Free samples on Amazon

Maybe you discover that floral-smelling perfume is just not right for you. You don’t have to head to a store to try out some free samples.

Amazon wants to hook you up in the comfort of your own home.

Free samples on Amazon: A world of samples

Amazon’s Sample Box program is an intriguing idea. You can choose from among a dozen different options, including luxury beauty items, cat food samples, dog treats, skin care, nutrition, and men’s grooming supplies. The product page for each box gives you a good idea of what will be inside, but Amazon may substitute some of the products if necessary.

Free samples on Amazon: How it works

Each box comes with free shipping for Prime members, but there is a catch. You pay the price for the sample box up front, but you then get a credit to your account for a future purchase that is equal to what you just paid. The sample boxes are not returnable, so be sure you’re interested in the contents before you order.

The credit is good toward select items. Amazon will send you instructions for redeeming your promotional credit a week after your box ships out. There’s a limit of one promo credit per customer, so you can’t just stock up on multiples of the same box. As long as you use the credit up, your samples work out to cost you nothing.

Free samples on Amazon: What you get

Let’s take a peek at what’s inside some of the boxes.

Free samples on Amazon: Nutrition & wellness sample box

This sample box will run you $6.99 and contains eight or more samples from participating brands. Sizes and flavors may vary, but you can expect some nutrition bars, cookies, protein mixes and other items meant to improve your way of life.

Dog food and treats sample box

This sampler is available with a focus on either wet or dry food and will run you $8.01. The wet food version typically comes with a couple cans of dog food, a selection of hard food, a dental care chewable, and small bags of treats.

Luxury skin care sample box

Looking to have some nice feeling skin? This box costs $19.99. You will get a promotional credit towards your next purchase of select luxury beauty products. Along with that, the box will contain 10 or more items, including cloths, sprays, skin cream, face moisturizer and other things that will benefit your skin.

Free samples on Amazon: Beyond boxes

While the free samples on Amazon are a great way to try a variety of products, you can also do some more focused sampling through Amazon. The retailer breaks its individual sample offerings out into categories, including personal care & household, beauty and grooming, baby, beverages and food, and sports nutrition. You will find everything from beauty products to vitamins and nutritional drinks.

Again, the single samples are for Prime members only, but they work just like the boxes do. You buy a sample and then receive a credit for a future purchase of select products within a category.

For example, you can order a $2 sample of Smarty Pants vitamin gummies. You then get a $2 promo credit toward certain items sold in Amazon’s laundry category. Don’t wait too long, though. The credit expires 180 days after your sample ships. As with the boxes, you only get one credit per sample so you can’t just stock up on single-use products for free. Free samples on Amazon are really great add-on.

The samples system can work well for people who rely on Amazon to stock their household supplies and kitchen pantry. Chances are good you will find a use for that promo credit and you’ll get to test out some new products as a bonus.

Here’s a quick recap of the program.