliveries, not just a security camera.
That positioning was later confirmed when Key By Amazon added garage and business delivery plus Ring compatibility. The price cut also set a template Ring kept following: a $99.99 entry-level doorbell in 2020, then a $60 Video Doorbell Wired in 2021.
First-order effects
- Buyers get the original Video Doorbell for about $100 instead of $150 immediately after the deal closes, making Ring's cheapest widely-known device a mass-market impulse purchase under Amazon ownership.
- Amazon publicly floats Ring integration with Amazon Key, putting Ring hardware on the roadmap for in-home and garage delivery access.
Second-order effects
- Each discounted doorbell deepens the pool of camera-equipped front doors that Amazon Key-style delivery services can build on, turning hardware discounts into logistics infrastructure.
- A $100 anchor price pressures the whole smart-doorbell category toward sub-$150 entry points, forcing rivals to compete on subscription value rather than sticker price.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, doorbell hardware keeps getting cheaper while revenue migrates to recurring plans — culminating in offerings like Ring Home Premium at $20 per month with 24/7 recording and AI-powered search.
- Video doorbells consolidate into platform ecosystems where the camera is a loss-leader for delivery access and subscription services, rather than a standalone product category.
The trend: Smart-home security hardware is being repriced as a subscriber-acquisition funnel, with Amazon using Ring's doorbell line to pull customers into delivery access and monthly video plans.