How to Save Money on Amazon
Amazon is known for offering competitive prices, and is often where consumers check first to see what an item should cost. However, while some items like books are almost always sold at less than the listed price, and for Prime members the shipping is free on most items sold by Amazon, there are times when you may not get the best price.
Amazon Deals: No Prime Membership Required
Daily Deals
Includes famous Lightning Deals and markdowns in most categories. Shoppers can search by department, biggest discount, and feedback. Check upcoming deals and create a watchlist so Amazon can remind you!
Amazon Coupons
Coupons on Amazon? Yes, please! You can sort these by category and "clip" them digitally. Some of these are exclusively for Prime members but not all. Subscribe & Save coupons are also easy to find here.
AMAZON OUTLET
Coupons on Amazon? Yes, please! You can sort these by category and "clip" them digitally. Some of these are exclusively for Prime members but not all. Subscribe & Save coupons are also easy to find here.
RENEWED DEALS
Renewed Deals are part of a program Amazon offers to Amazon sellers meeting certain qualifications to sell refurbished products on Amazon. Suppliers are either the manufacturer or a third-party refurbisher, with items inspected and tested.
Amazon Warehouse
Amazon Warehouse products were damaged in the warehouse, returned, open-box, or pre-owned items. A sliding scale of condition is used to describe the condition or the product or if it was renewed. We recommend Warehouse Deals over Renewed Deals.
WOOT DEALS
Woot is a daily deals site owned by Amazon offering deals and limited-time offers across seven categories. Amazon Prime members get free standard and express shipping from Woot. Sign in with your Amazon account!
Always check to be sure you know what you are getting, some items may be used, renewed, returns, or open-box items. When buying from a third-party seller, always check their feedback!
Buying from a third-party seller? Compare prices and product choices.
Amazon itself sells and ships items, but also fulfills orders for other sellers who list their items alongside Amazon’s items. As more sellers have flooded the Amazon marketplace, there is a higher chance for an item to actually cost more on Amazon than elsewhere.
Even if a third-party item has Prime shipping, it may still be sold at a considerable markup. Prime shipping does not always denote the lowest price, it just means the third party seller has sent their items to an Amazon warehouse to be shipped by Amazon when you buy them.
A friend has been buying her laundry detergent on Amazon utilizing the free shipping. While the Prime shipping is convenient, she did not realize she was being charged $6.00 more than retail prices at stores like Target and Walmart. We saw horrible price jacking during the pandemic, and while it’s not as common, some sellers do still charge more because they know a lot of people don’t always check and assume that if it’s on Amazon, it's going to be the best price.
Third-party sellers may actually charge more. As in stupid money more. To be sure you aren’t getting price gauged, don’t just add to cart, especially on recurring purchases. Save yourself time and try to stick with items that indicate “Ships from” and Sold by” Amazon.com if possible.
Some third-party sellers have their own retail operation online and may also offer free shipping and other incentives when you buy products from their website instead of Amazon.
So if it’s another online retailer you like and trust, it might be worth it to take a quick peek at their website.
Consider Amazon’s Subscribe and Save for recurring purchases.
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.
No awkward stares from other shoppers, just your items delivered when you want them. Just in time for laundry day!
Got kids or expecting a baby? Sign up for Amazon Family.
Want Amazon to send you a welcome baby kit with valuable coupons? Sign up for Amazon Family and finish your baby registry. You'll get a baby welcome box with great items, samples, and coupons... including a 15% coupon to apply towards items in your baby registry!
Amazon Family members get 20% off subscriptions for diapers, formula, and much more, saving your family a fair chunk of change during a time when everything seems expensive.
Sign up for Amazon Prime and take avantage of Prime Benefits.
While Amazon raised its prices for Prime Membership this year, they have added a slew of new benefits and perks. Amazon Prime can now also be paid for on a monthly basis, to help with the sticker shock of a yearly subscription. Share Your Prime Benefits allows you to link your account with one other adult to share shipping, streaming access and other benefits.
Shipping & Delivery
Fast, free Shipping: availability of same, one, or two-day delivery will vary based on your location. Standard free delivery available to all members in the US, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and US-based APO/FPO addresses.
