This lesson on saving money is going to dive deep into how to save money on Amazon. If you buy stuff with any regularity on Amazon you could be saving money with a few small changes.
Please know, this lesson is part of a larger course on how to save money on everything (click here to read the introduction). Check out the other lessons for more ways you can save money here.
Table of Contents
- Get an Amazon Prime Rewards Card
- Use Amazon Coupons
- Use Amazon Prime
- Use Amazon Subscribe & Save
- Use Amazon Family
- Use an Amazon Wedding Registry
- Use Amazon for Your Baby Registry
- Shop on Amazon Warehouse
- Shop on Amazon Outlet
1. Get an Amazon Prime Rewards Card
- 🧾 Description– Get and use the Amazon Prime rewards credit card. You can apply here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – $240 in rewards (redeemable at Amazon.com) / year + $100 Amazon.com gift card when you sign up
- 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases.
- You’ll also get a $100 Amazon gift card when you sign up.
- As with any rewards credit card, it’s only a good value if you use it properly. This means you need to pay it off completely each month and shift a large portion of your monthly purchases to Amazon.com or Whole Foods. Doing so will allow you to take the most advantage of the card’s rewards. Let’s say you buy $300 in groceries per month at Whole Foods and $100 in other purchases on Amazon.com each month. That’s $400 per month or $4,800 per year. The 5% back earns you $240 / year. That’s a great savings for not much extra effort.
- You need an Amazon Prime membership to get eligible.
2. Use Amazon Coupons
- 🧾 Description– Find coupons on Amazon.com for products that you’re already buying. Find Amazon coupons here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – $60 / year
- Savings will of course vary based on what you’re buying and how much, but even if Amazon’s coupons only save you $5 / month that adds up to $60 / year.
3. Use Amazon Prime
- 🧾 Description– Sign up for Amazon Prime and/or use the best value Prime membership for you. You can sign up here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Varies from free / 50% off (students), $5.99 / month (EBT / Medicaid), $12.99 / month (monthly), or $119.99 / year (annual)
- 💲 Savings – $94 / year if you only need Prime during 2 shopping months / year. 50% off if you’re a student. 50% off if you have low income. And big savings for families with Amazon Households.
- Your savings on Amazon Prime will vary. If you use Prime shipping to avoid more expensive retail shops in your area, there will be savings from that. In addition, Prime allows you to not make a separate trip to the store, saving gas money. However, because of the cost to be a member you really need to make sure you’re taking full advantage of the membership to make it worth it.
- Are you a student? If so, make sure you’re on the student plan, which includes a 6 month free trial and then 50% off the regular price as long as you’re a student. Student’s can sign up here.
- Do you have an EBT or Medicaid card? If so, you can get prime for $5.99 / month. You can sign up here.
- Do you do most of your shopping at certain times of the year, for example around the holidays? If so, you should consider switching to Amazon Prime month to month plan. Keep it active when you’re shopping most and cancel it when you’re not. If you mostly use Amazon Prime for holiday shopping you can just activate for November and December for $26 vs. $120 / year, saving yourself $94 / year.
- Do you have a family? If you have a family and have multiple people paying for Amazon Prime then stop! You can have a single Amazon Prime account and add up to 10 family members who can share in the benefits. One price for the whole family (and it’s the same price as it is for an individual). You can add family members to your account here.
4. Use Amazon Subscribe & Save
- 🧾 Description– Use Amazon’s Subscribe & Save feature to schedule periodic deliveries of the items you need on a regular schedule. You can find the full line of Subscribe & Save products here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low to Moderate
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – 5-15% off, $25-$50 / year (depending on your shopping habits)
- With Subscribe & Save you’ll schedule regular deliveries of items you often buy. For example, if you already buy body wash 4 times a year at a price of $5.89 per you can save 5% off if you simply schedule those deliveries. For the body wash example it means you’ll save $1.18 / year. Your savings on any one item won’t be significant, but it will add up.
- Subscribe & save is great for household items, soaps, paper products, tooth paste, deodorant, trash bags, cleaners, and other non-perishables.
- A typical household could easily find 25 items that would be a good fit for subscribe & save. If each of those items saves you $1-2 / year that yields a savings of $25-$50 / year
- Once you’ve signed up to subscribe and save you can then manage your subscriptions. Not using it as fast as you thought? Simply skip that delivery and delay to the next shipping cycle or cancel altogether. Amazon makes it really easy.
5. Use Amazon Family
- 🧾 Description– Tell Amazon about your children’s gender and age to unlock special discounts, including 20% off diapers, baby food, and other items. You can sign up here. Presumably Amazon will use the information about your children to send you more relevant ads, newsletters, and related products.
- ⏳ Effort – Moderate
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – 20% off diapers, baby food, and other items
6. Use an Amazon Wedding Registry
- 🧾 Description– If you use and complete an Amazon Wedding registry you’ll receive a 20% discount coupon 7 days after your wedding. You can sign up here.
- ⏳ Effort – Moderate
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – 20% coupon code for Amazon.com
- 7 days after your wedding Amazon sends you a discount coupon. As long as you received $500 or more in purchases via your registry you’ll receive a 20% off coupon. It’s a one time coupon and can be used for a max savings of up to $300.
- If you’re not a Prime member it’s a 10% off coupon and the max is savings is $100.
7. Use Amazon for Your Baby Registry
- 🧾 Description– Use Amazon.com for your baby registry to receive a special discount coupon and free products. You can sign up here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Free
- 💲 Savings – 10-15% discount coupon + $35 in free products for parents and baby
- Prime members receive a 15% completion discount on any unpurchased items from your Baby Registry. If you aren’t a Prime member the discount is 10%.
- In addition, you’ll receive a free baby registry welcome box, valued up to $35. It has a selection of full, travel, and sample size products for parents and baby.
8. Shop on Amazon Warehouse
- 🧾 Description– Buy pre-owned, open box, and used products at discount prices. You can find Amazon Warehouse products here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Varies by product
- 💲 Savings – Varies by product
- Your savings will vary based on the product you’re buying and the quantity. However, because it’s Amazon, the selection is huge.
9. Shop on Amazon Outlet
- 🧾 Description– Buy discounted items that are overstocked on Amazon. You can find all Amazon Outlet products here.
- ⏳ Effort – Low
- 💰 Cost – Varies by product
- 💲 Savings – Varies by product
- Just like with Amazon Warehouse, the savings will vary depending on the product you’re buying. However, unlike Amazon Warehouse, all of the Amazon Outlet items are new items.
- We looked at a few popular categories and were regularly able to find discounts on the following categories:
- Home – 32-44% off
- Electronics – 18-69% off
- Kitchen – 24-72% off
- Automotive – 24-45% off
- Clothing – 23-33% off
- Tools – 8-72% off
- Pets – 15-39% off
- Remember, discounts will vary dramatically based on product, region, how badly they are overstocked, and other factors. The numbers above were a quick sampling of products within each category.