How to get the best Amazon deals — Black Friday, Amazon Warehouse and Prime Day

Bagging the best Amazon deals is more important than ever with the cost of living crisis tightening budgets.

Going for one of the hundreds of deals on Amazon on big sales days like Prime Day or Black Friday can be tempting, but you want to make sure to keep in mind the best sales tips as you filter through and find the best deals.

Try not to get caught in the buying frenzy, and remember to be a savvy shopper: compare prices and ask yourself if you really need the item.

Here are a few easy ways to make sure you get the best Amazon deals.

How to get the best Amazon deals

Make a wishlist and set yourself a budget

It’s easy to overspend during big shopping events. However, it’s vital to take a step back and think about whether you actually need the item, and if you’ll ever use it. Are you just buying it because it looks like a good deal? With the cost of living crisis squeezing many people’s finances, consider whether you can actually afford to buy the product right now.

Think about how much you’re happy to spend, and stick to it. You could also make a wishlist to narrow down the products that you do actually need.

Remember that deals will come and go. Amazon cuts its prices all the time, from Prime Day to New Year's sales. Never let yourself overspend just because there’s a sale – you may regret it later.

Make a record of current prices

A lot of people don’t like to buy into sales like Black Friday as many believe prices go extremely high and then back down to normal prices on the sale day. But if you're strapped for money this year, you might want to check out the sales. The good news is, you can make sure you're ahead of the curve. 

Before the sales start, note down all of the items you like and their original prices. During the sale, go back to the same product, and you will know whether you’ve bagged a bargain or not with the new ‘sale’ price.

Get a free £6 when you buy a £60 gift card

If you’re planning to spend at least £60, Amazon Prime members can currently buy a gift card for this amount and get an extra £6 added to the balance. This bonus is only available if you haven’t topped up your account in the last 36 months. 

And if you’re planning to spend at least £120 over two items and there are two Amazon Prime members in the household you can double up the free £6 and coordinate the buying so that each of you is buying an item with a gift card and gaining an extra £6.

Compare prices

If you’ve got your eye on an item, shop around first to check if the price really is the cheapest. It’s easy to compare prices online. You can search on Google for the exact make and model of what you want and see how much other retailers charge. You can do this on Google Shopping or just use the usual Google search engine and then when the results come up, click ‘Shopping’.

Price comparison sites Kelkoo, Price Spy, Idealo and Price Runner can also do the hard work of shopping around for you. 

Prices can change very quickly, with online retailers using complex algorithms to slash prices throughout the day. So, even if you compared prices in the morning and found Amazon to be the cheapest retailer, it’s worth searching again when you actually want to buy the product (even if this is just a few hours later), as prices may have moved. This is especially true for Prime Day when the online retail giant drops new deals at different times of the day. 

Katy Phillips from Idealo comments: “Discounts are often put live in stages, meaning that the morning could be more expensive than the evening.”

Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel will let you check the price that products have been sold for previously. If you find that your product has been advertised at the same price in the months prior to Amazon Prime Day, then flag this item as low priority for your seasonal shopping.

Ask other retailers to price match

The thing with Amazon is you might find it has the best price, but no other perks whereas other retailers like John Lewis or Curry's might offer extra. If, for example, you see John Lewis offering a 2-year warranty but it's a little pricier than the price you found on Amazon, go into the store and ask John Lewis if they can price match. 

If you really want the product, it’s worth checking as it will help you in the long run if something goes wrong with your purchase.

Know your consumer rights – the refund law

The good thing about shopping on Amazon is, it’s all online. When you purchase a sale item in-store, you do not have a "right to change your mind", which means it’s non-refundable unless the item is faulty. 

However, it's the opposite when you shop in online sales. You do have a right to change your mind. The law is on your side and you get 14 days to refund the item (14 days starting from when you received the item). Note: this excludes perishable or personalised items.

Read more in our guide to shopping and consumer rights.

Stick to Amazon products for the biggest discounts

The biggest discounts are often on Amazon devices such as Echo speakers, Kindles and Fire tablets. Fitbit fitness trackers have also been pencilled as having the potential for super saving.

Nick Drewe, founder of discounts platform Deal.Town says: “The best discounts will probably be on Amazon's own lineup of hardware products on the homepage. The Amazon Devices department will have some of the best discounts on products reviewed which they can first-handedly recommend. Items including Echo smart speakers and smart displays, Fire tablets, and Fire Kindle e-readers, will most likely be on sale for much less than they usually retail for."

Remember delivery costs

If you find a product cheaper with another retailer, make sure you factor in any delivery costs. One of the perks of being a Prime member is that you won’t be charged a penny in delivery fees.

So, if say an electric toothbrush is cheaper with Boots or Argos than it is with Amazon, check the delivery costs too so you’re comparing the total price.

Also, be mindful of how long delivery takes if that's important to you. Amazon’s delivery could be quicker than a rival retailer. Check the returns policy too: can you return the item free of charge? How long do you have to decide before returning a product?

Amazon offers a 30-day free trial if you become a Prime member, so you could time that free trial with the sales and become a member to make the most of the free delivery.

But, DO NOT forget to cancel before the free period expires, or you will have to pay the full cost the following month.

Use Amazon's free delivery tool

If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you have to spend £20 or more to get free delivery. If you're still pounds away from the free delivery threshold, don’t give up and pay the delivery fee. 

The Super Saver Delivery Tool does the hard work for you – all you need to do is put in your basket total and it will show you a list of products you can add to your basket to rank it up for free delivery. That’s a better option than buying something for the sake of it that you’re not going to use.

Check out Amazon Warehouse and Outlet

There’s also Amazon Warehouse and Amazon Outlet. Amazon Warehouse was designed for those who are happy to pay less for products that have previously been returned. They might be unwanted purchases, the customer changed their mind and so on. The product will be in full working order and even though it may have been used or the box could be damaged, you'll benefit from a product in great condition at a fraction of the price.

Similarly, the Amazon Outlet is the home for overstock which will be sold at lower prices in a bid to get rid of it. People don’t always know about this section, as it’s hidden within the site.

Pay using your credit card

We don’t recommend buying what you can’t afford and shoving the cost on your credit card. But if you make a big purchase over £100, it’s worth putting even a bit of it on your credit card so your purchase is protected. 

You could pay as little as 1p on your credit card and the rest in another way, and the cards you use jointly protect the whole purchase under section 75.

Go through cashback sites

Right now, every penny counts so make the most of cashback sites. 

Quidco is offering 2% cashback on certain Amazon purchases like an Echo or a Fire TV device and TopCashback is offering customers up to 2.5% cashback on purchases. If you made a purchase costing £100, with a 2% cashback you'd get £2 back.

Contact Amazon if the price drops after your purchase

Amazon is known for its fast-changing prices, so it’s hard to keep up. 

If you buy something at let’s say £200 and the price drops to £150 after you have made the purchase, you can contact Amazon and ask if they will return the difference, in this case, £50. 

It's not guaranteed, but it’s worth a try if it means a chance to get some money back.