How to use the Amazon Deal Finder to get discounts

Miss Thrifty writes: Daniel from the Best Money Saving Blog got in touch to let me know how much money he had been saving by using the Amazon Deal Finder tool on the MoneySavingExpert site. I hadn’t come across this tool before, so Daniel has kindly written this post to spill the beans… 

For the past few weeks now I’ve been having fun with this great little Amazon tool I found on MoneySavingExpert. One of my recent posts was about how I managed to find a cheap Accurist watch using this tool.

Today I’ll take you through the tool and show you how to find what you’re looking for at very generous prices – and as we’re clinging onto the end of the summer, I’ll concentrate on summer products.

As you can see from the diagram, you have to pick a department of Amazon along with the optional choice to pick a sub category. All departments from Amazon are there, so pick the most appropriate one for you.

Next, you need to pick your discount. If you put between 50% and 100%, the items appearing in your search will all be half price or less. Then, pick a price range and choose how you want the products to be sorted. Although there isn’t much choice here, you can alter your search when you get on to Amazon.

When this is all done, you click to build a discount page. I’ve chosen to build a page for BBQs, 30% to 100% discount and between £50 and £100.  The results, sorted by price, are here.

Although we live in Britain, we still get the occasional sunny day, so I’ll have a look for a pair of sunglasses. Paying between £2 and £5 for a non branded pair of aviators that offer you no UV protection isn’t beneficial as you might damage your eyesight, so I’ll search for a pair between £20 and £50 with a discount of 30%. Here are those results.

Last of all, the summer isn’t the summer without a pair of flip flops – and if you’re not careful in choosing a decent pair, you might get a nasty blister or two. I’ve put the maximum price to £20 and set the discount to between 50% and 100%. The results showed mostly children’s pairs so I clicked men’s and got these results.

This tool isn’t going to find you a brand new car for £1, but if you’re doing an online shop, it’s really worth taking a look at first. Amazon, as well having their own store, host products for so many merchants – and because it’s so huge, some merchants are prepared to offer massive discounts in order to sell.

So get on the MoneySavingExpert Amazon saving tool and find out for yourself.

 This post was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance.