Whether it’s four weeks or four days till Christmas, you’re in great shape to hit that gift-giving deadline. Why? Because you have Amazon Prime.
You do have Amazon Prime, right?
Oh.
C’mon, why not!?
With Amazon Prime, you could get all your Christmas shopping done this afternoon. Shipped for free, gift wrapped, and delivered to your doorstep (or theirs) in time for the holidays.
And since Christmas is less than 30 days away, you can totally get the free trial now and cancel right after the holidays. Or, you can do what I did five years ago and not cancel so you can continue enjoying the ever-expanding list of Amazon Prime benefits.
Think about it. You could spend your next three weekends schlepping through strip malls across the land (and don’t you love that sinking feeling that you could be paying less online)? Or you could spend just an hour or two right now and get some actually decent gifts for everyone on your list without leaving your couch.
That should be compelling enough on its own. But I know. This is the internet. You prefer your justifications in list form. Here you go—here are your
Five Reasons You’d have to Be Crazy Not to Use Amazon Prime for Your Holiday Shopping this Year
1. You Can Order up Until Dec. 21 and Have it Delivered in Time for Christmas
Last year, the deadline for delivery by Christmas was Dec. 22. Now, Christmas 2015 was on a Friday and this year, it’s on a Sunday. So I’m betting that Dec. 21 will be the cutoff date. When we get closer to the day, Amazon will put the last day for 2-day shipping along the top of the screen (and I’ll update this post).
Anyway, waiting till less than a week before Christmas is some major procrastination. But with Prime, it’ll all be okay. Do yourself a favor though, and get it shipped to yourself so you can unbox it and wrap it, if you have time. Otherwise, they’ll know your secrets to procrastination success.
2. You Can Get a Free Trial of Amazon Prime, No Matter Who You Are
Amazon Prime runs promotions for free trials like Amazon Prime Student (6 months free). But if you’re not a student, you can get a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial membership. You’ll need a valid payment method, because your free trial automatically upgrades to a paid membership ($99/year) at the end of the trial. Just remember to cancel before then (mark your calendar) and avoid paying a single cent.
3. Amazon Has Non-Crappy Gifts
“Oh boy,” they’ll say. “A printed email that says you bought me a $25 digital voucher for Fandango….”
“Merry Christmas!” you’ll say. “It made me think of you.”
“…it says here you printed this 10 minutes ago,” they’ll say.
“Just be glad I didn’t get you something from the As Seen on TV section at the grocery store this year,” you’ll say. “I see you never opened your Ped Egg Callous Remover or your Bacon Bowl set.”
That is, unless you get them an actual gift from Amazon. Last minute gifts from brick-and-mortar stores have that undeniable “random junk section from CVS” vibe. But from Prime, you’re not limited by that.
If you know where to look, you can find some awesome stuff. Check out:
- Our 2016 Primer Gift Guide – Over 150 affordable gift ideas including a bunch from Amazon
- Amazon Prime Gift Finder
- Amazon Prime Gold Box Deals
- Amazon Launchpad: It’s like Kickstarter + Amazon: Super innovative stuff you can buy now.
4. Amazon Will Tell You What Your Friends and Family Want
Before you go racking your brain, see if your gift recipient has already told Amazon what they want by making a public wish list or gift registry.
Go to Amazon Find a List and type in their name and email address. Then, pick from the gifts they’ve already picked out for themselves.
Make sure you pay attention to the date they added the item (right above “Add to Cart”). If it’s from years ago, they might have forgotten about the list.
5. Amazon Gift Wraps, Sends Gift Receipts, and Does Super Easy Returns
In your cart, select “This is a Gift” before clicking Checkout and you’ll see your gift options. Most items cost $3.49 to gift wrap. And you can include a gift receipt that hides the price.
Returning items with Amazon is simple. They’ll print you a shipping label and send you a refund, replacement, or Amazon gift card almost immediately. So no need to feel guilty about giving them an errand by getting them the wrong size or a duplicate gift.
Conclusion
Do yourself a favor this year. Save yourself from the decision fatigue, holiday traffic, and buyer’s remorse and get yourself an Amazon Prime membership, even if it’s just for December. By doing so, you’ll get your shopping done sooner, and you’ll get more personalized, higher quality gifts at better prices than you would out in the in-store retail jungle.
Click here to sign up for Amazon Prime. Get your shopping done now and put an end to your low level anxiety as the holidays creep closer.
