Hidden Amazon money-saving deals exposed

With Amazon’s next sales event breathing down your neck, how about some insider tips on how to get even better deals – anytime, not just during a sale?

Kyle James, one of ConsumerAffairs favorite deal-finders, says that the best deals on Amazon aren’t out front where everybody can see them, but rather hidden within the site in different sections.

Here are the tricks James says anyone can use to shave a few bucks off of many items at Amazon:

1. Look at all colors when shopping for shoes and clothing. 

“When shopping for shoes and apparel on Amazon, and if you’re not picky about color, select your size, then look at the price differences between colors,” he said, pointing to a nearly $20 savings when he picked one color over another on a pair of Puma sneakers. 

He says while the hack does its best magic on shoes and clothing, just about any Amazon product where color choices are involved will also turn up some deals – things like Bluetooth speakers, YETI products, headphones, baseball and golf hats and cell phone cases.

“It should be noted that this Amazon hack works best when using their smartphone app. Otherwise, you’ll have to select every color individually to see what the corresponding price is. In other words, it will take forever, so be sure to use the app and get a quick view of all the different colors and prices,” he said.

2. Check the warehouse.

All that stuff we send back to Amazon has to go somewhere and the company refreshes and repackages them and re-up them as Warehouse Deals at 40-60% off. And Amazon guarantees that they’re in working order so you’re not getting a dud.

James says that the Warehouse is perfect for people who are looking for deals on electronics, especially computers, cameras, video games, and unlocked mobile devices. Kitchen, home improvement, and vacuums also show up frequently.

3. Amazon ‘Renewed’

Amazon Renewed is a kissin’ cousin of its Warehouse Deals, but the products may be in different “conditions” – premium, excellent, good, or acceptable. Savings range from 20% to 50% off.

And, like the Warehouse items, these come with an Amazon Renewed guarantee (90 days) and are fully inspected before being listed for sale.

One quick aside…

Amazon is releasing more than a dozen new AI-powered and upgraded tech products including a new Alexa, eyeglasses, Fire Sticks, etc., that are destined to be hits come the holidays. If one of these is something you want for your very own, maybe you should let other tech-hungry consumers buy them, try then out, and send them back. They might show up in the Amazon Warehouse or as a Renewed item at a much lower cost.

4. Third-party sellers

“Did you know that when you do a search on Amazon the products that come up first in the results are not necessarily the best deals?” James asks. “As a matter of fact, third party sellers often beat the Amazon Prime price.”

He says these listings are not as clear as the nose on your face, but if you look down a bit from the main listing on a product, you’ll see “Available from these sellers” on the product page. Just click on that. 

There is something you need to know, however. Not all of these are going to offer quick shipping. “Sure you might not get free two-day shipping, but in most cases you’ll still get free three to five day shipping,” James said, but at the very least this is a good habit to get into, especially on large purchases, as it guarantees you’ll always find the absolute lowest price.

5. Amazon Coupons

Just like most other retailers, Amazon has coupons you can virtually clip. When ConsumerAffairs went to the Amazon Coupons page, we found everything from $44 off on a set of linens to $210 off on a cordless vacuum cleaner.

James says that Amazon breaks its coupons down into the following shopping categories:

– Health & Personal Care

– Grocery & Gourmet

– Beauty

– Automotive

– Electronics

– Home & Kitchen

– Lawn & Garden

– Office Supplies

– Pet Supplies

– Toys & Baby

– Clothing & Shoes

“Start using an Amazon coupon on the majority of your purchases and you can easily save hundreds of dollars per year if you shop frequently,” he said.