Amazon Subscribe and Save

Amazon subscribe and save is a great feature of Amazon that lets you make recurring purchases of items you normally stock up on and save money while doing so.

Not only is Amazon subscribe and save completely free for the buyer, but it also always saves the buyer money. Consumers will save anywhere between 5% and 15% off their total order, depending on how many products they are purchasing at any given time.

Sellers can also benefit just as much, if not more, as buyers from subscribe and save. By making their products eligible for subscribe and save, while they have to pay a small fee, they are ensuring regular, reliable sales for their products making this a win-win for buyers and sellers alike.

With IO Scout you can read on below for all the ins and outs about Amazon subscribe and save and how buyers can save money on a variety of products, while sellers can gain the reliability of regular income.

What is Amazon Subscribe and Save?

Whether you are buying or selling, you can take advantage of this amazing component of Amazon. Every time you go to the grocery store, you might buy the same item over and over again – maybe a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread. Amazon lets you make those repeat purchase with ease. Subscribe and save Amazon is great for a few reasons:

Convenience – set up your auto orders to arrive exactly when you want them to. Schedule them around vacations and holidays, and on whatever schedule works for you. Set them up once, and watch your products be delivered to your front door consistently. It does not get much easier than that, and you’ll never run out of dog food again.
Price – you will save money. With Amazon subscribe and save deals, Amazon sells you items at a discount since you are agreeing to order them repeatedly. Remember – if you add 5 or more items to your recurring subscriptions, you will save up to 15% on your order. So, if saving money is a priority, add more items to increase your savings from 5% per order up to closer to 15% on most orders.
Cancellation is easy – if you need to cancel your Amazon subscribe and save, you can do so with the click of a button, and there will be no additional fees. Just click cancel, or you can even just skip specific shipments if you do not want to permanently cancel the order.

With subscribe and save, it has never been easier to shop either in brick and mortar stores or online from the comfort or your fingertips. Add your items to your shopping cart one time, set up recurring orders, and set it and forget it! Never worry again about running out of supplies.

How our Personal Assistant Can Help

If you need some extra help with anything Amazon related, our personal assistant can help you. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you can get the right help whenever you need it. If you are ordering last minute holiday gifts and run into a snag, reach out to our personal assistant with any type of question day or night.

You will chat with a real person online, no automated robots. Even if you have questions about Amazon beyond just the subscribe and save functionalities, we can help with that.

Gone are the days of needing to peruse dozens of help articles in the depths of a Google search or try to participate in webinars to get you up to speed. Save yourself time and energy and just ask a question in our online chat forum and get an immediate answer.

How does Amazon Subscribe and Save Work?

If you had fallen involve with some stores like Walmart doing your shopping for you, and then you pick up your groceries, take it one step further and use subscribe and save. Not only will they pack and ship for you, but the items are delivered right to your home. No pick up required, and you do not need to worry about leaving your house and taking time away from work or your kids.

You can add items to your shopping cart on Amazon. If there is an option to subscribe and save, you will see an option to do so. Click that, and then you will make the following decisions:

What product do you want to buy?
How often do you want it to come? (You can send it daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
What day of the week do you want it to arrive?
Do you want to set an end date for the auto shipment?
What address do you want it sent to?
What is your billing and payment method?

Overall, you should know that buying via Amazon subscribe and save is a little bit different than just placing a regular order on Amazon.

For example, it’s different than clicking “add to basket or shopping cart.” You will be able to specify delivery frequency and “subscribe now,” meaning you can purchase an item for delivery every 3 weeks, 6 weeks, etc.

This is ideal for buying supplies that you run out of regularly like toilet paper, pet food, or even kitchen groceries that you consume regularly and consistently. Think about what you buy at regular intervals, and think of subscribe and save as a way you can save yourself from running errands and just have the items show up at your doorstep.

Two Types of subscribe and save orders

There are essentially two different ways to place an order via subscribe and save.

