(Pocket-lint) - Everyone shops connected Amazon. But not everyone really digs astir and has a play with each the site's hidden features and tools.
From a showroom that lets you virtually premix and lucifer the furnishings you privation to buy, to integer coupons you tin clip, determination are loads of concealed tips and tricks we've recovered that could prevention you wealth and wholly alteration however you usage Amazon.
Best Amazon tips and tricks
Amazon
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime membership
It feels silly to commencement disconnected with this, due to the fact that it's truthful obvious, but you truly should articulation Amazon Prime if you privation to maestro Amazon. A ample chunk of the tips and tricks we suggest beneath lone enactment if you're a member. It's a paid subscription that, for an yearly oregon monthly fee, gives entree to a fig of Amazon services and enhancements.
Prime discounts for EBT and Medicaid cardholders
If you privation to go an Amazon Prime subordinate and person a valid EBT oregon Medicaid paper successful the US, you tin articulation astatine the discounted terms of $5.99 per month, alternatively than $12.99 a month. If you're eligible, you tin join from here.
Prime discounts for students
If you privation to go an Amazon Prime subordinate and are enrolled successful a assemblage oregon university, articulation Prime Student. As a member, you'll get a sixth-month escaped proceedings that includes the pursuing perks escaped two-day shipping connected eligible purchases, Prime Video, and student-only offers and discounts. Once your proceedings ends, you tin motion up for Amazon Prime astatine 50 per cent off. This volition beryllium valid for 4 years oregon until you graduate.
Share your Prime membership
Amazon allows you to adhd up to 4 different individuals to your Prime relationship truthful they tin stock your shipping benefits, but they request to beryllium members of your household. To acceptable it up, spell to the Amazon Household website and click Add Adult/Teen/Child. You'll request their email code utilized connected their Amazon accounts. The process besides requires the adults to stock recognition oregon debit paper information.
Amazon Teen
Part of Prime Household, Amazon Teen gives kids ages 13 to 17 the state to shop, but parents tin o.k. their purchases earlier it's charged.
Amazon
Saving money
Amazon Outlet
Want to easy browse the astir discounted items connected Amazon? Check retired Amazon Outlet. It chiefly aggregates overstocked and clearance items for merchantability connected Amazon, but crossed each class you tin imagine. These deals tin prevention you up to 80 per cent!
Amazon Warehouse
Amazon Warehouse is akin to Amazon Outlet, but it shows large discounts connected open-box and refurbished products - mostly tech and gadgets. Keep successful caput these items tin beryllium used, opened, oregon damaged. But each items are listed by quality, including precise good, acceptable, and similar new.
Amazon Family
Amazon Family is simply a hub for Prime members. It has deals connected household and parenting items. But it besides offers age-based merchandise recommendations and regular income connected babe products. You get 20 per cent disconnected diaper subscriptions and 15 per cent disconnected remaining babe registry items.
Find deals connected Amazon
Amazon's champion deals for caller products are recovered successful the "Today's Deals" nexus connected the apical of immoderate Amazon page. The conception "Gold Box Deals of the Day" has caller deals each day, arsenic good arsenic "Lightning Deals", which are constricted clip and sometimes extremity successful minutes. To enactment connected apical of everything, usage Amazon's app, wherever you tin presumption galore deals 24 hours successful beforehand and motion up for alerts.
You tin adjacent fto the deals travel to you via Amazon's daily deals email.
Watch deals connected Amazon
When you spot deals you like, click Watch this woody to prevention them. Then, spell here to spot deals you're watching.
Track and compares prices
- Bookmark this terms tracker site. Camelcamelcamel.com monitors astir each merchandise connected Amazon, tin amusement you which are astir discounted connected immoderate fixed day, amusement you the terms past for a listing, and alert you erstwhile the terms drops connected items you want.
- Also effort the tract PriceGrabber oregon the hold PriceBlink, some which fto you rapidly cheque to spot if an point is cheaper elsewhere.
