How to Save Money on Amazon: 15 Ways You Didn't Know About

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps keep the website running and is greatly appreciated!

Amazon is not only convenient, it can also be the best place to get great deals. Here is how to save money on Amazon via 15 things you had no idea existed.

I'll admit it. I'm an Amazon addict. But then again….who isn't?!

Amazon makes it SO convenient to purchase products online, whether it be holiday gifts, household items, or even appliances!

I find myself purchasing anything and everything on Amazon simply because I value my TIME. I'd rather spend time at my job, on my business, or enjoying life with family than at a big box store walking the aisles for toothpaste. It's not worth my time.

However, you may have noticed that oftentimes, Amazon products aren't the cheapest.

This is because you are paying for the convenience of having it at your front doorstep in 2 days without you having to pause Netflix to run to a big box store.

Therefore, since we all know that higher prices don't deter us from ordering even the kitchen sink on Amazon, I created a guide to all of the hidden ways to save money on Amazon you probably didn't know about!

This post is all about how to save money on Amazon via hidden secrets to frugal shopping!

DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING THAT AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE, I MAY RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION AT NO COST TO YOU IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A QUALIFYING PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS. THIS HELPS ME RUN THIS SITE TO OFFER FREE CONTENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

1. Amazon Outlet

Did you know Amazon has an online outlet store? Amazing, right?!

Who doesn't love a good outlet?

Amazon's online outlet store is filled with overstocked items at a very low price! Some items are 90% off! In fact, just now, as I was writing this article, I went to the outlet and found something I didn't know I needed for $3.99 (regular price $25) that I've now purchased.

Amazon Outlet is a great site to go to for gifts for people, especially when you aren't sure what to get someone!

2. Amazon Warehouse

When people return items, oftentimes they are not resellable so Amazon puts them in their Amazon Warehouse and discounts them heavily on their online Amazon Warehouse site.

You can get pre-owned, opened, or slightly used products for EXTREMELY cheap prices! Many of these items look completely brand new but have torn packaging. Other times are brand new so you can really luck out with some great finds!

3. Discover the Best Time to Buy a Product

One of my favorite sites to see when the best time is to buy a product is Camelcamelcamel.com.

At this site, you will enter the URL for the Amazon item you want and it will show you the historical prices of that item at different times of the year.

Therefore, you can see when the cheapest time of year is to buy the item OR just determine if you're getting a good deal on it or not.

For example, I recently looked up some Sam Edelman Heels that were going for $125 to see if they are always that price or if they ever go on sale. I noticed they often sell for $59 every month or so.

I decided to wait and keep checking. Sure enough, 2 weeks later, they went on sale for $59 and I grabbed them!

Related Articles on Saving Money

4. Amazon Family

Amazon Family is a fantastic way for families to save money on their Amazon purchases!

You can sign up for free and get coupons exclusive to family members. You can get 20% off subscription items like diapers, vitamins, and other household essentials. It's such a great feature for families to save extra money (since kids are expensive, let's be honest).

You will also receive a 15% off completion discount on your baby registry!

5. Earn Free Amazon Giftcards

Survey sites and cashback sites will allow you to take surveys, submit receipts, and get cashback through their apps to spend on Amazon.

You can redeem your points for Amazon gift cards to then spend on Amazon.com!

Rakuten is my favorite cashback site that gives a generous amount of money back from purchases, that can then be redeemed for Amazon gift cards. Plus, they are giving $40 to anyone that signs up (free app) and makes a qualifying purchase.

TopCashback is also a great site that allows you to earn money back in the form of Amazon gift cards!

6. Be a Prime Member

This is probably my favorite subscription I have…and if you know me…you know I HATE subscriptions. I only have 3 subscriptions in my life and this is one of them.

Being a prime member gives you access to additional discounts, free prime video, prime music, and (the best part) 2 day shipping!!! (We all love the 2 day shipping)

In fact, I use it so much, I can't even imagine life without it now. Wow, that sounds bad. I'm frugal, but I do love to automate things in life to give me more time back and Amazon Prime does that for me!

7. Share a Family Account

Okay, sharing a family account is such a no-brainer thing you should all be doing.

Have 1 person in your family pay for the prime membership I mentioned above. Then, set each family member up as an account member in your account.

They won't have access to your credit cards or your orders AND they will have their own account with their own email and password, BUT they will have all of YOUR prime membership benefits.

This includes the 2-day shipping, prime video, prime music, etc.

I'm surprised more people don't know about this, but they don't. Amazon doesn't advertise it because they obviously like having everyone in the family paying for Prime. You don't need to do that.

Just pay for it and give your whole family access.

8. Amazon Coupons

Amazon Coupons is a great place to find online coupons you can snip for your next purchase!

You know how sometimes you randomly are offered a coupon when you go to buy an item? Well, here is where you can search for coupons to see what you should be buying each week!

9. Join the Amazon Student Program

I'm jealous of this one because they didn't have it when I was a student. In the Amazon Student discount program, you can Amazon prime at an extreme discount (very, very good).

You also get a ton of other perks like free food delivery from GrubHub, extra discounts, tutoring help, etc. All you need is a valid .edu email address.

(Bonus Tip: Your student ID will save you money at movie theaters, many restaurants, theme parks, stores, etc. It's not an Amazon tip, but you can save a lot of money with your student ID. Enjoy it while you can!)

10. Lightning Deals

If you haven't been using Lightning Deals, you are not living. Let's get you caught up!

Lightening deals are amazing!! In fact, I used them today to purchase the silicone freezer soup cubes for my mom for her stocking at Christmas!

Lightening deals are basically killer deals on items for a short period of time (usually a few hours to a couple of days). I believe they also limit it on quantity so some lightning deals sell out within minutes and some last for a few days.

Either way, keep your eyes out for them!

11. Keepa.com

Keepa is also another site that does price tracking. However, they take it to a new level.

They also list current Amazon deals so you can find them right away! They offer price historicals on items and allow you to track the prices yourself!

12. Subscribe and Save

You'll often notice that Amazon offers subscription options on many products. These subscription deals are fantastic!

You can usually save 20-30% if you subscribe for items you'll continuously need (like toothpaste, dish detergent, TIDE, etc).

Take advantage of it, if you can!

13. Prime Wardrobe: Try Before You Buy

With Prime Wardrobe, you can actually try on clothes BEFORE you buy them! Yes, you read that right.

Under this free program, you can order clothes, try them on in the comfort of your own home and send back the ones you don't want. After 7 days, Amazon will only charge you for the ones you kept.

You can even still return them later on, but you aren't charged for them until you give Amazon the green light that you want them!

14. Amazon Smile: Send Money to Your Choice of Charity

Amazon Smile is such an awesome thing we all need to be doing. It doesn't necessarily save you money, BUT it allows you to send .5% of your purchases to the charity of your choice (at no cost to you)

I have Amazon Smile sending my purchases to my church, but there are so many to choose from! Might as well help a charity out if you can, for no additional money out of your pocket!

15. Amazon Trade-In Program

The Amazon Trade-In Program allows you to trade in your items (like used electronics) for Amazon gift cards.

I've used this service several times to send in my old Droid phones. You might as well make money on those electronics you're planning to throw out!