Today, we’re going to share some Amazon hacks to help you save more money when shopping online on Amazon.
Amazon is one of those go-to websites, as it’s so convenient and has a great selection of products.
It’s even better if you subscribe to the Prime program and can get the additional benefits of fast, free shipping.
There are a number of ways that you can save even more money when shopping on Amazon, and there are sure to be some here that you haven’t thought of.
Table of Contents
51 Amazon Tips & Tricks for Saving More Money on Amazon
Some of the hacks and tips you are about to read, only apply to Prime members (which by the way, if you are a frequent shopper of Amazon, you definitely want to become one since it will save you a lot of money on just shipping fees alone), but there are also some that anyone shopping on Amazon can use to save.
1. Quickly and easily filter out discounted products
Here’s a trick so that you can quickly find the best discounts…
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Make your own Amazon URL!
Well, sort of..
You have to add a code to the end of the URL, and that will narrow down your search results.
The code is “&pct-off=” (without the quote marks) followed by the amount of discount you want to see.
As an example, say you wanted to see only items that are discounted from 40% to 70%. When you do the search, go to the end of the URL and put in “&pct-off=40-70”, again without the quote marks, and it will narrow the choices.
2. Get an automatic refund if price drops
Want a real Amazon refund trick?
Use Capital One Shopping app!
The Capital One Shopping Price Protection program works by tracking your eligible purchases.
If you make a purchase and the item’s price drops, the program helps you get a refund for the price difference.
You simply need to upload your purchase details, and if a lower price is found within a specified timeframe, Capital One Shopping will file a claim on your behalf to get you a refund. And it’s not exclusive to Amazon purchases, it also works for other retailers including Walmart and Target.
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3. Get discounts by not checking out right away
Here’s an interesting idea…
Try adding items you want to your shopping cart, but then don’t go through with the purchase.
After a few days, you’ll get a reminder email from Amazon telling you that you have items left in your cart, asking you to complete your purchase.
This is known as “shopping cart abandonment” in the industry.
Amazon, like most business, want you to buy. So, in order to entice you to go through with it, they’ll give you exclusive coupons and discounts that only people who have abounded their shopping cats will receive.
So if you don’t mind waiting to get what you’re buying, it might be worth the wait.
4. Get paid to shop on Amazon
If you don’t yet shop through a cashback/rebate site, you’re missing out on free money!
Cashback sites are basically shopping portals where for every customer they send to a business/website, they earn a commission.
And in order to entice people to shop through them, they give some of that commission to the buyers in the form of cashback.
For a shopper, it’s an easy way to make/save money.
I mean, if you’re going to buy something anyway, you may as well go through a cashback site and get a few dollars back.
It won’t cost you a dime. And the process is basically the same. The only difference is that instead of going straight to Amazon.com (or any other site), you go to the cashback site first so you can click the Amazon link and do your shopping as usual.
One of the most well-known ones is Rakuten (formerly known as eBates).
You can earn as much as 5% cashback when you go through Rakuten.
5. Green isn’t always the color of saving!
You may not have noticed, but items that are available in a variety of colors sometimes have a different price on different colors.
If you don’t care about the color of the item you are shopping for, you can sometimes save up to 10% simply by choosing a less popular color.
6. Get a refund if the price drops
Amazon is always changing prices, and if the price of something you buy falls in the following week, you’re entitled to a refund of the difference.
You can claim this in one of several ways, including email, chat, or on the phone.
Note that this only applies to items sold and shipped by Amazon. Amazon also provides a selling outlet for many third-party suppliers, who would have their own price match policies, if any.
7. Get an additional 5% off by using Amazon store card
You can get an Amazon Store Card which gives a permanent rebate of 5% on anything you buy.
It covers every item, at all times, not just a select few items.
And unlike other credit card rebate plans, you don’t have to opt into a category that changes,
Of course, as it is a store card it has a high interest rate, so you should make sure that you pay it back each month as a priority.
8. Get a $60 Amazon gift card free, instantly
Going for that Amazon store card not only gets you 5% off on anything you buy, but it also earns you a free $60 Amazon gift certificate that gets added to your account instantly.
9. Get free Amazon gift cards
There are tons of ways to get free Amazon gift cards.
One easy way is to use Swagbucks.
Sites like Swagbucks pay you for watching videos and trailers, shopping, signing up to websites – basically, things you already do online.
It is free to join, and you can convert your earnings for prizes such as Amazon gift certificates delivered instantly to your inbox.
10. Share your Prime account
Don’t pay twice to get the benefits of a Prime account for both you and your partner.
Amazon allows you to share your Prime account with another adult in your house. They will get full benefits, including free two-day shipping.
