DEAL: Amazon Goldbox 5% discount

Amazon is one of my favorite stores.

No sales tax. Fast shipping (with Amazon Prime). Very cheap prices.

One of the negatives for Amazon shopping is that there is no cashback and no coupons for general use.

However, there is a trick to get 5% off any purchase.

This has been floating around the 'net for a while. Here's what you need to do

1. Sign up for an Amazon account if you don't already have one. 1 purchase needs to be on your account before this will work.
   
2. Sign in to your Amazon account
   
3. Find item page for what you want the discount on (item X)
4. Once on item page, scroll down to check "I Own it". This links the product to your recommendation list.
5. Scroll all the way back to the top of the page and click on the 'recommendations' link.
6. Click on 'see all recommendations'
7. Check 'Not interested' for everything except item X. Yes, everything!
   
8. Once done, click on "Today's Deals" link at the top of the page. If item X is not there, you may have to wait 1-2 days for it to show up.
9. Once it shows up in your gold box, add it to your cart to see the 5% discount

I bought a Macbook this way. Easy way to get a discount.
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Pro: 5% discount on any Amazon product (good for expensive items)
Con: Time-consuming. May need to wait 1-2 days for it to work. Read more!

DEAL: Amazon Gift Card Deals

I've received several inquiries as to how I was able to get my Amazon gift cards at 80% face value which I alluded to previously. It's not as easy to do as it used to be but there are definitely some options out there.

Interestingly, my experience with gift card deals reflects upon the general evolution of internet deals.

The landscape of internet deals has definitely changed over the past several years. Good deals are now hard to come by. With the surging popularity of various deal forums, loopholes are now closed very quickly.

Here is information regarding my gift card deals, past and present.

• DealPass: DealPass is a membership club that used to have great programs. They would allow you to puchase gift cards from popular places (Amazon, TJMaxx, Target, Sears, Staples, Barnes & Noble, etc) at 80% of value. I bought several thousand dollars of gift cards this way. Though still around, I no longer recommend this option. Due to its popularity, DealPass has placed prohibitive limitations on obtaining gift cards at reasonable value.
  


• Online marketplaces: There are many, many different marketplaces on the internet. Some of them are set up to promote gift card trading or purchases. You won't get anywhere, though, without having developed a reputation. There are sometimes people on these marketplaces who want to get rid of their gift cards and they will offer them at 80% (or less) value. These places are no longer as easy to find.
  


• Live.com and Ebay: Live.com recently started offering huge discounts on many purchases. Ebay purchase rebates were up to 35%. I obtained lots of Amazon gift cards which were bought at face value, but after rebate actuallyened up at 65-70% value. Ebay sellers have since inflated their prices as a result of this. And the live.com discount is no longer as good.
  


• Amazon credit card: No, it's not a 20% discount. But it is an easy way to get gift cards with what is currently a 6% discount (in form of Amazon GC). It's good if you want to make a quick purchase since these gift card codes can be emailed to you relatively quickly.
  

Good deals, by their own nature, don't last long. If you are saving money, then that means someone is losing money. And once they realize what's going on, it's all over.

So it's no longer easy as it used to be. But with some due diligence and research, it is still possible to get gift cards (not just Amazon) at a discount.

Read more!

CREDIT CARD: Amazon Chase Visa Card Deal

Attention Amazon shoppers only.
If you frequently shop at Amazon.com (as I do) or own the Chase Amazon Visa card, then please read on to save some money.

Current Chase Amazon Visa card are eligible for a great promotion: you get double rewards for the next 3 months. This effectively nets you 6% cashback on Amazon purchases.

Here is how to enroll

1. Call customer service at 1-888-247-4080
2. Say you want to upgrade your card to earn double points for the promotion
3. You are now enrolled!
   

If you don't have a Chase Amazon Visa card, then you really need to sign up. Normally, you get 3 points for every dollar spent at Amazon which effectively nets you 3% cashback. But sign up now and you will also get the double points promotion.

Plus if you sign up now, you will get a $30 credit after your first purchase.
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Pro: Get 6% cashback on Amazon for 3 months
Con: Credit score check. Another credit card to keep track of.

Comment if this was useful!
Read more!

DEAL: Amazon Prime

Amazon is probably one of my prime destinations for purchasing.

Not only do I save tax, get free shipping, access great customer reviews, but I also have thousands of dollars in Amazon gift cards that I procured at 80% value.

Let me tell you how Amazon Prime makes for a better buying experience. Plus for a limited time you can save $20!

One of things that sucks about buying on the internet is that you have to wait for things to ship to you. There is something to be said about going to a store, buying something and taking it home. Instant gratification.

Normally, Amazon gives you free shipping for orders over $25. They used to have pretty fast free shipping. Nowadays, they are VERY slow. I've found that my orders are "in process" for up to a week, then they use the slowest shipping method to get it to you. Maybe it's deliberate to make people join the Amazon Prime program.

With Amazon Prime, you get free shipping for everything! And it's fast 2 day shipping. If you want it even faster you upgrade to 1-day shipping for $3.99. Want to buy that $0.99 item? No problem you'll get it shipped to you in 2 days with no added shipping fee.

Usually the service costs $79/yr, but they temporarily have a promotion of $59 for 1 year.

If you are heavy Amazon user and need instant gratification, it is a no brainer to sign up for Amazon Prime

Expires 12/30/2008

Tip: Set the membership to NOT auto-renew. This way you won't ne paying for days you aren't using.

HIDDEN BONUS: You can designate 4 family members to use your Prime shipping. Each family member, once they accept the email invitation, can ship wherever they want.
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Pro: free 2-day Amazon shipping, with cheap shipping upgrades (1-day for $3.99)
Con: $59 for 1 year Read more!