Is Amazon’s Subscribe and Save Worth It?

Key Takeaways

• Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program offers up to 15% off on repeat deliveries with flexible scheduling.
• Be mindful of price fluctuations—Amazon’s prices can fluctuate with each shipment.
• Amazon’s prices aren’t always the lowest; a LendEDU study found that Costco often offered better deals.
• For the best value, compare Subscribe and Save prices with local retailers to balance cost and convenience.

People looking to save a few bucks every month might be interested in Amazon’s Subscribe and Save. This program allows consumers to sign up for automatic deliveries of their favorite items.

They can save up to 15 percent on the items, and they can cancel the subscription at any time. If you are still asking if Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program is worth it, then let’s take a deeper look at the way the program works.

How Amazon’s Subscribe and Save works

Currently, tens of thousands of items are eligible for Subscribe and Save. These items are found in the Subscribe and Save Store.

You start by looking through a variety of categories, including grocery, household supplies, and personal care, and choose the items they want.

You then add these items to your shopping cart and select how often you would like to have them shipped to your home. Delivery frequencies range from one, two, three, four, five, to six months. The most common delivery frequency option is every three months.

Doing so allows you to see how much you’ll save with each order. The amount saved can vary from 5 to 15 percent. Orders can easily also be canceled or postponed whenever needed, and shipping is completely free.

Here’s an example

A consumer decides to have paper towel delivered to their home every month. By making this selection, the consumer nets a savings of 15% off the regular purchase price.

The paper towel is automatically shipped to the consumer’s house at the selected time for free. When the consumer goes on vacation for a three weeks, the delivery for that month is postponed and resumes when the consumer returns.

Issues with Subscribe and Save

On the surface, Subscribe and Save is an excellent way to save money on orders. However, it does have some issues that must be examined:

• You can’t put the order on autopilot. Prices on items can change from one month to the next, and consumers are then charged the new price. Amazon sends an email 10 days prior to shipment, so you can avoid this problem by looking over the email and ensuring the price is right. However, that means you can’t just put the system on autopilot—you must pay attention to each shipment.
• Inconsistent prices. The first issue illustrates a problem that’s common with Amazon’s prices in general. The retailer uses a dynamic pricing structure, so prices can vary widely from day to day and month to month. It’s not the same as going into a grocery store that typically has the same prices from one month to the next.
• You may not save the most money possible. When you put your purchases on auto-delivery, you may miss out on other deals retailers run on items. It’s easy to forget to comparison shop when getting something delivered automatically.

Is Subscribe and Save the best deal?

According to LendEDU’s data, Subscribe and Save is not the best deal out there. The study compared prices between Amazon and Costco and found that Amazon shoppers spend quite a bit more on the same items.

LendEDU compared 38 identical products at Costco and Amazon and found that Amazon’s products were 56.48 percent more expensive. These products ranged from the Apple iPad to Splenda sweetener.

The biggest price differences were found in food and beverage products. For instance, a Butterball Fresh Hen Turkey was $0.99 per pound at Costco. That same turkey was $3.77 per pound on Amazon.

Amazon did manage to narrow the gap with technology products. While Costco still offered savings on many products, the gap wasn’t nearly as big. For example, the Apple 12.0-inch iPad Pro 256GB Space Gray was $899.99 at Costco. The same iPad was $949.25 on Amazon.

How can you save the most money?

While it’s nice to have products delivered to your front door, you might save more money at some brick-and-mortar retailers. You’re typically paying for convenience when you sign up for Subscribe and Save at Amazon.

When deciding which approach to take, always consider what is most important to you. Do they want to pay a little more and stay home, or save some money by going to the local Costco? 

By asking yourself what is most important to you and how you want to spend your time and money, you could decide if Amazon Subscribe and Save worth it.