Amazon positions itself as The Everything Store, and like any other store, there are bargains to be had. But with the millions of items listed, it can be difficult to find the freebies and the cheap stuff on limited special offer.

That's where sites such as Reddit come in to help -- as a huge online empire of communities with members determined to help one another, Reddit is the perfect place to find the Amazon gems worth looking at. Whether you are looking to buy and sell gift cards or see if there are any coupon codes to use, Reddit should be your first port of call before you click that button to buy.

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The best place to start is at the actual Amazon sub-reddit itself. You are not likely to see any discount codes here (although every now and then someone will offer to trade a code for something else), but this page is still an invaluable resource for questions relating to all things Amazon. You may see someone suggesting how to get an Amazon credit, questions on free shipping, or tips and tricks that other customers unwittingly stumbled into.

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It's definitely worth subscribing to this page and checking it on a regular basis to see if there are any discussions there that will save you some cash.

Gift Card Exchange

This isn't strictly Amazon -- it covers all gift cards, with Amazon only playing a small part. But if you are looking to exchange an Amazon gift card, or exchange another gift card for an Amazon one, then this is the place to go.

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You have to take a slight loss when exchanging -- for example, in the screenshot above, someone is offering an Amazon code for $12, but they are only going to get $10 back in Paypal credit. But that is the same with all second-hand items, whether you are selling a car, a washing machine, or an Amazon code. Once it's been bought, it loses some of its value.

Next time Aunt Beryl gives you a gift card for the Disney Store, and you would much rather have Amazon credit instead, visiting the Gift Card Exchange may be your only salvation!

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One thing you need to be aware of is that you face the risk of being ripped off. One person has to send their code before the other sends theirs, so there is a certain amount of trust involved. Many people are honest and trustworthy, but like everything else, there are always rotten apples that ruin it for everyone else.

In an attempt to fight back, Reddit operates a Universal Scammer List, which every sub-reddit can submit usernames to. Before you enter into a transaction with someone, check to see if their name is on the scammer list first. Of course, that doesn't stop the scammer from opening a new Reddit ID to scam someone else. The system isn't perfect, but it is better than nothing.

Amazon Specials

Are you in the mood for a real bargain today? Then perhaps a visit to Amazon Specials might be a good idea. As the name suggests, people list the bargains they have found on Amazon. They will even list the coupon codes you need to enter to get that price. Nice and simple.

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Affiliate links are banned on the page, so nobody has anything to gain financially from listing special offers. The only thing I would say as a small criticism is that, due to the design of Reddit, it is impossible to organize and search by category. So what you will find is a bit hit-and-miss, unless you have the time and inclination to keep scrolling down the page.

Amazon Giveaways

This is a sub-reddit dedicated to Amazon Giveaway. This is a promotional tool which website owners can use to give away items from Amazon to their customers or readers. The host simply buys the items from the site, and Amazon handles the rest, including choosing winners and shipping the items out to the winners.

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This sub-reddit keeps track of all the different giveaways that people can enter. It may be a small sub-reddit for now, but I get the feeling this is one to subscribe to and watch.

Amazon Under 5

These days, $5 is nothing. It's what people pay for a latte. But on Amazon, that $5 can be king with all the different bargains to be had. Why drink a crappy coffee for your $5 when you can have a set of 3 Nessie soup ladles instead? (I have one -- it has pride of place in my kitchen.)

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So, as I am sure you have worked out by now, Amazon Under 5 keeps track of all the great things to be had for $5 or under. Discount codes can be found here too, and this is a good page to check if you are trying to bump up your order to qualify for free shipping.

Amazon Prime Deals

Amazon Prime is a great deal, even though Amazon has pushed up the price recently. As well as being able to watch videos and listen to music, you can also have next-day shipping for any ordered items. Amazon Prime Deals shows you all the deals available with free Prime shipping.

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It's a very well moderated community with strict rules on spam, frequency of posting, and a ban on affiliate links, which goes to reinforce the idea that people are simply posting these things to help out fellow members.

Amazon Freebies

Who doesn't love a freebie? When it comes to giving things away for free, Amazon is actually really good. You just need to know where to look.

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Amazon Freebies is meant to be for all freebies in all departments, but it has ended up just being a showcase for free Kindle books and free smartphone apps. Don't get too excited about the books -- you are unlikely to find the latest Stephen King or Nora Roberts novel there. More likely, it will be an ebook by someone just starting out on Kindle self-publishing, who wants to give the book away to create publicity.

(Editor's note: I discovered one of my favorite books during a free ebook giveaway, so there's always the potential for something great! But Mark's right; it's very often a lot of really terrible stuff.)

But who knows? You might find something you're interested in. Feast your eyes on this one, for example:

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College Bad Boy Romance? Oh, hold me back!

Saving Money On Amazon

The last one is not actually a sub-reddit, but instead a conversation thread on a sub-reddit. I chose this because of its subject, "Saving money on Amazon - Tips and Tricks." If that doesn't fit the subject of this article perfectly, I don't know what will.

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The person who started the thread really went for it, with a huge mountain of text. But it is well worth reading, as other Redditors also chip in with their own contributions. For example, leaving things in the shopping cart enables you to track possible price drops for that item. The wishlist remembers the price when the item was added, so you can see how the price rises and falls on a daily basis.

Other great tips include how to discover great deals on pre-owned items in the Amazon Warehouse, and advice on Prime, the Vine reviewing platform, and Customer Service.

Two Bonus Tips

Since I am a great guy, here are two bonus Amazon tips for you.

Tip 1: Have a Separate Reddit ID For Amazon Sub-Reddits

If you use the Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES), you can switch seamlessly between Reddit user IDs. So make a new Reddit ID just for Amazon-related threads, add it to the RES's settings, then when you want your Amazon fix, flip over to the new ID. That way, these sub-reddits stay separate from the rest of your Reddit subscriptions. It also helps because a lot of special offers are time-sensitive, so if they get buried in your other Reddit subscriptions, you will miss them.

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Make a point of checking your Amazon subscriptions on Reddit on a daily basis to make sure you don't miss any great deals!

Tip 2: Use Price Monitoring Tools

I am a big fan of price monitoring tools. As mentioned above, the shopping cart and the wishlist act as unofficial price trackers, but there are also a couple of good third-party ones. First is CamelCamelCamel (why they have to repeat it three times is beyond me). This tracker has browser extensions which make it extremely easy to find out any discount codes. You have to sign up for a free account, though. They will synchronize your Amazon wishlist with your CCC account, so they can track price changes, and you can also get price alerts from Twitter.

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Other possibilities include Keepa, The Tracktor, and Unimerc. This Quora page also suggests many more, including how to make your own price tracking tool using IFTTT.

So What Did I Miss, Bargain Hunters?

I have talked about what I consider to be the best and the most interesting. But no doubt you disagree with me. So head on down to the comments below with your links to price-saving Reddit pages.

Which sub-reddits do you find useful in getting great deals on Amazon? Do you use the ones above, or have other suggestions? What are your best money-saving tips? Share them in the comments below!

Image Credit: Attribution-Free Image, Courtesy of Pixabay.