Gift Cards Travel How to Find and Get the Best Deals on Amazon
callie
If you think about any product you want to buy, you can probably find it available to buy on Amazon. Amazon is the world's largest retailer and sells big brands and labels such as Nike and Apple, but also has smaller sellers available to specific online shopping niches. It only makes sense that people want to know how to get the best deals on this huge marketplace. Here are some tips on how you can save money when shopping on Amazon:
Be an Amazon Prime member
Despite the fact that being an Amazon Prime member requires a $99 membership fee each year, it comes with numerous benefits that will probably save you money in the long run. For example, the infamous Amazon Prime shipping membership has a wide variety of products that can be shipped and at your door in one or two days or even same-day! If you're itching to get the newest video game, book, or movie, Amazon has free Release-Date delivery that ensures you get your product the day of its release so you can be the first! Even if the free delivery and savings on shipping costs aren't enough for you, here are some things that Amazon's Prime membership gives you access to and therefore gets you more bang for your buck:
- Prime Video: thousands of movies and TV shows to stream for a free or discounted price
- Prime Music: millions of songs with an option of going ad-free
- Prime Photos: photo storage and sharing capabilities for free
- Prime Reading: access to thousands of eBooks, magazines, story narrations, and more
- Prime Whole Foods: deals at the store
In addition, Prime members get access to the exclusive members-only annual Prime Day, which is Amazon's version of Black Friday where they have thousands of deals and discounts throughout their site for their two-day event.
Amazon Warehouse
If you don't mind some of your items being pre-owned, consider using Amazon Warehouse. You can shop by category ranging from computers and tablets to home and kitchen. Get your next digital camera or unlocked cell phone refurbished from the Warehouse. There's camping supplies, baby supplies, and groceries. Grocery supplies usually are just an opened box with the product still intact. All products state the condition (used-like new, very good, good, acceptable, etc.) and any imperfections or cosmetic damage, but all are in working condition. Almost all products sold by Amazon Warehouse are eligible for free delivery.
Amazon Bargain Finds
If you want a variety of deals or just to browse for gift ideas, go to Amazon Bargain Finds. These products can be categorized by Best Sellers, Women's, Men's, Electronics, Gifts, Home Decor, Household, Movies & TV, Watches, and Jewelry. The lists give you a visual representation of the products so you can scroll through your options easily to pick out which one you want. These change periodically so you can check back later for new stuff! Unlike Amazon Warehouse, all of these items are new and never pre-owned.
Amazon Outlet
Many people love shopping at outlet malls where they try to find the best deal. But did you know you can shop the outlets online too? Amazon Outlet carries overstocked items that are available for purchase for a fraction of the price. These are discounted items ranging from under 10% off to upwards of 70% off the original price. Unlike Amazon Warehouse, all of these items are new and never pre-owned.
Watch shipping costs
Shipping costs can be tricky. If you are buying from a supplier who is not Amazon, they have separate terms and conditions for shipping. Be sure to take a look at how much the company charges for shipping. Some products may look like a great deal, but this is only offset by the higher than average shipping cost. Many times, a product fulfilled by Amazon for a higher price with free delivery may be a better deal than a product fulfilled by another company's product that is cheaper at first look but has a higher shipping cost. In addition, Amazon product fulfillments can have your product to your door in as little as a day, whereas other companies on average take longer to be delivered.
Beware of knockoff brand items
Many companies try to sell dupes or knockoff items that resemble the real brand name company. Amazon is not responsible for any mistakes around name brand items. There are many products that have perfectly acceptable dupes that are a lot more affordable than the name brand version. However, if you are excited about getting great "deals" on big brands, consider if the product belongs to a knockoff brand.
Beware of some Amazon reviews
Reviews used to be a great way to gauge if a product was worth your money. Reviews could be separately sorted via a feature such as packaging rating and value for money rating. These ratings would be out of 5 stars and average out amongst the number of ratings. The ratings are accompanied by a written review by the customer and reliability can be taken into consideration when the review is branded with "Verified Purchase" so you know it's not written by someone supporting the company to promote their brand or product.
However, the importance of ratings and reviews in potential buyer consideration of purchasing the product got around. A product with hundreds or even thousands of good reviews and ratings (4 stars and above) will be more likely purchased compared to a similar product with fewer reviews or one with bad ratings. Now in some cases, companies are promising gift cards to verified purchasers for putting a 5-star rating and a great review on their product. By reading the reviews thoroughly and being skeptical about many 5-star ratings that appear overly enthusiastic, you can avoid wasting time and money on products like these.