- There's besides WikiBuy, a site and an extension. It lets you gain currency back, use promo codes, and ticker for items to spell connected sale.
- Keepa is simply a browser hold that works conscionable similar Camelcamelcamel, but alternatively embeds the terms past close onto the Amazon listing page. It has a mobile app mentation too.
- OnlinePriceAlert volition email you erstwhile the point you privation hits a circumstantial terms constituent you're consenting to pay.
Clip coupons
Amazon serves up coupons. There's really an full conception connected Amazon that's dedicated to coupons. You tin find coupons for electronics, favored supplies, toys, and different items. No scissors oregon carnal coupons required. To get started with Amazon coupons, spell to Amazon.com, past click connected the nexus astatine the apical for "Today's Deals." In the paper of sub items, click connected "Coupons."
Find promo codes
We already mentioned Wikibuy arsenic a discount codification aggregator hold you should try, but an alternate to that is Honey. It volition automatically find coupons for you and use them astatine checkout. Just instal the hold and it volition bash everything.
Subscribe and Save
On galore household and market items, Amazon gives you the enactment to "subscribe" and offers a discounted terms if you bash so. This is portion of the retailer's Subscribe and Save program, wherever you person regular shipments of the point for arsenic overmuch arsenic 15 per cent disconnected the regular price.
Turn escaped alteration into acquisition cards for free
You tin adhd spare coins successful your purse to an Amazon acquisition paper utilizing a Coinstar kiosk. It's perfectly free, waving the 11.9 per cent work complaint typically associated with currency exchanges. Choose an Amazon acquisition paper to skip the interest and person an eGift Card codification you tin usage instantly.
Earn escaped Amazon Gift Cards
There are galore rewards and survey sites that fto you bash online tasks to gain points redeemable for Amazon acquisition cards. For instance, there's Swagbucks, which is escaped to articulation and lets you implicit surveys to gain points. There's besides MyPoints and i-Say.
Pocket-lint
Shopping
Amazon Assistant
Amazon Assistant is an hold for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. It's escaped and casual to install. With it, you tin ticker for merchandise comparisons that prevention clip and money, entree shortcuts to fashionable Amazon hubs close successful your browser, and get notified erstwhile deals that you're watching spell unrecorded with desktop notifications. It besides lets you get accusation astir orders and deliveries.
Monthly outgo plans connected items
Amazon lets you wage for immoderate items implicit respective months. This connection lone applies to products sold and shipped by Amazon.com, specified arsenic the Amazon Echo, but besides third-party products from different sellers. Just look for the "monthly payments" enactment connected the merchandise item page.
- Go present to spot monthly payment-eligible items.
- Read the good people connected the monthly outgo plans here.
Trade successful for cash
You tin commercialized successful your aged devices, including phones, tablets, cameras, and more, arsenic good arsenic video games, aged books, and textbooks, successful speech for an Amazon acquisition card. The items indispensable beryllium successful decent information and the shipping is adjacent included!
Smile for Charity
Want to springiness a spot to foundation portion you shop? Then usage AmazonSmile. First, bookmark smile.amazon.com, and beryllium definite to ever store from there. On the desktop, you tin usage the AmazonSmile 1Button for Chrome oregon Amazon Smile! for Firefox browser extensions to beryllium reminded to usage Smile. Then, prime a foundation - implicit a cardinal disposable - and erstwhile you bargain eligible products, 0.5 per cent volition spell to your charity.
Shop with Alexa
Using Amazon Alexa via an Amazon Echo talker oregon the main Amazon app, you tin order oregon re-order immoderate items. Just accidental "Alexa, bid [product name]." Be definite to acceptable up a confirmation codification successful your Alexa app to forestall accidental orders. You tin besides usage Alexa buying skills to browse deals astatine different retailers. Also, enactment tuned for much Alexa-only deals this vacation season.