11. Don’t miss exclusive Prime discounts on hardware
Prime has the additional benefit that Amazon will often send out exclusive discounts for members, even on hardware that hasn’t been released for general sale.
This happened for both the Fire TV stick and for Amazon Echo, which were initially offered for 50% off the MSRP to Prime members.
12. Get 1 month of free Prime when 2 day shipping is late
By the way, if Prime fails you and doesn’t get you your order within 2 days, you should contact customer service.
They usually offer you an extra month of Prime for free, or sometimes they’ll just give you credit or a free gift card.
13. Get Prime for free if you’re a college student
Did you know college students (well, anyone really with a .edu email) can get 6 months membership of Prime for free through Amazon Prime Student?
It’s not the full Prime membership, as it doesn’t include Instant Video, but it does get you free two-day shipping.
If you want to get the full membership, you can get it for 50% off the normal rate.
You can even get a referral credit of $10 for every friend you bring into the plan.
14. Convert that $0.22 leftover prepaid Visa gift card to an Amazon gift card
You’re welcome to buy Amazon gift cards at any time, but did you know you can use your old prepaid Visa gift cards from other stores to buy Amazon cards?
This is particularly helpful if your old card is due to expire or is one of those that is devalued over time.
The minimum required for converting is $0.15.
Here’s how to convert your gift cards to Amazon GC…
- First, check the balance of your gift card (usually there is a number on the back of card that you can call)
- Login to Amazon and click on “Your Account”
- Click “Purchase a Gift Card” under “Payment”
- Choose to send via email (so you can get your code instantly)
- Then simply enter your cards info (number and the security number on the back) and the balance of your card and hit submit.
- You will receive your Amazon code within seconds in your email. To use it, simply go to your account and click on “Apply a Gift Card to Your Account”.
The great thing about this little trick is that your Amazon code will never expire. So you can keep it in your account and use it whenever you actually need it.
15. Get 1 free book every month from the Kindle lending library
You may know that Amazon has a program called Kindle Unlimited which costs $10 per month.
It allows you to borrow any books that are in the Kindle library (which is a lot!)
But as a Prime member, you can use the Kindle Lending Library without joining Kindle Unlimited, and you are entitled to one free book download a month.
There’s also a program called Kindle First, which gives Prime members access to books that have not been generally released yet. They feature six books each month, and you can choose to download one of them.
16. Enjoy the benefits of Amazon Family without paying a cent
Update: Amazon Family program no longer exists!
Amazon Family (formerly known as Amazon Mom) is a service for Prime members that will save you quite a bit.
If you are expecting, you get a 15% discount on all baby registry items within 2 months of your due date.
You can also get a 20% discount on diapers using the Subscribe and Save program – and just think, you don’t have to haul them all home.
There are other perks to being an Amazon Mom member, such as exclusive offers and coupons for baby items, and a $10 credit if you enroll another mom.
17. Store your videos and pictures for free
You know how much storage space photos take on your computer?
As an Amazon Prime member, you have access to the cloud which lets you store an unlimited amount of photos via Amazon Photo Storage.
Amazon also allows you to use the cloud for storing other files, such as videos, up to 5 GB, and you can access them from anywhere using an app which lets you share them with your see friends.
18. Get notified when prices drop
Tracktor is an online tool which you can use to track Amazon’s prices.
It lets you track by name, by the URL, or by the ASIN, and is available for all the items that Amazon sells.
19. Enjoy free Amazon Prime Video
Prime Video for Prime members is similar to Netflix, allowing you to choose from a library of streaming content, including original series exclusive to Amazon. It also gives access to other content, such as older HBO shows.
You can stream the instant video onto a smart TV, your tablet, or other devices.
20. Save up to 15% by subscribing
If you know how to work it, Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program is another way to save money.
All you have to do is commit to buying a product at regular intervals, and Amazon will take 5% off the price.
You will typically find this program available on grocery items, so all you have to do is work out how quickly you use the product and set a schedule.
As well as saving, this saves you the hassle of remembering to buy the things at the grocery store and of carrying them home.
You can save even more as you may get a bonus additional discount on your first order, and if you have 5 or more different items on your subscription, the discount goes up to 15% each time.
21. Score free eBooks, movies, and music credits
If you are a Prime member, and you’d like to get digital content such as e-books, music, and videos free, did you know you can get free credits for these things quite easily?
Provided you don’t want other items you buy shipped with 2 day shipping, the standard for Prime members, you can change this when you check out to FREE No-Rush Shipping, which delivers in 5 business days (although in my experience, the items arrive within 2-3 days max), and receive a $1 credit for digital content.
