My wife and I have used Amazon extensively the past several years, so I'm sharing some of the best ways you can save money on Christmas gifts and other items like we have!
Tip #1: Use Amazon Prime Shipping
Amazon's "Prime" shipping is a premium shipping option. When you're a Prime member, every order is shipped to you via 2-business day shipping - FREE, with no minimum order!
We've seen deals on small items like Scotch Tape and have been able to snap them up without worrying about any shipping charges. Also, with quick shipping, you can buy gifts on Wednesday and have them by Friday. This is great for birthday's, holidays or other occasions where you just don't have time to shop. Lastly, Prime shipping makes it easy to do "gift arbitrage". This is when you've already bought a gift somewhere else, but then see it cheaper on Amazon. With quick Prime shipping, you can get it quickly then return the higher-priced item before your return period runs out! Additionally, you can ship your items anywhere, meaning buying gifts for those out-of-town is easy because you don't have to have it sent to your house.
Usually, Prime shipping costs $80 per year. This seems like a lot, but considering the ease of buying without any extra shipping charges and being able to jump on deals under $25 and still get free shipping, you'll love the convenience and probably save that much over a year. You can share your Prime membership with up to 4 people in your household, so that's an easy way to split the cost.
Lastly, since Prime is considered a "paid" form of shipping vs. the "free Super-Saver" shipping, in my experience when you make a return, you don't get charged for return shipping.
Tip #2: Don't pay for Prime! There's a several ways to get Prime for free!
Best way to get Prime for free: Amazon Student
 . You only need to be enrolled in 1 college class and have a .edu email account and you get 1 full year of Prime for free! This is the easiest way to get the most Prime for free. Second way for free Prime: Amazon Prime Free Trial
Anyone is eligible for this one. It's for 3 months, which will cover you through the holiday season. You will be automatically renewed at full price, BUT, you can change this setting as soon as you sign up without losing the rest of the trial. No need to get billed, then cancel, then get a credit. Just change the setting in your Prime account and you'll never get billed, but get to keep your 3 free months!Third Way: Amazon Mom
. This isn't just for Mom's, it's open to anyone. I'll talk more about Amazon Mom in my next way to save, but just understand, that you only have to sign up for Amazon Mom (free, and again no obligation) to get 3 months of Prime for free. Plus, if you do buy items that are "Mom" qualified, you can extend that Prime membership for up to a year - free! Amazon Mom is a new program that gives you 30% off certain items (mostly diapers & wipes when you use the "Subscribe & Save" option. But again, in Amazon fashion, you can "subscribe" to an item for 1 order, then immediately cancel all future orders. You can even cancel, resubscribe, etc without penalty. However, Amazon's Subscribe & Save program has some great features like "skip my next order" and "Send some more now". In this way, you can always be sure to have what you need on hand.
Free Prime benefits. When you sign up for Amazon Mom (no, you don't need to be a Mom...heck, you don't even need to place an order) you'll get an initial 3 months of Prime for free. Then for every $25 purchase in their Baby store, you can an extra month tacked on free as well. You can accumulate up to 12 months of Prime, free, just for buying the things you'll need anyway! Plus, you'll be getting your diapers and wipes CHEAPER than Sam's Club. That's a deal!
Fast shipping, even without Prime. All Subscribe & Save items ship for free, usually with 2-day shipping.
One watchout - Click the right button!
When using Subscribe and Save, you need to make sure you click the right button. Don't click "Add to Cart". Look underneath that button and you'll see a quantity box, a frequency (1 month, 2 months, etc), then a "Subscribe & Save" button. That's the one you need to click!
Maximize your free Prime:
Also, since to get and extra month, you need $25 in a single order, and each subscribed item is sent as a separate order, you may want to get creative, like having 2 boxes of wipes sent every 2 months instead of 1 box every month.
The Amazon Mom vs. Sams Club showdown:
Click here for a rundown of Amazon's prices vs. my local Sam's Club prices (as of 10/2010)
If you have a smartphone, you're in luck! How many toys does your child point to when you're out. Invariably, you don't have a piece of paper let alone a pen to write them all down. With this app, you just take a picture of the item, or the barcode, and Amazon find that item, similar items, and stores your list for you. Now you can comparison shop when you get home without forgetting anything!
You may be familiar with these, but they do get better as Christmas approaches. With the tips above for getting free Prime, now you can jump all over them. Also, realize that different departments will have a "Deal of the Day" in addition to the standard Lightning Deals. And don't forget - Amazon has links on the Gold Box page to sign up to get updates via email, text message, Twitter, or RSS. I love using RSS feeds because you can integrate them into Outlook and keep an eye on them while at work without having to surf the web!
This is so much easier than trying to sell on Ebay or lugging all your old video games, movies, and textbooks to 3 different stores, then being stuck with their offer. Amazon doesn't always offer the highest value compared to some stores, but considering there's no cost to ship, you only have to Trade In the items you want, and they give an exact value they offer for each item, it's easy to see what items are worth trading in and which ones you might as well just keep (or sell elsewhere). You get Amazon credit in return once your items are received and they agree with the condition of the items. I know you're all cleaning out the kids' toyboxes to make room, so why not clean out your own?
As Blu-ray takes off, and as new game system roll out in the next couple years, now is a good time to Trade In your stuff before it really loses value.
More Ideas
Ok, so those are some cool general ways to start saving on Amazon. Here's some more unique features and items you may want to check out:
Get $10 credit when you are a Prime member and make a $75 purchase using your Mastercard. Not a Prime member? Then you get free 2-day shipping on that purchase.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced a new method for sending Amazon.com Gift Cards to friends on Facebook. Customers can now connect to their Facebook account on Amazon.com and create a personalized gift card that will be delivered on the recipient's Facebook Wall.
After connecting to his or her Facebook account on Amazon.com, the sender can choose a gift card design, specify an amount up to $5,000 and provide an optional gift card message. The sender can also schedule the date for the gift card to appear on the recipient's Facebook Wall up to a year in advance. Free $5 Gift Card (Give 5 Get $5)
In addition, Amazon is now offering a "Give 5, Get $5" promotion for a limited time. Starting today, the first 10,000 customers who give an MP3-themed Amazon.com Gift Card to five different Facebook friends will get a $5 credit good for music downloads at Amazon MP3. Amazon MP3 has a library of more than 13 million songs and all music downloads sold at Amazon MP3 are DRM-free, which means they work on virtually any MP3 player or phone. |