Sign-up orders – this will be the first time you place an order. Take your time, research what you need to buy and how often you need to purchase it, and sign-up for your order.

Replenishment order – these will be the orders that are placed after you have already ordered the product initially. Chances are, you will not really be placing these orders. Once you get the quantity and shipping frequency right, these replenishment orders will happen automatically without any action required by you!

How Does Amazon Subscribe and Save Work for FBA Sellers?

For FBA sellers, the seller is essentially funding the subscribe and save discount for the buyers. This is still a good program for sellers because it is ensuring that your products are on repeat, recurring buys, and your products will sell efficiently.

There are a few things to know as an FBA seller, if you want to participate in the Amazon subscribe and save program:

Your account must be in good standing
Amazon considers products for subscribe and save eligibility if it meets these criteria:
Fulfillment history and in-stock rate – make sure you keep your items in stock and never have back orders
Sales performance – how is your feedback, and what kind of reviews are you getting from previous sales?
Product category – while there are a lot of categories where you can slot your material in, make sure it fits on one of the preapproved Amazon product categories for subscribe and save
Average selling price – make sure you set your price right – look at your competitors, and find out what the right price is to sell the product at, do not go too high or too low

Consider too that you will have different funding options to choose from. Ultimately, you can choose from three options - 0%, 5%, or 10%. Any subscribers who produce more than 5 subscriptions will become tiered, meaning that Amazon will fund an additional 5%. You can easily manage your funding options from your product page.

FBA sellers can easily track the sales and revenue on their items that are selling on Amazon subscribe and save.

More Tips for FBA Sellers using Amazon subscribe and save

If you still have questions as a seller, here are a few more things you should know about selling your products on Amazon subscribe and save.

Consider customer loyalty as well. If you have a customer buying your products and they get great products with on-time delivery for a year straight, they are going to recommend you to their friends, and buy more products. Amazon subscribe and save is a great way to build relationships with your clientele and establish recurring business relationships.

In addition to getting recurring sales of the same product, you might find that you get the same customers buying more of your products. Once they see you are a reliable seller, they are more apt to click on your seller’s page and see what other products you have available in the subscribe and save. So, another advantage for sellers it that you might soon find yourself selling more of other products than just what is available in subscribe and save.

How to Maximize Your Savings with Amazon Subscribe and Save

For buyers, the goal is to get the most savings possible. Typically, you do not even need to pay for Amazon Prime, as most products are available to everyone, not just Prime members. Be cautious though, some products are limited to “Prime Only,” and if you see those words, then yes buying those items is restricted to only those consumers who are Amazon Prime members.

Here are some of the best ways you can maximize your savings by using Amazon subscribe and save:

Hold the price forever – even if you sign up to ship the product monthly, you can lock the price in and then skip subscriptions anytime you need to, meaning you will be guaranteed the low price but can ship as infrequently as once a year
Use the subscription savings in conjunction with online coupons, which will allow you to save you even more money

The subscribe and save option is probably the easiest way to save money on Amazon. By definition, you are getting the products for cheaper than if you did not subscribe. And, you can change the frequency of shipments at any time.

By using subscribe and save as a buyer, you are automatically purchasing all products at a sale price. When is a sale not a good idea? You can get the same products you are already buying at a cheaper price with automatic delivery – it doesn’t get much better than that!

What Product Categories are available in Amazon Subscribe and Save?

There are a variety of product categories, and you can subscribe and save to just about any type of product category. Here is a list of most of the product categories available:

Kitchen and groceries
Beauty, health, and baby care
Office supplies
Electronics
Automotive parts & tools
Industrial supplies and home improvement
Musical instruments
Outdoors, Lawn & Garden
Sports and toys
Pet supplies

That is a pretty big list, and you should be able to find just about anything you need on that list. Remember, you might be able to slot your product into different categories, making it more versatile and show up on more searches by consumers.

You will not even need to get your wallet out to have items delivered consistently right to your front door. Take advantage of the auto shipping and auto billing and put your credit card back in your wallet.

