Do you use Amazon Subscribe and Save?

[math teacher]

What are the advantages and disadvantages? I thought about trying it out because I'm staying out of stores. What have been your experiences?

[Katy]

I don’t. IME the prices fluctuate wildly and it’s much easier to simply search for & order the product again. 

[alisoncooks]

I recently did it for the larabars I eat for breakfast. They're much cheaper on Amazon and I know exactly how many I eat, so I just set it up for a 1-month repeated delivery. So far, it's fine -- though I'll keep an eye on price. 

[QueenCat]

We use it. We no longer have to worry about whether the grocery store has toilet paper, paper towels, or disinfecting wipes. If you're on subscribe and save, you are a priority order in a shortage, just below the govt. entities/hospitals that get priorities on certain things. We get several other things through S&S that are inconsistently carried at the local stores or a preferred brand. 

[SKL]

I use it for things I will definitely need that tend to be bulky.  It enables me to think less, shop less, and carry less.  🙂

I doubt it saves me any money, but sometimes convenience is worth the money.

[klmama]

I only use it for two necessary items that are inconvenient for me to pick up locally.  Prices do sometimes fluctuate, but that's less annoying to me than suddenly discovering that we are out and that I need to make a special trip.  

[SKL]

2 minutes ago, QueenCat said:

We use it. We no longer have to worry about whether the grocery store has toilet paper, paper towels, or disinfecting wipes. If you're on subscribe and save, you are a priority order in a shortage, just below the govt. entities/hospitals that get priorities on certain things. We get several other things through S&S that are inconsistently carried at the local stores or a preferred brand. 

My toilet paper deliveries were seriously delayed during the Great Toilet Paper Run of 2020.  I complained, so maybe they changed how they do priorities.  I thought it was pretty unfair that they were selling out of stuff I had essentially pre-ordered years ago.

[Selkie]

1 minute ago, QueenCat said:

We use it. We no longer have to worry about whether the grocery store has toilet paper, paper towels, or disinfecting wipes. If you're on subscribe and save, you are a priority order in a shortage, just below the govt. entities/hospitals that get priorities on certain things. We get several other things through S&S that are inconsistently carried at the local stores or a preferred brand. 

I just got an email from Amazon saying that my Subscribe & Save tp order will not be fulfilled this month because they are sold out. Good thing we’re stocked up!

[gardenmom5]

I love it.   I use it every month, with a minimum of five items.  (you get a bigger discount than just subscribing.). 

It's convenient for recurring orders.  for things I want frequently - I can have them delivered every month.  I can review each month, so if I don't need something I can skip the delivery of that item.   For things I use less frequently - I can have them "delivered" every six months.  Or - I can go skip them for another six months . . . 

I do a lot of supplements/vitamins.  Now have started cat food.   I also get my vacuum bags, which aren't easy to find locally.  Other cleaning products as well.

eta: I use it with my amazon card (5% back).  I definitely save money on my sups with it.  and the (grain free) cat food - unless I can find it on sale locally.  

Edited November 28, 2020 by gardenmom5

[PeterPan]

I do a lot of my supplements and a few regular products (shampoo, dog food, etc.) that way. Love it. Prices fluctuate a little each month, but with the 15% off it's usually still better. I don't sit there and check every single price each month, lol. I just hit cancel and order from iHerb if the price jumps up crazy. 

Remember, you're going to get an email warning telling you the last date to add/subtract items before they charge. And even then, you have another day or two to change your mind before they ship. So it's not like you ever have to be left hanging, receiving something you didn't want. 

[Tap]

I use it but rarely just let shipments arrive on thier own. I am constantly changing shipment days and skipping months. I also have had prices swing wildly (one item doubled in price) so I make sure to check each item.  

I use subscribe and save to get the discount, not for the convenience. I liked the old interface better. They changed it this year and I find it much more cumbersome to move things around. 

Edited November 28, 2020 by Tap

[historically accurate]

I use it, usually 5 items per month. Vitamins and supplements, razors, and some cleaning supplies. I check it at the end of every month to see if I need to switch around anything, check prices, skip items I have a stockpile of, and verify I have 5 items for the greatest discount. 

[wendyroo]

We normally have a dozen or more items come each month. I use it more for the price discount than the convenience - I certainly can't just set it and forget it because I often have to shift items around. I get an email each month a few days before my S&S will ship that reminds me to update anything I want to. I also get emails alerting me to price changes. I do find the new interface annoying, but not annoying enough to give up the 5-15% off.

We use S&S for: pet supplies, medications, printer ink, batteries, cleaning supplies, garbage bags, specialty food items, socks, baby wipes, etc.

[Pawz4me]

I use it for my calcium supplements, and have used it in the past for other supplements that we took regularly. I've been meaning to get organized and figure out some other things I could use it for, but so far I've been too lazy to figure out how fast we go through TP, PT, trash bags, etc. 

[theelfqueen]

We get a ton of stuff on subscribe and save. I have not experienced significant price fluctuation- depends on items I'm sure...

Things we get from s&s off the top of my head:

My shampoo and conditioner

Body wash

Boys' shampoo

Boys' bodywash

Toothpaste 

Mouthwash

Floss

Vitamins

Trash bags 

Laundry soap

Dish soap

Dishwasher detergent 

Paper towels

Paper napkins 

Toilet paper

Tissues

Goldfish crackers

Batteries

Spaghetti

Cooking oil and olive oil

Deodorant(s)

Loose tea 

Scrapbook adhesive

Scrapbook cardstock 

K cups

I'm sure theres actually more lol but some of those things we get 1x / 6 months and some 1x / month. 

