I used Amazon SG for the 1st time, had free delivery & what’s even better? My items arrived the next day.

When I was given a budget of S$100 to buy anything I wanted, of course, I agreed without hesitation and fist pumped internally.

After all, which Singaporean doesn’t like freebies?

My job here is to try out Amazon SG’s shopping process, as someone who has never bought anything from Amazon SG before.

For those who are unfamiliar, Amazon.sg has a different selection from Amazon.com

Categories to suit your needs

For those who are new to the Amazon Shopping mobile app like me, all the products are sorted into categories on the home page.

While some of these are the typical sections such as ‘Electronics’, ‘Home essentials’, and ‘Books’, products are also categorised according to different lifestyles.

From ‘Work from home essentials’ to ‘Get fit and energised’, these categories can be pretty useful if you haven’t figured out the exact product you’re looking for and prefer to browse according to your general needs.

There’s even a category that sells products pertaining to the pandemic, such as Covid-19 self-testing kits and hand sanitisers.

Promo code for first order

After pondering for a bit, I settled on a Nintendo Switch game — Pokémon Sword — which costs S$72.90.

I’d been waffling over whether or not to get it, mainly due to the price, but fortunately, I got S$10 shaved off the total price with a minimum spend of S$40.

I just had to use the promo code <BFCMAPP>, which is valid for the first order on the app. It works with any item of any price shipped and sold from Amazon SG, and lasts till Nov. 30.

Here’s another shopping tip: Between Nov. 26 to 29, Prime members will be able to get SS$49 off Nintendo Switch OLED.

For those who already have a Nintendo Switch, you might be wondering why I’m purchasing the physical game as opposed to directly buying and downloading it from the Nintendo E-Shop.

The tiny cartridges hold a certain amount of sentimental value for me, and besides, I can still sell them when I’ve finished playing the game. What’s more, the cartridges take up less memory than the digital games.

With the remaining budget, I chose to buy a fancy candle which retails at S$15.39 on the app.

After all, what better way to relax after work than chilling with my Pokemon buddies in bed while wrapped in fragrant scents?

Free local delivery with no minimum spend

To cart out my items, all I needed to do was create an Amazon account, which was a quick and painless process. From then on, my details would be saved for future orders.

And although the promo code is only valid for the first order on the app, fret not. There are more perks to follow.

For the candle, there was free local delivery as well. This applies as long as the item is sold and shipped from Amazon SG from now till Dec. 31, 2021.

And nope, there is no minimum spend required. Here’re more examples if you’re not convinced:

Premier Deluxe Soft Pack of tissues for S$3.95

See, I’m not kidding. All you need to do is select the Free Standard Delivery option.

Next day delivery

Before I confirmed my order, I was able to see the predicted delivery date, and the fastest delivery date available.

The fastest delivery date can be within the same day, which is a plus for those who are in a rush to receive the item.

Since I carted out my items on Nov. 18, the predicted delivery date was Nov. 20, a mere two days later. Pretty impressive, I thought.

Thus far, all the items I’ve bought online locally have taken at least three working days to arrive.

Now I just have to sit back and wait (eagerly).

What I also like about the app is that it has a page that allows antsy people like me to track their orders.

To my pleasant surprise, my package actually arrived ahead of schedule — the very next day, on Nov. 19.

I’m not exactly certain what time they were dropped off, as the delivery person did not ring the doorbell, leaving me to discover them on my doorstep at around 12:30pm while I was waiting for a food delivery, but no matter.

Unboxing time

As one of my items was a glass candle, they were stored in a sturdy box which was labeled “fragile”.

The tape on the box also touts Amazon’s “Fast, free delivery. As fast as tomorrow.”

Well, very true, at least for me.

Upon opening up the box, I saw that my game and candle were snugly fitted inside.

There was even a small air pillow packaging wedged between the box for the candle and my Switch game to minimise the amount of empty space there, and prevent my game from sliding around inside the bigger box.

Behold, my loot.

Overall, I was pretty impressed and satisfied with my shopping experience, especially the delivery time.

If all my items could arrive the next day, I would never shop at physical stores again. After all, I can simply order whatever I want from the comfort of my home with a few clicks.

Here’s me settling in for a cozy night of casual gaming.

More promos and deals

If you’re now tempted to purchase something from Amazon, here are some deals and promotions to dash any bits of uncertainty.

You can get free international delivery with a minimum spend of S$40.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members can enjoy unlimited free local and international delivery with no minimum spend at all. What’s more, the membership subscription is only S$2.99 per month — as cheap as a packet of chicken rice.

There’s also a gift card promotion for Amazon’s Black Friday sale:

• Get a S$10 Amazon.sg Gift Card when you spend S$150 or more on your DBS/POSB card on Amazon.sg, or when you spend S$100 or more on your GrabPay, OCBC or Standard Chartered Mastercard card on Amazon.sg.
• Get a bonus S$5 eGift Card when you buy S$50 or more eGift Card in a single transaction.

Considering it’s Black Friday on Nov. 26, what better time than to take advantage of these deals to have your shopping spree?

You can find more deals and promotions for Amazon’s Black Friday sale for specific items like the Apple iPad Air, Razer Gaming keyboards, Roborock S7 White Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, and more at this website.

Stand to win round-trip tickets to Seattle

In line with this shopping holiday, Amazon SG is partnering with local stand-up comedians, Sharul Channa and Rishi Budhraani to host a free stand up comedy show, which you can watch here.

And to save the best for last, Amazon SG is running a contest with huge prizes.

26 winners stand to win a pair of round-trip tickets to Seattle, U.S., the state the company is headquartered at.

All you need to do is to follow these three steps:

1. Post your funniest #throwback travel photo on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #BlackFridayAmazonSG and #FlyMeToSeattle, from Nov. 22 to Dec. 3. Your accounts must be made public so the photo will be visible.
2. Shop on Amazon.sg between Nov. 26 and Nov. 29. Winners will need to show proof of their orders.
3. Like and share the Amazon Singapore Contest post on Facebook or Instagram, and tag three other travel buddies in the comments section of the post.

More details can be found here.

This sponsored article by Amazon SG made the author happy because she got her items for free.

Top photo by Ashley Tan