Amazon Deals

This is a guest post from Jessica over at Jessica’s Coupons. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks Jessica!

So do you shop at Amazon? I do … A lot…but I avoided Amazon for a long time. It scared me with it’s “super saver” this and “subscribe & save that” and I just was a little leery. BUT then when SwagBucks came along everything changed… because there is nothing like free gift cards to motivate one to take a new shopping adventure.

So I want to help you understand how to shop at Amazon so you can take advantage of all the amazing deals the site has to offer.

Think of Amazon as a big “Mart:” store. Most of the merchandise is sold by the “Mart” store, but there are a few “Kiosk” set up where 3rd party merchants are selling their “stuff”-Amazon works the same way. A HUGE part of the items sold ON Amazon are sold BY Amazon, but some items are sold by 3rd parties.

Why does it matter…well it mostly has to do with the shipping. Amazon offers consumers a great deal on domestic shipping on the goods it sells but only on the items sold directly by Amazon.

Super Saver Shipping is awesome because with Amazon Super Saver Shipping just add $25 in qualifying Merchandise to your cart (remember “qualifying” is items sold by Amazon not 3rd party sellers) and your order ships FREE via UPS ground.

Now it does NOT need to be a $25 item, or multiples of the same item- JUST make sure you get to the “checkout” with $25 worth of Amazon “stuff” in your buggy. Then on the checkout screen- you will be asked to choose a shipment method. Sometimes it does not default to Super Saver, so you will just need to select it by checking the little box that says “Super Saver Shipping” and wa-la.

Amazon Prime- I am a Amazon Prime Member. I used to be the “shipping person” for an internet company for 4 years, so I know how expensive shipping really is. I do not know how Amazon is able to offer Amazon Prime, but I am just glad they do. This is how it works- you pay an annual fee of $79 and all your Amazon Items (except 3rd party) ship free the entire year! But not just UPS Ground- No- they all ship FREE 2nd Day Air! $79 might seem like a lot, but when you break it down it is just under $6.59 per month! SO if you find a $2.99 item that you like that qualifies for Prime Shipping- then you add it to your cart, check out and the $2.99 ships free 2nd day air. With Amazon Prime you do not have to reach the $25 Super Saver- any amount ships free so long as it is an item sold by Amazon.

How do I know if a product qualifies for Prime or Super Saver? Let’s take a zoom in to the listing I have pictured above.

It tells you clearly in the listing. If you are not a Prime Member then the listing would state “Super Saver” instead of “Prime” My computer knows I am a Prime member so it automatically loads the Prime for me.

More ways to save

Subscribe & Save- Amazon offers an additional discount on select products through their “Subscribe & Save” Program. When You “S&S” you set up the item to be delivery at “regular intervals” of your choosing.

Subscribe and Save scares a lot of folks away and I understand…commitment…what are you getting into…what if I want to cancel?….all very valid questions and concerns.

You can customize the delivery to your specifications- do you want it every month or every 6 months or something in-between? You can always cancel or delay a shipment OR YOU CAN CANCEL AT ANYTIME. Technically, you can cancel right after you place your order.

How do I manage Subscribe & Save?

You just go into your Your Account and follow the simply instructions and prompts.

You can see my account. It is easy to manage. I actually went in and canceled the Plum Organics baby food subscription while I was there and it took one click of the mouse and I received the confirmation automatically. Easy!

I also received a confirmation email letting me know that it was canceled and giving me the option to re-activate.

I actually went in and re-activated my subscription about a 4 or 5 days later…(I have been working on this post over the span of a few weeks or so.)

Today’s Deals
Another link you will always want to click on is right on top of your Amazon Home Screen. It is called Today’s Deals

Amazon has what is called “Gold Box Deals”- there is one main “Gold Box Deal” everyday called “The Deal of the Day” (You can see it on the left side of the page there) The deal is only good for the day or sell-out. The tricky part is the Gold Box Discount does not show up on the listing, you have to add the item to your cart and it will show up as a credit on your checkout screen. This confuses a lot of folks who think they are not getting the discount.

Amazon also has “Lightning Deals”. These deals vary by product category and last for a specific time. They are launched throughout the day. Often time the product sells out before the time expires. There is a meter to let you know how quickly the available quantity is selling.

As you can see by the picture above the Lightning Deal for 10AM is 100% Claimed. During the deal the little meter went across the bar. This let’s you know you better jump on it if you want the deal.

Amazon Pricing
One other fact I want to mention is that Amazon pricing is subject to change at any time. So if you see something you want at a price you like, you need to go for it ASAP.
There are so many aspects to Amazon, these are the basics. These will get you going and help you make the most out of shopping at Amazon. Amazon saves me a lot of money every year and offers so much variety.