Planning to visit Amazon.com for your holiday shopping this season? From electronics, books and toys to clothing, jewelry and home goods you’re probably already getting a pretty good deal on an item if you buy it on Amazon, but there are still other ways you can save money when shopping. Here's a look at some of the secrets we use when shopping on Amazon:
1 – Sign-up for an Amazon Prime account:
Amazon shoppers can sign up for a 30-day, free Amazon Prime trial, which offers free two-day shipping and loads of special discounts. If you haven't tried prime before, you can take advantage of the freebies and offers before the trial runs out (once per account), and then cancel before the $99 annual fee is automatically charged to your card. There's also options for students and EBT (Snap) card holders.
The Difference between Amazon Student and Prime is that students memberships are free for 6 months, after which you will be upgraded to the discounted version of Amazon Prime. Instead of paying the usual $99/annually with Amazon Prime, you get a 50% discount to $49/annually.
Amazon Prime:
Sign up for your 30-Day Trial of Amazon Prime here >>http://amzn.to/2g7rSEh
Amazon Student:
Sign up for your 6- Month Trial of Amazon Prime STUDENT here >>http://amzn.to/2wqKQw8
EBT (Snap) card holders:
Those with EBT (Snap) cards can sign up for a special Prime rate of $5.99 per month here >>http://amzn.to/2xvTNkK
**NOTE that your EBT card can not be used to pay for the membership
2 – Share Your Prime Account:
You can share your Prime account with your spouse, kids, parents, siblings etc. by visiting the Amazon Household page and inviting household members to share your account. In total, Amazon Household can include up to six members total.
How to Share Your Amazon Prime account:
Check out this post for step by step directions for adding members to your account.
3 – Do a Price Check.
Prices for items on Amazon can go up and down, and just like the stores, Amazon is well known for changing price items and marking items up, in order to mark them down. CamelCamelCamel.com charts Amazon prices and will actually tell you when and what the lowest price for an item was to help you determine when is the right time to buy.
(https://camelcamelcamel.com)
4 – Choose no-rush shipping, and get shopping credits.
Amazon Prime members who choose free no-rush shipping instead of free two-day shipping receive complimentary promotional credits or instant discounts. The credits can be used toward future purchases. Once the item ships, you’ll receive an email with the credit and instructions for redeeming.
5 – Create an Amazon Wish List.
To create a List simply hover over the word “Account & Lists” at the top of any Amazon.com page (must be logged in) and select Create a list from the drop-down. Note: If you're creating multiple Lists, go to an existing List and click Create another list under your profile name. The cool thing about creating a Wish List, is that Amazon will email you of price reductions when items on your list drop in price. Sneaky….
6 – Ask for a Price Match.
Did you know, Amazon has a customer request price match? If you know of a lower price elsewhere, you can report it to Amazon and they could reduce the price. To report a lower price, look at the bottom of the page where the description of the product is, for “Feedback”. You can submit lower prices there and if Amazon finds you are correct, they'll likely lower the price of their item too.
Note: that this is done at the discretion of Amazon. After reporting a lower price, I recommend you add the item to your Wish List and watch for notification.
7 – Trade in your old stuff.
Through its Trade-In program, Amazon offers gift cards to customers who trade in certain items such as tablets, phones, DVDs, CDs, books and video games. You won’t get actual cash in-hand, but considering you can buy pretty much anything on Amazon, a gift card is the next best thing.
Find out More about Amazon's Trade-In program here >> http://amzn.to/2wHKQa7
8 – Take advantage of cheap add-on items.
Amazon sells tons of everyday, affordable of what they call “add-on” items, including toilet paper, vitamins and toiletries. However, keep in mind that you have to spend a total of $25 in order to get these deals. While there isn't a section designated just for Add-On items, look for a little blue banner that states the item is an Add-On.
Learn More about Amazon's Add-On Items here >> http://amzn.to/2eMHA7x
9 – Shop Amazon Warehouse deals.