Free No-Rush Shipping: opt in for no-rush shipping and earn generous rewards and discounts.
Amazon Day: Choose to have everything delivered on one day of your choice.
Grocery delivery: Two-hour delivery available in many metro areas.
Prescription delivery: Free two-day delivery on Amazon prescriptions
Release-date delivery: Get your games, books, music, and movies delivered the day it’s released.
Amazon Key: Available in select areas, allows Amazon delivery drivers to deliver your packages to the inside of your garage even if you are not home.
Shopping & Perks
Prime Member Deals at Whole Foods: Exclusive discounts on qualifying items for Prime members in-store and online
Prime Exclusive Deals: discounts on thousands of items on Prime portal
Prime Day: Exclusive Black Friday style shopping event for Prime members across every category
Prime Early Access: Get access to Lighting Deals 30 minutes earlier than other shoppers
Prime Credit Cards & Store Card: Earn between 2 and 15% cash back through various offers
Prime Try Before You Buy: Try on items at home and only pay for what you keep
Prime Prescriptions: Ability to compare prices, impressive savings for those without insurance, all shipped free
Free Shipping at Zappos, ShopBop, Woot, and 6am
Streaming & Digital
Prime Video: most content free including exclusive Amazon Studios content
Prime Video Channels: add on many other channels and shows
Amazon Music for Prime Members: Limited number of streaming songs, podcasts
Amazon Music Unlimited: subscription-based unlimited access to streaming music and podcasts, Prime members receive 20% off
Prime Gaming: Free games, in-game content for games across all devices, and Twitch channel subscription
Amazon Photos: Unlimited full-resolution photo storage, and 5GB of video storage with ability to order print products
Amazon Kids+: Subscription for kids with age-appropriate books, movies, educational apps and games for compatible devices. Prime members receive 40% off subscription.
Sign up for Amazon’s Shopper Panel and get as much as $120 a year.
It’s listed as an invitation-only program, but we’ve had friends download the app, submit their application to join, and found they were accepted relatively quickly. It’s easy. You download their app, upload 10 receipts using your mobile phone each month and you get $10.00 back towards your Amazon account balance or a charitable donation. Sometimes there are one or two question surveys for additional money that take little to no time. Twelve months of just scanning some receipts could be an extra $120.00 a year on Amazon!
Price Match & Compare
Did you know there are some stores that will now price match Amazon? After years of store employees giving you a dirty look when you scan something in-store to see how much it costs on Amazon... many places will now price match. Be sure to ask before purchasing as every retailer’s rules are different and subject to change.
Amazon itself does not price match. But many other retailers will price match to Amazon prices provided it’s not an item sold by a third party or on a special sale like Prime Day deal, Warehouse Deal, or Lightning Deal. Don’t be afraid to hop on online chat with a customer service rep and ask!
Consider buying Amazon Warehouse Deals.
Of course you’re not going to want to buy used underwear here, but things like textbooks, some electronics, unupholstered furniture or hardware? You could save some serious money here. While many Amazon Warehouse Deals are items that were returned, some just sustained damage to their packaging before they even left the warehouse.
Earn rewards back by using a Chase Amazon Rewards credit card.
This can put 5% or 3% back to your Amazon account available as store credit when you shop on Amazon or Whole Foods, 2% at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores, and 1% on everything else. Every 100 points means $1.00 shows up to be applied to your Amazon account balance towards a future Amazon purchase. Pro tip: Pay it off at the end of every month.
- Check the prices and who is selling the items before you add to cart. Third-party sellers sometimes charge much more over retail.
- Prime Shipping on a third-party item does not guarantee the lowest price.
- Buying items sold and shipped by Amazon will usually get you the best price: look for “Ships from” and Sold by” Amazon.com whenever possible.
- Amazon Warehouse Deals can save you a lot of money if it’s an item you don’t mind buying open-box.
- Amazon’s Subscribe & Save service offers a discount for recurring purchases and helps keep you stocked up on essentials.
- Try Amazon’s Shopper Panel for an extra $10.00 a month to spend on Amazon.