There is no limit on the number of credits you can receive, and they can mount up. Sometimes Amazon changes how they do it, but this is the usual basic offer.
You receive credits after your items have been shipped to you.
22. Want the price to drop? Tell CamelCamelCamel!
Sometimes it happens that you don’t really want to buy something unless the price falls to a certain level. The problem is, you don’t want to keep looking it up day after day to see if the price has dropped.
This is where CamelCamelCamel.com can help you. Simply set an alert there, and it will notify you if the price falls.
23. Amazon has coupons too
When you’re shopping on Amazon for groceries, often you will be presented with clickable coupons on the product page. Make sure that you click these, as they will give you a discount in the cart when you come to check out.
The discount is usually in the range of $.25 to $5.
You can also go to Amazon.com/Coupons to browse all the available coupons.
24. Use Amazon coin promotions to snag free app downloads
Amazon Coins are for the game players amongst you, although you can also get apps with them.
You get 100 coins for $1, and sometimes there are deals where you can get more. Occasionally, you’ll get Coins for downloading a free app.
You can check your Coins balance whenever you visit an app product page.
25. Pre-order to get free shipping
This program from Amazon requires you to spend at least $25 to qualify for shipping – it’s items that Amazon would lose money on if they ship them separately.
But say you don’t want to spend $25 right now; You can pre-order something, say a game or movie that isn’t out yet, to get up to the $25 limit. You won’t be charged for the preordered item until it ships.
If you change your mind and cancel the pre-order, that doesn’t matter either!
26. Textbooks on Amazon may be cheaper in other countries
Update: No longer in business!
Amazon is a great place to go to buy textbooks, and you may be able to score a deal on the used book prices. But if you’re looking at buying new, you should know that some books are cheaper if bought in other countries.
There is a website that will help you with this, called Cheap River.
It will search Amazon’s international sites and find out the prices there for the same book.
It may be slight differences in the book from another country, but the contents should be mainly the same.
27. Shipping delayed? Get a replacement item shipped out ASAP
Last year, I ordered a 65 inch Samsung Smart TV. After a week of waiting and not receiving it, I contacted Amazon. They took care of the “missing” TV, sent me another one with Expedited Shipping (I got the new TV on my doorstep in 24 hours), and they also refunded me $75 from the original price for my “troubles”.
Any time that your purchase is delayed beyond the delivery date you were quoted, you have the option to contact Amazon and get a shipping upgrade. If they can’t even track your order, then they’ll send you a replacement with next-day shipping.
28. MyHabit: An Amazon site you haven’t heard of but you should use
Update: Amazon shut down MyHabit.
There is a little-known Amazon website called MyHabit, where they generally sell upmarket products such as designer clothes.
It’s not the sort of place you’d expect to find on Amazon.
They have inventory that constantly changes, so you have to keep an eye on it or get on their newsletter list. But the things they have are usually offered at a good discount.
For instance, at the moment, there is up to 70% off Kitchen & Dining.
And if you find something that is also on the main Amazon site, MyHabit will generally have it at a lower price.
29. Make money when friends and relatives shop on Amazon
Like many major stores, Amazon has an affiliate program known as Amazon Associates.
This means you can become an affiliate and provide links to Amazon goods, and if someone uses your link and buys you get a commission. All you need to become an affiliate is a website that you can use to post your links.
You can’t use this directly to save yourself money, as it is against Amazon’s rules to buy through your own links and get the commission back. But say you had a friend who was interested in doing the same thing, it is possible that you could buy through his links and he could buy through yours, and you both finish up getting about 8% commission back.
Just don’t shout about it, so they don’t change the rules!
30. Million of free tracks on Prime Music
Amazon has a program called Prime Music which gives you access to more than 1 million songs with your Prime membership. This may not be as many songs as on the largest Internet music sharing sites, but it is included for free.
31. Get free/discounted Amazon products
There are a few dozens Amazon review sites that give you free or heavily discounted Amazon products in exchange for your review.
One of the better ones is SnagShout.
Basically, they give you a discount if you promise to submit a review of whatever you’re buying.
You should note that they require honest reviews, and are not incentivizing you to give five-star reviews, which would be unethical.
SnagShout is typically used for new products, where there aren’t any or many reviews to start with. Companies that are selling the products agree to a large discount just so they can get the reviews started.
32. Birthday coming up?
Got a kid with birthday coming up?
Check out Amazon Birthday Gift List!
You can make a gift wish list which you can share with friends nd family to make gift giving easy for everyone. It will even recommend gifts to you which you can add before sharing the list with others.
