How to Save Money Buying Used Items on Amazon

$93 gym shoes for $51. A $200 Bose Bluetooth speaker for $154. A $49 keyboard for $43. These aren’t special sales. They’re everyday discounts. In this article, I’m going to show you how you can save money almost every time you shop on Amazon, with literally just thirty seconds of extra work.

I buy a lot of things on Amazon. Part of that is because I’ve been setting up a new household after an international move, but let’s face it: it’s a super convenient service to get pretty much anything you can imagine, from oat milk to power tools. Especially if you have Prime. Especially in covid times. I have a few tips and tricks to share about Amazon in upcoming articles, but if you’re an Amazon shopper, I want to start out by telling you about one of the easiest money-saving tips out there: Buying Used.

Now, if the idea of buying something used just made your budding excitement sour into a skeptical, uncomfortable, that’s-not-for-me feeling, stay with me: Used doesn’t have to mean run down, worn out, or dubious. It doesn’t have to mean a hassle (though sometimes a hassle is worth it!) And in many cases, you would be hard pressed to even spot the difference between the new and the used product. For example, I recently saved almost ten percent on a kettlebell that I bought used off of Amazon. The catch? There was a small tear in the cardboard packaging. Le gasp.

These used products are mostly items that have been returned to Amazon for one reason or another. Amazon has a gracious return policy: in a nutshell, you can return almost anything, usually within a 30-day window. As you can imagine, Amazon must receive thousands of items back every single day, for all kinds of reasons. They resell these items in a carefully curated program, creating deals all over the site for clever foxes!

How do I get these fabulous prices?

You just have to know where to look on the page. When you’ve found the product you want on Amazon, instead of clicking the “Add to Cart” button, scroll down and look for a box that says something like “New & Used from…”, and click on that. 

In this example on Amazon.com, a used version of this pot set can be found for $115 less than the New price. It happens to be a “Like New” offer, too!

If you’re using the Amazon mobile app, scroll down past the Add to Cart button. You’ll find the used offers just before the reviews and “About this item” sections.

You won’t always find used offers because not every product has offers available at all times. It depends on whether somebody has returned something recently, and some items aren’t appropriate to re-sell (opened medicine, for example). I talk more about what to do if you don’t see an offer for the product you want below.

How Amazon classifies used products

When an item comes back to Amazon, it gets processed through a program called Amazon Warehouse. This process involves inspecting, repackaging, and determining whether the item can be re-sold, and in what condition. With Amazon Warehouse, products get categorized as follows:

• Renewed
• Used – Like New
• Used – Very Good
• Used – Good
• Used – Acceptable

Here’s a link to Amazon’s own descriptions of these conditions, but let me break it down for you:

Let’s start with the Used – Like New. This is the safest bet. It typically means the original packaging is damaged or has been replaced, but the item is pristine. The situation is often as simple as a previous customer opened the item and then changed their mind. You’ve probably been in this situation yourself, if you’ve ever changed your mind about a product: you return the item, which is flawless, but the packaging has been torn up. Nobody wants to pay “New” prices and receive torn-open packaging, but with a little tape or a replacement box, the returned item becomes a great Like New deal for a savvy shopper.

My deeply discounted gym shoes were like that. Perhaps the previous customer tried them on and didn’t like the fit. No big deal, right? To be classified as Like New, those shoes are expected to be in perfect condition (and they were). Not “Oh there’s a bit of dirt or a scuff on them…” Not “Oh they look like they’ve been worn to a workout…” Not “Oh there’s a smell…” Perfect.

Used – Very Good items are almost perfect, but they might have very minor signs of use. Or occasionally they might be missing some kind of accessory. The emphasis here is on “very minor”. While the product isn’t pristine, there are no major blemishes because anything significant gets downgraded to Good or Acceptable. There can be a lot of excellent value at this level, with defects you might only notice when you’re actively looking for them.

Used – Good and Used – Acceptable items show a little more wear and tear, or are missing more components, with Acceptable being the lowest level. I think hard before buying products at these levels because the cosmetic damage or missing parts may be off-putting, but the discounts at these tiers can be very attractive. And hey, sometimes the cosmetic damage is unimportant. I’d buy an “Acceptable” gym weight, but probably not an “Acceptable” frying pan. A “Good” book might be just fine, too!

