9 Amazon Shopping Hacks To Help You Save Money

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Whether you’re shopping for a once-in-a-lifetime gift for your girlfriend or a unique present for your grandpa, Amazon is a great place to start. Between its endless gadgets and subscription services, plus everything you need to stock your cabinets and make your home festive for every season, your cart can fill up quick.

Don’t break the bank shopping at Amazon. Here are nine hacks that can help you save money on all your gifts this year.

1. Free Shipping

Amazon expanded free shipping beyond its Prime Membership on November 5, 2018, so hopefully you didn’t start your holiday shopping too early. Now that you know you can get free shipping on everything your heart desires through the end of the holiday season, take advantage of it. There’s no minimum purchase required and items will ship within five to eight days.

Pro Tip: Be sure that the order is fulfilled by Amazon if you want it to ship within five to eight days. If it’s from an outside seller, your gifts might not make it under the tree in time, or you’ll end up paying for expedited shipping.

2. Prime Free Trial

If you want more than just free shipping, sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime Membership this holiday season. You’ll enjoy free, two-day shipping on all orders. Plus, Amazon announced that Prime members will also get access to free same-day delivery on certain orders. Prime members will even get access to one-hour grocery delivery and pickup through Whole Foods with Prime Now.

3. Shop Daily Deals

Be strategic when shopping Amazon this year and you could save a lot. Shop Amazon’s daily and weekly deals before looking anywhere else on the site. You could find discounts like $10 off gift cards, 53 percent off an Audible subscription and more.

4. Clip Coupons

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Did you know Amazon has a coupons section? You could save on all of your home essentials like laundry detergent and diapers, plus get discounts on fun gifts like cozy socks, throw pillows, wireless chargers and more. All you need to do is “clip” the coupon and the discount will be added to your bill at checkout.

5. Buy Used

You already know you can save a pretty penny by buying items used, but Amazon makes it even easier with its Refurbished Deals section. Items are certified refurbished and could be up to 50 percent off the new price. Before paying top dollar, be sure to check out the used versions — many also come with warranties.

Pro Tip: Amazon also lets you upgrade your old tech through its Trade In program.

6. Get Cash Back

Want to earn 3 percent cash back on all purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods? What about 2 percent cash back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores? But wait, you could also get 1 percent cash back on all other purchases. All you have to do is sign up for the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card. There’s no annual credit card fee, so you won’t pay anything to use this credit card for all of your purchases on Amazon this holiday season, and year-round. You’ve got nothing to lose, so why not save more?

7. Find Free Money

Amazon has a ton of partnerships year-round, so keep an eye out for promos that could help you earn money toward your Amazon.com purchases. Right now, you can sign up for the Discover It Cash Back Credit Card on Amazon and get a $75 statement credit after your first Amazon.com purchase. Basically, all you have to do is sign up for the card on Amazon, use it for your Amazon purchases in the first three months, and then use the $75 statement credit to pay off your card’s balance before it’s due. The Discover It Cash Back card also offers 5 percent cash back at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants or Amazon.com, plus 1 percent cash back on all other purchases. But wait, there’s more — Discover will automatically match all of the cash back you’ve earned by the end of your first year. Free money? Yes, please.

8. Discover Overstocked Items

Amazon Outlet is the place to go for bargains. When items are overstocked and there’s too much inventory to sell, they move them to this part of the site and sell them at discounted prices. These deals are offered year-round and you can find some popular items at lower prices, such as electronics, home decor, kitchen gadgets and more. The Outlet’s “Super Discount” section offers some of the best deals you’ll find on all of Amazon. You could get great gifts like a 2018-2019 day planner for less than $3 or wireless earbuds for about $5.

9. Don’t Forget Warehouse Deals

Like Amazon’s refurbished items, the Warehouse Deals section of the site offers deep discounts on like-new items. You can find everything from power tools to toys and everything in between. You could find items like women’s watches for less than $200 or kitchen gadgets for under $25, plus so much more.

When it comes to the biggest shopping season of the year, don’t pay without getting the best price on Amazon. For the rest of the year, save on Amazon with a few other tips and tricks like subscribing and saving your regular purchases. No matter what, there’s always a way to cut that credit card bill in half.

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