Within this Amazon chapter, there are tons of little hints here and there about how to save on shipping costs, how to pin sellers against each other to receive a lower price point than what is advertised, and even which holidays are best to make big-item purchases.
One of the lesser-publicized features of Amazon.com is Amazon Warehouse Deals.
Amazon Warehouse Deals, by definition from the FAQ pages of Amazon, is “a business of Amazon that sells open-box & used products as well as renting out textbooks. [Amazon provides] customers with a trusted source to buy open-box and pre-owned products at a discounted price.”
There are hundreds of thousands of products listed each day at steeply reduced costs to the consumer, all because of packaging issues, slight consumer use, or damage during warehouse transit. The levels of these issues are described in the screenshot from Amazon below:
Most of the products listed through warehouse deals that we’ve found fall in line with the, “I purchased this, opened it up and decided I don’t want it” distinction of the products that come back to Amazon from consumers.
In order to test it out of the program, we ordered something to gauge its condition. Granted, we, a) actually wanted this item, and b) researched the condition of it first. We ordered an Audio Technica AT-LP60BK Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Stereo Turntable. The condition was described in the image below:
This turntable new normally retails at $99 – so at a Warehouse Deals cost of $68, that’s roughly a 30 percent discount. The description didn’t scare us too much, so we made the purchase.
Two days later, the order arrived inside of a typical Amazon box, and the turntable box inside looked like this:
The item appeared completely normal and worked fine!
While we can imagine every Amazon Warehouse Deal isn’t as great as this, we weren’t surprised at the level of savings, as Amazon often still makes a profit from these offers.
We tried some other items too, including a 16-pack of mixed nut snack packs. The box had been damaged, so they arrived in two clear-bag-packed 8-packs.
For $6 (reduced from an original price of $29), that’s not too bad.
These items, however, can sell quickly, especially within categories like electronics.
If you are looking for a specific product on Warehouse Deals and you find it, it’s likely best to buy it immediately, rather than risk someone snagging it from you.
Happy Amazon Warehouse Deals hunting, and may the prices be ever in your favor!
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