Online shopping now is quickly becoming the preferred shopping venue versus driving to crowded malls and big box stores. Amazon is quickly becoming the top shopping destination in the world let alone online.  Amazon offers a wide variety of items ranging from clothing, jewelry, toys, books, electronics and a lot more. For the smart shopper, there are definitely ways to save money while shopping on Amazon! 

Sign up for Amazon Prime

You might think that being a member of Amazon Prime might cost you more money than you will save since you need to pay $99 per year to be a member.  The key is to take advantage of the membership benefits that can help you save money. Of course there is the well-known two-day free shipping, you will also have an access to Prime Now which is a one to two-hour same day delivery from warehouses in your area. You will also have access to Prime Music, which will give you access to two-million songs, and Prime Video which will give you access to a wide range of movies and TV shows. Do you have a larger one time purchase you need to make and can benefit from Prime?  You can sign up for a free 30 day trial and cancel before the trial ends.

Get an Amazon Student Account

College students can sign up for an Amazon Student account which offers a free trial for six months and then its $49 per year or just $5.49 per month. It also gives you a two-day free shipping and an access to unlimited photo storage and other discounts. When the free trial ends, you may sign up for Amazon Prime which will only cost you half of its original price.

Use Coupons 

Like any other shopping platforms, Amazon also offers coupons. In fact, they offer more than 1,000 coupons every month on their coupon page. Simply click on the “Clip Coupon” button then add the item to your cart. These coupons can make the existing low prices drop further. You may can use them in purchasing household products like pet supplies, groceries, cleaning products, and makeups as well.

Wait for Shipping

For Prime Members, if you don’t need the product urgently, choosing the free no-rush shipping option can earn you rewards and discounts immediately, instead of choosing the two-day free shipping. You’ll just have to wait for around six business days depending on the item and when the item ships, you’ll receive a notification about the rewards which you can redeem and use in purchasing other items.

Add Items to Cart but Don’t Checkout Right Away 

This one is like asking Amazon to give you discounts on the items you want to purchase. You simply add items to your cart and leave them there for a few days. Make sure that you are logged in to Amazon. After a while, you will be receiving a notification reminding you about the items you need to checkout. Included in the notification might be an enticing promotion or a discount code for the items you have in your cart.

Subscribe and Save           

Signing up for the Subscribe and Save feature can give you discounts on items like laundry supplies and other household supplies that you always need. This feature will give you access to set up recurring orders on these items. You will also get free shipping and up to 15 percent discount on your purchases.           

Today’s Deals, Warehouse Deals, and Amazon Outlet 

Try checking out the items in these deals. They run promotions that will can help you save money. The “Today’s Deals” link can be found on top of the page. They offer “Deal of the Day” and other limited-time offers. The Amazon Outlet offers deep discounts for a wide range of products and most of them are for popular and expensive items. Warehouse Deals offers discounts more on used electronics and appliances. It usually features items that have been returned or refurbished. They are sorted according to conditions so you don’t have to worry about its quality.           

Amazon Family

If you regularly buy baby items like diapers, wipes, and other things, then using the Amazon Family will help you save money for these items. This feature is free for Amazon Prime members. It offers up to 20 percent discount on these items. That will give you big savings that you can use to purchase other items.

Donate Items 

If you have some items you no longer use, you may donate them to Amazon. The donations you give will be for the Give Back Box. You can mail it to Amazon for free. Donating items will give you a tax-write off for your taxes.

Use Apps and Browser Extensions 

There are also applications that can help you find discounts on Amazon. Here are some that you can use while shopping.

Honey – This app will automatically check available discounts on the certain item that you are currently viewing. If it finds a good deal, it will show you how much money you will save if you purchase the same item from a different seller.

Paribus – This app can help you in two ways. First is by checking your order history and if the item you purchased lowers its price in an eligible period of time, the app will file a price adjustment claim. If this happens, you will receive a rebate of the price of the item minus 25%. Second is when you chose expedited shipping and the item arrives late, the app will submit a claim and you will receive a compensation for it.

Trim Financial Manager – This app is the same as Paribus because it tracks the price of the item. When it lowers, it will also file a claim. The difference is that this app does not track shipment delivery dates.

CamelCamelCamel – This app will send you an alert when there is a price drop on the items in your cart. You no longer have to check for promos and price changes on a daily basis because this app will do that for you.

Ebates – This one is a cash back app. Their cash backs are per category. For example, you can receive a 5% cash back on gardening items, clothing, and jewelry. Before visiting Amazon, it’s a good idea to check on Ebates first for the reward categories they offer. Aside from this, this app also tracks your order history like Paribus.

These tips and tricks can definitely help you save a lot of money at AMazon. So the next time you plan on purchasing items on Amazon, you might want to go and try some of these ways. Happy shopping!