Amazon Cash (or Top Up)
Amazon Cash lets you adhd wealth to your Amazon relationship balance. It fundamentally lets you use currency toward your Amazon relationship equilibrium truthful that you tin yet person wealth to walk connected Amazon without a slope paper oregon a acquisition paper hooked. Go present to get started.
Amazon
Checkout and delivery
Same-day oregon one-hour deliveries
In implicit 8,000 cities, Prime members tin get same-day delivery connected qualifying orders implicit $35. Order by noon, and your bundle volition beryllium delivered by 9pm (seven days a week). If you bid successful the evening, you'll get escaped one-day delivery. Go present to spot if you're eligible. There's besides Amazon Prime Now, which offers deliveries successful 1 to 2 hours. Enter your ZIP codification to spot if this enactment is disposable to you.
Late transportation reimbursement
If you bargain thing that qualifies for escaped shipping with Prime, but it doesn’t get connected time, you tin get a one-month hold of your membership. If you don’t person Prime, Amazon volition refund the shipping costs. To inquire, spell to Contact Amazon > prime "An Order I Placed" > prime your bid > prime Problem with an bid > Shipping oregon transportation issues > Shipment is late.
Amazon Day
All Prime members should spot a caller Amazon Day enactment erstwhile they checkout and prime their shipping option. The thought is, they tin acceptable immoderate time of the week arsenic their transportation day. So, if you prime Friday, each the items you bought during the week volition get connected your designated "Amazon Day", oregon Friday. That time volition beryllium your default unless you alteration it astatine checkout. Weekend deliveries are disposable successful immoderate areas.
Amazon Locker
If you got a determination adjacent you with one, prime Amazon Locker for pickup (or returns) astatine checkout. These are secure, self-service kiosks. There's much than 2,800 lockers are located crossed 70+ US cities. You'll find them astatine places similar Whole Foods Markets and convenience stores.
Amazon Key
An alternate to Amazon Locker is Amazon Key, which allows transportation radical to participate your car, garage, oregon location erstwhile dropping disconnected packages.
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Cards, rewards, and points
Shopping with rewards points
Amazon offers a mates cards that fto you gain rewards points. You tin redeem these points for acquisition cards (or arsenic currency backmost via Chase). But points bash not enactment for items similar integer downloads and immoderate subscription and market items. You tin besides nexus different recognition cards - specified arsenic American Express, Discover, Citi, and much -- to your Amazon relationship and Shop With Points.
Check retired the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card from Chase that tin beryllium utilized anyplace and to cod points. If you're a Prime subordinate successful the US, you get 5 points per dollar spent connected Amazon and Whole Foods; 2 per dollar astatine restaurants, drugstores, and state stations; and 1 per dollar connected each different purchases. One 100 points earns you 1 dollar to walk connected Amazon. Woo!
There's besides the Amazon Store Card, which is for buying astatine Amazon astatine peculiar rates. US Prime members get 5 per cent backmost erstwhile they bargain eligible Prime-only items. If you qualify, you'll get a $60 acquisition paper erstwhile you motion up.
Amazon Credit Builder
Amazon partnered with Synchrony Financial to motorboat Amazon Credit Builder so that it tin lend to US shoppers with either atrocious recognition oregon nary recognition history. It includes a paper with 5 per cent currency backmost connected purchases. It besides offers tips connected however to physique credit. To start, Synchrony is issuing what are known arsenic “secured” recognition cards - wherever radical tin deposit $200, for instance, and person a $200 recognition limit.
If you don't get approved for a emblematic Amazon recognition card, you'll beryllium prompted to apply. But the caller paper exertion is besides disposable adjacent to the different Amazon cards. To use directly, spell to Apply for Amazon Credit Builder > click Apply Now > and travel the on-screen instructions.
No-rush shipping credits
Prime members tin get a small other thing if they take escaped no-rush shipping astatine checkout (instead of the two-day option). Your bundle volition usually get wrong 5 days, and you volition get credits applied to your relationship to usage for aboriginal purchases.
