Best Amazon Shopping Tips and Strategies to Save You Time and Money

Most of us are already quite familiar with Amazon—the website boasts 42 million users in the U.S. alone. And it’s no accident it’s become our favorite shopping destination—Amazon has made it so easy to point, click, and ship, and have a product in your hand in a matter of days. That said, this user-friendly, ultra-easy experience isn’t the only reason to fall in love with Amazon. There’s a world of Amazon shopping tips and strategies you can take advantage of that can make your experience more affordable, convenient, and downright enjoyable—even if you thought you couldn’t love Amazon anymore than you already do.

Use these money-saving tips

No matter your stage of life, whether you’re a recent college graduate or a mom with three teenagers, most of us can use more money-saving tips to boost our budgets. Before we get into the best money-saving tips, keep in mind you’ll find the best deals when you’re an Amazon Prime member (which we’ll discuss in depth).

Take advantage of digital coupons

Amazon offers a world of digital coupons. The best part? You don’t have to cut these out, you can easily find them with a few simple clicks. To find all the coupons, go to the top of the Amazon homepage and you should see a header that says “coupons.” You can click on it and it takes you directly to all the categories featuring clippable coupons today and you can sort and shop from there. You can also find coupons on the Today’s Deals page.

Shop Amazon Outlet

The Amazon Outlet is full of overstock and clearance items. You can save simply because there’s too much inventory. Go here to find these deals. Once you’re in the Outlet, you can sort and search just like you do with other Amazon categories and chances are, you’ll find what you need at a discounted price.

Shop Amazon Warehouse deals

I personally take advantage of this money-saving option regularly, but I haven’t always known this was available. Like the Amazon Outlet, Amazon Warehouse Deals has its own corner of the Amazon store, which you can find here or under the “Today’s Deals” section. Unlike the Outlet,the Warehouse Deals features used, opened, or even damaged products but offered at an incredible savings. What makes this feature so fantastic is Amazon tells you what to expect—such as if it’s missing a part or if the packaging is damaged, but the item is still functional. I’ve bought multiple items (and saved a ton of money) this way and have never once had a “surprise” in quality—the condition typically exceeds my expectations.

Other easy ways to save include:

• No rush shipping selection: Get a $1 digital credit when you select “no rush” for your shipping options at checkout. This applies to items such as music downloads or movie rentals.
• Save at Whole Foods Markets: You can save at Whole Foods when you’re an Amazon Prime Member. There are Weekly Deals exclusively for Prime Members, plus you get a 10-percent discount on sale items in the app.
• Shop Today’s Deals and Lightning Deals: You can find steep discounts on items by shopping the Today’s Deals and Lightning Deals section. The best way to stay on top of this is through the Amazon app where you can set up an alert and get 24 hours notice before a deal launches.
• Trade in your tech: If you have any gadgets in decent condition, you can trade these into Amazon in exchange for Amazon gift cards.

Enhance your shopping experience with these strategies

Not only can you save money with Amazon, you can improve your overall shopping experience so it’s even more tailored to your shopping preferences and needs with these few strategies.

Try before you buy

Buying clothes online can be super tricky, but Amazon takes this worry away by offering the Try Before You Buy service. Look for items eligible for this program and have it shipped directly to you for try on. You have seven days to decide if you like it. If not, simply return it in the prepaid shipping package. If you do like it, Amazon will go ahead and charge your card on file.

Create lists

One of my favorite strategies for saving money on Amazon is creating a list of items I’m eyeing throughout the year. From birthday presents to back-to-school deals on supplies, I create lists of items I see as I’m scrolling, but am not yet ready to buy. To do this, simply click “Add to list,” which is located below the product descriptions. From there, it’ll prompt you to create a list and give it a name, such as “beauty products,” or whatever. You can easily monitor the pricing for these items and pounce the moment you see it drop to a 30-day low or the addition of a digital coupon. You can also share this list with your friends and family when they’re asking what to buy you for your birthday.

Shop with Alexa

Who doesn’t need a personal assistant in their life? Amazon offers Alexa for help with your personal shopping needs. If you have an Echo dot or the Amazon app,say “Alexa, order my…” or re-order a particular item. To get started, go to the Alexa app, then open up Settings > Alexa Account > Voice Purchasing. You can even ask Alexa to tell you about the deals available on a particular day.

Optimize your Amazon checkout and delivery experience

Finding deals is one part of the equation—optimizing your checkout and delivery with Amazon is another.

