Amazon is one of the Internet’s most popular shopping destinations. And, it makes sense as you can find just about anything you want on this site. But, that doesn’t mean it is always the best deal.
You need to know what to do to ensure you get some of the best prices on Amazon. These are trips, ticks, and hacks I’ve picked up over the year and now – I am sharing them with you!
AMAZON MONEY SAVING HACKS
1. Don’t check out right away
It may sound crazy, but this can work. Amazon (as well as other sites), want you to buy. If you add something to your cart and wait a few days, they will usually send a reminder that you’ve left items in your cart. Sometimes, these include an additional discount if you will finalize your purchase.
Keep in mind that this is not always a guarantee, but it has been known to work.
2. Earn free Amazon gift cards
Believe it or not, there are legitimate ways to earn free Amazon gift cards. You can convert Ibotta savings into a gift card or even build up points on Swagbucks for your card. Start using these sites so you can get paid in the form of Amazon cards!
Also see: How to save money using the Ibotta app
I’ve got a list of 12 ways you can earn free Amazon gift cards that are super simple to follow. Anyone can do them!
3. Get a free Amazon Prime account
If you are a student with a .edu e-mail address, you can score Amazon Prime free for 30 days. While you do not score every single Prime benefit, you will get access to most of them including free two-day shipping, Prime video, photo storage, exclusive deals and more!
If, when your six-month trial ends you wish to continue, you can do so at 50% off of the regular $14.99 rate. However, if you decide not to continue, you will need to cancel your membership before the trial period ends, as you will be automatically enrolled in the program.
4. Free photo and video storage
If you currently pay for a service, such as Dropbox, you may want to drop it. Amazon Prime members get free photo and video storage included with their accounts. That puts that $14.99 fee back into your pocket month-after-month, without sacrificing cloud storage.
5. Use the Amazon coupons page
Amazon offers more than 1,000 coupons every single month. These can drop some low prices even further — saving you even more!
Visit the Amazon coupon page to check out this month’s newest offers.
6. Get deals in your inbox
E-mails are great. They are even better when they include information that interests you. Amazon allows you to customize the types of e-mail deals you want to know about, so you only get alerted to the things you like!
7. Shop with discounted gift cards
Before you shop, buy discounted gift cards on sites such as Raise.com. You will get the full face value of the card but pay less.
For instance, I may find a $25 gift card for $23 on Raise.com. Sure, it’s just a $2 discount, but that is $2 savings!
8. Buy used
Sometimes, the used items are in excellent shape, and you can get them at a discount. It may mean a box is missing, or there is a blemish on it, but it is a great way to save.
Best of all, Amazon stands behind these products just as they do brand new items. If you have a problem, let them know, and they will take care of you.
9. Shop the Warehouse
One of the first places I shop is Amazon Warehouse. You can find refurbished, open box and other products at deep discounts. Check here before you visit the full site as you may see the item you want at the price you want to pay.
10. Hit the $25 minimum shipping threshold easily
If you do not have Amazon Prime and your total is less than $25, you will be stuck paying shipping charges. A simple workaround is to order a gift card from a store or restaurant you know you’ll visit. That will take your total above the minimum, scoring you free shipping!
11. Use Amazon Family for diaper and formula savings
If you have kids, you should sign up for Amazon Family. You will save 20% on diaper subscriptions! Best of all, the diapers show up on your doorstep (no rushing to the store for diapers). You will also find hundreds of coupons to use on the baby and toddler products you need.
(Psst — You also get the other benefits of your Amazon Prime membership)
12. Filter your search for discounts
I love using this to find the best discounts on the items I want. It requires you to add a bit of code to the end of the URL once you’ve done your search, but it is simple.
Just add “&pct-off=##-##” to return the items that are on sale for the discount you want.
For example, if you want to look at items that are between 35 – 50% off, you would add &pct-off-35-50 to the end of the code. I was searching for water balloons and wanted only those that were 50% off, so this is what my URL looked like:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=water+balloons&pct-off-50
13. Get free Audiobooks
Audible is owned by Amazon. When you sign up for an Audible account (even the free 30-day membership), you will get two free books!
14. Review items at a discount
When new products hit Amazon, they need reviews. There are sites these sellers visit to find people do to just that. You can purchase items at deep discounts in exchange for sharing your honest review. A few sites include Vipon, JumpSend, and ProductElf.
Make sure you read the fine print on any site you visit when doing the reviews.
15. Watch price changes
My favorite site for watching price drops is CamelCamelCamel. Yes, it sounds a bit odd, but it works! You can mark the products you want to watch and the price you want. When there is a drop that meets your criteria, you get an email in your inbox. So simple!
16. Trade in old products
If you have old electronics, games, etc., you may be able to trade them in and get Amazon gift cards in return! It is a way to clean up the clutter and get some cash – without having to hold a garage sale or anything else.
17. Try another color
Sometimes, the same product will offer different colors – at lower prices. If you are willing to select another color, you can sometimes save.
18. Take advantage of pre-order guarantee pricing
When there are new releases of games or other electronics, you can be sure to get the lowest price – without doing the legwork. Amazon will match competitors pricing and will pass that along to you.
When you order an item before release, Amazon will watch what you paid vs. the price that may end up lower. If the price drops – you get a refund. Best of all, you don’t have to do anything to ask for it as they do so automatically.
Read more about Pre-Order Price Guarantee.
19. Use the Amazon credit card
While I am not a huge proponent of credit cards, using them responsibly can make sense. The Amazon store card knocks another 5% off of every Amazon purchases you make every day.
Remember the cardinal rules of credit card use – never charge more than you have in cash in the bank and pay it in full every single month!
20. Get a free month of Amazon Prime for late products
If your ordered item does not arrive by the date promised, Amazon will often extend your Amazon Prime membership by one month. It doesn’t happen every single time (and if you’ve already taken advantage of this previously, they may not give you another month).
Reach out to them via e-mail, phone or chat if this happens to you.
21. Share your Prime account
Did you know that you can share your Amazon prime account with a family member? You won’t be able to share every single feature, but you can share many of them. Find someone who is interested, and you can split the cost of the annual membership. Viola! Instant savings!
22. Use Honey to find coupons
While you can use the coupon page on Amazon, you can find them more quickly with the Honey extension. This app will look at the product you want to purchase and will search for a coupon. If there is one out there, they’ll let you know and apply it. (PS – This works with other sites too)!
There you go! More than 20 easy ways you can save more money on Amazon!! Happy shopping (and saving)!
