Even till less than a decade ago, online shopping was considered unreliable and risky. People were hesitant about giving out their bank details and fussed over the size and colour of the products. However, now there is no end of e-commerce and online purchase of goods. Right from clothes to groceries to home decor and even medicines, there is a treasury of products out there. One such website to have it all, from gourmet food items to garments, is amazon.in.
One of India’s favorite e-commerce sites , Amazon has a wide array of interesting products. They also have a number of discounts and offers all year round, for the shopaholic in you. Nonetheless, you may find it a little tasking to know your way around Amazon. There are tips and hacks that can help you find the best deal on your favorite brands and products. Not just that, but there are a number of payment options that may seem to be beneficial to you. This article will walk you through the 8 best tips which you can keep in mind, while browsing and shopping.
1. Amazon Prime
This is a special paid subscription provided by Amazon to make certain products and services accessible to users that may otherwise have been off limits. It includes free deliveries, speedy deliveries within 2 days and even 2 hour deliveries with ‘Prime Now’.
Amazon Prime also lets you stream unlimited videos, movies, TV shows and music. Some products happen to be ‘Prime’ stamped, which means that they are fit for speedy, free deliveries. That besides, the stamp also acts as a further quality assurance guarantee. The Amazon Prime plan is very nominal and you can pick from a monthly plan of Rs 129 PM or from an annual plan of Rs 999 PA.
So if you are someone who likes to have her/his orders reach quickly and hates paying delivery charges, then opting for Amazon Prime is a smart move.
2. Extending a Prime Membership
This might not particularly help you with your personal shopping but it is more like a shopping plan for your whole family.
You can share your Amazon Prime subscription with your family members so that, even if they can benefit from the services. All you have to do is go to the Amazon Household website and add your family members, upto one adult and four children.
3. Start Shopping at Amazon’s Daily Deal Page
No matter what it is that you are shopping, always start browsing at the ‘Today’s Deals’ page. The prices there are updated on a daily or hourly basis and the deals are always better than the ones anywhere else.
You can shop by categories or by deal types, like Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals, coupons and others. There are interesting savings across every department. Since the deals are updated on an hourly basis, it is best to start shopping from that page, so that you do not miss out on the best offers.
4. Pay with EMI
Amazon has a lot of EMI partners that allow you to pay in bits every month to the lender.
This actually is a “buy now pay later” scheme. There are even 0 down payment EMIs. Buying with EMIs just makes the payment process a whole lot easier. You will not be spending a whole chunk of your income at once but in little bits, across a time span of your choice.
They have also started with an interesting Amazon Debit Card EMI option that enables you to convert your Debit Card alone into an EMI card. This requires no EMI account per se.
5. Related Items Category:
Never forget to check the ‘Related Items’ section. This category is based on the most searched and liked products. It curates a list according to your likes and you rarely leave this page disheartened. You will always find some hidden gem from some department that you would not otherwise visit.
Be it garments or home decor or groceries; the ‘Related Items’ search has the best suited products.
6. Trade in Items for Cash
Amazon has started a new option of selling your old products, in whose return you will be given cash. You can sell old books, furniture, gadgets as long as they are in workable condition. Amazon charges a base fee on the amount adding up and pays the remaining whole.
This is not so much of a shopping trick but with this option, you can give away all the old things around your house and replace them with new ones, without feeling guilty. The money earned can be put into buying various new things right then or later.
7. Subscribe & Save
This subscription does not give you any entertainment media like songs, movies et cetera but a 15 or 20 percent off on the most bought items of regular use. Be it dog food or cleaning gel or highlighter pens, if you ‘subscribe and save later’ the item, Amazon will give you discounts on every buy.
The subscription is a monthly commitment and does not put any limit on the quantity. For example, you can buy 10 rolls of aluminum foil on the first month and then again buy 1 role in the next month. You can cancel the subscription or any particular product anytime you wish to.
With this subscription, you end up saving a lot more than usual on items of daily use.
8. Refund for Missed Delivery Dates
Remember that Amazon compensates well for late deliveries. If you are a Prime user that has ordered a product with free, speedy delivery and the product has failed to reach you on time then you will be given a one month extension on your Prime membership.
If you are not a Prime member then you will receive a refund of your delivery charge.
So if you are not contacted by an executive about your refunds and extensions, remember to get in touch with the customer care.