Amazon Subscribe and Save Tips

There are some pros and cons to using subscribe and save. Let’s look at some tips so you can get the most out of your subscribe and save:

Tip: 5 Item minimum
Pro – there isn’t a rigid 5 item minimum, but if you put at least 5 items in your subscription, you will save more than the 5% minimum, you would get 15%, which can add up to a lot
Con – you might not want to spend extra to save more, and you might feel like you are missing out by not spending the extra money on more products
Tip: You can use Amazon Coupons
Pro – you will save more money with coupons
Con – you might want the item immediately, and there is no coupon available – are you ok with waiting to purchase until a coupon becomes available?
Tip: Do not skip a subscription
Pro: you can skip a subscription at any time, but it is better to delay the shipment instead of skip it. Skipping it removes any coupons or discount you have, while delaying it keeps them in tact
Con: you might want to skip it for good and not delay it, but you will lose some discounts

Now that you know the tips and tricks behind using subscribe and save, it has never been a better time to shop from the comforts of your home. Do not worry about wearing a mask and going to the store, stay safe and stay home and watch the products be delivered to you!

Amazon Subscribe and Save Eligibility Requirements

Products and sellers need to meet a few requirements to become eligible for Amazon subscribe and save:

Most importantly, the product must be available through FBA, and the seller must keep stock at least 85%. If there is not enough stock, the seller runs the risk of running out of product and being unable to meet future demands, so it is critical that the item is well stocked before it is listed for sale through subscribe and save.
The feedback rating of the seller must remain 4.7 or higher in order for the seller to participate in subscribe and save – this accounts for any stray, errant bad reviews. Sometimes things happen outside of sellers control, so the 4.7 cushion allows for a couple of accidents, while still demanding high performance so buyers can rely on sellers to efficiently ship and provide their products.
The seller has to be selling for at least 3 months prior to joining the subscribe and save program – this is just so the seller has a chance to earn feedback and prove that is a reliable seller. Subscribe and save means that sellers have to be able to provide products in the future, and they must have a few months of regular sales in order to prove this efficiency.

Amazon put these requirements in place to protect the buyers. Buyers need to know they are buying quality products from reliable sellers with good feedback ratings and products that meet specifications.

By making their products eligible for subscribe and save, sellers are increasing their reliable income and revenue, making this something sellers should strive to participate in. Regular sales at a small discount are better than not knowing when your next sale will come in even if it comes in at a higher price. 100 sales at $5 are better than 0 sales at $10.

What Product Categories Are Eligible For Subscribe and Save Program?

Some of the most popular categories that you can purchase from are: health and beauty, kitchen and groceries, pet supplies, outdoor and lawn equipment, home improvement, and others.

Remember, as a seller, if you do not see the category listed that you think your product belongs in, you might be able to shoehorn it and re-categorize it as something else that is fit for the Amazon subscribe and save program.

How To Add Products In The Save & Subscribe Program?

Adding products to your shopping cart in the subscribe and save program is easy. You can get started today with Amazon subscribe and save, you just need to follow these steps:

While searching Amazon, locate a Subscribe & Save eligible item
Choose the size, color, and quantity you want to order
Decide and choose how frequently you want the item delivered
Click on the "Subscribe & Save" option and then just click the button for "Subscribe Now"
Take a look at your order details for accuracy
Click the button for "Confirm Subscription"

That’s really all there is to it; it’s not too complicated. Do not forget that you can skip shipments or delay shipments at any time you want. If you are on vacation, or just did not consume as much of something as you usually do, just delay it a month or skip the shipment completely. With Amazon subscribe and save, you are not tied into a contract or something that you cannot cancel free of charge.

How to Track the Subscribe & Save Results?

As a seller, you can easily track your products that are part of subscribe and save. To do so, follow these steps:

Find the Subscribe & Save Performance Results Report
Select “Fulfillment” easily from the drop down on the reports screen on your Seller Central page
You should see a column title “Reports Overview” on the left side of the screen
Lastly, under the Sales part of Seller Central you can locate the Subscribe & Save Performance Results Report

These steps will let you track the success of your products in the subscribe and save program.