Amazon Warehouse is Amazon’s store for open-box items such as TVs, tablets, laptops, home goods and more. It usually features items that have been returned, used, damaged in a warehouse or refurbished. Items are sorted by conditions, so you’ll know if the item you purchased is in good condition.
Check out the Warehouse section of Amazon here >> http://amzn.to/2xbTcby
10 – Check the Amazon Outlet for deep discounts.
Amazon Outlet offers deep discounts on last of the lot items. The Outlet section is very random, and keep in mind that they are limited. I've found that sorting them by deepest discount (on the left of page) can yield some pretty good bargains.
Check the Amazon Outlet here >> http://amzn.to/2xctiES
11 – Shop the Gold Box and Lightning Deals.
These Amazon deals change daily (Goldbox) or hourly for (lightning) and they are pretty awesome! They tend to highlight two specials for their “daily deals” the gold box. Both Gold Box and Lightning deals, which go away after the time has expired or the quantity is gone. Since Lightning Deals are time-sensitive, it's important to complete your order quickly. You can sign up to watch a Lightning Deal up to 24 hours before it begins.
Shop the Day's Gold Box and Lightning Deals here >> http://amzn.to/2xcDA7H
12 – Clip the Amazon Coupons.
Amazon has an entire coupon section. These digital coupons can be clipped before ordering and are for more than just food. In the coupon section you'll find additional savings for toys, lawn and garden, pet supplies and more. Sort the coupons according to most popular or by section.
See the coupon section of Amazon here >> http://amzn.to/2wKhVk7
13 – Shop the Subscribe and Save Deals.
Set up regularly scheduled deliveries and earn savings with Subscribe & Save. Plus, you can unlock additional savings when you subscribe to five or more products at one address on your monthly delivery day. From diapers to toothpaste to dog treats, you can subscribe to thousands of everyday products from Amazon and Amazon Marketplace.
Money Saving Tip: Amazon can, and usually does, change the price of your future deliveries at any time, so make sure to cancel your subscription, prior to your second delivery. And, be sure to watch the Subscribe & Save Coupon section, for additional savings.
See the Current Subscribe & Save deals here >>http://amzn.to/2eN0oDq
14 – Join Amazon Family.
Prime members get up to a 15% Completion Discount on eligible items, compliments of Amazon Family. Plus,
See the discounts for Amazon Family here >>http://amzn.to/2j5ZT8P
15 – Create a Baby Registry.
Prime members with a baby registry are eligible for other rotating limited time offers such as a Welcome Box, free parenting eBook, discounts from Tiny Prints, maternity savings, and much more!
Create a Baby Registry here >> http://amzn.to/2eIijrd
16 – Create a Wedding Registry.
Note only does an Amazon Bridal registry make it easy for your guests to shop, you'll also get a free gift when you guest purchase select items. Plus, you get an additional 20% off anything on your registry that wasn't purchased.
Learn more and create a Bridal registry here >> http://amzn.to/2gNEVee
17 – Use Coinstar to get Amazon Gift Cards.
Instead of letting your loose change hang around on the bathroom counter, store it in a jar and bring it to a Coinstar kiosk. After putting in your loose change, you can opt for an Amazon Gift Card instead of the bills. Admittedly, this doesn't really save you money, but it is a fun way to save up for Amazon shopping.
Find a Coinstar Kiosk here >> https://www.coinstar.com
18 – Use Your Rewards to Get FREE Amazon Gift Cards.
Ibotta (my personal favorite), Shopkick, Kellogg's Family Rewards, and various other rewards companies allow you to cash out your rewards points for free Amazon gift cards. Check the rewards program you use most often, and you likely find opportunities to earn free gift cards.
Last Tip – Join our Facebook Group.
Last, I want to mention the Amazon Deals section of the website, where we list some of the more popular items we find on Amazon when they are at their lowest price. We also share a lot directly to our Facebook group, that we know won't last long enough to post to the website. You can join our Facebook Group here >>
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