How to buy cheaper on Amazon: tips that actually work

To buy cheaper on Amazon, three habits do most of the work: check the price history before buying, set an alert so you hear about a genuine drop, and aim for the big events such as Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days or Black Friday. On top of that, Amazon's own programmes can shave off more: its second-hand store (Amazon Resale, called Amazon Seconde main in France), Amazon Renewed, coupons and Subscribe & Save. Here are 10 tips, with their limits. Examples focus on Amazon.fr, but most apply to other European Amazon stores.

How to pay less on Amazon: the key tips at a glance

Tip	Effort	Best for
1. Check the price history	Low	Everything, especially beyond a few tens of euros
2. Set a price alert	Low	Purchases that can wait
3. Buy during big events	Medium	Tech, appliances, Amazon devices
4. Second-hand store (Resale / Seconde main)	Low	Products where packaging doesn't matter
5. Amazon Renewed and Outlet	Low	Phones, laptops, end-of-line stock
6. Clip coupons	Very low	Small gadgets, accessories, home
7. Subscribe & Save	Low	Everyday consumables
8. Compare sellers and the final price	Low	Listings with several sellers
9. Check other European Amazon stores	Medium	Products with no country-specific features
10. Compare with other retailers	Medium	Bigger purchases

Check the real price before you buy (tips 1 and 2)

A crossed-out price doesn't tell you whether you're getting a deal. For advertised discounts, Amazon.fr shows the lowest price of the previous 30 days, as French law has required since 28 May 2022 (article L112-1-1 of the Consumer Code, from the EU Omnibus directive). But a product may have been more expensive, or much cheaper, two or three months ago. Only the Amazon price history shows the usual price and the recent low.

With that benchmark in mind, set a target price and let a tool tell you when it's reached. Checking the page every day will miss short-lived drops; an alert won't. Our guide to tracking an Amazon price compares the options (Keepa, CamelCamelCamel, automatic tracking).

Buy at the right time: Prime Day, Prime Big Deal Days, Black Friday (tip 3)

Amazon runs two big members-only events every year: Prime Day, usually in July, and Prime Big Deal Days, usually in October. Exact dates are announced by Amazon a few weeks ahead; see our Prime Big Deal Days 2026 guide. Black Friday falls on Friday 27 November 2026, followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November: details in our Black Friday 2026 guide.

These periods often bring the most drops on tech and Amazon-branded devices. But not every offer is equal: shortlist your products and note their prices several weeks ahead, or you'll have no way of telling whether the "deal" is real.

Amazon's discounted sections (tips 4 and 5)

Amazon Resale / Amazon Seconde main (formerly Amazon Warehouse)

Amazon Warehouse has been renamed: Amazon Seconde main in France since May 2023, and Amazon Resale in the US and UK since 2024. It sells customer returns and open-box or damaged-packaging items, checked by Amazon and graded by condition (like new, very good, good, acceptable). Read the condition note: it spells out what's missing or marked. In the EU, the legal guarantee of conformity still applies.

Amazon Renewed

Amazon Renewed offers refurbished products, mostly tech, tested by suppliers approved by Amazon and graded by condition (Premium, Excellent, Good, Acceptable). According to Amazon.fr's help pages, they also come with an Amazon Renewed commercial guarantee. Still compare with the new price: when the new model is on sale, the gap can become small.

Amazon Outlet

The Outlet section groups new items from surplus stock and end-of-line ranges. Offers change with available stock, so it's a section to browse now and then rather than a place to hunt for one specific product.

Coupons and Subscribe & Save: the discounts hiding on the page (tips 6 and 7)

Coupons

Some product pages show a coupon box offering an extra discount in euros or as a percentage. You have to tick it for the discount to apply at checkout. Coupons are limited in time and quantity, and their terms generally say they can't be combined with other promotions. Factor them in when judging a price: a €49 product with a €10 coupon really costs €39.

Subscribe & Save

Subscribe & Save ("Prévoyez et Économisez" on Amazon.fr) is Amazon's subscription for everyday products (toiletries, cleaning, groceries, pet supplies). Under the French programme's terms, you get 5% off, and up to 15% when at least five subscribed products are delivered to the same address in the same delivery period, with free delivery. There's no commitment: you can skip a delivery or cancel. Note that the price can change from one delivery to the next; Amazon sends a reminder email before each one, so read it.

Third-party sellers, delivery and Prime: work out the final price (tip 8)

Several sellers can offer the same product on one listing. The featured offer isn't necessarily the cheapest: open the list of other sellers and compare the delivered price, lead time, condition and seller rating. A price a few euros lower can be wiped out by delivery charges.

Is Amazon Prime worth it?

As of September 2026, Amazon Prime in France costs €6.99 a month or €69.90 a year, with a 30-day free trial. It includes fast free delivery on many items, Prime Video and access to members-only events. It pays off if you often place small orders or plan to shop the Prime events. If you only take the trial for one event, note the end date so you can decide calmly whether to keep it.

Look elsewhere: other Amazon stores and other retailers (tips 9 and 10)

The same product can be priced differently on Amazon.de, Amazon.it or Amazon.es. Ordering from another European Amazon store can be worth it, as long as you check delivery costs to your country, compatibility (plug type, keyboard layout, menu language), and the returns and warranty terms.

Finally, Amazon isn't always the cheapest. The same model may be better priced at another retailer for a few days. Rather than spending your evenings comparing, track the same product at each retailer that sells it: add each link to UniverTrack and the offers are grouped on one product page showing the current best one (Pro plan). More ideas in our guide to saving money when shopping online.

Traps that make you pay more on Amazon

• False urgency: countdowns, "only 3 left in stock"… These cues push you to buy without checking. See how to spot a fake discount.
• Misleading percentages: "-40%" off a recommended price nobody charges tells you nothing about the usual price.
• The wrong variant: on one listing, the cheapest colour or storage size may not be the one you want.
• Forgotten subscriptions: a Prime trial or a Subscribe & Save order that keeps running after you no longer need it.
• Buying "because it's on sale": the best saving is still not buying what you didn't need.

Put it into practice: pay the right price on Amazon without checking every day

Applying these tips by hand takes time: noting prices, going back to product pages, guessing whether a drop is real. UniverTrack handles it: for an Amazon product, past price history can be shown as soon as you add it; the price is then checked automatically and you get email alerts.

1. Paste the link to the Amazon product: a free preview shows the product and its current price.
2. Set a target price based on the history, or let the good-time indicator guide you.
3. Get the alert when your target is reached, then buy.

For one big purchase, the Découverte plan is enough. If you hunt deals across many products and want fake discounts flagged, Malin is the better fit. To compare the same product across several retailers, or see the Amazon price by country, choose Pro. Compare plans on the pricing page: every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no commitment.