Plus, it automatically keeps a list of who bought what gift and when which makes it extremely easy for you to send thank you notes later.
33. Score free shipping all the time!
It will be nice to get free shipping on Amazon all the time, but if you don’t have Prime you have to spend $35 to do this, and sometimes the items you’re buying fall just short.
There is a service that can help you out here, and it’s called Amazon Filler Item Checker.
You simply have to put in how much short you are, and it comes up with a list of suggestions of popular items that will make up the difference, and allow you to qualify for free shipping.
34. Get discounted Amazon gift cards
There are several sites on the Internet that sell discounted gift cards.
This is where people have unwanted gift cards, and they would rather sell them for perhaps 80% to 90% of the value, rather than waste them.
Sites such as GiftCardGranny allow buyers and sellers to come together. This will give you a discount on whatever you buy at the store.
35. Get free stuff via Vine Voice
This is not an easy way to get free stuff, but a long-term possibility.
You may have noticed when looking at reviews that some of them are identified by a little badge, noting them as a “Vine Voice”.
These are the elite reviewers, selected by Amazon as people who are consistently helpful in their reviews. Almost without exception, they have posted 100 or more reviews.
When you are a Vine member, you receive regular emails notifying you what goods are available for review. You can apply for the ones that interest you, but no more than two at a time and you have 30 days to submit your review.
Popular items are taken quickly, so you have to request them as soon as you see them.
As to becoming a Vine reviewer, there is no guaranteed path.
If you are an active reviewer, presenting honest assessments that are also acknowledged by others checking the Helpful box, then you may be invited by Amazon.
And if you fail to keep completing reviews, you can be dismissed from the Vine group. But it’s a good reason to leave reviews on any items you purchase, whether you buy them on Amazon or not.
35. Order items separately to get faster shipping without paying for it
Again not guaranteed, but it often works.
If you want to get your items quickly, but don’t want to pay for upgraded shipping for them all, try doing this…
Order each of the items separately, one after another, but only pay to upgrade the shipping to one day on one of them.
Amazon will often combine orders to save its shipping costs. If you’re lucky, they will combine all your orders into one package, which you will receive on the following day.
36. Join Amazon’s mailing list to get deals in your inbox
You can get savings by getting on a mailing list from Amazon.
They will send out deals direct to your email, and you can choose what types of items they include.
Just go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/gss to see the categories and to sign up.
37. Use Amazon’s Trade-in to get the most value for your used stuff
There are various trade-in programs that you can use for your old iPad or smartphone, Gazelle being one of them.
But Amazon also has a Trade-In program and generally will offer you more value for your used electronic goods, DVDs, video games, etc.
You get the value as an Amazon Gift Card rather than as cash, but if you buy much on Amazon that’s probably worth it.
38. Jump to more savings with Savings.com’s Amazon price jump tool
Just in case, you felt that someone, somewhere, was selling things cheaper than Amazon, then there is a tool to ease your fears/prove you are right.
The website savings.com has an “Amazon Price Jump Tool”.
You simply copy the URL of a product page on Amazon and paste it into the tool. It then scours the Web for a better price.
You can get this tool as a browser extension for Google Chrome or Firefox, and there is also an app version. This makes it easy to check whether you are getting the best deal around.
39. Get diapers at 20% off & have them delivered free
If you have a Prime membership you can ask Amazon to deliver diapers to you and get 20% off.
Just register with the Subscribe & Save program and set how often you would like them delivered.
The shipping is free and you can cancel anytime, and best of all you don’t have to carry a big box of diapers home from the store.
40. Get bigger discounts through the Amazon warehouse/outlet section
Looking for larger discounts?
Take a look at Amazon Warehouse.
This division of Amazon is limited to used, refurbished, warehouse damaged and open box items, but often they are as good as new.
If you find that you don’t like the condition of the item, you can return it within 30 days for a full refund.
Another good place for discounted items is the Amazon Outlet, where they discount new items that are out of season or discontinued.
41. Save money with the double browser trick
Amazon can be a little deceptive with you when you are a Prime member.
It has been known to inflate product prices to compensate for the two-day shipping that Prime members get.
To catch this one, you’ll need to open two browsers on your computer, or one on your computer and one on your smartphone.
Using the first browser, log into your Prime account and find the product you want, then make a note of the price.
On the second browser, you can check the price of the same product after you make sure that you are not logged in as a Prime customer. You may need to clear your cookies to make sure of this.
If the price is less than the first you were given, add the item to your cart and then log into your account before buying – the price shouldn’t change, but if it does make sure you complain and get it fixed.
