Reviews

7 Amazon Shopping Secrets That’ll Help You Save Big

By following these ingenious tips, savvy shoppers can get Amazon buys for less than $1—or even free.
Savannah Sher Avatar
7 Amazon Shopping Secrets

Photo: istockphoto.com

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More ›

While Amazon is already known for offering great deals to customers with its competitive pricing model, there are still some tricks that allow you to save even more money on many transactions. Using these Amazon shopping secrets will ensure that you get the best deal every time.

Wait for Lightning to Strike

Every day, Amazon features a selection of Lightning Deals, limited-time offers that are only available for a finite time and in finite quantities. These deals often feature popular, high-ticket items, which is why it’s wise to keep a close watch on this page. Lightning Deal pricing is available for all shoppers (even if they don’t have a Prime account) except on Prime Day when they become Prime-exclusive offers.

Get Free Shipping

7 Amazon Shopping Secrets
Photo: istockphoto.com

While Prime members are entitled to free 2-day shipping on most items, those without a prime membership have to pay for shipping for any order under $25. If your cart doesn’t quite meet the $25 threshold, set the search parameters to seek out inexpensive cart-fillers. The website filteritem.com serves the same purpose. For under $1, you’ll find useful products like baking soda, acrylic paint, and makeup brushes.

Search Daily Coupons

Amazon is known for its everyday low prices, but did you know they also offer clickable coupons on tons of popular items? Head to their coupons page to save on groceries, household necessities, electronics, and more. Search coupons by category to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Use a Price Tracker

Prices on Amazon fluctuate regularly, and there’s a way to keep track of those fluctuations to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible: Add an Amazon price tracker to your web browser or use a dedicated service like camelcamelcamel.com. You’ll be able to see how low the price drops on a specific item to decide whether you should buy it now or wait for a lower price. Some of these services will even notify you when an item you’re tracking hits a specified price.

Find Free eBooks

7 Amazon Shopping Secrets
Photo: istockphoto.com

Amazon offers digital versions of just about any book you can think of, which you can download to your Kindle in just a few minutes. Savvy readers, however, know that the retailer also “sells” thousands of books that are completely free. Simply head to Amazon’s free eBooks section and browse—and buy—to your heart’s content. Use Amazon’s advanced search function to narrow your search to include only the genres and categories that you like.

Check Out Amazon Warehouse

7 Amazon Shopping Secrets
Photo: Amazon.com

Head to Amazon Warehouse to search for returned, used, and refurbished items that are available at a steep discount. Many of these products might simply come in opened or damaged boxes while otherwise containing items that are brand new and in perfect working order. Shop by category to find what you’re looking for more easily.

Search for Discounts 

Searching for an item in a specific category and want to get the best deal? Use this hack to narrow your search parameters to only show discounted items. If you’re searching for a laptop, for example, add “&pct-off=50-90” to the end of the URL of the search results page to only see items that are discounted between 50 and 90 percent.