Amazon Hacks for Making the Most of Your Account

Listen to the podcast episode

Find the podcast on:

Apple | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | Stitcher | iHeartRadio | Deezer | Pocket Casts | PlayerFM

A little Amazon hack can go a long way. These tips will help you save money on your next purchase by making the most of the features Amazon offers. Whether it’s finding an item for free, getting the best deals, or being able to find what you’re looking for quickly and easily, these Amazon hacks have got you covered!

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is a membership program that gives you access to free two-day shipping and other benefits. You can try out the membership with a 30 day trial period before committing.

Amazon Deals for Prime Members

For Amazon Prime customers, there are a number of deals available exclusively through Amazon.com and its app that you won’t find anywhere else.

Prime Day

The first Amazon hack is Prime Day, where Amazon Prime members get early access to deals and the best selection of products. Amazon offers a 30-day free trial for Prime membership so you can find out if it’s worth your time before committing.

This year, Amazon offered some great deals on Alexa-enabled gadgets like Fire tablets that were up to 50% off, as well as Amazon Prime memberships discounted by 40%. Prime Day was June 21 in 2021, but the date can change each year. 

Amazon Lightning Deals

Another great Amazon deal is the lightning deals which are available exclusively to Prime customers.

The deals last for a limited time only, so if you’re interested in an item that’s listed as a lightning deal and it runs out of inventory before the deal ends, you miss out. You can score a great deal, but you also have to be careful not to buy things you don’t really need. Buying crap during a huge sale is still buying crap.

Amazon Deals for Non-Prime Members

Non-prime Amazon customers still have the chance to find great deals with limited quantities that are only available for a limited time. Amazon Deals are updated every day so you’ll never miss out on the best Amazon deals and discounts from Amazon.com, even if you’re not an Amazon Prime member.

The deals usually aren’t as good as Lightning Deals, but you can still save money. 

Free Shipping on Orders over $25

You can get free shipping on any order that is more than $25, even without an Amazon Prime membership. 

Luckily for my nieces and nephews, this means they get an extra $5 added to their birthday gift budget. If I have to choose between paying for shipping or spending $5 more to hit the free shipping limit, you bet I’m buying more. I’d rather get more gifts or a more expensive gift than waste money on shipping fees.

With Amazon’s Free Super Saver Shipping program there may be an additional charge if your items weigh more than 17 pounds or have dimensions larger than 18″ x 13″.

Amazon Prime members can still take advantage of Amazon’s Free Super Saver Shipping on any order without having to add the Amazon Prime membership fee.

CamelCamelCamel

CamelCamelCamel is a website for tracking price changes on Amazon goods.  Amazon is a great way to find deals, but sometimes Amazon prices fluctuate up and down. CamelCamelCamel tracks Amazon’s price changes across the internet so you know when Amazon has hit its lowest point and you can buy at a better deal.

If you’re patient, you can score amazing deals, like Harry Potter books for $0.01. There’s no guarantee that you’ll save THAT much, but knowledge of the price changes will help you make an informed purchase.

Warehouse

Amazon Warehouse is Amazon’s store for Amazon Prime members that sells returned Amazon products.

Warehouse goods are used, pre-owned, or open-box products.  Amazon Warehouse can be hit or miss with the great deals it offers and you don’t always know what condition an item will come in. If you want to take a chance on something like this, make sure to read reviews before purchasing.

Outlet

Amazon Outlet is Amazon’s other reseller of used items, which includes clothing and jewelry from brands such as Nike apparel and Calvin Klein clothing (among others). The majority of out-of-stock items are discounted by at least 60%. 

You have to scroll through pages of no-name-brand items so there isn’t much of a guarantee that you’ll find something great, but Amazon Outlet can be an Amazon hack for folks who are willing to take the risk.

Trade-In Program

Amazon has a trade-in program where you can order items and then send them back, often with free shipping, once you’re done using them.

For example, the Trade-In Program lets you trade in old video games for credit or a gift card toward the purchase of a new game. 

This is also a great way to get rid of all those books that are taking up space in your home. Get Amazon credit and minimize your possessions!

my favorite Amazon Hack: Subscribe & Save

Subscribe & Save lets customers enjoy the convenience of having their favorite products delivered on a schedule they set themselves with no minimum order size.

If you’re an Amazon Prime member or Amazon Student Member that likes saving money by purchasing products in bulk, this is the perfect Amazon deal! Subscribe & Save allows these households to shop 30% off everyday essentials and household items like laundry detergent, paper towels, and dish soap. 

Even without a Prime membership, you can access Subscribe & Save for the routine delivery and discount features. It’s so nice to not have to worry about reordering the things we use regularly.

Wish List

If I’m going to buy something as a gift for someone else or need to keep my eye on what I want to purchase for my family, the Wish List feature is the perfect Amazon hack.

I’m not always sure if I’ll find what I need at stores and sometimes it’s difficult for me to keep track of everything on my list. The wish lists do all the work for you by sending alerts when a product or size that you’re looking for becomes available. Amazon Wish Lists are available through Amazon.com, on the Amazon app, or by clicking “Create a List” at any time from your Amazon account.

Prime members can even add Amazon gift cards to their wish list.

