Amazon Shoppers: Save More With These Tips!
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Free 2-Day Shipping
Free 2-day shipping is probably the best-known Amazon Prime perk. Right now, members get free 2-day shipping whenever they buy eligible items (typically those sold directly by Amazon). However, some inexpensive "add-on" items only ship with orders of $25 or more. Both products eligible for Prime shipping and add-on items are marked on the site.
Free Same-Day Delivery
What you may not know is that Amazon offers same-day delivery (and 1-day shipping) to Prime members in more than 8,000 locales. Look for items marked as such, then spend at least $35 and order before noon. You can get your shipment delivered for free by 9 pm the same day.
Amazon Prime Day Specials
Every July, Amazon offers Prime members only deals. For example, this year's Amazon Prime Day deals will be on July 9, 2018. Look for deals on the 2018 TVs from brands like TCL, Sony, Samsung, and LG. Many of the new 2018 TVs will be released in Spring and early Summer. We also predict that Amazon will launch the new Toshiba Fire TV Edition Smart TVs on or around Prime Day 2018.
Credits for No-Rush Shipping
If you don't need your new purchases quickly, opt for no-rush shipping in exchange for a coupon. Amazon shuffles these coupons around, but frequently offers them for digital items (like eBooks) or discounts on Prime Pantry. They're nice freebies to pick up if you'll use them — and don't need your purchases immediately. Expect no-rush shipping to take up to six business days.
Release-Date Delivery
Prime members can also get free release-date delivery on select pre-order items, like movies andvideo games. Release-date delivery items will arrive on your doorstep the day they're released, all without the hassle of going to a store to pick them up. If an item is eligible for release-date delivery, you'll have a special release-day shipping option when you go to check out.
All of these delivery times are guaranteed by Amazon, and if Amazon misses a delivery window, you could get a free month of Prime added to your account. The biggest drawback, however, is that you have to ask for it.
Tons of Content
Prime Video
Want to stream audiobooks, games, TV shows, music, or movies? Amazon Prime has a large selection of all of these. Prime Video offers thousands of streaming titles, including original shows like Emmy-winner Transparent. Get more shows and movies by subscribing to premium channels such as Showtime and Starz through Amazon, sometimes at a discount from stand-alone subscription prices.
Prime Music and Audible Channels
For tunes, Prime Music offers more than a million songs and albums to stream or download. Prime members also get a selection of audiobooks and original audio programming — think podcasts — through Audible Channels. It's all ad-free, with no limit to how much subscribers can stream.
Reading Perks
Don't forget that Amazon originally started as an online bookstore; some great Prime perks harken back to those days. Amazon First Reads gives readers a free or reduced-price eBook every month, pulled from a selection of new releases chosen by Amazon's editors. The Prime Reading program offers an all-you-can-read eBook library that includes books, magazines, and comics. The available selection is limited, not rivaling Amazon's Kindle Unlimited eBook subscription service ($9.99 per month), but it's still a solid perk.
If you're a Prime member and an owner of a Kindle eBook reader or Fire device, you can also borrow books through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Like with the rest of these reading perks, a limited selection of books is available. Unlike the rest, you can only read Lending Library books with an actual Kindle or Fire device — not through the multiplatform Kindle app.
Twitch Prime
For gamers, there's Twitch Prime, which offers ad-free access to Twitch's game streaming service and lets fans keep up with esports and other game-related programming. Twitch Prime members also get a free channel subscription every month and access to exclusive game content, though what's available will vary.
Prime Photos
Prime Photos gives you a place to store and organize your photos. Since you can access it on the web or via an app for iOS and Android — and share it with five people — it's easy to coordinate a family's worth of photos.
Food Delivery Right to Your Door
Prime Now
Having purchased Whole Foods, Amazon offers an increasing number of ways to get the groceries you need delivered to your door — including perishables and produce. However, the company's grocery offerings are only available in select areas.
The easiest option for groceries is one we've already mentioned: Prime Now, which brings a wide range of items to you within two hours, including groceries from Whole Foods. Tens of thousands of Prime Now items are available, but the selection varies based on location.
Prime Pantry
Prime Pantry can be useful for ordering bulky items — which Amazon usually won't offer or won't ship for free. This means you can have bottled water and soda delivered right to your doorstep instead of having to lug it there yourself. And since you can get free or discounted Prime Pantry shipping by opting for no-rush shipping at checkout, or by adding enough qualifying items to your Pantry box, the convenience may not even cost you.
But other Pantry orders have a $5.99 delivery fee. And paying extra fees is an anathema to many Prime members.
AmazonFresh
AmazonFresh is a straight-up grocery delivery service that's available to Prime members. Fresh will bring your entire shopping list to your door (same day if you order in the morning, next day otherwise), leaving it in insulated containers on your doorstep if you're out. That's definitely a dream for anyone who doesn't like trekking to the grocery store, but the convenience comes with a hefty price tag: $14.99 per month, with free delivery for orders over $50. For that price, you may decide a trip to the store isn't a big deal.
Amazon Restaurants
Don't feel like cooking? Depending on where you live, you may also be able to use Amazon's restaurant delivery service, available only to Prime members. The food typically arrives within an hour, but you must spend at least $10 (not a difficulty with most restaurants).
Access to Even More Deals
Even with Amazon's already-competitive pricing, Prime members get an edge. Members have access to Amazon's Prime Day sales, early access to Lightning Deals, 20% off preordered video games, and family discounts (like up to 20% off diapers). Prime-only coupons or discounts are also available. You don't know what you're going to get with a lot of these deals — Prime Day and Lightning Deals aren't always Amazon's best bargains — but this discount combo offers something for everyone.
Shareable Savings
If you're unsure of the value of a Prime membership, consider splitting the cost with someone else. You can share your membership with one adult living in the same household, so it can be a bargain for roommates.
- Find deep discounts on refurbished and open-box items (including cell phones, computers, and Kindles) with Amazon Warehouse
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- If the price drops on an item you bought within seven days of purchase you can get a refund.
- Prime members get 1 free Kindle book a month.
- If you paid for shipping but didn’t receive your goods in a timely fashion, turn to Paribus. Paribus will monitor shipping times. If it detects a delay, it’ll work hard to get you the refund you deserve.
- Amazon Coupons lets you clip coupons in a bunch of categories, including groceries, personal care and household products. When you click on the coupon, it’s automatically added to your cart and applied when you check out. Easy peasy.
