22 Tips Every Amazon Addict Should Know

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There was a time when shopping online seemed ridiculous, even dangerous. People were afraid to enter their credit card numbers in a browser window, hidden fees were the norm, and scams and fraud issues were paramount. These days, of course, online shopping is a way of life, thanks in large part to one internet behemoth: Amazon.

Love it or hate it, the Seattle-based company has made online shopping mainstream. Amazon sells almost everything, delivers your goods fast (especially if you're a member of Amazon Prime), offers services like streaming video and music, and makes an entire line of tablets, e-book readers, and smart speakers and displays. Its web and app options make it possible to shop on any platform, while AWS powers at least a third of the web. It also owns plenty of brick-and-mortar stores now, including Whole Foods.

We're closing in on Amazon's version of Black Friday; Prime Day runs from June 21-22, so check out the tips below to help you get the most out of your shopping experience.

Get Amazon Prime for Free (or Cheaper)

Amazon Prime comes with a free 30-day trial. Use it during the holidays, or on Prime Day, to get free shipping, then cancel before you're charged. Note that you only get one free trial per Amazon account, so you can't do this over and over again. Amazon is pretty sure you'll be so dazzled by all the extras a Prime membership offers that you won't want to let it go, but that really depends on how much you shop.

You don't have to shell out $119, though. With Prime Student, you get Prime for free for six months, and half price thereafter ($59 per year or $6.49 per month if you plan to cancel early).

Adult Prime members who become parents can sign up for Amazon Family (previously called Amazon Mom). There are no specific major savings on the price of Prime this way, but parents get exclusives, such as 20% off diapers and baby food subscriptions.

Those on government assistance, meanwhile, can get Prime for $5.99 a month. It applies to programs like WIC and SNAP (here's the full list); you just need to re-up every 12 months.

Smile for Charity

Give back when you shop with AmazonSmile. Once activated, 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products you buy will go to the charity of your choice. (AmazonSmile supports over a million 501(c)(3) public organizations.) You get zero tax benefit, but you still get what you purchased, and your favorite charity benefits. Change your charity anytime.

When you shop, navigate to smile.amazon.com instead of Amazon.com, on desktop and mobile browsers. On the desktop, the AmazonAssistant extension for Chrome or Firefox can also remind/force you to use Smile when you surf to Amazon. On the mobile app, tap the hamburger menu on the bottom right, select AmazonSmile and follow the setup instructions. (The downside on mobile is you need to activate notifications for AmazonSmile for some reason, but maybe you're already getting alerts about shipments anyway.)

As of February 2021, charities worldwide have received over $266 million from the program.

Prime With a Partner

If you're paying for Amazon Prime, the cost can be shared with one other adult member of your household, plus up to four kids under the same roof. The kids don't even need Amazon accounts. This is a smart way to shop for holiday presents while keeping them secret from your partner or kids while still saving on free shipping.

To set it up, go to the Amazon Household website and click Add Adult/Teen/Child. You'll need their email address as used on Amazon, and it will require the adults to share credit or debit card information. Keep it organized at Manage Your Content and Devices > Preferences tab > Households and Family Library > Manage Your Household. 

Amazon Prime sharing includes Amazon Video with all the linked members, not to mention Prime Early Access (which offers 30-minute early access to time-limited Lightning Deals), and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. All adults get access to the $2.99 per month (to start) Amazon Kids+ parental controls to make sure kids don't get into anything they shouldn't.

Amazon Teen, a part of Amazon Household, gives kids aged 13-17 a little more freedom to shop, but allows parents or guardians to approve their purchases before it's charged to their card.

You've Got to Filter

Laptop search filters on Amazon.com

Amazon has hundreds of thousands of products. Searching with a barebones term will get you quickly lost in the weeds, with far too many options to choose from. Turn to the left on your desktop and start clicking the boxes to filter the choices. Start, of course, with Prime so you know that you'll get the unit with (hopefully) the best shipping options and definitely the best return options (like making a quick trip to Kohl's—they'll even pack it and ship it for you).