My sister has created wish lists for each of her kids, which makes it super easy for me to purchase exactly what they want. They think I’m a great gift-giver, but I don’t have to put too much effort into their birthdays. Wish lists have reduced SO much stress for me.

having wish lists for gifts helps me keep Christmas frugal too. I choose gifts I want to purchase and watch for deals or sales on those items starting in mid-November. Sometimes I’ll buy something similar, or I’ll use CamelCamelCamel to watch hard-to-find or more expensive gifts.

the most generous amazon hack: Smile

This Amazon hack is a great way to donate to charity while also shopping on Amazon. When you pick a non-profit organization that is eligible, Amazon will automatically donate 0.05% of the purchase price every time an order goes through. Amazon Smile is available on Amazon.com, through Amazon’s App, or from your Amazon account.

This Amazon hack has been a HUGE blessing for the non-profit I am involved with. It’s such an easy fundraiser.

Pay

Amazon Pay is a newer service that lets you make payments with your Amazon account from third-party websites and apps on all platforms, including desktop computers, mobile devices, and tablets. You can even pay companies like Uber using your Amazon account.

Amazon Pay eliminates the need to remember every password, credit card number, or address associated with your account since you can log in using just one password—your Amazon credentials. All of the payment methods you’ve entered in your Amazon account are available through Amazon Pay.

Flow

With Amazon Flow, you can have your Amazon purchases delivered to a nearby locker. The lockers are located in grocery stores and check-cashing centers so when they’re close by, Amazon will deliver the item there. This is especially helpful if you live in an apartment without a mailbox or parcel locker on-site, or if your neighborhood has a history of package thefts.

If you’re an Alexa user, this Amazon hack might be extra easy to use. Amazon Flow lets you order from Amazon with just a few words—Alexa, order paper towels.

Fresh

Amazon Fresh is a grocery delivery service that is available in more than 100 cities across the United States. This service offers customers an easy way to order their groceries and other household essentials without having to step foot outside of the house.

Prime Now

Prime members can get unlimited free one-day shipping on many items, but you have to order Amazon Prime Now items by midnight. Amazon Prime Now is available in more than 50 cities and offers delivery on everything from fresh produce to home goods, so you can get anything your heart desires delivered right to your doorstep.

Family

If you’re a parent, this Amazon hack can save you loads. With Amazon Family, parents can save up to 20% on thousands of products from diapers and wipes to vitamins and food items. This Amazon deal also comes with exclusive deals not available anywhere else.

Plus Amazon family members enjoy free two-day shipping on eligible orders over $25 and access to all unlimited benefits including streaming TV shows, movies, and music online.

Drive

Amazon Drive lets you store files in the cloud while also having access to them from any device that has an internet connection or a web browser. It’s similar to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Every Amazon account gets 5 GB of storage for free. 

Music Unlimited

This Amazon hack is a great music service that lets users stream more than 50 million songs to their devices so they don’t have to worry about what to play next. Amazon Music Unlimited is available for $19.99 per month, on top of your Prime membership fee.

The music playback works seamlessly with Amazon Alexa devices too. 

Video

This Amazon hack lets you watch movies and TV shows.  There are more than 150,000 titles so there’s something to please every type of viewer. Amazon Video is available with Amazon Prime.

Dash

This Amazon hack lets you reorder products through simple, one-click buttons that are connected to your home Wi-Fi network. If any of the items on Amazon’s list of popular orders change or run out, it places another order when you push the button.

Pantry

Amazon Pantry lets Prime members enjoy deals and delivery of everyday essentials and household items. It’s  available to customers who purchase from the grocery section on Amazon.com, including a selection of popular food brands that are not found in most other stores

Just fill a box with whatever products you need from the wide variety of available items (including groceries). After adding all their desired items into that specific box, there’s nothing else to do but wait patiently while Amazon does the rest. 

Student

If you’re between 13 and 18 years old or currently enrolled in a university degree program, this Amazon hack might interest you! With Amazon Student, college students have access to Prime benefits like unlimited free two-day shipping through Prime Pantry as well as other exclusive offers like 30% off textbooks from third-party sellers.

Prime Reading

This service lets you access a rotating selection of more than one thousand books, audiobooks, and magazines in digital format. Amazon Prime members also have the opportunity to read as many Kindle Unlimited books as they want with no due dates or minimum commitments for about $10 per month.

The Kindle app is available on iOS devices (iPad), Android phones/tablets or EPUB readers like Kobo Reader. Additionally, there are no due dates or minimum commitments required so customers never have to worry about missing out on a good book because their membership is up. 

Amazon Hack Reminder

In the interest of transparency….

After having a Prime membership for years, I canceled my Prime membership this year. I was hesitant to do so, but the “two-day shipping” was slow enough that the fee no longer made sense for us. 

In addition to the membership fee, I also don’t love Amazon’s employment practices. When I can, I want to use my money to support businesses that treat their employees well, like Costco. Of course, that’s not always an option, but setting that goal for my family makes it a little easier to live without a Prime membership.

I do still order from Amazon once a month or so. It’s just not possible to buy what I need locally all the time, and I am reluctant to do much in-person shopping with a wheelchair-using kiddo and a 2-year-old in tow. 

Online shopping is even more important in rural areas. Growing up, we had to drive over 2 hours for back-to-school shopping, so who wouldn’t want to shop online instead?

Buying from Amazon isn’t necessarily “bad,” but I also don’t feel great about supporting the company. Losing my business won’t hurt Amazon at all, but my purchases make a huge difference to a small business.