15 Secrets to Saving Money on Amazon
There’s a running joke in our house that everything comes in the mail. When my son was about 2 he came in one morning and asked me if I could “Order some Oreos” ha! He pretty much thought at this stage in his life that the UPS Man brought him all these gifts each day and that everything (Including Snacks) came in the mail. That was the first time I thought “I might have an Amazon Problem” the truth is I’ve come to accept this because the Amazon Deals are amazing and the SIMPLICITY it brings my life is something I just can’t give up!
So for all you Amazon Novices out there I’ve put together 15 SECRETS to Saving Money on Amazon!
1. Deep Discounts on Open Box Items
Did you know that Amazon has an entire section for Discount Items because the items were returned and the boxes were opened! You can save big just by purchasing an already opened item from the Amazon Warehouse. You can buy everything from Watches, to Coffee Makers, TVs and more!
2. Shop the Amazon Outlet
It’s like an Outlet Mall Online! Amazon has an entire section of Closeout Deals on items that are being discontinued. You can see all of the Amazon Outlet Deals Here, everything from Clearance Items, to Overstocks and more! My favorite deals are the Manager’s Specials on Grocery and Gourmet Food! You can get some great deals on Organic Items, Snacks for Kids and more by shopping these deals.
Remember the Outlet Deals change daily so you’ll want to check back frequently and buy fast because these items do sell out since there are limited quantities available at the lowest prices. All outlet deals are typically 30% off or more from the original prices and typically you are buying more than one item so make sure you calculate out the per unit cost so compare the prices on each item.
3. Get the Best Prices on TVs with Price Matching
Did you know that Amazon will price match select online retailers for the lowest prices on TVs and Cell Phones? They don’t price match everything, but they do offer a Low Price Guarantee on TVs and Cell Phones compared with this select list of retailers.
Amazon also has a 14 day guarantee on Cell Phone Prices with Service. Get all the details here.
4. Pre-Order DVDs at their Lowest Price!
You can Pre-Order DVD’s at their lowest price with Amazon’s Price Guarantee, If the price decreases between your orde time and the end of the day of the release date then you’ll receive the lowest price. This is automatic, you don’t even have to contact them. Your account will reflect the lowest price within 24-48 hours of the price change.
Pre-order Price Guarantee applies only to not-yet-released books, CDs, videos, DVDs, software, and video games sold by Amazon.com. It does not apply to other product lines or to items that have already been released.
5. Get Cash Back if the Price Drops!
If you find a lower price on Amazon after you make a purchase you can contact Amazon Customer Service and ask about a refund of the difference. Most of the time (Depending on the item) They will adjust the price and give you back the difference. Remember, this typically has a 7 day window so it’s a good idea to watch out for price drops after you make a purchase.
You can contact Amazon Customer Service here via Email, Phone or Live Chat.
6. Watch Free Movies & TV Shows
Let’s just be honest we all like to complain about the cost of Amazon Prime, but the truth is it’s only $8.25 a Month and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t LOVE their Prime Membership! I’m only using 2 of my 5 Amazon Prime Benefits and I still love it :) For me the benefits of being able to get free shipping on small purchases means I’m not adding items to my cart that I don’t need!
Plus you get access to Thousands of Amazon Instant Videos and TV Shows for FREE With your Prime Membership. So Ditch Netflix and start taking advantage of all your Prime Membership has to offer!
Here are the Benefits of Prime: FREE 2 Day Shipping, Photo Storage, Free Kindle Books from the Lending Library, FREE Prime Instant Videos and the New Prime Music! You can get a FREE 30 Day Trial of Prime and watch over 40,000 Movies & Shows for Free!
7. Read FREE Kindle Books without a Kindle
Amazon offers Hundreds of Free Kindle Books each Day. See the full list of the Best Selling FREE Kindle Books Here. You can read these Free Kindle Books (or any Kindle Book) Without purchasing a Kindle just by downloading the Free Reading App to your iPad, Smart Phone or Computer.
Download the FREE Kindle Reading App Here, then Check out the Huge Selection of FREE Kindle Books!
8. Trade in Your Stuff for Amazon Gift Cards!
It doesn’t matter if you bought the items on Amazon or not, you can still trade in your stuff for FREE Amazon Gift Cards + Shipping is Free! All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
1. Search for the item you would like to trade in (Movies, Textbooks, Electronics, Video Games, etc.)
2. Ship Your Items to Amazon for Free using Pre-Paid Shipping Labels
3. Get paid via Amazon Gift Cards in your account within 10 days after your trade in arrives!
9. Save 20% on Diapers with Amazon Mom
Calling all Moms, Grandmothers and Care Givers! Make sure you sign up for Amazon Mom to save up to 20% off Diapers, Wipes and just about anything you need for baby! If you’re new to Amazon Mom and Amazon Prime you’ll get a 3 month trial of Amazon Prime, after that if you have an Amazon Prime Membership you can save 20% off Diapers when you use Subscribe and Save!
This is one of the best ways to save money on Diapers + You don’t have to leave your house or clip coupons. You can stock up online from the comfort of your home and the 20% Discount makes the prices on diapers really competitive!
You can Sign Up for Amazon Mom Here.
10. Save Add On Items for Later
You can get some great deals on Amazon by purchasing “Add On Items” these are items that are smaller quantities and price points, they ship free with any $25 or more order (Even for Prime Members). You can add these items to your cart then click on Save For Later to save them in your account.
When you are making a purchase over $25 you can easily move these items back into your cart and checkout! These items will ship for Free and it’s a great way to remember what you needed to order.
11. Prime Extensions for Missed Shipping
Did you know that you can get a refund on your shipping rates or a 1 Month Prime Extension if you’re a prime member and Amazon misses the Shipping Deadlines! As with anything I’m sure there are limitations but if you have a package that doesn’t show up on time make sure you contact customer service and see how they can help.
