Amazon is launching a new shopping channel called Amazon Haul.
Amazon Haul is set apart from the ecommerce giant’s main website for one core reason: It’s focused on inexpensive and budget-friendly products.
In other words, it’s a competitor for similar cost-conscious retail sites like Temu and Shien. Perhaps Amazon wasn’t happy about Temu undercutting its own Prime Day deals back in 2023.
Amazon Haul: What to Know
The big headline to know about Amazon Haul: Every single product it sells will cost you $20 or less.
However, there’s a lot more to know. Here’s the full list of questions, answers, and fast facts to know about Haul, which Amazon is called its new ecommerce “experience.”
When can I try Amazon Haul?
Amazon Haul just launched on November 13, 2024 and is still in beta. US customers can check out Amazon Haul now. To try it, just update your Amazon Shopping app.
If you don’t want to download the app, just use a mobile browser window to go to Amazon.com and search “haul.”
Where can I try Amazon Haul?
Amazon Haul is only available on the Amazon shopping app or its mobile website. Don’t head to your desktop: It’s designed to be a mobile experience.
Just how cheap is Amazon Haul?
All items are priced at $20 or under, and the majority of items will cost $10 or less. In fact, some items are as low as $1.
What kind of deals does Amazon Haul offer?
Amazon has baked in extra savings: Everyone will get 5% off orders $50 and over, and 10% off orders $75 and over.
There’s a reason this shopping channel is called “Haul” — The company really wants you to buy a huge amount all at once.
How much does delivery cost?
Users will get free shipping on all orders over $25.
How fast are shipping times?
You’ll have to wait to get your cheap items: Shipping times are between one and two weeks.
What about item returns?
At launch, Amazon Haul offers free returns for all orders over $3.00. You’ll have to drop the items off yourself, though, using one of their over 8,000 locations across the US.
Why Is Amazon Haul So Cheap?
Amazon didn’t gain its chokehold on the US ecommerce industry by resting on its laurels: The shopping site has seen the success of the Chinese-owned online marketplace Temu, which offers similarly discounted consumer goods, as well as a fast fashion retailer Shien.
Temu is earning impressive numbers. The company saw estimated sales revenues of $20 billion across just the first six months of 2024, which is massive year-over-year growth given that its 2023 annual sales hit just $15.33 billion for the entire year.
Now, Amazon trying to replicate that success with the US-owned equivalent.
It’s likely to face far fewer headwinds in order to hit similar heights of success, too. Since Amazon is already a well-established brand name, Amazon Haul won’t need to invest nearly as much into marketing itself. As with most fast fashion, however, the quality of the products themselves may leave something to be desired.
Is Amazon Haul Legit or a Scam?
Yes, Amazon’s new “Haul” storefront is legit: You can really buy all those items for under $20, even if it might seem too cheap to be true.
This doesn’t mean you’ll never run into any scam artists that claim to be offering an amazing Haul deal in the future, however. Scammers love offering deals that are genuinely too good to be true, and so many of them have already jumped in scams that mention cheap ecommerce apps like Temu.
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In fact, you might be more likely to run into a scammer falsely claiming to be Amazon Haul, since the “Amazon” brand name makes them seem more authentic to potential victims in the US.
The most common example of a Temu scam? Phishing emails that falsely claim to offer an amazing coupon or deal, such as $200 of products free for those who buy $50 worth. In reality, however, these emails aren’t from Temu at all, and will simply steal any credit card information that you give them.
In the future, those lying emails might claim to offer Amazon Haul deals as well, and they’ll still simply be scammers. Check out our guide to spotting phishing scams.
Amazon Haul Shipping Times? 1 or 2 Weeks
As we previously mentioned, Haul does stand out for one big change from the typical Amazon shopping experience: It comes with longer shipping time minimums. According to the company itself, Haul customers can expect to wait between one week and two weeks for their products to arrive after their order has been placed.
This might come as a surprise for some to hear, given that Amazon has already revolutionized the entire ecommerce industry by offering the fastest shipping times ever: Way back in February 2005, the company launched Amazon Prime, a subscription service with the main selling point being its unlimited two-day deliveries, which were practically unheard of at the time. Today, shipping within a few days is the standard across many other ecommerce sites and stores, and Amazon’s Same-Day shipping is even faster.
However, the tide has turned on fast shipping. In December of last year, Bloomberg called it “a costly service” and “more of a marketing ploy than a long-term business strategy.” Customers rarely need their products shipped that quickly, even if the instant gratification makes them more likely to order.
Amazon has already raised the minimum for free shipping for non-Prime customers: In 2023, that minimum purchase threshold rose from $25 to $35, with shipping times frequently lasting longer than two days.
Now that the company is crafting a Temu competitor, it’s further cutting down on costs anywhere it can. And — as with Temu before it — longer shipping times are one of the results of cutting those corners.
