Want to Pre-Order a Video Game? Here's Why You Should Use Amazon

Get a price guarantee on a gift for the gamer in your life.

Love it or hate it, Amazon sure can be a convenient way to shop and save money. Personally, I consider the site to be pretty vital to my everyday life; there are products I always buy on Amazon. I also faithfully renew my Prime membership every year. Amazon can be great for the bargain hunter, as it's far easier to track price fluctuations there than it would be if you were shopping at a brick-and-mortar establishment. I don't know about you, but I don't fancy the idea of stopping in a store every day to see if the item I want has changed price, but it's extremely easy to check at Amazon.

And if what you're searching for is the hottest new video game, you can rest assured you'll get the best price on it if you pre-order from Amazon. Read on to learn about Amazon's Pre-Order Price Guarantee and how it can help you get a great deal on your next video game, book, or other media purchase.

Pre-Order Price Guarantee

Price fluctuations are just a fact of life. Things go on and off sale, and this happens sometimes even before an item is officially released. Amazon makes it easy to take advantage of these price changes and lets you get the best deal possible on items that specify "Pre-Order Price Guarantee" in their store listings.

Let's say you're waiting for a certain console video game to come out. You can click that "Pre-order now" button in the Amazon listing, and you'll be guaranteed the lowest price for that item between when you pre-order and when it's released. Amazon also won't charge you for the game until it ships. You can also check on your order status at any time by signing into Amazon and selecting "Returns & Orders" to view all the stuff you've bought. If you change your mind about the game you pre-ordered, you can cancel it right from there (all the easier since you haven't been charged yet).

This lowest price guarantee works for both physical items (such as your console video game, which will arrive on a disc in a plastic case) as well as digital items (such as a Kindle e-book or an album on Amazon Music). A cool thing about pre-ordering a physical item is you'll get the lowest price between the time you order and the end of the day it comes out. So if the price drops a little more between the morning of the release date and the afternoon, you get the lower one. If Amazon has already charged you in advance of the price drop, you'll be refunded the difference in 24 to 48 hours.

A few caveats

It's important to note the Amazon Pre-Order Price Guarantee only applies to items sold directly by Amazon. Since a lot of third-party sellers use the platform, you won't be able to take advantage of this service if you pre-order from one of them via Amazon (with the exception of some digital music albums). You also won't be refunded a difference in price for items that are already available. As such, there's always a little element of risk when you buy something there; I recently had the annoying experience of buying a new air conditioner from Amazon and then the price dropped $20 after I made the purchase. You can't win 'em all!

It definitely pays to use Amazon for your media pre-order needs, like video games and e-books; I pre-order books for my Kindle frequently, and I love saving money in the process. The only trouble is having to wait for my purchase to arrive!