For buyers, you can easily manage your subscribe and save shipments my going to the “orders” section of your Amazon account. Under “orders,” you will be able to click on subscribe and save and see everything that you have subscribed to. Then, you can manage your account right from this window, canceling or editing and shipments that you need to.

How can you cancel your subscribe and save amazon account?

Canceling is fairly easy to do with just the clicks of a few buttons on your computer or even from the app on your phone or tablet. Nobody is trying to get you locked into a contract that you can’t get out of. To cancel your subscriptions follow these three easy steps:

In your account on Amazon, go to your Subscribe & Save section
If you have several subscriptions, hover the mouse over the one you wish to cancel
Click on the Edit button
Just click your mouse on Cancel subscription, and then go ahead and confirm the cancellation

It could not be any easier to cancel your subscriptions, making it another reason why subscribe and save is relatively risk-free. You are not committing money, and you are getting at least a 5% discount with every order, and even as much as 15% if you package items together and buy 5 or more at any given time.

FAQ

Both buyers and sellers might still have some questions at this point, and here are some of the most common questions and answers, so you can learn everything there is to know about using Amazon subscribe and save as either the consumer or the seller.

Do not forget – if you have more questions than are listed below, you can always reach out to our Personal Assistant, who is available to help you 24 hours a day with any questions related to any Amazon service. Do not spend too much time scouring for the answers on your own, just reach out to our assistant.

Can I cancel my Amazon subscribe and save subscription after one order?

Yes. There are no minimum orders, and you can cancel your subscriptions at any time with no fees or commitments. You can also skip shipments, or delay shipments, in case you are not quite ready to cancel completely, but just want to pause things for a while. You will not incur any fees to do this either.

How do I manage Amazon Subscribe and Save?

Managing your subscriptions is easy. Just log into your Amazon account and go under the orders setting, there you will find “subscribe and save.” Click that and then all of your subscriptions will show up for you right in one place to easily edit or cancel as needed. You can also manage your account settings directly from App on your phone or tablet with just the touch of a few thumbprints.

Is subscribe and save only for prime?

No, you do not need to be a Prime member to use subscribe and save. Any Amazon user can use subscribe and save. That said, there are certain items that will only ship to Prime users, so be on the lookout for certain products that might be for Prime members only.

Check and see if there is an alternative product available for consumers who are not Prime members. Or reach out to our personal assistant who can help you find other suitable products if you are not a Prime member.

Can I return a subscribe and save item?

Absolutely you can return any item. You can return these items just the same as you would return anything you order from Amazon, as Amazon’s overall return policy applies to subscribe and save products.

Be aware of expiration dates on things like food, and restrictions on returning some health and beauty items, but it is all outlined in Amazon’s return policy. Our personal assistant can also help you with any questions you might have about how to return any products purchased on Amazon.

What do you buyers need to know about the sellers they are buying from?

While FBA sellers are already vetted by nature of being allowed to participate in the subscribe and save program, there are some things you can do as a buyer to make sure you are getting a quality product. Check the seller’s feedback rating and make sure there are not a lot of consistently poor reviews for the seller.

If all looks good on their ratings, you should be good to buy from them. Also, we caution against ruling out a seller for only one or two bad reviews. You want to look at the big picture and how the seller consistently performs over a period of sales.

Is subscribe and save free?

Yes, for buyers subscribe and save is completely free. Not only is it free, but you will save a minimum of 5% off each product that you purchase. And, if you purchase more than 5 products in each shipment, you can save as much as 15% off your total order.

Sellers will be charged a small fee, and will also be selling their products at a small discount, but do not forget – 100 sales at $5 is better than 0 sales at $10. The customer loyalty you will earn and the repetitive, reliable sales will more than make up for any discounts on products or fees you will need to pay as a seller to use Amazon subscribe and save.

Amazon Subscribe and Save Guide