Amazon is the world's biggest online market offering more than 350 million products including electronics, fashion, groceries, home, and books. The Prime program provides same-day and next-day shipping services as well as access to Prime Video, Music, Gaming, Reading and Pharmacy services.
$14.99 per month or $139 per year. Key benefits include free one-day and two-day shipping on eligible products (often next-day shipping in metro areas), streaming video via Prime Video, shuffle access to Amazon Music, Prime Gaming benefits, access to Prime Reading, unlimited high-resolution photo storage, exclusive access to Lightning Deals and Prime Day offers. Members of Grubhub+ included.
Students and young adults (18–24) get half-price Prime for $7.49 per month or $69 per year following 6-month free trial — essentially 50% cheaper. Offers the same benefits as the regular Prime program. Verification is done via .edu email address or SheerID and you will have to verify again annually. After leaving college or becoming older than 24, your subscription is automatically converted to the regular Prime plan unless you cancel it.
Prime can be obtained for $6.99 per month for the customers holding an EBT or government assistance card. There is no free trial in this tier, but it's the most affordable Prime program offered. Verification is required occasionally.
Amazon does not have sitewide promotional codes. Instead, the company uses much more effective system — clip a coupon (orange badge near the product), Subscribe & Save (saving up to 15% by getting recurrent shipments), Lightning Deals, and promo codes for certain categories — and all these discount types can be stacked on the same item. Always check for coupon and Subscribe & Save availability before purchasing the item at the full price.
Setting up the recurrent shipment for the eligible products makes you eligible for 5% saving immediately or up to 15% saving if you have five or more subscriptions scheduled for the same month. And here is the trick that not everyone knows — you can setup the subscription, get your first shipment at the discounted price and immediately cancel it. Amazon does not penalize you for that and you save money. Also, you can use this method for the single purchase.
Most of the Amazon-sold products can be returned within 30 days of delivery even if it was opened. Amazon takes care of the return shipping label and normally it's free, although in some cases shipping fee will be deducted. Products sold by third-party Marketplace sellers might have other return policies. Electronics and luxury products have restocking fees. Amazon-sold products always have the most flexible return policies.
If you chose slower "No-Rush Shipping" option during the ordering process, you will receive a credit ($1-$5) that will be applied to the future purchases, usually on digital content and certain categories. It's free money for not requiring your order to be delivered tomorrow, and the credits accumulate with time.
Prime Day (normally held in July) offers the deepest discounts on Amazon-branded devices, electronics, and everyday products. Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers are better on third party brands, fashion, and competition of pricing between different retailers. Lightning Deals are available all year long and sellout quickly — set up notifications for the watched items.
Amazon offers both clip coupons (that are applied from the product page) and promo codes entered at checkout. Sitewide percentage-off codes are rare. Most codes are limited to certain products or categories. Clip coupons, Subscribe & Save, and Lightning Deals offers are main discount mechanisms on Amazon.
Yes. Amazon is one of the best sites for discount stacking. Clip coupon + promo code + Subscribe & Save can all be applied to the same item. Sometimes even Lightning Deal price + clip coupon can stack together.
You have to sign up using .edu email or verify through SheerID. You will receive the full Prime for 6 months free, and it will be auto-converted to $7.49 per month or $69 per year after 6 months. If you already got a trial previously, you are not eligible for another. Setup reminders before conversion.
Yes. Setup the subscription, get your first discounted shipment and cancel subscription right away. Amazon does not penalize you for that and you keep the discount. It's a legitimate way to save 5-15% off without subscribing to recurrent shipments.
Products "ships from and sold by Amazon" means that Amazon controls inventory, shipping and returns processes of these items directly — these items have the most flexible return policies. Marketplace items are sold by third parties and shipped independently with different return policies, response times and quality.
There is no official policy on that, however, Amazon prices update dynamically and very often Amazon matches or beats competitor's prices. Some credit cards offer price protection feature that covers price drops. Amazon does not give back money if there was a price drop after the purchase.
Credits (generally $1-$5) are credited to your Amazon balance and can be applied to the future purchases of eligible categories — typically on digital content, Pantry or some product categories. Eligible categories vary and are presented during the checkout if you choose No-Rush shipping.
Limited-time, limited-quantity discounts on specific items. They are displayed on Deals page with a timer and a progress bar that shows the number of units purchased. When the timer is finished or the stock ends, the offer disappears. Prime members can get early access.
Yes. Refund is based on the price you have paid after discount. If return causes your order to drop below free shipping threshold or coupon requirements, no extra charges are added retroactively.