Renewed is a special category that you tend to see mostly with electronics. Products in this category have been inspected or repaired by a technician, passed certain checks, and had any missing accessories replaced. Cosmetically, the item will have “minimal to no signs of wear”. See this guide to seller-refurbished products for more information. You’ll sometimes Amazon Renewed on the page or see the words Renewed in parentheses for a product where this as option. Learn more about this seller

How do I pick the right deal?

Typically, there are multiple used offers for a product, and the list will be sorted by price. Each offer will tell you the classification, the price, the delivery time, and whether Prime or Free Shipping applies. There may be pictures of the item.

Some offers, especially in the Like New and Very Good categories, get condition reports that make clear exactly what’s up with the product so you aren’t left guessing. Don’t forget to read the full condition report for the deal you’re eyeing, if available, and note that the wear and tear on an item can vary even within the same category.

Here is an example of two identically priced Very Good offers, where one mentions specific cosmetic issues and the other does not:

That’s not to say the top offer above won’t have any cosmetic issues – it is classified as Very Good instead of Like New, after all – but it’s usually a safer bet. At least within the Like New and Very Good categories, my experience has been that if there is no condition report or it doesn’t say much, that’s a good sign. And if something like an accessory is missing, you can expect it to be called out.

When there’s multiple offers at the same classification level, you might pick the one you want based on factors like price, shipping time, and condition report. One thing to bear in mind is that there is typically only one item for each offer in the list! The available offers right now may be gone later in the day, especially if it’s a good deal or an in-demand item. (Bonus tip: Conversely, if you don’t see an attractive offer today and can afford to wait, you can come back to the product and check later! I’ve seen offers come and go in as little as ten minutes.)

Shipping times can vary, and even when Prime is applicable, the estimated delivery date might be a little longer than you’d expect. This is because the specific item in question may be at a further-away warehouse. You’ll notice that sometimes one offer might be a day away while another offer will take a week to arrive, so you can factor that in when picking the right offer for your situation.

When your product has options

Many items on Amazon have options to select. In the image of the pot set, there were options for both color and number of pieces. If you’re buying shoes, you have to select your shoe size and probably choose your color. If you’re buying an electronic item like wireless earbuds, they might be available in black or white. And so on…

What’s important to know is that the offers available will change based on the selected options. You need to pick your options first.

If you want to be a really clever fox, here’s where some flexibility can land you a deal: Maybe you’re equally happy with a couple different options. For example, when I was ordering my gym shoes, there were *thirty* different colors to pick from (I guess Reebok’s art department couldn’t decide what to run with!) I didn’t have a strong preference: there were a few colors I didn’t like, but plenty I was happy with. So I clicked through the colors one by one, in my size, and looked at the New & Used offers to find the best deal. The majority of colors had no offers in my size, but I found a couple, including the $42 off deal.

Return policy and warranty

Amazon generally gives you the same 30-day return policy on their Amazon Warehouse items as they do on new products (and a full 90 days for “Renewed” category items). This gives you plenty of peace of mind that you have time to return it if you don’t like it, if the condition is not as-advertised, if it breaks right away, or if it doesn’t work out (e.g. if a pair of shoes doesn’t fit you).

Amazon notes that these used items generally won’t come with the original manufacturer’s warranty. Personally, my comfort level with this depends on the item. I’m not particularly concerned with the warranty on most purchases, but I might think harder about it on a gadget or electronic. That being said, it’s helpful to reframe the savings vs. having the warranty as an “insurance cost”. For example, if you’re saving $20 on a $75 item, you might ask yourself “Would I pay $20 for a one-year warranty, or would I rather keep the $20?”. Looking at it that way, it usually becomes clear that I’d rather have the savings up front in most cases!

It all adds up

It’s exciting to save $115 on a pot set, but I also get excited about getting an office desk organizer for $11 in Like New condition vs. paying $13 new. That might not sound like the deal of the century: it is about a 15% discount in percentage terms, to be fair, but sure, it’s only $2 in absolute terms. But putting even $2 back in your pocket for taking thirty seconds to click a few extra buttons is a pretty good use of time for most of us, and it all adds up. You also never know how good the discounts will be, so it’s always worth checking!

So to sum up, buying used products from Amazon Warehouse is one of the easiest ways to save cash – sometimes serious cash – every time you make a purchase. Personally, I also feel good about re-circulating a used product rather than putting another new item out into the world.

I hope this article helps you save some money on your next purchase. Please reach out if you have questions, and let us know in the comments what bargains you find!