Online Grocery Store

I was recently asked how I use Amazon to save on grocery items.  This includes, for my household, some paper products, personal care items, snacks and some pantry staples.  

I've learned a few things over the past few months and I'm happy to share what I've learned.

First, let me say that I had no idea I could use Amazon to order a pantry staple until Lana mentioned a great price on 2-pound bags of walnuts she'd purchased for $8 a few months ago. I immediately contacted her and asked, "How did you find that deal? And is it still available?"  It was, so I ordered four bags.  I passed one to Sam and Bess, sharing the savings with them.

I felt very comfortable with that price because I'd just priced the bags at Aldi which had been the least expensive option.  I believe at that time 16 ounces were over $6.  Since I typically purchased a bag a month, I knew I'd happily use all I was about to order in bulk.  

Now let me share my tips for shopping Amazon for grocery items.

Where do I source these deals?  I use three sources to find the deals.  Yes, some of the deals are the same across all three sites.  KCL, or Krazy Coupon Lady comes to my email several times daily with fresh deals.  I follow Money Saving Mom, and Hip2Save sites as well.  You do have to sift through a lot of pages because they load a lot of deals daily.  If you like Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Macy's, Lowes, Home Depot and other stores and want to know how to combine coupons with savings these sites will walk you through each week's savings. 

I tend to focus mainly on the Amazon deals because I've tried and used many of their products and as a Prime member, I seldom pay shipping, I know they are quick to resolve any issues and are consistently reliable.

Tip:  I've picked up a number of gifts for the grandchildren's birthdays and Christmas thanks to these sites as well. There have been substantial savings on some wonderful gifts I couldn't otherwise afford.

How do these deals work?  Many of the deals involve a coupon.  Did you know that Amazon has their own coupons?  There's a tab on the home page of the Amazon site!  The coupon is often linked to the deal already, but you might want to check out what other grocery offers are available.  They might not be clearance or super sales, but you may well find something is less at Amazon than at the grocery store.  

In reading through deals, I open those in which I'm the most interested and make sure to note if a coupon is needed to get the low price they are showing.  

Some of the deals involve Amazon's Subscribe and Save service.  This is a service that automatically ships items to you each month.  It's easy to subscribe and nothing will be shipped to you without your prior approval.  You can determine how frequently you'd like to receive an item.  For instance, we'll get coffee nearly every month but toothpaste or sun-dried tomatoes I will opt to get far less often.

Each month, Amazon will send an email telling you exactly what is on your Subscribe and Save list for that month.  You can postpone a shipment until the next shipping cycle, or you can unsubscribe.   There is no penalty for these actions.  You are never locked into anything except that one month's shipment if you don't both to check what is being sent.

I am always careful to check the costs of each item shipping each month because a deal may have expired, no longer making it the best buy.  A few months ago, I ordered six jars of Smucker's Strawberry jam for a great price.  It involved both a coupon and the use of Subscribe and Save.  The deal wasn't so sweet recently when this product came up as an item on my next Sub and Save listing. I unsubscribed from that item at that point.  

Don't let the idea of Subscribe and Save put you off.  It's easy to navigate and KCL has an Amazon tab that will help you understand how to delay items or unsubscribe if you can't figure it out on your own.

Amazon also has Clearance items.  Just go to the Amazon search bar and type in 'Clearance Grocery Items and you'll find pages and pages of clearance priced items.  They have name brand items, house brand items, and names that you may never have heard of before from smaller companies.  

I've had some of all three and never have had an unhappy experience with any of them to date.  

Some of the deals I saw today on clearance that are good buys in my opinion is a five-pound jar of Skippy Peanut Butter for $8.14 with a sub and save subscription, 60-ounces of Chi-Chi's salsa for $7.12.  My best purchase on Chi-Chi's to date was a buy one get one at Publix where it ran around the same price per ounce, 12c.

Happy Belly whole kernel corn in 15.25ounce cans is 79c a can just now which is comparable to Aldi the last time I shopped there.  It may be lower at Aldi now, but compared to other grocery store pricing, this Amazon price is a fairly good deal.

Tip:  Know your prices!  Not every clearance, sub and save item, or coupon deal is a real deal.  I get great deals on Amazon using these sites and methods, but I know what I'd pay at the store for the same items.  Just like the walnuts, I knew I was getting a bargain in ordering them at that price.

Tip:  Some deals are for a limited time frame.  Know how to change ship dates if it's a subscribe and save item, so you can get the item at the best price.  If you are still within the time frame to add a sale item to your sub and save shipment, you can easily click on a button within the subscribe and save that allows you to use the nearest shipping date.  I didn't know this and made my mistake with one item.  Instead of getting a great deal, I got an okay deal, but I learned my lesson.  The next time when I realized I was going to miss out on the sale price through Subscribe and Save because my next shipment date was too far out, I chose to cancel the transaction entirely.  

What if my items arrive damaged?  Amazon can look intimidating when you've encountered a problem.  Just yesterday I navigated around several pages looking for what I needed.  Let me make it just a little bit easier for you.

Go to the HELP page.  There are several tabs you can click on that cover FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and one of those may help you understand exactly what you need to do.  If you don't see the topic that will help you, then click on "Need Help with Another item".  This will carry you to another page where you can then click on "I need more help".  A chat box will open on your screen.  You'll be greeted first by an automated system, but you will be asked if you'd like to speak to an associate.  Click yes and wait.  You will then deal with a live customer service representative who will gladly assist you in whatever difficulty you've encountered.  This past week when I had an unexplained charge it took me longer to navigate the pages than it did to get a refund issued!  

I've used this system only a few times but always with good results.  One of my items was packed with heavier items which shifted and damaged the packaging, contaminating the dry food items within the box. I was refunded for that item without any problem.  The refund often shows up as a gift card balance, but that's no problem since I know I'm going to spend my funds there.

What do I order?  So far, I've ordered Walnuts, as well as coffee k-cups, and ground coffee, that was on sale, jams and jellies, canned soups of various sorts, instant mashed potatoes, mac n cheese for the grandkids.  I've gotten fruit snacks, cookie packets and chip packets (packaged in individual servings), protein bars, cereal, razors, paper plates, sun dried tomatoes. I've ordered vanilla extract, lemon pepper, bay leaves, and Montreal Steak seasoning at great prices too.  I always look for any item that I might be about to buy at the grocery on sale.  

I've just placed an order for cashews and chips today.  They will arrive in my next subscribe and save order this month.  I've ordered clearance priced Reese's pumpkins just after Christmas.  They were cheaper than any candy around, shipped perfectly fine in the cool weather and who cares if it's a pumpkin or not when it's sale priced?  I wouldn't likely order something that would melt in summer temps.

If the snack items don't sound like pantry staples to you, consider this.  I know that come summer, I'll do less baking of sweet items and if I can toss an individual packet of cookies at John, he'll be quite happy.  He won't overeat because I won't have them out where he can access them.  Ditto with chip packets.  Funnily enough, a big bowlful seems to be just fine when I have a party sized bag in the cabinet, but if I put out individual packets, everyone is eating just one serving and for less per ounce than they'd eat even if bought the snacks on sale.  Typically, these snacks are cheaper than buying them at the dollar store.

This past week Kroger had a deal on Doritos 8.5-ounce bag for $2.99.  1-ounce from the big bag, which is NOT all my family would eat, comes in at about 37c.  I've just ordered Cheese Doritos for $12.90 for forty bags.  That comes out to 32c an ounce.  The savings for me is doubled because only one bag will be eaten at a time in a proper serving size and not half a big bag at one sitting by any one person.  I'm just as guilty as the rest, so no stones being slung, just the facts.  

Tip:  Look at what you're purchasing!  John's favorite is Ranch flavored Doritos, but they weren't on sale.  The Cheese Doritos were.   I always check for other flavors in jam, jelly, treats, just in case there's another deal hidden within an offer.  Sometimes there is.  Sometimes, as with today's order of Doritos, there are not.

The day I ordered the Strawberry Jam, I could also buy Apricot and Orange marmalade for the same price.  Peach and Blueberry jams were much higher in costs.  Between what I make here at home and my Amazon order, we're pretty well set for jam for this year.

I hope you all found this helpful.  If you have other questions let me know.  I'll answer all that I can.

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