12. FREE Amazon Apps for Android Every Day
Every Morning Amazon releases a new Free App of the Day! You can get a New Free Android App Every Day and there’s no limit to how many you can download. These are only available for 24 hours for Free, then the price goes back up. This is a great way to build your app collection if you have an android phone or device. Sometimes we even see higher priced apps drop to Free for 24 hours only, this is a great place to check every morning if you have an Android Device. You can see today’s free app here.
13. Discounted Prime for College Students
If you are a college Student or you have a .edu email address you can sign up for Amazon Student. This will give you 6 Free Months of Amazon Prime + You’ll get a Half Price Prime Membership after that which means you’ll pay just $49 per year after your free trial is over.
If you know someone who is a Student, make sure you tell them to sign up for their Free 6 Month Free Trial, this is the longest free trial Amazon offers!
14. Save 15%+ with Subscribe and Save
If you purchase 5 Subscribe and Save items in the same month you’ll save 15% instead of 5%! You can cancel at any time so make sure you buy at least 5 items in a month to get the best deals! Subscribe and Save is an auto ship program, you can choose how often you want the item sent (Choose 6 months to give yourself the maximum amount of time to cancel) And you can cancel without any penalty before the item ships again.
Subscribe and Save Items also stack with Amazon Coupons for even bigger savings! Check out all the Amazon Coupons Here.
15. Share an Amazon Prime Membership
Did you know that you can share your Amazon Prime Membership with up to 4 other people? They won’t have access to Free Prime Videos and Music, but they will be able to get Free 2 day shipping on thousands of items. You just need to know their birthday, and they need to know yours to verify their email. Just go to this page here to get started!
Honestly, this is just the beginning of ways you can save on Amazon, there are so many more but these are just a few of my favorites! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know about your favorite ways to save! Also, let me know what I missed and I’ll try to update this list!
Don’t forget in addition to Saving Money on Amazon you can actually EARN money on Amazon by becoming a seller. I have a great post with Tips and Tricks for Selling on Amazon that you might want to check out.
Thank you for sharing the tips for Amazon. I learned a few things. I’ve only been an Amazon Prime shopper for a few months, so I’m still learning. Thanks again
Amazon Prime now gives you extra free benefits if you pair it up with your Twitch account.
Every month you are subscribed you get:
*A free Twitch subscription
*Free game content (you can’t choose which game though)
*and one or two free games
*completely Ad-free viewing on Twitch
ENTER YOUR COMMENT HERE. Hi Heather, as far as the education address for 49 prime , what if you are the parents of the student? I have regular prime at 99 , I am not the student but could I change my email?
As a student with an Amazon Prime student account, you can NOT share your account.
Thank you so much for your list. I had no idea there was that much savings on Amazon.
Thank you again I can’t wait to try them
great,ideas! Don’t forget to purchase ebates.com where you will get up to7% cash back!
Most of these I knew and have been using but we don’t buy groceries since its only 2 of us. I was totally unaware of the savings from Amazon in that Dept! I’m also an addict when it comes to their deals. The lightning deals were great money savers around Christmas and for the last 3yrs I’ve bought the majority of our presents this way. We save a ton of money and I don’t waste time fighting for a parking space or getting out in the freezing cold. I’m a huge Amazon shopper and about to get bigger now that you’ve let me know these tips! We have Prime too and TBH I don’t know how we lived without it. Thanks for the info!
Postal prices are going up soon, however amazon prime price is staying the same. Yeah!!!
Wow!!Fabulous tips, thank u for sharing
This is a very useful tip that I will be sharing with friends and family. ..thanks
The Amazon secrets article is amazing!!
These tips are amazing by the way. I had no idea I could share my prime membership and I did not know about the opened box deals. Thank you!!!
Actually you can share Prime Video
Your Shared Prime Benefits
Your Household allows you to share the following Prime benefits.
Fast & FREE Prime Shipping options (including unlimited FREE Two-Day Shipping, discounted One-Day Delivery, and Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery)
Streaming access to thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video
30-minute early access to Amazon Lightning Deals and MyHabit.com events with Prime Early Access
Unlimited storage for photos with Prime Photos, one account for each adult Household member, to store photos and free up space on your phone
Access to free Kindle books through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library
20% off diapers subscriptions and a 15% off Baby Registry completion discount, compliments of Amazon Mom
Prime Fresh members can share their Fresh delivery benefits
Customers who are Amazon Student Prime members (free trial or paid) or invited
You can also shop through smile.amazon.com, choose a charity and 0.5% of what you spend every time is donated to that charity. No extra cost to you. However doesn’t work on the app.
If you share your prime membership with someone not living in your same household you risk getting permanently banned by Amazon. Happened to my sister.
I can’t figure how to add someone to share my shipping benefits from the link, can you give directions from there? Thank you!
You need to go to your account and Manage Amazon Prime Membership, it should give you an option to add additional email addresses.
As a husband and a college student, I’m getting a college student discount. These cannot be shared with my wife.
This is a great list, but one thing you forgot to mention is $1 credit they give you towards instant video, Ebooks or digital music if you choose the No rush shipping option (5 business days). Great way to get a little bit of digital content for a nice discount if you don’t need your items in a hurry. I <3 Amazon
They stopped doing this last week. They now offer a $5 credit toward Prime Pantry orders.
This is awesome. I shop amazon all the time and didn’t know about the 2nd or 3rd tip. Thanks for info.
Thank you so much for the awesome list of how to save on Amazon! I’ve been an Amazon member for 5 years and did not know half of what is on this list. Again, thank you!!!
Thank you! Very helpful.