15 useful Amazon products and services you never knew existed (AMZN)

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Jeff Bezos

  • There are plenty of features and products hidden on Amazon that most people may not know about. 
  • Did you know you can buy replacement car parts on Amazon? Or instantly self-publish on Kindle Direct Publishing?
  • Here are some of the most useful services on Amazon that you may not have known about. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Amazon isn’t exactly a complicated site: All you have to do is log in, browse the product selection, and make a purchase.

But there are some features, products, and pro tips that only dedicated Amazon fans know about.

Here’s how to become an expert Amazon shopper.

Jillian D’Onfro contributed to an earlier version of this post.

SEE ALSO: The fabulous life of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person in the world

1. Looking for replacement car parts? Amazon Garage lets you store your car’s make and model to make it easy to find accessories that will work with your vehicle.

Add cars to your Garage »

2. Amazon also wants to help you unclog your toilet and mow your lawn. Home Services makes it easy to book vetted professionals whenever you need them.

Amazon says select services are available in all 50 states, plus Washington, DC.

Browse what’s available »

3. In 2015, Amazon launched an Etsy competitor called Handmade to help people find products handcrafted by artisans.

So if you’re craving Caramel Frappuccino earrings or a guacamole greeting card, you can find them in Homemade.

Browse the selection »

4. You can also support startups through Launchpad, Amazon’s designated section for fledgling products.

Learn more about how it got started and check out what’s for sale »

5. If you get invited to become an Amazon Vine reviewer, you’ll get free stuff from companies to review.

Vine is Amazon’s small, invitation-only club of elite reviewers. Every month, Amazon sends selected Vine reviewers a list of products. Each person can select two products, and they can keep those items as long as they provide a review within 30 days. Amazon says reviews don’t have to be positive.

Learn more about Amazon Vine »

6. You can use Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to crowdsource “human intelligence tasks” — like identifying photos — to people all over the world.

Mechanical Turk basically gives users access to an on-demand workforce, and it gives people who want to make a little extra money a way to find quick-and-easy online labor. Here are some examples from the site: You can get paid $0.04 a picture to find images of specified real-estate agents or $0.02 to copy text from a picture of a business card.

Learn more about Mechanical Turk »

7. If you’re a teacher, you can check out Amazon Inspire for a bunch of educational resources.

Read more about it and check out the resources on the site »

8. You can get discounts on bulk supplies if you own a business, whether you work in IT or as a janitor.

Register your business »

9. You can get a book published in Amazon’s Kindle store less than 24 hours after submitting it through Kindle Direct Publishing.

Learn more about self-publishing on Amazon »

10. If you live in a city, there’s a good chance you can use Amazon Locker to get your packages dropped off at a secure location while you’re at work.

For people who work all day and don’t want to get personal packages delivered to the office yet can’t make it to the post office before it closes, Locker is a godsend.

Lockers are often in 24-hour facilities — like 7-Elevens — and when you go to pick up your package, you just have to enter a code that was texted or emailed to you to get it.

Check out Amazon Locker »

11. Shop with Amazon Smile, and the company will donate a percentage of your total order to a charity of your choice at no extra cost to you.

12. If you spot an Amazon link on Twitter, you can add the product to your shopping cart by replying with the hashtag #AmazonCart or #AmazonWishList.

13. Are there a few products you buy all the time? You can subscribe to get them regularly. Plus, you’ll get free shipping.

Amazon lets you subscribe to certain items you buy over and over, like toothpaste, toilet paper, or dog food. In exchange for agreeing to buy an item continuously, you’ll get a little discount.

If an item is available for subscription, you’ll see the option when you go to check out. You personalize how often you’d like the item delivered, and Amazon will email you before shipping the item so you can delay it if you’re using a product slower than expected.

Learn more about Subscribe & Save »

14. If you don’t care about buying something new, you can also search specifically for refurbished goods.

The Warehouse Deals category on Amazon offers deep discounts on open-box, refurbished, and used products that are in good condition, but aren’t technically new. For example, you might get a returned laptop for 15% off.

Browse the selection »

15. Amazon has a line of supplies called Amazon Basics that’s typically cheaper than brand-name products. Amazon sells lightning cables, towels, backpacks, and more under its Basics line.

Browse Amazon Basics »



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