It’s no secret that I’d shop Amazon.com any day over running out and shopping the stores – especially the mall or on Black Friday. My favorite time of the year to shop Amazon.com is November and December – as they will have some HOT, HOT prices especially on toys, video games, movies, books and more. Prices go fast, so you’ll want to act quick when you see a deal you like.
The best deals are usually toys, movies and books. I bought many gifts last year for 50-80% off thanks to Amazon. I’m guessing this year will be just as good. I’ll be posting every hot Amazon deal I can find and you’ll have to let me know what you’re finding as well!
Watch the Gold Box deals. These change as often as every hour. Rock bottom prices and limited quantities. If it’s a good deal it could sell out within minutes of it going “live”. Often these may be going so fast that I’ll just post about them on the Queen Bee Facebook page or on Twitter, so if you want up-to-the-minute updates, it’s good to follow me there.
Amazon has a variety of Gold Box deals just for Black Friday. They already have their Black Friday page up on the site! With your mouse right-click on this Black Friday page link and bookmark the page for easy reference in the future. Currently it has Gold Box offers displayed. (For more Black Friday tips, read my previous post about Black Friday here).
Cyber Monday is November 28 and I’m betting that Amazon will be a HOT place for those deals, just like last year. (Read yesterday’s post about Cyber Monday here.) Amazon seemed to promote all week last year!
Buying gifts on Amazon? Have the items shipped directly to the recipient! Amazon allows you to change the delivery address and you can add gift wrap for a nominal cost. Especially if you have Amazon Prime, this is a huge time and money saver.
Shop with gift cards. If you are a regular Amazon shopper, it might be a good idea to pick up Amazon gift cards at Safeway or Fred Meyer. By picking up a gift card at these retailers you’ll earn rewards on your store card! There are usually lots of promotions. For example, Safeway recently had 4x fuel rewards when you purchase gift cards – promotions like this provide extra bonus for shopping you’d do anyway.
Last minute gift solution. Amazon allows you to buy Amazon.com gift cards that can be immediately emailed to the recipient. You can also buy them and print immediately if you are giving the gift in person. You can also buy them and schedule them ahead of time. It’s a great option for those hard to shop for people.
Amazon’s price match policy. Amazon used to offer price adjustments if you bought an item and the price dropped within 30 days after purchase. They not longer offer this.
Amazon’s return policy. Shopping online makes people nervous because they think it might not be as easy to return an item if it doesn’t work out. But Amazon actually has a super easy return policy and they often pay for return shipping! Check out Amazon’s Return Center for more information.
Amazon Prime is where it’s at. If you have Amazon Prime ($79 a year) you’re likely to get better deals because you won’t be required to make the $25 minimum purchase for FREE shipping. When toys are only $5-8 you can get them shipped FREE. Read my post on why I think Amazon Prime is worth it. But on the other hand, Amazon has been pretty generous with offering free shipping on select items (like FREE shipping on The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever – already 50% off, so only $6.86 and with FREE shipping).
Find your filler items! If you are planning to use the Amazon Super Saver shipping, which offers FREE shipping on $25 or more and you only need a $1 or $2 more to get you over your minimum purchase of $25, check out FillerItem.com. You put in the amount you need and it will show you are the items that meet that criteria.
Read the reviews, compare prices. Just because it’s on Amazon doesn’t make it a good deal. Shocking, I know. But there are easy ways to tell if it’s a real deal – Amazon has an EXTENSIVE network of reviews for it’s products, so read reviews before making a purchase. You might be getting a great deal but if the product is lame, it’s not worth it. And it’s always a good idea to price compare to make sure the MSRP or the regular price really is what they claim it to be. Read my Cyber Monday post for tips on comparing prices online.
Swagbucks – A lot of people do the Swagbucks thing all year and they earn Amazon gift cards that they save for Christmas shopping. If you haven’t looked into Swagbucks you can get started now. Read my post about how Swagbucks works.
Shop for your holiday meal items on Amazon. Don’t forget about Amazon’s grocery selection. The prices aren’t always the best in town, but it can be worth a look, especially if you like specialty items. Here are some examples: canned green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc. Although the best prices will likely be at the grocery stores and I’ll be posting about those on October 31 as part of this series.
And finally, how to sort/search Amazon for the best deals. Here are some techniques for finding those rock bottom prices on Amazon.com. I’ll use toys as an example.
1.) First, from the Amazon.com home page, select the category or type of item that you want to shop for:
2.) From there you can click on “Bestsellers” – this is usually the best place to look because items that are selling well are generally the best deals!
3.) Or drill down into toy categories by age, which I think is a helpful way to shop for toys
4.) Once you have a specific enough category, look in the left navigation menu for price sorting options. You can put in a specific range like $1 to $10 or you can select your favorite discount amount (my favorite)! Start off with the 70% off or more and work your way up.
5.) You can also only select the toys that qualify for “FREE super saving shipping” which is FREE shipping on any order of $25 or more!
Using these filters you can sort it to find the very best deals with free shipping. And check often, because they change regularly!
I’d love to hear from you on how you save on Amazon deals! Please leave a comment.
This is part three of a seven-part series on The Best Deals of the Season: What to Watch For & Places to Shop:
- Black Friday
- Cyber Monday
- Amazon Sales
- Target toy catalog with coupons
- Free shipping offers
- Sweepstakes trends
- Food deals to watch for
Gaylin says
I thought that Black Friday was November 25, and Cyber Monday November 28th.
Laurie says
You can search the prices on camelcamelcamel.com to see what the price range has been.
Kirsten says
AWESOME site, Laurie! That’s the first I’ve ever heard of it! Thanks a bunch!!
Kirsten says
Awesome post, Heather! My only tip is if you have any specific items you are looking for (especially in the catagories you mention in your post), consider making an Amazon Wish List just for those items. Then be sure to use the “Notes” section next to each item in the list to enter the current price (so you can tell when the price drops) &/or the price you’ve seen it for elsewhere. I scored so many amazing deals this way last year that now I keep a running “Wish List” all year long and only purchase items when the price drops significantly.
Note: The list WON’T show current Gold Box or Lightning Deal prices, so be sure to click on the item to view the actual page before purchasing.
I’m really looking forward to the deals we’ll see this year & with your help, Heather, I know we’ll be better informed than ever!
Thanks for all your hard work!! 🙂