42. TV and cell phone price matching
Update: Amazon no longer offers Price Matching. But there are may stores like Walmart and Target that price match Amazon!
Amazon will do price matching with other suppliers when you’re buying something like a television or cell phone.
If you find a better deal elsewhere, simply tell them and they will match the price or give you a refund of the difference if you’ve already bought it.
43. Get groceries delivered for $5.99
Update: Prime Pantry has been discontinued.
Another side to Prime membership, this time at additional cost, Prime Pantry will ship you a large box of virtually any grocery store items at a flat $5.99 shipping fee.
44. Keep an eye on special promotions
Any time you’re buying on Amazon when you are on the product page make sure you read all the details. Sometimes you will find that an item is eligible for a special promotion, such as buy two and get a third one free.
Keep your eyes peeled for this one!
45. Problems with the item? Get a new item and keep the old one
When you get your purchase, and you find it is damaged or broken, then you should get in touch with Amazon customer service.
They will usually send you a replacement item right away, and may even send it overnight if you ask them.
Even better, if the item costs less than $50 they might let you keep the damaged item at no additional cost, rather than sending it back.
You should note, however, that this is Amazon’s policy, and applies to items sold directly by them. If you bought from a third-party supplier through Amazon, then you will be subject to their conditions, which would usually be a full refund or a replacement item with standard shipping.
46. Don’t trust the search results for the best deals
You should know that Amazon doesn’t always show you the best price straight away.
For instance, if you are specific in your search, Amazon realizes that you’re probably going to buy and steers you towards its highest profit items.
What can you do about this?
Don’t buy the item straightaway.
One trick is to look through the “Customers Who Bought This Item Also,” as well as the “Sponsored Products” on the product page.
Quite often you will find the same or similar item offered at a cheaper price, available from a third-party seller.
47. Back-ordered doesn’t mean unavailable!
When it appears that Amazon doesn’t sell an item, it may simply be out of stock.
When an item is on backorder, Amazon will show you a third-party seller, if they can ship out quicker.
The Amazon sale link will be buried in the third-party list.
While this will get you the item faster, it’s not necessarily the cheapest.
You might find that the best price is offered by Amazon selling it directly, and if you’re prepared to wait for the stock to come in you will save money.
48. Third-party sellers may save you more money
If an item is not sold or stocked by Amazon, then you may find it offered by a third-party seller through the Amazon website.
The thing is, Amazon may not show you the cheapest third-party seller, as it will display a featured seller which will usually be one from the Fulfilled by Amazon program (this is the program where Amazon warehouse products for other suppliers and send them out).
If you look further, you might find another third-party seller who is not in the program and has the item cheaper.
49. Buy used
A lot of people tend to forget that you can buy used items on Amazon.
Sure, not everything should be bought in used condition, but certain things like Books, DVDs, and Movies are totally fine.
And you can save a lot of money by buying some things used.
50. Trick to meet the $35 minimum for free shipping
Most people just buy a small item or two that they don’t really need/want just so they can meet the $35 requirement for free shipping.
Next time you’re in that situation, instead of buying stuff you don’t need/want, buy a gift card for a site/store that you shop from – Netflix, Google Play, Spotify, Starbucks, and even Amazon.
And don’t forget to buy with a credit card that gets you cashback. Yes, buying gift cards from Amazon also earns you cashback.
This is a simple strategy that turns a problem into a double win for you.
Even More Amazon tricks
As this post becomes more popular, some of our readers have started sending us other Amazon tips and tricks that they use to save money. So we will be adding them here.
If you have a tip, please don’t hesitate to contact us through our Contact page, Facebook, Twitter, or by leaving a comment below.
51. Use an accurate Hourly Amazon Price Tracker
Amazon prices can jump around from hour to hour because there is often more than one seller offering deals and discounts at any one time. This means that, in order to catch the really big price drops that might only last an hour or two, you need fine-grained price tracking.
Get to the front of the queue when it comes to big discounts on big-ticket items, like this Wii console.
As you can see there’s currently around $30 off (in the last few hours).
Of course, the price may snap back to where it was, or go even higher.
To show you just how volatile pricing can be, here’s a chart for a popular business book called, The Lean Startup.
As you can see, it’s changed price more than 30 times in the last week – with a range from $6.99 to $13.93.
Free price trackers tend to grab one or two price points daily, which means you miss out on a lot of what’s going on.
Using an accurate price tracker like RankTracer BigBangPrice can save you money by providing more accurate data.
Bonus tip
Buying when prices are low saves money, but you can also earn money back using a good price tracker. For re-usable items, like books, simply resell on Amazon at a good price when the price is high.
