How To Master… Shopping on Amazon

Love it for its bargains and convenience or loathe it for its all-consuming ubiquity, you can’t deny that Amazon has radically changed the way the world shops.

From its roots as an online bookshop to its present day position as purveyor of everything under the sun, Amazon has risen far and fast, so much so that even those unmoved by its business model likely use it at least a few times a year. It’s really, really hard to ignore a reliable online retail service – especially when late December rolls around and you realise you’ve got two days to buy approximately 87 Christmas presents. Plus wrapping paper.

We’ve already noted Amazon’s convenience and its competitive prices, but there are ways to make it better still. Want to shop smarter, and save-ier? We will train you. Read on, Grasshopper.

MONEY SAVERS…

1) BARGAIN HUNT WITH DAILY DEALS…

The first stop for bargain hounds without a clear idea of what they want but a fierce desire to make major savings should be Amazon’s Daily Deals section.

As the name suggests, these offers (which are spread across every department) are generally refreshed every 24 hours, meaning you only have a limited time to take advantage. Some deals don’t even stick around for the full day, expiring in a matter of hours of when a certain amount of stock is sold.

Daily Deals is something of a lucky dip of savings: you never know what might be in there, so don’t come in expecting to find something you need.

2) …AND WHAT'S IN THE WAREHOUSE…

Warehouse Deals is where Amazon shifts refurbished, factory-damaged, returned and second-hand (aka “open-box and pre-owned”) products at low prices. All products are in “good condition”, thoroughly inspected/tested, and backed up with Amazon’s normal satisfaction guarantee, but fall short of Amazon’s standards for “new” and will likely lack a manufacturer’s warranty.

3) …AND DON’T FORGET THE OUTLET

The third spot for finding heavily discounted products on Amazon is the Outlet. This is a straight-up offers/sales section with a full range of categories to comb through – including groceries, fashion, books and electronics.

4) SEARCH FOR HEAVILY-DISCOUNTED SPECIFIC PRODUCTS

If you’re less of a browser and more of a “I know what I’m after” type, it’s well worth checking out Money Saving Expert’s Amazon Discount Finder tool, which will unearth deals and reductions you might struggle to find when using Amazon’s regular search box.

You can search by keyword and filter by department, category, discount percentage, and minimum and maximum price.

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Author: Sam Kieldsen