by Kat Centeno

Created on: December 14, 2011   Last Updated: December 18, 2011

Amazon.com pioneered online shopping. The company started with selling books. Now, Amazon sells almost everything. With millions of items available in Amazon, there are different ways to find the best deal.

Log-in to your Amazon account

While logged on to site, Amazon has a way to monitor your searches so it is able to suggest items you might be interested in. It is also able to suggest items that others bought alongside your item of interest. The lowest price of the items is in a hard-to-miss red font color.

Keep a wish list

Anyone can create a wish list on Amazon. If you are not in a hurry to buy the item, keeping a wish list on Amazon can give you time to monitor price changes. There are websites like camelcamelcamel.com that can track the price automatically and send you email as soon as there is a price drop.  Better still, there is a Mac application that can monitor the item and alert you through notifications when you keep the application on.

Amazon Deals page

Look for the ubiquitous gold box on the Amazon page. It is usually placed on top of the page. There is a "Deal of the day” which offers a discounted item for an entire day. Also, there are "Lightning Deals" where deals have a time frame before offer expires. Upcoming lightning deals have timers and clues are given so the customers have an idea on what succeeding deals are up for grabs.

Filter search results

After searching for an item, there is option to arrange item from lowest to highest in terms of prices. It is found on the upper right corner of the results frame. An alternative is to use the left frame of the search results to specify price range and/or choose items with specific discount range (e.g. "10% Off or More", "25% Off or More").

Super Saver Shipping

There are a lot of products on Amazon that are eligible for free shipping for orders of at least $25. Shipping rate starts at $0.99 per item. If you find your total order to be a few dollars less than $25, find a filler item to purchase. A filler item is an item sold cheap to top up the required minimum purchase. An example would be stickers and activity books for kids. To search for the item the easy way, the website www.filleritem.com can search the item for you. All you need to specify the amount needed for the filler item.

Amazon.com is a virtual mall. Like a physical mall, you can lose your way around it. It pays to have a few tricks up your sleeves to find the best bargains.

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