Using our example above, you could buy The Lean Startup at $6.99. Read it. Resell it on Amazon for, say $5, meaning you only pay a dollar or two for a book that has a recommended list price of over $23.
Not bad, right?
52. Don’t miss Amazon Giveaways!
Yes, companies do give away free stuff on Amazon.
Why?
To get more exposure for their products and get more reviews.
To be entered, you may be asked to follow a company on social media, watch a short video, etc.
To get notified about when special giveaways start, download the free Amazon app by going to amazon.com/app.
To learn more checkout Amazon Giveaway page.
53. Amazon Lightning Deals
Amazon Lightning Deals is another part of Amazon that many people seem to not know about. According to Amazon, “A Lightning Deal is a promotion in which a limited number of discounts are offered on an item for a short period.”
You can find these deals through the site, especially on Today’s Deals or Prime Day page.
With Lightning Deals, you can get anywhere from 10-15% t0 40-50% off. I have seen discounts of up to 75%. Deals include products from almost every category, from electronics and home to tools, toys and everything in between.
54. Join the Amazon Product Sampling program for freebies
Update: Amazon has ended its Product Sampling program. However, if you are a Prime member, you can use the Prime Samples program that essentially does the same thing.
Amazon has a new program called Amazon Product Sampling.
Basically, Amazon gives you free samples to try. If you always wanted free Amazon samples with no gimmicks or strings attached, this is as legit as it gets.
You’re not required to buy anything either. In fact, you don’t have to be a Prime member to get free samples. Anyone can join.
Please Use Amazon Smile to Donate to Charities While You Shop
Update: Unfortunately on February 20, 2023, Amazon corporation decided to shut down their Amazon Smile program because the company thought “…the ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.”, which I kind of agree. If you liked the idea of donating to your favorite charities and non profits while you shop, you can try some of the few Amazon Smile alternatives including ShopRaise and Walmart Spark Good.
Finally, here’s a way you can give to others at no cost to yourself.
Every time you shop on Amazon, instead of going to amazon.com go to smile.amazon.com.
Everything else is the same, except that 0.5% of the profit from your purchase will automatically be given to a charity of your choice (you can choose which charity when you visit Amazon Smile for the first time – you can change this later).
On its own, 0.5% doesn’t amount to much, but when you consider how much money is spent on Amazon every year, it can become big.
If everybody registered with Amazon Smile it would make a big difference to many worthy charities.
This is such a simple and quick thing to do that it should be a no-brainer.
As an animal (especially dogs) lover, I have Stray Rescue of St. Louis (an amazing organization that rescues so many abused and neglected dogs in the St Louis area) as my charity of choice. I know it’s a small thing, but it makes me feel good.
I wish more people would do this.
I mean, if you are buying something no matter what, and you can have a small portion of the profit they make off of your purchase go to a charity you love, why not do it.
It’s the right thing to do!
It doesn’t cost you anything.
It doesn’t change anything about your shopping.
But it makes a huge difference in the work that these awesome organizations are doing.
And it makes you feel good inside, knowing you did something to help.
Pro tip
If you are forgetful and think you may not always remember to go through smile.amazon.com, there are a few useful free browser extensions that help with this.
First, install the add-on for your browser.
Then every time you type in amazon.com in your browser, it automatically gets redirected to smile.amazon.com
So even if you forget and just type in amazon.com, you’ll automatically go to smile.amazon.com.
Here is where you can install them:
- Always Smile: for Google Chrome
- Smile Redirect: for Firefox
Your Turn
Have you ever used any of these hacks?
What Amazon hacks and tricks do you use to save money when shopping on Amazon?
Crystal
I like the idea of #14, but I’m not really clear on your instructions. When I go to “purchase a gift card” under my account, it looks like I’m trying to purchase an amazon card rather than trade.
Satrap
Crystal, yes, you will be “purchasing” the Amazon gift card, but when you get to the payment part, you simply enter the detail of the gift card you are trying to convert to Amazon GC. You’re simply buying an Amazon gift card using your unwanted gift card.
Tim
I like the idea of transferring the balance of gift cards to use on Amazon.
I want to do it but your instructions on how it is accomplished is incomplete. What you say in the comments about doing it is also vague. I loved the article and appreciate the information you have put together for everyone but can you please be more specific about how the gift card thing works? Thanks a bunch!
Satrap
Thanks for the kind words, Tim.