Amazon
Miscellaneous tools and features
Amazon Live
Amazon has launched a caller conception of its site. It appears to beryllium a location buying transmission of sorts, reminiscent of QVC oregon HSN. From what we tin tell, the tract is utilized to beforehand products connected Amazon.com. If you request to larn much astir an item, we suggest looking astatine Amazon Live.
Amazon AR View
Amazon's app offers an AR View feature. It lets you browse done thousands of items listed connected Amazon - things similar location decor, electronics, bureau products, toys, and games - and spot them successful your location oregon wherever you privation to spot them. Using the feature, you tin overlay, resize, and rotate the point to spot however it volition look and acceptable successful existent life. It's escaped to use, too.
Amazon Showroom
Showroom is different escaped AR diagnostic successful the Amazon website and app that lets you spot furnishings items into a virtual country and spot however good they acceptable together. You tin set the look of the flooring and walls to reflector your ain surviving country and easy alteration retired items. Third-party items see couches, chairs, tables, lamps, rugs, and art. You tin besides effort retired Amazon's ain Rivet and Stone and Beam brands.
Amazon StyleSnap
Remember the Echo Look? It's 1 of Amazon's lesser-known Echo devices. Its sole intent is to suggest caller apparel for you to buy. It uses a "Style Check service" that combines instrumentality learning algorithms with proposal from "fashion specialists" to springiness you benignant advice. Now, Amazon has a newer product, called StyleSnap, that - similar the Echo Look - uses AI to marque manner recommendations.
You simply click connected the camera icon successful the country of the Alexa app and instrumentality a photograph of an outfit you'd similar to wear. Amazon volition past service up akin covering items. Using deep-learning technology, StyleSnap tin archer the quality between, say, a flare formal oregon a gaffe dress. The feature, which Amazon told america is present unrecorded successful the Alexa app for iOS and Android, volition besides see things similar brand, price, and lawsuit reviews.
Whole Foods benefits
Whole Foods is present owned by Amazon, and so it's an Amazon Prime perk: You tin get 10 per cent disconnected items, positive different play discounts and benefits specified arsenic two-hour deliveries via Prime Now and 5 per cent backmost connected purchases via the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card. Download the Whole Foods Market app to get started saving. Also, effort asking Alexa, "What are my Whole Foods deals?"
AmazonFresh
AmazonFresh was the archetypal sanction for Amazon's market transportation and pickup work successful prime cities. Prime members tin get the benefits of AmazonFresh for an further monthly rank interest of $14.99. Go here to spot if transportation oregon pickup is disposable successful your area.
Amazon Prime Gaming
Previously a portion of the Amazon Twitch Prime benefits, Amazon Prime Gaming offers entree to escaped games for download each period arsenic good arsenic exclusive in-game contented and loot and nary other cost. In addition, you get a escaped Twitch transmission subscription each month, exclusive emoticons, expanded chat colour options and extended retention of your broadcasts.
Amazon Prime Book Box
Amazon offers Prime Book Box, a monthly children's publication subscription service, to Prime members. If you subscribe, you volition person (delivered to your door) a container with 4 committee books oregon 2 hardcover representation books oregon novels. Amazon said you'll prevention up to 40 per cent disconnected the database terms of these books. This work costs $22.99 a month.
Amazon Prime Wardrobe
Amazon Prime Wardrobe lets you effort connected apparel earlier you buy." Prime Wardrobe is considered a caller Prime benefit, truthful subscribe to Amazon Prime to instrumentality vantage of the service. Once you do, you tin bid clothes, shoes, and accessories - with nary upfront complaint - and you get 7 days to trial them out. You past usage the provided statement to instrumentality them.
Amazon photograph printing
Amazon volition people your photos for you! Whether you privation cards, partition decor, mugs, photograph books, calendars, oregon prints. It's each printed connected heavy paper, successful affluent colour, and successful the US. Better yet, spot your bid done Amazon Prime, and you'll get escaped shipping.
Writing by Maggie Tillman. Editing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 28 June 2019.