Today I’m turning the spotlight on one of my own personal favourite sidelines.

I’ve been an Amazon Vine reviewer for over ten years now. In some ways, as you’ll see below, it’s been the most profitable sideline I’ve ever had.

For those who don’t know, Amazon Vine is a programme run by Amazon where they send products free of charge to selected individuals (known as ‘Vine Voices’) in exchange for reviewing them. You don’t get paid for these reviews, but you do get to keep the item concerned.

You might imagine that the main thing reviewers get is books. It’s true that these are on offer, but of course Amazon sell plenty of other things as well. In the time I’ve been a Vine Voice I’ve reviewed all the following…

• lawnmower
• saucepan set
• vacuum cleaners (three of them!)
• air purifier
• clothes airer
• hair-dryer
• back-massager
• suitcases
• cordless iron
• microphone
• bathroom bin
• mobile phone
• Scotch whisky
• tablet computer
• and many more!

Here’s an example of a recent Vine review I submitted, so you can see how they look when published. This was for a solar-powered security light, and as you can see I included a photo as well. This isn’t obligatory, but Amazon encourage reviewers to include photos and/or videos where relevant.

Permalink to review on Amazon website

The most valuable item I have ever had as a Vine Voice was a £1200 gaming laptop. Considering that I only had to write a couple of hundred words about it, that probably counts as my best-paid writing job ever!

Rules for reviewers

Does being a Vine Voice have any drawbacks? Well, not really, but it does have certain rules you have to adhere to. 

For starters, you can’t just pick anything to review. As a Vine Voice you get access to a dedicated web page where a range of products is set out and you can pick any you wish to review. 

As you might expect, there are limited stocks of review products, and popular ones tend to be snapped up quickly. So you have to get in the habit of checking what is available regularly, and act quickly when you see something you want.

Another slight drawback is that you’re not allowed to sell or otherwise dispose of third-party products you receive straight away. You have to keep them for at least six months, after which they officially become yours to do with as you wish. This doesn’t apply to Amazon’s own products, which become yours immediately.

• That being said, in ten years I have never been asked to return any product I was sent for review. But it could happen, and if you have disposed of it before six months are up, you could in theory lose your Vine Voice status.

You have 30 days to review any products you order, and you are expected to review them all, whether you like them or not. In the latter case you should be as honest as possible about why you disliked the product, and try to mention any good points about it as well. 

FInally, as a new VIne reviewer you are placed in what Amazon describe as the Silver Tier, where you can request up to three items per day of a maximum value of £82. Experienced reviewers who meet the required standard are promoted to the Gold Tier and can then request up to eight items per day of any value.

How do you become a Vine Voice?

Ah, that’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it? I never actually applied to Amazon. I had reviewed a few products on the Amazon website – not a huge number, mainly books and music CDs. And out of the blue I received an email inviting me to join.

And that’s the thing. You can’t just submit an application to Amazon. It’s invitation only, so you have to wait for the call to come. New reviewers are constantly being recruited, though, so you can boost your chances by regularly submitting reviews of Amazon products. Obviously you won’t receive remuneration for these, but it’s all good practice and effectively represents your letter of application.

At the risk of stating the obvious, you need to create high-quality reviews that gain good feedback and ‘helpful’ votes from customers. Your reviews should be honest, mention both positives and negatives, and answer the sorts of question a potential buyer might ask before buying the item concerned. 

If you do this regularly, there is every chance your contributions will be noticed by Amazon and you will then receive an invitation to become a Vine Voice. 

Good luck, and happy reviewing!

As always, if you have any comments about this article, please do post them below..

Nick Daws writes for Pounds and Sense, a UK personal finance blog aimed especially (though not exclusively) at over-fifties.

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links.

Photo Credits: Pexels

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Amazon is Britain’s – and the world’s – favourite online store. 

They offer a vast range of products, their website is quick and easy to use, and you can see ratings and reviews from other buyers before purchasing. I’ve always found their customer service first rate as well.

Prices on Amazon are generally competitive, but over the years I’ve discovered a variety of ways to ensure you get the best value for money from them. So here are my top ten tips for saving money on Amazon…

1. Always search for the product you are thinking of ordering on eBay as well. Often you will find the same product there, and sometimes cheaper as well. Of course, you will want to check that the eBay seller has good feedback and the delivery charges are reasonable.

2. If you’re going with Amazon, as long as your total order value is over £25 (£10 in the case of eligible books) delivery is normally free. If you’re just under this amount, it can make sense to buy a small item to bring it up to the magic £25. Before I joined Amazon Prime (see below) I often bought a pen for this purpose. I can always use more pens!

3. If you can’t find a small item for the right price, visit Filler Checker UK. At this website you can enter whatever price you require to bring your order up to the free delivery threshold. It will then list items you can add to your order to achieve this.

4. You might also want to think about signing up with Amazon Prime. This service requires a fee (£9.95 a month or £95 a year) but for that you get free next-day delivery of millions of products on Amazon. There is a range of extra benefits for Prime members as well, including instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows, free borrowing of Kindle e-books, and secure, unlimited photo storage with anywhere access. If you’re a regular Amazon customer it’s well worth considering Amazon Prime, especially as you can try it free for 30 days.

5. Prices on Amazon go up and down to a surprising extent. Recently I was looking at a snazzy digital radio for under £50. I went back the next day and found it had gone up to over £100. To keep track of the price of any item you are interested in, you can sign up at the oddly named Camel Camel Camel and they will notify you by email if/when the price of your chosen product falls below a certain level. You can also install their ‘Camelizer’ browser extension to view the price history of any item on Amazon.

6. Check out the Today’s Deals link at the top of most Amazon pages. Items listed here include Top Deals, LIghtning Deals and Warehouse Deals. The latter are pre-owned and refurbished items, and you can pick up some real bargains.

7. If there is something you buy regularly – e.g. vitamin pills or nappies – you may be able to save money by placing a regular order using Subscribe and Save. S&S typically offers a 10% price reduction initially that can increase to 15% with repeat orders over time. For some products the saving is lower, with a 5% initial reduction increasing to 10% over time. You can of course cancel your subscription at any time.

8. Watch out for promotional events on Amazon, including Prime Day (which has lots of special deals for Prime members) and their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales in the run-up to Christmas. Some of the best discounts feature Amazon’s own products such as their Echo smart speakers with Alexa. These are typically on offer for as little as half the normal price during these events.

9. If you use cashback sites such as Quidco and Topcashback – and as I said in this recent Mouthy Money article you definitely should – you may be able to take your cashback in the form of Amazon vouchers. Typically you will get a few percent more this way than if you ask for money. Several market research and survey sites also offer Amazon vouchers as a payment option. Shop and Scan is one that I have done well from myself and Mobile Xpression is another.

10. Finally, leave reviews of the products you buy on Amazon. Not only is this public-spirited, it may lead to an invitation to become a Vine Voice (as I am) and get products free in exchange for reviewing them. I will talk more about this in an article for Mouthy Money soon.

I hope you find these tips helpful. If you have any comments or questions – or other tips of your own to share – please do leave them below.

Nick Daws writes for Pounds and Sense, a UK personal finance blog aimed especially (though not exclusively) at over-fifties.

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links.

Photo Credits: Unsplash

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Amazon Prime subscribers got a lot more benefits than you might think – and it can even stretch to money off your takeaway.

That’s because you can get access to a deal with Deliveroo, that can get you some discounts.

Here’s everything you need to know, and how to claim it.

What is in the deal exactly?

All Amazon Prime members can get access to Deliveroo Plus. This usually costs you £3.49 a month for normal subscribers.

You’ll get access for 12 months, so over the course of the year, it’s a £40 saving.

Deliveroo Plus gets you free delivery on orders over £25 at selected restaurants. Usually this can cost £4.49 for each delivery… which can add up to a lot of money if you get takeaway regularly.

It also gives you access to exclusive discounts and deals only available to Deliveroo Plus subscribers.

To get the deal, you’ll need to head over to the Deliveroo website, where you can find a page to link Deliveroo and Amazon Prime accounts.

Once you’ve signed in, click on the ‘claim with Amazon Prime’ button, to get access to the deal.

You’ll instantly get Deliveroo Plus for 12 months, but luckily once the time ends, you won’t be automatically signed up for payments continuing the membership.

There are two different membership options (either silver or gold), but as part of the deal, you’ll be signed up to the silver membership.

Even if you order Deliveroo infrequently, you could still be saving £10s or £100s of pounds if you order for the whole family.

Why should I care?

Lots of people have an Amazon Prime subscription, so it’s great to have this deal as an option if you wanted to order takeaway.

The options for food delivery are usually much better on Deliveroo, so you can get a Bella Italia, KFC or Toby Carvery at home without paying extortionate costs for the privilege.

What’s the catch?

You do have to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal, and also have a Deliveroo account.

Not all restaurants are included in the free delivery offer, so your favourites might not be on there. It’s worth having a look to see what the offer does include however.

The minimum spend to get the free delivery is £25, so it is still quite a lot to spend. If you are choosing to eat at places like Bella Italia however, you should have no issue hitting the spend limit.

What other options do I have?

Sometimes you’ll see offers and voucher codes for Just Eat and Uber Eats, so it’s worth having a look around for codes before you buy.

If you can get 10-25% off your food bill, that may actually add up to a higher amount saved than just getting free delivery.

Where can I find out more?

Head over to the Deliveroo website to link your Amazon Prime account. It should take less than a few minutes, and could mean a nice saving.

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

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There’s nothing better than the reduced section or yellow sticker aisle at the supermarket – but did you know Amazon also has one?

Although you won’t be able to pick up a 10p lasagne, you can find discounts on a number of tech and homeware items – and now there’s a bonus 20% off all Amazon Warehouse items too.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is in the deal exactly?

Amazon Warehouse is a part of Amazon’s website that sells items that were either returned partially used, opened, have a damaged box or a slightly damaged item (that’s still usable).

A whole host of items are added on here, and it can be a bit like a jumble sale. The most popular categories of items are ‘Computer & Accessories’, ‘Home & Kitchen’, ‘Electronics & Photo’ and ‘Home Improvement’ – but you can find a whole host of other items on there.

To find out the condition of an item, click on what you’re interested in buying, and it should tell you why the product is on Amazon Warehouse just under the ‘Buy Now’ button on the right hand side.

For example – an Xbox gaming headset, the ‘Hyper X’ is £47.39 on Amazon Warehouse (usually costs £59.99 brand new). In the description, it says ‘Used – Acceptable Condition’, which means there may be a few cosmetic marks on the item.

If you’re not worried about that, it’s a decent saving – and the extra 20% off deal will drop the price down further to £37.91.

The 20% off Amazon Warehouse items is a blanket sale off most items, and the discount is added at the checkout. There’s no code to enter, and it’s available until 31st December 2022.

So if there’s anything on the Amazon Warehouse that takes your fancy – you can currently get it even cheaper.

Why should I care?

If you’re looking for cheaper Christmas gifts, this could be a great way to get items at a cut down price.

It might not be easy searching for specific products, but if you’re stuck for ideas, it might give you a bit of inspiration.

It’s also a good place to keep in the back of your mind too, as there might be good deals that pop up here from time to time.

What’s the catch?

The items listed can be very hit and miss. You can find things as random as a children’s slide up to a Lenovo laptop – so you may have a little trial and error to get something that you actually needed.

The 20% off is valid on most items, but some might be exempt. Do check the listings when you click on an item you want.

What other options do I have?

If you wanted to get a bit adventurous, you can buy returns pallets from a number of different retailers – but you won’t know what’s in them until they arrive.

There may also be outlets or reduced sections of other high street retailers too. One example is Schuh Imperfects, where you can buy ex-display shoes at a discounted price.

Where can I find out more?

Head over to the Amazon Warehouse page, and see if there’s anything that is worth getting your hands on.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

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In a blow to customers, the recently-announced Amazon price increase is the first hike in eight years for its Prime members.

Although it’s only a small increase, it’s another bill increasing during this cost-of-living crisis.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, there are a few ways to cut back the cost of your Amazon Prime subscription.

Here’s all the details of the price increase, and what you can do to help it.

Amazon Price Hike

Both monthly and annual subscriptions to Amazon Prime will be affected (other subscriptions such as Amazon Music and Kindle Unlimited will remain unchanged).

The monthly charge of a subscription will increase from £7.99 to £8.99 per month, while the annual cost will go from £79 to £95.

For monthly users, you’ll be paying £1 more per month to have access to Prime.

There’s also a sneaky price increase for annual subscribers. Previously, purchasing a £79 annual subscription saved you £16.88 per year rather than having a monthly subscription.

Now however, upgrading from your £8.99 monthly charge to the £95 annual charge will only save you £12.88.

Luckily, it’s not an immediate price increase, as the new pricing will take effect on 15th September 2022 – giving you a few months more at the normal lower price.

A spokesperson for Amazon says of the pricing increase:”We have increased the number of products available with fast, unlimited Prime delivery, recently added ultra-fast fresh grocery delivery, and have significantly expanded our high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, games, and books.

“With increased inflation and operating costs in the UK continuing to rise, we will change the price of Prime.”

What Can I Do About It?

As the price increase isn’t for a few months, there are a few things that you can do. Firstly, if you get an annual subscription now, you can lock in the cheaper price through until next year – paying £79.

By locking in the price, you’ll be saving £16 rather than waiting to renew at the higher price.

Obviously if you’re on a monthly subscription and wanted to do it strategically, you could wait until the day before the price rise (14th September) and purchase the annual deal to get the most out of the cheaper price.

It’s also worth having a hard look at how much you use Prime as a subscriber. If you don’t order as much from Amazon as you used to… it might be worth cancelling.

There’s nothing to stop you reactivating your membership for a month at times you might be ordering more, such as Christmas and birthdays.

Are There Any Other Tricks To Save Money On Prime?

If more than two people in the same house you’re living in are paying for Prime subscriptions – there’s money pouring down the drain.

Amazon offer a service called ‘Amazon Household’, which will reduce the cost of your subscription if you have several people in your home who want to use it.

Amazon Household lets you link Amazon accounts with one other adult that you live with, letting you share the benefits of Prime, while only paying for one subscription.

So for example, if you and your spouse both pay for Prime separately, you can join Amazon Household, pick a person to pay the bills and you both have access to Prime. You still keep separate logins and accounts, but you pay half as much.

While the price might be going up, you can still make it work with a few tricks. We can only hope that this isn’t indicative of more price rises to come.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

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LISTEN: Mouthy Money co-editor Edmund Greaves appears on talkRADIO to discuss Amazon Prime day, including tips on how to find if deals are really up to scratch, how many under-35s need parental help to get on the housing ladder, and why your bank might soon be paying you to take out a mortgage. Listen in the Soundcloud player below.

With thanks to talkRADIO.

Photo by Jessica Lewis from Pexels

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