Grocery Deals at Amazon-A Primer

October 7, 2009 by Debbie
Filed under Reviews, Save Money, Weight Loss

FamGroceries Yes, you read that right – groceries at Amazon. Most people don’t realize that Amazon sells groceries, and they need to rotate their stock just like any grocer would. So, if you watch their sales and specials, you can find some amazing deals, especially in the natural foods section. Every month, Amazon runs different deals giving you $10-$40 off your purchases, and sometimes up to 70% off certain items. It does take time to weed through them to find a deal that really saves you money, so if you don’t have the time to do it, check back here and we’ll show you the one’s we found for the month. Just click on the “Amazon Deals” page.

Here’s a ‘Primer’ for those that are new to buying at Amazon:

Advantages of shopping at Amazon:

You get it delivered to your door – free shipping
You save sales tax, which in Tennessee is almost 10%!
5 star customer service. They guarantee your purchase, if something is wrong, they make it right – fast. We do alot of shopping with Amazon, and they rarely make a mistake, which is rare-but nice.
Shop from the convenience of your computer, at any hour of any day.
Shop their sales, and save on stocking up. Great for gifting, for instance: buy extra beef jerky, snack mixes and energy drinks for that hard to buy for college student!

What to watch for:

Make sure your product is “Super Saver Shipping Eligible”. If it is, you only need a minimum order of $25 to receive free shipping. That’s it. **BE SURE** to check you want Super Saver Shipping AND select “Group my items into as few shipments as possible” as your shipping preference. during checkout.
If it’s NOT “Super Saver Shipping Eligible”, watch out! Some individual merchants charge an arm and a leg for shipping, and there’s usually no provision for buying more than one product from them. Contact the merchant if you aren’t sure of the charges. (can you tell I have made this mistake?)
When you sign up for “Subscribe & Save”, make sure you cancel or adjust your timing if you don’t eat it as fast as you thought you would. Read more about “Subscribe & Save” below.
When using one of their coupon codes to get a discount, make sure you enter the coupon and it is subtracted from your total. If you have any trouble, there is a phone number to call Amazon, although they hide it well: 1.800-201-7575.

“Subscribe & Save”-What You NEED to Know!

Subscribe & Save is a service that Amazon offers their customer that puts shipment of your chosen item on a regular schedule for you. This saves you 15% off the regular price, and it can be set up for a 1, 2, 3, or 6 month rotation. If you decide you don’t want it shipped to you regularly after you have tried it, it’s easy to log into your account and cancel future shipments. So always save the 15% by signing up, just remember to cancel it later if necessary-just be sure to read the following:

It was a little confusing for me the first time I ordered with Subscribe & Save, so I thought I’d let you know ahead of time what to expect. When you order something through the Subscribe & Save option, you’ll be taken through checkout for just that item immediately. You don’t have to meet any minimums to get free shipping for that item. However, it also won’t count towards your total order for your $25 minimum for Super Saver Shipping, either. I made the mistake of making sure the item was in my cart, too and ended up with 2 shipments of that item the first time I did this! (which is one reason I’m writing this, so you don’t make the same mistake!) So, remember, if you are ordering other things, your Subscribe & Save items won’t show up in your cart with them-but they ARE on the way.

By the way, the Subscribe & Save items will probably arrive before anything else-it ships very fast. By itself.

They will ask you how often you want each individual Subscribe & Save item shipped, but it’s not in stone and can be changed at ANY time just by logging into your account. I set everything on a 6 month schedule and just reorder when I get low on an item, and while I’m there I check the timing of everything.

So, don’t forget you can cancel future shipments at any time, no penalties or scoldings…. but once it’s in your list, it makes it really easy to order again if you want. It also saves the items you don’t want to order again, which I realized the benefit of recently when I couldn’t remember the brand of a canned organic pineapple that I did NOT like that I almost made the mistake of ordering it a second time.

What’s the difference between “Super Saver Shipping Eligible” and “Prime”?

Well, “Super Saver Shipping Eligible” means the cost of that item counts towards your $25 minimum for your free shipping. There is nothing to sign up for, and it applies to everyone and anything you place in your cart that states it’s SSS (Super Saving Shipping) Eligible.

“Prime” or “Amazon Prime” means you have paid a $79 fee and any item tagged with “Prime Eligible” (no minimum required) on it ships free with 2nd day shipping. You can also upgrade to overnight shipping for just $3.99. You’re also given until 6pm EST to receive shipping of your order that same day, whereas us normal folk only have until 3pm. This is an exceptionally nice feature to have during the Christmas season. We had a free account one Christmas season and it was amazing how fast we received our (many) orders. I really, really enjoyed it! An item we ordered on 12-22 actually arrived on 12-24. I was pleasantly surprised, because I really didn’t expect it until after Christmas.

Considering the flu epidemic this year, going out shopping is not on the top of my wish list, and will definitely b save money2 e doing much more of my shopping online this year. I usually check Amazon anyway before I go shopping for certain items, first for the reviews, then for the prices. I have found that the majority of items can be found for less at Amazon, especially considering the savings on sales tax. The only reason I don’t purchase it at Amazon usually is because I failed to plan ahead and was in a hurry for the item. Super Saver Shipping can be slow, if a week to 10 days is slow for you to recieve an item ordered online.