Marc Serafino
We all love Amazon, and more often than not we buy stuff from them even when some other retailer is offering a better deal. Simply put — it is super convenient.
There are, however, some services — many of which operated by Amazon itself — that let you save on pretty much every purchase you make. We’ve read all the advice we could find around the internet and have prepared this comprehensive list to help you be more frugal when buying stuff from Amazon.
The article is separated in two sections, the first talking about Amazon’s own money-saving services and the second — about third-party tools. Let’s roll…
Amazon’s own tools
1. Sign-up for Subscribe and Save
This Amazon program is made for purchases users make on a regular basis, providing them with discounts on thousands of everyday items, such as laundry supplies and baby products. As part of the deal, you benefit from savings of up to 15 percent on the entire order and, of course, the free shipping.
2. Get Amazon Prime
There are a number of benefits included with the Amazon Prime membership, including a free two-day shipping and access to special members-only discounts. The latter could tempt you to spend more than planned, with Amazon following every step you take on its site to serve you the deals you actually care about. One dirty trick to know: while Amazon Prime costs $99 per year, you won’t be charged during the first 30 days — this trial period is offered to everyone. You can use it to your advantage, and at very least, get free two-day shipping… before cancelling the members (if you don’t need it). We are Amazon Prime members, if you wonder.
3. Select no-rush shipping for shopping credits
As mentioned, when you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you get a free two-day shipping. But you don’t have to use it all the time — and when you’re not using it, you’ll earn promotional credits to be used toward your next purchases at Amazon. This is useful for items you don’t need that fast in the first place — why not get something in return for taking the slow route.
4. Let your whole family benefit from Amazon Prime
This is made possible with the Amazon Household service that allows you to share Amazon digital content using Family Library and manage profiles of children in the Household. Also, your entire family gets to benefit from free two-day shipping, Prime Video, and other digital benefits. Amazon Household can contain up to six members, two adults and up to four children.
5. Get to the next level with Amazon Family
Another great Amazon program that is free for Amazon Prime members, offering great deals on baby registry items and such essentials as diapers (20% off!), wipes and more. Also included are exclusive coupons on a range of products, from laundry detergent to granola bars.
6. Students get Amazon Prime for less
Students can save on the Amazon Prime membership by signing-up for the Amazon Student program. Available for free during the first six month, the program offers free two-day shipping, access to unlimited photo storage and few other benefits. The best part is that after the free trial ends, you’ll get upgraded to a Amazon Prime membership for half the cost! Students are tight on budget, and Amazon wants to help.
7. Check out Today’s Deals
You will find this link at the top of many Amazon pages, clicking on which you will be able to access limited-time offers such as “Deal of the Day” and “Lightning Deals.” During the years, I have made quite a few cool purchases from Today’s Deals, until I’ve learned to control myself. Be careful as checking this link on a regular basis could prompt you to spend more than planned.
8. Clip Amazon Coupons
This special section of Amazon’s website lets you find coupons on a number of popular product items, including cleaning supplies, groceries, household items, supplements and more. You can browse coupons by brand, and when you find something that you need — simply click “Clip Coupon” to add the item to your cart.
9. Get an Amazon Credit Card
Amazon offers a few different credit cards, each of which gets you a percentage back on every order you make with the company. The best deal is available for Amazon Prime members who get to benefit from 5% back on every dollar spent on Amazon. Also, the Amazon Rewards Visa Card offers 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores, as well as 1% back on all other purchases. In addition, you get $50 Amazon.com Gift Card instantly upon approval. Just make sure to make regular monthly payments and not carry too much balance from one month to the other (APR is in the 14.99% – 22.99% range).
10. Buy deeply discounted fancy items from Amazon Outlet
This is the place where you can find amazing deals on markdowns and overstocks — you’ll find items such as electronics, accessories, clothing, kitchen gadgets, and more all year round.
11. Purchase designer goods through MyHabit
For fancy items, you’ll want to check Amazon MyHabit (aka Amazon Fashion), which lets you buy stuff from top designer brands that are up to 70 percent off. The site hosts daily events that start at 9 a.m. and allow you to buy men’s and women’s clothing, as well as beauty products, home goods, toys and more.
12. Get open-box items from Amazon Warehouse
This is the place where you can buy open-box items, including TVs, laptops, tablets, home goods and more. Due to their condition, all these items are offered for less, and if you search carefully you can grab some really amazing deal. You will, however, have to read whether any kind of warranty is included — cause in some cases, you won’t get one.
13. Buy add-ons
If you spend a total of $25 on select products, Amazon will offer you affordable “add-on” items, such as toilet paper, vitamins and toiletries. This is their way of increasing the value of the transaction, while also offering something extra to their loyal clientele.
14. Trade in your old stuff
Amazon’s Trade-In program lets you trade in your old stuff like phones, tablets, DVDs, CDs, books and video games. In return you won’t get cash, but Amazon credits that allow you to buy any item on the site. And considering that these days you can find just about anything on Amazon — that’s as good as cash.
15. Seamlessly donate to your favorite charity
Not really a money saving advice, but if you are already donating money to charities, we suggest checking out the AmazonSmile program. By signing-up, Amazon will automatically donate 0.5 percent of your purchase price to the charitable organization of your choice. It’s that simple.
Look beyond Amazon.com
16. Download a price comparison plugin
A service called PriceBlink.com offers a plugin that will allow you to find better prices for just about any item you may be looking at Amazon.com. You don’t have to do any extra work to benefit from the service — just browse around Amazon and let PriceBlink suggest you other places where you can buy the same item for less.
17. Use deal tracker sites
Related to the previous point, a deal tracker site like CamelCamelCamel.com will alert you when an item you want drops in price. You see — like in any other store — prices on Amazon can go up and down. As a savvy shopper, you want to buy stuff when they are cheaper. The service we’ve mentioned offers pricing histories of millions of items to help you determine when is the right time to buy.
18. Use Ebates to get cash back
Online shopping site Ebates lets users get between 3 and 7 percent back on their Amazon purchases. The exact amount you can get back depends on the product category, but you will get something back anyway. No need to leave any money on the table.
19. Buy pre-owned Amazon Gift Cards
These are gift cards people got as gifts and for one reason or the other, they don’t want to use them. Buying a pre-owned Amazon Gift Card could save you up to 20 percent. The good place to start is GiftCardGranny.com where you will also find pre-owned gift cards of many other stores. (Related: 7 Gift Card Hacks to Help You Save Money)
20. Turn your spare change into Amazon credit
A company called Outerwall is operating a network of so called Coinstar kiosks all around the U.S. as well as in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. These kiosks allow users to drop off their spare change and later “convert” it into a gift card. Amazon is one of supported merchants, in addition to Starbucks, Gap, iTunes, J.C. Penny, among others. Generally speaking, these kiosks are placed in the front of stores, between the cash registers and the exit/entrance, so if you live in an area where these kiosks are placed (you can find out that from this page), this could be a service worth considering.
Have we missed something?
As we’ve said at the beginning of this article, we did our research but perhaps we’ve missed something. If you know about some other service that could help us save money on Amazon, we want to learn about it. Do let us know in the comments section below. Thanks.