I manage every month to make sure I don't have too much of something (skipped the last trash bags for example). 

Edited November 28, 2020 by theelfqueen

[stephanier.1765]

We do for cat food. It's easier for me because I always know it is coming and I don't have to carry it. I've been ordering litter each time we need it but I should probably set it up for subscribe and pay too.

[Selkie]

I have about 40 things on my Subscribe and Save list. They're all on a monthly delivery schedule, but I go through the list on the 15th of every month and weed out the things we don't need.

We get food products (oats, flaxseed, veggie broth, almond butter), cleaning products, furnace filters, batteries, paper products, hygiene stuff like shampoo and toothpaste, and horse supplements & treats. 

I check the prices every month and there are rarely large fluctuations. Most often, the prices stay the same or go down a bit.

[kesmom]

We use it for some things, but I do go in and adjust the shipping dates each month. We have had 2-3 things not ship to us since the pandemic started, but they sent an email in advance.

Another option for household goods and non perishables that doesn't require subscribing is ordering from Walmart or Target. In my experience there are more choices for generics and small quantities than on Amazon. Most things ship in 2 days if you spend $35.

[prairiewindmomma]

Yup. I have it set up to send stuff quarterly. The key, I think, is to have at least 7 items in the schedule so if you need to skip a couple due to price variations, you can maintain 15% off on the rest. 
 

[gardenmom5]

shhh . . . . I'm going to make a confession. . . . 

 

🤫I've put stuff on the S&S list that I only buy once for a gift, then cancel . .  . 🤫

[matrips]

4 hours ago, math teacher said:

What are the advantages and disadvantages? I thought about trying it out because I'm staying out of stores. What have been your experiences?

Yes, I love it.  I use for our health supplements, tissues, printer ink, and more.  It’s easy to cancel or postpone items if needed, but mostly I leave it be, and things are shipped on the intervals I set out. I haven’t found many fluctuations in the items I get and I usually ship enough to get the 15% extra discount on top of the subscription discount.  

[QueenCat]

6 hours ago, Selkie said:

I just got an email from Amazon saying that my Subscribe & Save tp order will not be fulfilled this month because they are sold out. Good thing we’re stocked up!

I got my December tp today. I realize it's not a guarantee... so far, we've only had one thing not be able to filled in the past few months. That was my son's electric razor cleaner. Many of the items on our list are things we've started in the past few months. 

[TravelingChris]

I don't because none of the things I order are on either on monthly or quarterly rotatioh.  Like Coffee is about every 3 weeks and something else is about 5 weeks, etc, etc,  I have tried it but then realized I am about to run outr of stuff and need to reorder faster or delay an order.

[wendyroo]

39 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

I don't because none of the things I order are on either on monthly or quarterly rotatioh.  Like Coffee is about every 3 weeks and something else is about 5 weeks, etc, etc,  I have tried it but then realized I am about to run outr of stuff and need to reorder faster or delay an order.

When they redid the interface they also added the option of subscribing in weekly increments. Anywhere from every 2 weeks to every 7 weeks, and then monthly increments after that.

[Wheres Toto]

We just recently started doing this.  I originally did it for paper towels for my classroom, then realized how much easier it was for other things that we know we're going to need and that don't go bad.  In particular, to avoid having to run to the store when we run out of something.   Right now we have it for a bunch of paper products, pads/liners for dd, OTC allergy meds, body wash, bone broth.     I am considering adding more things. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I am trying (and failing) to use S&S. With DGD2s birth, I thought a S&S for diapers for DD & DSIL would be nice. Well, at 5 months, we have yet to be able to actually benefit from S&S because the baby has outgrown the diapers before we can use them. LOL

When DGD was 2 months, I set up S&S for Size 1s. Within days of their arrival, DGD started blowing out Size 1s and DD put her in size 2s. So I set up Size 2s for S&S. We have received two shipments of Size 2s with the last shipment being delivered this weekend. DGD is now blowing out of Size 2s and needs Size 3s. Since Size 3 fits up to 20+ pounds, we are hoping she'll be in 3s for more than 6 weeks.

Luckily, unopened diapers were/are easy to sell. Anyone interested in two boxes of Size 2 Pampers?

My advice: don't use S&S for newborns or young infants. Wait until they reach Size 3.

[gardenmom5]

17 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I don't because none of the things I order are on either on monthly or quarterly rotatioh.  Like Coffee is about every 3 weeks and something else is about 5 weeks, etc, etc,  I have tried it but then realized I am about to run outr of stuff and need to reorder faster or delay an order.

They've added in  "every two weeks, three weeks, or four weeks" options

[Pen]

Yeah .
 

Biggest problem is forgetting to delay items getting overstocked.

Second biggest problem is things like dog food which I am counting on getting held at post office instead of delivered 

 

[Terabith]

I signed up for canned cat food to come that way.  

I've thought seriously of getting peanut butter from subscribe and save, but I'm not great at predicting how frequently we'll need it.  

[G5052]

Yes, I use it for dog supplies and certain staples that I can't buy locally. 

[BusyMom5]

Yes, but I recheck everything each month.  For some reason I always need Castrol and it's the cheapest place to get it!  I also keep all oil filters for our cars (and MiLs) saved for every 6 months, then bump them back if we don't need them yet.