COVER FEATURE
ULTIMATE HACKS FOR AMAZON
Enhance your Amazon experience by unlocking amazing discounts, accessing hidden features and removing device restrictions. Robert Irvine reveals 22 of the most useful secret tricks
When Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered a major global outage at the end of October, many of us initially feared Amazon itself had been hacked. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case because AWS is separate from the retail business, and the problem was caused by a software bug rather than hackers.
Although Amazon has suffered a few security incidents – for example in 2018, when some customer information was exposed just before Black Friday (www.snipca.com/56886) – it has never been hacked in its 30 years of existence. Until now, that is, because we’re going to reveal the best ways you can hack Amazon.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Find the best items on Amazon that cost less than £10
• Set up price-drop alerts to get the best Black Friday deals
• Fast-forward through the ad breaks on Prime Video TV shows
• Free up space on a Fire TV Stick without uninstalling apps
• Install the Google Play Store on your Fire tablet
• Turn your Echo speaker into a two-way intercom
Before you call the cyber police on us, we don’t mean breaking into Amazon’s systems and stealing account data, but using secret tricks to improve your favourite Amazon services and devices. Some of our hacks relate to Amazon features you may have missed, either because they’re tucked away or were introduced only recently. Others involve using clever third-party tools to unlock hidden discounts and improve your Amazon experience.
Whether you want to save money on your Black Friday and Christmas shopping, fix frustrations with Prime Video and Alexa, or beat restrictions on your Fire TV or tablet, we’ve got the hacks you need. Most are free, all are legal, and they’ll make Amazon cheaper, easier and more flexible to use.
SECRET HACKS FOR
AMAZON SHOPPING
Buy ultra-affordable items from Amazon Haul
Whether you’re looking for stocking fillers or useful items for yourself and your home, you’ll find bargains galore at Amazon Haul (www.snipca.com/56828). Launched in the UK in August, this new section of the store – presumably inspired by Temu (www.snipca.com/56861) – sells thousands of ‘ultra-affordable’ products for under £20. The majority are priced at less than £10.
Haul sells everything from clothes and electronics to kitchen utensils and DIY tools, or you can head straight to the ‘Crazy low’ and ‘Under £5’ categories to find the very cheapest deals. There’s also a section of the top 100 ‘finds’ – at the time of writing these included a 115-piece precision screwdriver kit for £5.84, a smart leather wallet for £6.37 and a two-pack cable holder for just £1.45.
Unlike the main Amazon store, you only need to spend £15 at Amazon Haul to qualify for free delivery (see screenshot below), though it may take a week for your order to arrive.
Amazon Haul sells bargain-price products with free delivery over £15
Buy returned and refurbished products
You can save a lot of money on your Black Friday and Christmas shopping – or at any other time of year – by buying items from Amazon that are ‘like-new’ rather than brand new. This allows you to purchase products you might not otherwise be able to afford, which are still in full working order and covered by Amazon’s 30-day return policy.
Formerly called Amazon Warehouse, Amazon Resale (www.snipca.com/56829) sells goods that have been returned to the store, often for 30-per-cent less than their original price. Its categories include ‘Computers & Accessories’, ‘Home & Kitchen’ and Books.
Amazon Renewed sells refurbished products with a one-year warranty
Amazon grades the condition of Resale products, from ‘Used – Acceptable’ (may have cosmetic damage or missing parts) to ‘Used – Like New’ (perfect condition with all accessories, but “packaging may bear some damage”).
If that doesn’t sound good enough – especially for a Christmas present – try Amazon Renewed (www.snipca. com/56830). This section of the store sells electronic items that have been professionally refurbished by the manufacturers or approved Amazon partners, then inspected and rigorously tested so they look and function like new. Renewed is particularly useful for bargain-price laptops, smartphones and kitchen appliances, and refurbished models of Amazon’s own products.
We spotted a ‘certified refurbished’ Ring Battery Video Doorbell Pro for £99 (40 per cent off the new price of £180) and a Kindle Paperwhite (16GB) for £115 (new price £144, see screenshot above). All products sold through Amazon Renewed are covered by Amazon’s one-year guarantee.