Then keep narrowing things down, looking for daily deals, but also by rating (if you trust them), by brand, and even more specific depending on the product category. Searching "laptops," I was able to narrow down the RAM capacity, graphics processor, type of display, weight, and even new versus used (you can get some good deals with a refurb).

Also this helps you skip the "featured" listings, which are really just ads.

Prime-ary Gift

If your most beloved family-member-turned-Amazon-addict isn't part of the immediate household, give Prime as a gift in one-year ($119) or three-month ($39) increments to anyone with an email address. The gift membership comes with all the benefits—two-day shipping, streaming video and music, borrowing books on Kindle, etc. If the person is already a Prime member, they can exchange what you paid for an Amazon gift card.

Where's the Warehouse?

What happens to all those products that inevitably get returned to Amazon? Those gems that are no longer "new," but good enough? They are typically found on the Amazon Warehouse Deals site, which offers "deep discounts on open-box, like-new, and pre-owned products"—aka refurbished. Best of all, they are typically still eligible for Amazon Prime shipping and returns. Similarly, you can find deals at the almost-hidden Amazon Outlet store.

Today's Deals on Amazon

Amazon's best deals for new products are found in the Today's Deals link on the top of any Amazon page. The section offers several Deals of the Day, and time-limited Lightning Deals (where you only get hours or just minutes to snag a product on sale). There isn't always a lot of notice, but if you use the Amazon mobile apps, tap the hamburger menu and select Today's Deals to see discounts on the go.

Clip Some Coupons

Amazon has an ongoing set of coupon offers on its Coupons page. Clip any and all you might want to use; they're mostly household goods and electronics, but you can search under categories like Toys and Jewelry for other things. The savings of around 5-15% will automatically be applied when you make the purchase. If you don't make the purchase, the coupon doesn't get used, and eventually, it'll expire.

Track Amazon Prices

Image: Shutterstock

Amazon's not going to go out of its way to inform you when a product you love is super cheap (though if you check your Wish List a lot, it does indicate how much the price has dropped since you added it). Luckily, there are plenty of third-party options to track prices, usually via a browser extension. For example, CamelCamelCamel tracks tons of products and provides info via email and Twitter. Set it up in your browser with the Camelizer add-on tool for Chrome, Edge, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. Honey, CapitalOne Shopping, and RetailMeNot's Deal Finder all offer browser add-ons that display deals on Amazon before you buy—right in the Amazon window. They also surface deals on most other online stores.

(Editors' Note: RetailMeNot is owned by Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag.)

Same-Day Delivery = Joy

In certain cities, you can get same-day delivery of select items. Prime members in those areas receive free same-day delivery on qualifying orders over $35. Order by noon and your package will be delivered by 10 p.m., seven days a week. Order in the afternoon or evening, and it turns into free one-day delivery. Amazon also offers one-hour pickup or two-hour grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods.

Whole Foods Discounts

Whole Foods in Houston, Texas (Image: Whole Foods)

Love shopping at Whole Foods, but hate the prices? The chain, owned by Amazon, comes with a Prime perk: you can get 10% off sale items, plus other weekly discounts. Use the Whole Foods Market app at checkout to get the deals; the app will also show what's on sale. If you have the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card, get 5% back on Whole Foods Market purchases.

The Card(s) That Pay You Back

Image: Getty

Amazon has a lot of cards that make it worth your while to shop. The aforementioned Prime Rewards Visa Card will give you a $150 Amazon gift card upon approval, after which Prime members get 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% at restaurants, drugstores, and gas stations; and 1% on all other purchases. (If you're not a Prime member, you can still get the card, but get only 3% back for purchases on Amazon or at Whole Foods.)

Traveling overseas? There are no foreign transaction fees. There's no annual fee either. The latest cards are contactless, so if you see the symbol on a point-of-sale terminal at checkout that looks like a Wi-Fi antenna symbol turned on its side, simply tap the card; no swiping or inserting or even using your phone is required.

Because a "purchase" on Amazon made with the money you've earned doesn't earn you more money, the best practice is to redeem them for gift cards or as cashback via Chase so you don't lose out on even a measly percentage.

You can also link other credit cards—like American Express, Discover, CapitalOne, Citi, and more—to your Amazon account and Shop With Points.

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