How to Save Money with Amazon's Subscription Service
If you’re like me, it’s not unusual to find you’ve found you ran out of something because you completely forgot to order more. The dog, the kid or your partner may be hungry or threatening to go commando because you ran out of laundry detergent. Never fear! Amazon’s Subscribe and Save offers not only a discount on items (it’s like couponing without standing in line with everyone staring at you as your cashier tries to figure out how to ring up a coupon) but you have complete flexibility with how often they are delivered, you can skip or cancel a delivery at any time.
If you buy certain items regularly, like household essentials or pet products, this is definitely an option to try. You can save 5% or 15% depending on how many products you are signed up for.
No awkward stares from other shoppers, just your items delivered when you want them. Just in time for laundry day!
How it works:
With thousands of items available for the Subscribe option, chances are there are going to be a few items that you buy on a recurring basis from Amazon available. Instead of adding to cart you can sign up for a subscription, and specify how often you want the items delivered to your home- with intervals ranging between 2-7 weeks, or 2-6 months.
Bundle 5 items together in an auto-delivery, and receive 15% off the entire order. That can represent some serious savings over time. Bonus: there are frequently digital coupons you can “clip” with just a click of your mouse that will save you even more on your first purchase.
- Check your shopping list for products you buy regularly to see if they are eligible or browse Amazon's Subscribe & Save selection here.
- Select Subscribe & Save on the product page.
- Choose how many items you want and how frequently you want them delivered. You can always change this later.
- Add 5 items to your subscription to earn 15% off everything- when they are delivered to one address together.
- Always check the email Amazon sends before a subscription order is filled to be sure you are getting the best price. Sometimes prices change.
What should you buy on Subscribe & Save?
What items do I like to buy? Some of my favorite snacks, my cat’s litter, furnace filters, household cleaners, my wife’s coffee, and my energy drinks.
I have signed up for a Subscribe & Save on an item because the coupons stacked with it were that good. You can always cancel before another order or if you don’t like an item.
If you have a few “big” items you like to buy through subscriptions, want the 15% off from 5 subscriptions- but still want to keep the Amazon bill down, you can always subscribe to lower cost items.
Amazon sometimes makes this hard by only having multiple or case packs of an item, so be creative! Look for small items like food, snacks, or personal care items like a bar of soap or a tube of body wash.
Also remember to stack coupons whenever you can. Subscribe & Save items often have a coupon for your initial purchase. Be proactive and check the Amazon Coupons section for other digital coupons to "clip" for recurring purchases!
Try Amazon Family for 20% off diapers and much more!
Got kids, teens, or having a baby? Consider signing up for Amazon Family. Just add birthdays to help Amazon’s algorithm understand what products to show in your Family portal and begin to save 20% instead of the usual 15% on select products like diapers, wipes, baby food, detergent, and cleaning products.
Sign up for the Amazon Baby Registry and they will send you a baby welcome kit and a 15% off kit towards items on your registry.
The Amazon Family portal is a curated list of products Amazon offers a discount on when you subscribe and save, plus other discounts. The selection of items on sale changes regularly but items like cleaning supplies, baby gear, formula, and other items often go on sale.
Now, some of these items can be purchased without the Amazon Prime membership that allows you to join Amazon Family, but I’ve found Amazon Family consistently offers good coupons.
And what of this oft-discussed 20% off diaper subscription? Just like Amazon's main Subscribe & Save program, you can get this only if you have 5 subscriptions that arrive together, including the diapers. This might sound a little bit expensive, but for me, this is not tough or an insurmountable dealbreaker to signing up for this. And it's really not that hard. It is easy to find “filler” items you will need on a regular basis. Think a bottle of soap, a treat, or other household items. Need some examples?
Sample Subscription Box Suggestions
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Laundry Detergent
- Bag of Pasta
- Jar of Pasta Sauce
- You don’t have to be a Prime Member to use Subscribe & Save but may pay for shipping or miss out on Prime-only coupons to stack with your subscription.
- Browse Amazon’s Subscribe & Save products.
- If you have 5 subscriptions being delivered together to one address, you can save 15% on everything.
- Consider using Amazon Family and Subscribe & Save for even more savings on products you’ll need for your growing family, like 20% off on diapers every month.