Sorry for my shortcoming in explaining the process. Let me see if I can explain any better. I’m assuming you know how to buy an Amazon gift card from Amazon.com (if you don’t, simply search for “buy Amazon gift card” on Google and click the Amazon link and it will take you through it step by step.) As you go through purchasing the gift card, you will have to, at one point, provide a form of payment to Amazon.com so you can pay for the GC you’re buying from them. When you get to that point, instead of giving them your credit card info, give them the info of your visa gift card. Then, once you get your Amazon gift card, apply the balance to your Amazon account and use it whenever you want to. (Amazon credit won’t expire.) Hope I was able to explain it better this time. Sorry for the confusion, Tim.
julio
cool
Santhosh
To filter out discounted products quickly and easily, you can follow these steps:
1. Visit the website or online store where you want to filter the products.
2. Look for a filter or sort option on the webpage. It is usually located at the top or left-hand side of the screen.
3. Click on the filter or sort option. It may be labeled as “Price,” “Discount,” or “Filter.”
4. Look for an option to filter by “Discounted” or “On Sale.” Check the box or select the option.
5. Apply the filter by clicking “Apply” or a similar button.
6. The webpage will now show only the products that are discounted or on sale.
If you are using a specific e-commerce platform or website, the steps may vary. In that case, provide more information about the website or platform you are using, and I can provide more specific instructions.
KE Short
I’ll add to number 33, to say that AMZ Review Trader offers more items than Snagshout, and they’re frequently at a greater discount. Snagshout has the benefit of far better service and sometimes higher-quality items. I never buy from Amazon before checking those sites.
Also, if you have a solid history of writing great reviews, but there is no current offer for something you want, ask. For instance, if you want a shower curtain, find one you like with few or no reviews. Write to the seller, letting them know you’re interested and asking if they ever give discounts to reviewers. Sometimes they don’t bother to reply, but I’ve gotten several kitchen gadgets at a discount or even for free, because I asked.
Finally, if you make your email address public on Amazon (I use an address specifically for this), you may get offers for things that aren’t even sold on Amazon, from companies needing reviews on their own websites. I’ve netted some nice jewelry and many essential oils this way, and I still maintain my honesty and integrity when writing for those sites. NEVER accept an offer that requires you to write a positive review or that offers payment for one- it’s not worth the lost sleep. (That does not apply to writing on sites like Textbroker, since you’re not publishing under your name but putting someone else’s thoughts into words.)
That’s my two cents. Great list!
Satrap
Thanks very much for sharing your experience and your tips.
Vivianne LaPerle
what’s available for Canadians
Pam
I sure do wish I had known about all these secrets at Christmas time! I had many issues that would have been solved by knowing about some of tbese. One thing some may like to know about Amazon and unfortunately it is a negative. Beware!!! If u have their card and make payments the bank will issue u a certain credit limit, and at anytime for any reason and no notification reduce your credit line and if you have an order pending, they WILL WITHOUT NOTICE, lower your credit limit and cancel your order without you knowing. I am a prime member, had an $800 credit line for 17 months, paid on time everytime. I ordered a bday gift for my grandson. Two day free prime shipping. It never came. When I called, I was told the order was cancelled. When I asked who and y, they told me to hold and transferred me to the bank that said they decreased my credit line by $500 the same day but after I placed my order and refused to discuss it until I got a letter from them that I never got. And the nightmare goes on!! Sync Bank SUCKS and is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!!! BUYER BEWARE IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IN THE END!!!!! PS: Funnier is about 2 weeks later HSN, who I hardly ever purchase from increased my credit line by the same amount I was decreased through Syncbank. LOL
Satrap
Seems like the issue was from your bank and not Amazon, Pam.
Santo
Sorry I believe Amazon and HSN use same bank for customers. That sounds more reasonable. Maybe Amazon might use another source to avoid this in future.
So actually believe Amazon might have a lot. Maybe should tell bank not change line of credit to assist some where else.
Bailey
I certainly would not give paribus.co or anyone else my email password or access to my email account this could be disastrous. Never trust anyone with your passwords.
Lori
Regarding #6 refunds on price drops – Have they stopped this? I just tried to get a refund of $2.00 on a book I recently bought. After 3 different people helping me on Chat I was told they don’t do this.
Satrap
Lori, it may be because of the item. You know how with Prime they have guaranteed 2 day shipping only on qualifying items? I think this may be one of those cases.
Michelle
They absolutely do not do this anymore
Kim
So how does Snagshout work? Is it a free service or are you paying for it as well?
Satrap
Kim, the service is free, but for the products (because of the latest changes in Amazon policy) you do have to pay, which is usually a fraction of its retail cost. I have seen products for as low as 95% off. I mean, that’s practically free.
Mom
Can you use any gift card?…. such as Panera bread… to trade for an amazon gift card?
