10 to 15 years ago, many people were still unsure about the idea of doing their shopping online. Some even found the idea frightening.
The idea of putting all your personal and payment details into a computer seemed like a crazy idea. This led many people to believe it would leave them extremely vulnerable, both from the online retailers themselves, and from hackers or online fraudsters.
But nowadays, with the Internet being such an integral part of our lives, people’s attitudes are completely different. Clicking a few buttons on your phone whilst lying on the sofa, and having something arrive the very next day is normal for many people. And the one place that everyone’s bought their share from is none other than Amazon.
Although it started off as a platform for selling books and literature, in the last decade, the company has become an online titan in the world of retail, selling anything from TV subscriptions, to music, to electronics, clothes, and even food.
Not only this, but Amazon is renowned for its membership program Amazon Prime. This program gives users super-fast shipping, as well as an array of other cool features.
But despite its popularity, there are still a few tips that can go unnoticed by many.
Here are our top Amazon tips that every user should know:
1. Shared Prime Account
For those of you who’ve signed up for Amazon Prime, you can now do this with a partner. Your Amazon Prime account can also be shared with another adult, as well as up to four kids. The only condition is that they’re all living at the same address.
Much like sharing a Netflix account, this allows you to have your own settings, history, and shows/music, whilst allowing your family and friends to use the account as well.
In short, you can give to others, whilst still getting to use and do everything you already do.
2. Amazon Prime Gift
If you’re reaping the benefits of Amazon Prime, but your friend or family member is yet to hop on board, you can now actually ‘gift’ Amazon Prime. This can be done in the form of a three-month or twelve-month membership!
This will allow them to get all the fantastic benefits you already do. It includes everything from super-fast shipping, Amazon video and music, as well as a huge range of free-to-borrow kindle books!
And if they already are a Prime member without you knowing, they can exchange the value you paid for the equivalent in an Amazon gift card. So, there’s nothing to lose.
3. AmazonSmile Program
Shopping on Amazon is no longer just about buying things for yourself, or your loved ones. With the AmazonSmile program, you can actually donate a portion of the purchase price to charities and other public organizations.
The ‘Smile’ add-on can be used with Chrome or Firefox, allowing you to apply this donation at the touch of a button. There’s a huge list to choose from (over a million!). Although you get nothing in return, you get to make that small difference knowing that you’ve helped someone else benefit, as well as yourself – or who you bought the present for.
Go to www.smile.amazon.com to try this out. It’s one of the best Amazon tips for sure!
4. Buy from Third-Party Sellers Too
Just because you have Prime, doesn’t mean that everything you order needs to be through Prime. Prime usually hosts the best and cheapest deals. But there are quite a few items that are cheaper to buy through third-party sellers. This is if you don’t need it to arrive the next day.
If you’re willing to wait a few days for your item(s) to arrive, or have bought it well before you need it, by purchasing certain items from non-prime sellers, you could end up saving yourself a decent amount of money throughout the year.
5. Free Temporary Prime
One of the best Amazon tips we know is this. If you’re not sure about handing over your cash, you can get a free trial instead. This 30-day period allows you to utilize all the Prime benefits without shedding a cent. This is if you cancel your free trial within 30 days.
This is a great way of seeing which of the Prime benefits you’ll actually end up using. Or a good way to get the Christmas gifts to arrive in time, if you’ve left it too late. Not only that, but students also get a discount with Prime.
Not only do they get a whopping 6 months for absolutely free, but if they then commit to a full membership, it costs them even less than an ordinary Prime customer.
6. Check Today's Deals
By checking out the ‘Today’s Deals’ link at the top of your Amazon page, you’ll be able to see an array of time-restricted deals, that you usually have a number of hours to commit to.
You can either check this out each day with the hope of finding something for you, or you can use certain apps or reminders to notify you of which deals are available each day. One of the easiest Amazon tips for sure!
7. Buy from the Amazon Warehouse
As you could expect, with so many Prime members, and so many things being ordered from Amazon every day, Amazon also has a huge number of items being returned every day.
Because many of these items will have been opened, and perhaps used for small amounts of time, even if they’re perfectly usable, they can’t technically be considered ‘brand new’. So, what happens to them?
These pre-owned yet perfectly-usable items are usually sold from the Amazon Warehouse or Amazon Outlet, and are rated on their condition. They come with significant discounts. Better yet, many are still eligible for next-day Prime shipping!
8. Product Subscriptions
Subscriptions for media and entertainment is nothing new. They existed even from before the days of the Internet. Most people know that you can subscribe to various TV shows, music-providers, and even e-magazines by signing up online.
But what many people don’t know about Amazon is that they actually allow you to subscribe to products. Yes, physical products! Amazon’s Subscribe & Save feature allows you to subscribe to the same products. Then you can have them delivered to your door at regular intervals.
You can literally get your pet food, toilet roll, and even favorite sweets delivered straight to your door every week! Not only that but by subscribing regularly, you can get big discounts on some of these products.
9. Take Advantage of Same-Day Delivery
Just when you thought next-day delivery was life-changing, Amazon now offers same-day delivery on selected items. This is available in over 8,000 cities around the world.
Better yet, with Prime, you can get this for free – yes, free! As long as you order by mid-day, your order will be with you the very same day. But it gets better. If you’re in even more of a rush, Prime now offers deliveries within two hours.
Check out the Prime Now section on Amazon to find out whether you’re eligible for this in your location.
10. Amazon Add-Ons
Amazon add-ons are items that you add to an order in order for it to reach the minimum threshold for free delivery. Because of this, add-ons are usually very inexpensive and small, so they can be thrown into most orders with ease.
Having said that, depending on what you order, you can sometimes order add-ons alone, and your order will still qualify for free shipping or other benefits. Give it a go yourself. It may save you from panic-buying something you don’t really want!
11. Shipping Refund
One of the main reasons people subscribe to Amazon Prime is for the free one-day shipping. And you rightfully expect this to be the case when paying every month. But what many people don’t know is that, if Amazon has given you a ‘guaranteed delivery date’ on your products, if they’re ever late, you can ask for a refund.
Although you won’t always get one – due to their complicated terms and conditions – this has still worked for many people. So, it’s definitely worth giving it a go.
12. Amazon Dash
Quite a few people know about the ‘Amazon Dash’ button. This is a physical button that you put somewhere in your home. Every time you push it, it orders a pre-assigned product to your house. The perfect example is realizing you’re low on toilet roll, so you can push the button next to the sink to order some more.
Well, you can now make use of this without actually needing a physical button. If you have an Amazon Echo that has a screen, you can use the screen to display the Dash button. Then you can press it every time you want to order whatever you’ve assigned.
Not only that, but you can also use Amazon Alexa to voice-order your products. Certain safety features can prevent other people from ordering on your account by mistake. This is one of the best Amazon tips – what’s not to love?!
What Amazon tips do you have? Let us know with a comment below!
