Nothing beats the feeling of trying on clothes, shoes and accessories in-person, yet the obstacles of a global pandemic, inclement weather, mobility or discomfort of shopping can make it a challenge for many to refresh or update their wardrobe.
With many retailers tightening up their return policies and in-store returns, the consumer is put in the exact situation many are trying avoid. Amazon’s ‘Try Before You Buy’ eliminates much of the risk in buying items online.
What is Amazon’s Try Before You Buy program?
With Amazon’s ‘Try Before You Buy’, you get the benefits of physically experiencing the items you’d like to purchase without the risk or hassle of a normal in-store or online experience.
Automatically available to Amazon Prime members, or accounts that are a part of the Amazon Household (allows you to connect and share Amazon benefits with the whole family), you get the ease of choosing up to 6 items per order to be delivered right to your doorstep for free.
Not only are the items you selected now available to be tried on from the comfort of your home, but you get up to 7 days from the day the order is received to decide which items you want to keep or return.
The best part is as long as you notify Amazon about which items you are returning within those 7 days, you can return them for free with the prepaid return label included in the original order.
The risk to try items is even lower because you do not get charged for the 6 items you ordered until you confirm what you are keeping or let the 7-day return window expire.
Some details to know you may not catch in the fine print
- Even though a Prime membership is required and most prime members are used to 1-2 day shipping for many items, the ‘Try Before You Buy’ shipping may take up to 4-6 business days because Amazon will try to consolidate the number of packages being sent out.
- If you do forget or change your mind after the 7-day return window, you will be charged for the items not returned and any returns will go through the regular Amazon return policy, which can be found here, Amazon Fashion Return Policy.
How to use Amazon Prime’s Try Before You Buy program
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make your Amazon Prime ‘Try Before You Buy’ order.
#1. Log into your Amazon Prime account as ‘Try Before You Buy’ is only available to Prime or Amazon Household members
#2. You can click this link to go directly to the ‘Try Before You Buy’ page (skip to step #5 below) …or follow these steps: Under the Amazon Prime logo on the upper left side, click the three line icon next to ‘All’
#3. A drop-down menu will pop up. Scroll down to ‘Shop By Department’ and click ‘Clothing, Shoes, Jewelry & Watches’
#4. Another sub-menu will pop up then scroll down & click ‘Prime Try Before You Buy’
#5. Select the category you’d like to browse and get to shopping!
#6. You can verify whether or not the item you’re browsing is ‘Try Before You Buy’ by the ‘prime try before you buy’ toggle below the price and the purchase options to the right. If you select ‘Buy New’, you’d be purchasing it like a regular item and it would not qualify for the 7-day try before you buy option.
#7. If you choose ‘Buy Now & Try Free’ you get a window where it’ll confirm shipping addresses, payment method, as well as total if you do decide to choose to keep the item.
#8. If you choose the ‘Add to Cart & Try Free’, you will see all the 6 or less items you’ve chosen in the ‘Try Before You Buy’ cart
#9. Once you’re ready to check out your ‘Try Before You Buy’ cart, you’ll be taken to the familiar ‘Checkout’ page where you can verify the preferred shipping address, payment method, and delivery speed. Click ‘Place Your Order’ when you’re ready!
Have you used Amazon’s Try Before You Buy program? Let us know how you liked it by commenting below! Happy shopping!