Coupon codes
Clipping coupons can now be done online. These are updated frequently and there are coupons available in every department. Coupons can be browsed through at Amazon Coupons and can be "clipped" which applies them to the product that they are associated with. The coupons will be applied to one eligible item at checkout and will be additional savings that are on top of any savings you may have on your product already. In addition, there are exclusive offers for Amazon Prime members called Featured Prime Member Coupons.
Amazon Renewed Deals
Similar to Amazon Warehouse, Amazon Renewed Deals sell pre-owned, refurbished, and open-box products that have been professionally inspected and tested by Amazon. There's even a 90-day guarantee in case you're skeptical about liking your refurbished product. There are also specific coupons that are called Renewed coupons that can be clipped and used for certain items available on the website.
Digital Deals
Like the title implies, Digital Deals include anything digital. Whether it be eBooks or software, video games, or digital magazines and newspapers, this is where you can find the best bargains for your digital purchases. If you need virus protection for your computer for a discounted price or want to find your next great read for under $10, go to Digital Deals.
Woot! Deals
Woot! is an Amazon company that features great deals. It originally started as its own site but shortly after was bought by Amazon. They have lists of products that have severely discounted prices and are available until time runs out or the product is sold out. The website has some unique features such as sales stats where you can see numbers about purchaser experience, purchaser seniority, quantity breakdown, sales per hour, and sales by state. Many products are limited in quantity as to how many a customer can buy. Prime members get free standard shipping on the site. They even have an app and a daily digest email so you can see their deals wherever you want.
Today's Deals
Today's Deals is a sort by category page where you can scroll through the best deals Amazon has to offer. There are many filters that can be used on this page such as by department, deal type, availability, Amazon Prime eligibility, price, the specific percentage discount, and average customer review. From electronic devices to toys and games, any department that you can think of likely has a deal on Amazon's Today's Deals.
Savings & Sales
Today's Deals can be filtered by specific "Savings & Sales" deals, which are ongoing sales and promotions that are available on the site. By going to Today's Deals and selecting the filter, you can scroll through Savings & Sales items, which are available for a number of days.
Deal of the Day
Under Today's Deals features Amazon's Deal of the Day which is a type of discounted price that only lasts for that day! Some examples include the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 for half off or a Zen Laboratory Inflatable 68-inch Splash Pad Sprinkler for Kids for 43% off.
Lightning deals
Under Today's Deals, you can find Amazon's lightning deals. According to Amazon, lightning deals can be described as "a single item that comes with a limited amount of extra savings coupons that tend to disappear in a flash". These crazy deals are timed and must be bought within a specific time window. Items available with a lightning deal can be scrolled through by category. You can even check on upcoming lightning deals that have yet to come out so you can make yourself ready or take a look at missed deals that are too late to get. Lightning deals are unique to the other types of deals where you literally need to buy within several hours. Next to the item and the product name is a countdown timer that has the hours, minutes, and seconds you have until the lightning deal is gone. It also displays a bar that represents the percentage of people that have already claimed that product. The point is, lightning deals must be acted upon before time runs out or there's no product left. Yet another benefit of being a Prime member includes some lightning deals that are available to be accessed 30 minutes earlier than everyone else using Prime Early Access.
Amazon Subscribe & Save
Frequently used household items can have a Subscribe & Save option where you can save 10% off your item if you sign up for a type of subscription service that delivers periodically. You can decide if you want it delivered once every 2 weeks to once every 6 months. You get reminders before each delivery in case you don't need or want the product anymore. Skipping and canceling options are available at any time and it's free. There are 15% savings that can be unlocked if you want 5 or more of the product in your auto-delivery. Prime members who subscribe to 5 items or more in a single month (at one address) can unlock an additional 20%. This can be helpful for the products that you use every day and may forget to reorder when things get low such as diapers, toothpaste, dog medicine, and more.
Buy used
Buying used can also be a source of significant savings when shopping on Amazon. Like eBay, some people sell on Amazon and use it as their online marketplace to sell clothes, makeup, or other products that are used. When buying used, it is important to check the seller's reputation through ratings and comments that were left by previous customers so you know if what they sell is what they claim it is. Conditions can range from New to Used - Like New, Very Good, or Acceptable. Every product states who the product is shipped by and who it is sold by. There is even a percentage number of how positive the ratings that the seller received was over the last 12 months.
Amazon Daily Deals Subscription
If you want deals delivered right to your inbox, sign up for Amazon's Daily Deals email subscription to receive updates every day from Amazon.com Gold Box.
Conclusion
Whether it be a fair trade birthday present for your mom or the next addition to your ever-growing wardrobe, Amazon likely has a deal or discount for the product you are looking for. With hundreds of millions of products on their site to choose from, Amazon is becoming a one-stop-shop for many. Hopefully, this article helped you discover more deals on Amazon!