If you ever purchase items online, Amazon will likely be one of the first sites you visit.
And it’s easy to see why: on one website you have access to millions of products in almost every category imaginable, with a comprehensive review system.
The convenience is amplified if you sign up for a Prime membership, which adds free next-day delivery on many items, as well as access to Prime Video and a range of other benefits. After a 30-day free trial, it costs £8.99/$14.99 per month or £95/$139 per year.
But whether you have Prime or not, you’ll probably be looking for a great discount. And by following these 9 tips and tricks, you can maximize your chances of scoring great deals.
Sometimes Amazon offers promotions and discount codes for specific items or product categories, although you may not always be eligible for them.
To avoid regularly scouring the web for them, simply head to the Personalized Promotions page on the Amazon UK website and log in to your account. Some may be exclusive to Prime members, but not all.
Unfortunately, there is no equivalent page on Amazon US, but that does not mean that similar promotions do not exist. You’ll just have to work harder to find them.
2. Use Amazon Outlet
Like any major retailer, Amazon has excess inventory on many items. Instead of hoping they sell out in the usual way, the company often offers them deep discounts at its Outlet store.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Discounts vary greatly from product to product, but you can save up to 70%.
Head over to Amazon UK or Amazon US and see what you can find.
3. Get the Most Out of Returned and Refurbished Items
Of course, once an item has been purchased and returned, it can no longer be sold as new. But that’s good news for you, because you often find discounted products that are in near-pristine condition.
Finding these products can be difficult, but a useful tool on Money Saving Expert (the inspiration for this article) helps you track them down in the UK. Search for a specific item or category, then sort by condition, brand, or price. By default, the biggest savings will be displayed at the top of the page.
You can also buy refurbished products under the Amazon Renewed banner. Amazon promises that they have been “professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon-qualified suppliers” and offers a one-year money-back guarantee on all purchases.
Each product will also be assigned a status – premium, excellent, good or acceptable – details of which can be viewed on the Amazon website.
Head to Amazon UK or Amazon US to see what’s available.
4. Look for vouchers or coupons
Amazon has an unusual approach to vouchers/coupons. Rather than a specific code you enter during checkout (as is the case on many other sites), the most common way to get a discount is to check a box on the listing page – this which can easily be missed.
These are usually small savings of 5-10%, but sometimes they are larger. Look for the orange text “Voucher” (UK) or “Coupon” (US) and check the box next to it.
You can also go to the Amazon Vouchers or Amazon Coupons pages and click the button below each offer to automatically apply it.
5. Make sure it’s a good deal
Amazon is often the cheapest online retailer of products, but not always. Before continuing, it’s worth checking if the item you’re looking for is cheaper elsewhere.
Go to Google Shopping in the UK or US and search for the product you saw on Amazon. Usually the cheapest ad from a reputable retailer will be displayed. But if there are obvious items missing, it’s worth checking them manually as well.
Once you’re convinced that Amazon has the best price, it might be worth seeing if the advertised deal is as good as it looks. Go to CamelCamelCamel and search for the product or paste the Amazon link into the search bar.
To make things easier, this tool is available as a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Just search for “The Camelizer” to add it.
6. Wait for a big sales event
If this “deal” no longer seems as good as it once did, consider whether you can expect deeper discounts in the future.
The period around Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the weekend after Thanksgiving in the United States) is usually the best time of year for bargains on Amazon, but the company also hosts its own sales events all throughout the year.
In general, watch for Spring Sales in March, Prime Day (where discounts are exclusive to Prime members) in July, Fall Sales in October, and Boxing Day (December 26) from there. However, these dates may vary from year to year.
Amazon
Amazon
Amazon
7. Experiment with different colors and configurations
On some products, the color you choose can have a significant impact on the price.
If you don’t mind the color of a product you own (or want to cover it with a case anyway), click through all the options to see which is the cheapest.
And even if you opt for a particular configuration (of a smartphone or tablet for example), it’s always worth checking out another model to see if it’s on sale.
8. Subscribe and save
Do you regularly purchase household items through Amazon? It will probably be cheaper to set up a regular subscription.
The service, known as Subscribe & Save, also sometimes offers one-off additional discounts.
If you’re looking for a specific product, head to its listing page and see if there’s an option to subscribe and save.
Alternatively, a selection of eligible products can be found on Amazon UK or Amazon US.
9. Get a refund if discounted after purchase
Have you ever purchased a product at what seemed like a good price, only to receive a discount shortly after? This is very frustrating, especially if you don’t need it urgently.
However, you may still be able to save money if you buy it on Amazon. There’s no official policy on this, but it seems to work for some people, so it’s worth a try if you want potential extra money.
To get started, go to the Amazon UK or Amazon US customer service page, click “Something else” in the list, then choose “Contact Us” to start a live text chat.
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