How to save money on amazon

brianstorm

An ever increasing number of products which you buy via Amazon are actually supplied by a 3rd party via the Amazon Seller marketplace. These sellers are often established businesses who sell the same products via other online channels, or possibly even from a physical shop. Now this is the important bit, as far as saving money goes: Amazon charges these sellers a commission, the % varies according to the product category but ranges between 8.05% and an eye-watering 40.25%. Given the generally low margins on online sales, you can probably guess who is likely to end up paying for the sales commission.

So here’s my tips for saving yourself money when purchasing products on Amazon.

1) Turn off one-click ordering. It’s not your friend unless you’re in a hurry and don’t care about buying at the best price.

2) Don’t trust Amazon to present you with the best priced product. When you find your product page, look on the right hand side, under the “Add To Basket” box and you may find another box titled “More Buying Choices”. At the bottom of this box you will find a link, saying something like “20 New” from £15.00. There may also be a “20 used” link. Clicking these will allow you to see the full range of suppliers. There may be none, or Amazon themselves may be the lowest price supplier in which case you can proceed to your purchase if you choose, however, if you have options and choose to buy from them, you may have saved yourself some cash already. Want to save more? Read on for step 3.

3) At this point, you will probably want to consult a reputable search engine (I’d use Google, although other options are available). This step is only recommended where the supplier is a business. Look them up. Contact them by phone or email, and visit their website and buy online. See how much they are selling the product for directly. You may even be able to haggle them down further.

If these steps lead you to save cash, and buy from a business registered in your own country who pay tax in your own country then it’s a win-win transaction.

If you are concerned about buying online, but not from Amazon, then use a credit card which ensures protection. Some debit cards now offer consumer protection There are also distance selling rights in the UK to protect consumers. There will be lots more information on this site covering these last points.

There is a page the on Amazon Marketplace detailing Seller Fees (scroll down for the pro section), you can match product categories to the commission. You'll have to use a search engine, as I'm not allowed to post the link directly. Perhaps a moderator could add it as it may be a useful guide to how much you could save!