Satrap
I believe as long as it’s a Visa card that has the numbers in the front and the CVV (Card Verification Value) in the back, it should work. If it’s an actual store gift card that can only be used in that specific store, then no.
Michelle
3, 6, 41, 42 & 45 are completely not true with the exception of 42 on certain TVs.
Zack
45 is COMPLETELY true. Happened to me several times and not always on lower-priced items. I ordered a $100 outdoor lighted Christmas wreath and didn’t know our in-laws had an extra one so I started the return process on Amazon and a day later it said I could just keep it. Couldn’t believe it. I could easily sell it for 75 bucks for it on Ebay or Craigslist. It was huge and maybe the seller didn’t want to go through the shipping hassle due to holidays and Covid-related delivery issues.
Candy
45 is true. I had to broken waffle maker that was about 25 dollars and they sent me
A new one
Jackie Bender
Is there a senior discount for prime?
Satrap
I haven’t seen/heard of any. Sorry, Jackie.
By the way, you can get the Student Prime discount with a simple .edu email address even if it’s one you were using back when you were a student. As long it’s an active email address, you are fine.
Meghin
They don’t offer any refund for price adjustments for anything sold by them or a 3rd Party it is there company policy. If the price drops on something you can return it for a refund if it is eligible to be returned but you will likely have to pay return shipping costs and place a new order for the lower price one which wouldn’t be worth the hassle after returning the first one. Also, they only price match televisions from certain retailers. No phones. The gift card offer for the credit card is only if you are approved for the credit card. In regards to #27 the shipping delay you should set that straight as they have different policies and guarantees for instance if it is an estimated delivery date that it gives you at checkout & your email confirmation there is zero guarantee you will get it that day & they will do nothing per policy. If it is a guaranteed delivery date or expected delivery date and that date has passed then you can call and complain to try to get something.
Caroline
One of the most aggravating things about Amazon is that if you live in Alaska or Hawaii Prime membership suddenly loses value.
Prime shipping magically turns into standard shipping! Now I understand that they might not be able to guarantee a two day delivery time but what is unbelievably galling is that they don’t even TOUCH the order for the standard delivery time, which means Amazon acts as I if have not been paying my annual Prime fee for many years.
This used to not be a problem the last time I lived in Alaska. I’ve tried complaining, without luck.
How do I regain that value, which to me is at least as important as the other very good ideas?
ONeal
I’m going to start using the 2 browser tip. Thanks. Stray Rescue in St. Louis, MO, is my chosen charity for Amazon Smile, as well.
Satrap
That’s awesome, ONeal. I am glad you support Stray Rescue as well. Thank you.
Debra Lowe
Satrap,
You can also get a discounted Prime Membership if you are on the SNAP program (formerly the Food Stamp program). You can contact Customer Service and ask them for the details. It definitely works!!
Ruby Mora
I ordered a phone less than a week before PrimeDay this year. On Prime day it went down $50. I contacted customer service on chat. They were giving me a very long run around with it and after about 30 minutes it was disconnected “accidentally”. Would I still qualify for the refund of the difference with it being a Prime deal? And if I contacted the again now?
Whitney
These are all great little secrets! I’m going to have to start using the charity one for sure and many of the others as well. I am on SNAP since my husband lost his job due to the pandemic (unfortunately!) but yes having that discount has been awesome to and you get to use on pantry and deals and ebt eligible items.
Thanks for the great tips!!
DunesJoseph39
I sure do wish I had known about all these secrets at Christmas time! I had many issues that would have been solved by knowing about some of tbese. One thing some may like to know about Amazon and unfortunately it is a negative. Beware!!! If u have their card and make payments the bank will issue u a certain credit limit, and at anytime for any reason and no notification reduce your credit line and if you have an order pending, they WILL WITHOUT NOTICE, lower your credit limit and cancel your order without you knowing. I am a prime member, had an $800 credit line for 17 months, paid on time everytime. I ordered a bday gift for my grandson. Two day free prime shipping. It never came. When I called, I was told the order was cancelled. When I asked who and y, they told me to hold and transferred me to the bank that said they decreased my credit line by $500 the same day but after I placed my order and refused to discuss it until I got a letter from them that I never got. And the nightmare goes on!! Sync Bank SUCKS and is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!!! BUYER BEWARE IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY IN THE END!!!!! PS: Funnier is about 2 weeks later HSN, who I hardly ever purchase from increased my credit line by the same amount I was decreased through Syncbank. LOL!
Brian
Great work. Thank you for sharing such a nice information.
Saeed
Thanks Brian. Haver you sued any of these Amazon shopping hacks to save money on Amazon purchases?
eric
i wish i would have known earlier . i did lose my job i do want write