Find same-day or one-hour delivery options

There are over 8,000 cities qualifying for same-day delivery with Amazon and it’s easy to find out if yours is one of them. You do have to have a Prime membership, spend a minimum of $35, and your zip code must be one of the eligible zip codes. If your product and order qualify for the same-day option, it’ll be delivered before 9 p.m. If same-day isn’t quite fast enough for what you need, you can also check out Amazon Prime Now, which offers delivery within two hours, but this has limited availability.

Get reimbursed should your package not arrive on time

If your package qualifies for Amazon Prime and doesn’t arrive by the date promised, you can let Amazon know and your Prime membership gets extended by a month for free. If you’re not a Prime member and paid for shipping, you can get shipping costs reimbursed.

Set up an Amazon Day

If you order multiple Amazon items weekly, try the Amazon Day option. This lets you pick which day works best for you (one day per week) for receiving packages. For example, if you know you work from home on Fridays, then select Friday as your Amazon Day and you won’t have to worry about packages sitting out.

Level-up with cards and rewards

Your Prime membership is already value-packed, but you can boost your benefits even more by tying your purchases to a credit card or gift card using these strategies.

Purchase gift cards on Amazon

Purchasing an Amazon gift card directly on the Amazon website can have a major advantage: you can easily purchase the gift card (in the form of an e-card) and receive a $10 promotional credit with a minimum $40 gift card purchase. The best part is, you can give this gift card to yourself and do your own shopping on Amazon and enjoy the $10 promotional credit. Tip: Discounted gift cards often come up as Amazon Prime Day deals, so mark your calendars for those shopping days.

Amazon Credit Cards

Amazon offers several credit card options that help you enjoy even more benefits with Amazon purchases. Each card offers unique perks that help you get even more from your membership.

card_name : With annual_fees annual credit fee and no foreign transaction fees, the card_name card offers unlimited 5 percent rewards on all Amazon purchases (unlimited) and with Whole Foods Markets. Plus you earn cash back on all other purchases, whether you use it for travel, groceries, or gas. You can redeem your rewards for a number of options, including Chase travel rewards, cash back, or gift cards.

Prime Store Card: The Prime store card lets you earn five-15 percent cash back on all Amazon purchases, which you can redeem for statement credit. You can also take advantage of six months interest-free financing for eligible purchases on Amazon.com. Plus, the card has no annual fee.

Pay for Amazon Purchases with credit card points

Even if you don’t have an Amazon-branded credit card, you may still be eligible to redeem credit card points for Amazon purchases with these credit card rewards programs:

• American Express® Membership Rewards®
• Capital One® Rewards
• Discover® Rewards
• ThankYou® Rewards from Citi
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Hilton Honors®
• HSBC Rewards
• BILT Rewards
• Wings Member Rewards
• Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards
• U.S. Bank Rewards
• Elan Financial Services Rewards
• Mercury Points
• uChoose Rewards®

You can also find special (and often secret) promotions that offer discounts of percentages or dollars-off when you shop with as little as a single credit card point. Your credit card company will often send you these promotions, but you can also find them by searching terms like “shop with points promotion” plus your credit card brand on Google.

Know the Best Amazon Prime tips

Having an Amazon Prime Membership is the best way to enjoy all the awesome perks Amazon offers, but you may not even realize how many ways there are for maximizing your Prime membership. You can pay for your membership on a monthly or yearly basis with a flat fee. If you’re currently enrolled in an EBT or Medicaid program, you can get the Prime membership at a very discounted rate.

Get Amazon Prime for free

Students can enroll in Prime Student, which means they get three months of the Prime membership for free, then afterward it’s only $8.99 per month. It includes many of the same benefits of a regular Prime membership, but includes other perks geared towards students. If you’re not a student, you can still sign up for a 30-day free trial, if you’ve never bought a Prime membership before.

Give the gift of Prime

Did you know you can gift someone a Prime membership? All you need to do is log in to your own Amazon Prime account and follow the prompts for giving a gift membership. If the person you’re gifting it to already has a membership, they can exchange it for an Amazon gift card and start shopping right away.

Prime with a partner

You can share the benefits of a Prime membership with another adult age 18 or older living in your same household by setting up Amazon Household. Once there, you can add another adult or up to four children/teens living in the same house without them purchasing their own Prime membership. This is a great way to share an account with your partner or let your children have access to ordering and enjoy the benefits of a full membership without the cost.

How to cancel an Amazon Prime membership

If you no longer need your Prime membership or feel you’re not getting enough value from it, you can cancel it at any time. If you paid for an entire year at once then you’ll get refunded the remaining amount left in your membership. Amazon has made it hassle-free if you do decide to go this route. Go to your account > click the Prime button > manage membership > end membership.