14 Things You Need to Know About Shopping Amazon

 

Okie dokie folks, with the Christmas shopping season right around the corner it's time to get ready to do some savvy shopping! As y'all know, I love shopping Amazon for Christmas deals (in fact probably 80% of my Christmas shopping the last few years has been done through Amazon), but there are a few things you need to know about Amazon shopping to get the most bang for your buck.

 

1. Amazon prices change fast.

This can be so frustrating as a shopper, but literally a deal can change within minutes. I post things here on PPP as soon as I see them, however sometimes they last only a matter of minutes. (Yesterday I posted these and the price went up thirteen minutes later!)

If you see a good price on something you've been waiting for, it's probably worth grabbing it sooner than later. While Amazon does occasionally drop prices on just about everything, many of those big price drops don't last long so you'll want to act quickly before the deal's gone.

 

 

2. Amazon will refund your money if an item drops in price within seven business days of delivery of your purchase.

This is only valid on items shipped and sold by Amazon, but if you see something drop in price within a few days of purchase, contact Amazon to get a refund of the difference. (One more reason to order when the price drops . . . if it drops even further you'll be refunded the difference.)

 

And, if you find a lower price elsewhere on another qualifying website after purchasing something, let Amazon know and they'll refund you the difference.

3. Every day Amazon updates new Gold Box deals which can offer some serious savings.

Find today's Amazon Gold Box deals over HERE, and be sure to keep up with their daily Lightning deals as well. 

 

4. Amazon offers lots (lots) of coupons.

Go HERE to see Amazon's coupon page, which is a great (easy!) way to save. My favorite deals with Amazon coupons are their diaper, toilet paper, and health & beauty coupons (things like Cover Girl, Pantene, and Tressemme), and typically by waiting for a decent Amazon sale on these I'll spend less than I would at the grocery store using coupons.

 

5. Some items at Amazon are considered “add-on” items which require a  minimum $25 purchase to get that price, however, there may be a way around that.

Amazon's add on items occasionally offer great savings, however you have to spend a minimum $25 to get that price. However, if that item happens to be offered as a “subscribe and save” deal, you can subscribe to the item and skip the $25 minimum.

 

If the add-on item is not offered as a subscribe and save item, there are usually great paper product deals offered regularly which are a great way to stock up on toilet paper and paper towels, and tack on your add-on item to the order. I usually have a few basic things that we buy from Amazon on my list, so when I see an add-on item I order everything at once.

Note – if there's something available to pre-order that you're willing to wait on, go ahead and pre-0rder it and THEN add the add-on item to your cart. The add-on item will ship now, and then the pre-order item will ship when it's available.

6. Share your Amazon Prime benefits between two adults and four children.

This doesn't seem all that exciting to me since the 4 other family members need to be in your home, but it can make for some easier Christmas shopping. Share your Amazon Prime subscription with up to 4 other people in your home so they can take advantage of free shipping as well.

 

To share your prime benefits, go HERE, click “share your prime benefits” at the bottom of the page, and add up to four people in your home.

 

UPDATE: I'm reading through the specific rules on Amazon Family and I *think* you may be able to share it with people that are family members even if they don't live in your home? Read more HERE and if you've tried this please let me know what you've found out. 

 

7. Take advantage of Amazon Mom and save 20% off diaper purchases. 

And, if you're a student with a valid .edu address, enjoy 6 months of Amazon Prime for free. 

 

8. Every day Amazon offers free games.

Go HERE to see updated free apps on Amazon. New ones are added every single day (mostly priced $3.99-$4.99), so this is a great way  to save.

 

9. Watch your shipping date guarantee and you might score an Amazon credit.

If you're guaranteed two-day shipping from Amazon, make sure it gets there in time. If it doesn't arrive by it's ship date, take a minute to contact Amazon customer service and they may give you a credit on your account of up to $10. Love that!

 

 

 

10. Take advantage of Kindle daily deals.

Each day Amazon offers special Kindle daily deals. These are priced at $1.99-$2.99, and more than 50% off. Go HERE to check them out.

 

 

11. Amazon makes it fairly easy to return items.

If you get something that's not what you expected, Amazon makes it pretty easy to return it. Just log into your orders, explain why you're returning it, and print a return shipping label. Depending on the reason for your return (if it's something that was Amazon's fault), Amazon may also pay the return shipping costs.

 

If something sold by is delivered broken, Amazon will usually replace it for you without you having to return the item, just let a customer service agent know. 

 

12. Amazon Prime (may) be worth it for you.

Read more on this over HERE, but it's totally worth trying Amazon Prime out for a month for free, especially during the Holiday season when they offer tons of big price drops. Here are a few quick features:

• Amazon Prime Free Movie and Television Streaming.
• Free Kindle eBooks.
• Amazon offers unlimited photo storage for Amazon Prime Members through Amazon Cloud Drive. Amazon Prime members can take advantage of Pantry savings.
• Amazon Prime Music offers free streaming of millions of songs.

 

Read more HERE.

 

13. About subscribe and save . . .

Okay, this could be an entire post on it's own, but here's a basic rundown of how to take advantage of Amazon's subscribe and save program. 

• Basically, when you subscribe to a subscribe and save item, you'll save an additional 5% on your order.
• Want to save more? Subscribe and save to 5 or more items in a given month and you'll receive a whopping 15% off all your subscriptions. (TIP: If you want multiples of the same item on subscribe and save, don't change the quantity. Do multiple subscriptions of the same item which will count towards 15% off your total order. If you order more than 1 of the same item it will only count as 1 subscription. Thanks so much Cynthia for sharing!)
• To take advantage of these offers, I typically subscribe and save for an item with the next shipment beginning 6 months from now. 
• Once the order has been delivered I cancel my subscriptions because the price may not stay the same and I don't want to pay too much if the price does increase.
• Be sure to check your subscribe and save order page every few months to make sure nothing new is coming that you don't expect!

 

 

 

14. Don't forget you can make money with Amazon. 

Take a minute to see how Amazon will actually pay you for things you already have at home. Such a great way to earn extra cash without having a yard sale!

 

One thing I didn't cover here was the benefits of Amazon Prime Pantry – but that's a whole other post! I'll be working on that one soon and share a few of my secrets to getting the best bang for your buck there too. 🙂