Amazon offers plenty of ways to help you get more for your money (Picture: Amazon/metro.co.uk)
Amazon Prime Day is here – and for many bargain hunters it’s one of the highlights of the year, with substantial savings to be made on goods across the site.
But while it’s all about getting the best possible deal on Prime Day, there’s other ways you can ensure you’re bagging the most for your money when it comes to shopping on Amazon – including special offers, free delivery and a whole lot more.
And in a cost of living crisis, when we’re all looking to stretch the pennies even further, getting the most from your Amazon experience can only be a good thing.
Follow our hints and tips to get the most out of the site, from free delivery and services to cheaper prices…
How to save money on Amazon
While the site is known for the likes of Prime Day, its Black Friday deals and other sales and discounts at other times of the year, here’s how you can make sure you’re getting the most for your money…
Personalised promotions
You may well need an Amazon or Prime account for this, but this hidden page can take you to a range of offers you never knew you had – whether it’s 20% off a specific range of items or £5 in credit for buying £10 worth of books.
Amazon Prime membership gives you free delivery as well as access to the streaming service (Picture: Amazon)
Prime exclusive offers
Along the same lines as the personalised promotions – although this one is specifically for Prime members – you can get all kinds of deals and discounts with your membership.
Recent and current offers have included saving money on Amazon Music, free delivery on groceries and early access to lightning deals.
Amazon Outlet
Like many other retail giants, Amazon has an outlet page – where you can pick up deals on overstocked items – many of which are up to 50% or more off.
Expect thousands of bargains here in all categories from health and beauty and pet care through to stationery, electronics and books.
There are plenty of ways to get discounts on your electrical goods, such as the Renewed shop (Picture: Amazon)
Amazon vouchers
Another deal you can snap up on Amazon is vouchers for all manner of items. When metro.co.uk looked the majority seemed to be for smaller items such as watches, phone cases, bags and hair accessories – but with savings of up to 30% on some items it’s well worth a look.
Amazon Renewed
Here’s where you can save pounds on refurbished items such as laptops, cameras, home and kitchen gadgets, smartphones, tablets, audio and more.
Every purchase comes with a one-year Amazon Renewed guarantee – and as well as being cheaper you’re also doing your bit for the environment by buying a ‘pre-loved’ item.
Kindle Unlimited can satisfy all your reading needs (Picture: Amazon)
Free Amazon Prime Trial
If you’ve not yet signed up to Amazon Prime, you can do so with a free one-month trial – giving you access to all the perks Prime members get including free one-day delivery on many items, which could come in handy on Prime Day.
You’ll also get access to Amazon Video, which will allow you to stream thousands of movies, TV shows, Premier League games and music for free.
If you cancel before the month is up you won’t pay a penny – although if you do keep the membership it’s £95 a year, or £8.99 a month thereafter.
Buy Amazon Prime membership yearly
Paying £8.99 a month may not sound like much for all the benefits Amazon Prime gives you but if you pay annually you stand to save.
The monthly payments come in at a total of £107.88 per year – whereas the one-off annual £95 payment will save you almost £13 on your membership.
Alternatively, if it’s just the movies and TV shows you’re after you can take out a separate subscription to Amazon video at £5.99 a month – the cheapest of the lot, although you won’t get the next-day free delivery and other Prime perks.
Amazon outlet can also give you some great savings (Picture: Amazon)
Super Saver Delivery Tool
Here’s one you might find useful if your items are just under the £25 threshhold for free delivery, and you’re looking to save on those charges
Amazon’s Super Saver Delivery tool offers you a range of items, some costing mere pennies, which will allow you to bump up your order to the £25 mark, therefore attaining free delivery.
You can also use the tool to say how much your order currently comes to, and they can recommend a cheap item you can add to it to hit the magic figure.
Kindle Unlimited
If you’re an avid reader and you have a Kindle, consider a subscription to the Kindle Unlimited service, which for £9.49 a month gives you access to around a million or more books – and you can borrow up to 10 at a time.
Amazon sometimes offers deals on the service, either discounted or free altogether for a limited period, so it’s worth checking out the page to see what’s on offer.
And even you’re not a Kindle subscriber you can turn your smartphone or tablet into a Kindle for free via the app – you only pay for any books not within Kindle Unlimited which you might download.
Meanwhile if it’s Audobooks you’re after, you can currently nab a three-month free trial to their Audible service.
Compare the cost of your goods on sites such as Price Spy (Picture: PriceSpy)
Check prices on other sites
Amazon has no end of bargains, of course – but if you want to check you’re really getting the cheapest deal then visit some price comparison websites before you buy.
Google Shopping is a good place to start – simply search for the product you’re after and it’ll give you sites where it’s on sale, allowing you to compare with Amazon’s price.
However PriceSpy – which offers comparisons from over 6100 shops – and Price Runner are also worth comparing.
Make those bargains even bigger.
