How to Get Free Shipping on Every Online Order (15 Tricks That Actually Work)

Shipping fees are quietly one of the biggest drains on online shopping budgets. A $5.99 delivery charge on a $20 order is effectively a 30% surcharge. Multiply that across dozens of purchases a year and you're spending $100–$200 annually just to receive packages — money that could have gone toward the actual products. Here are 15 proven ways to eliminate shipping costs entirely, for every type of order and every type of store.

1. Always Check the Free Shipping Threshold First

The simplest trick, and the one most people skip: before paying for shipping, check whether the store has a free shipping minimum. Most major retailers offer free shipping on orders above a set amount — typically $25, $35, or $50. If your cart is $32 and free shipping kicks in at $35, adding a $3–4 item you'd buy eventually anyway is far smarter than paying $6.99 in shipping fees.

Check Lootism's deals page for low-cost add-on items from stores you're already ordering from. A small household essential or stationery item often costs less than the shipping fee itself.

2. Use Free Shipping Coupon Codes

Many retailers issue free shipping promo codes separate from their discount codes. These codes — typically "FREESHIP", "SHIPFREE", or a seasonal variant — waive the delivery fee regardless of your order total. They're often distributed via email newsletters, social media, or deal aggregator sites.

Before completing any online order, spend 60 seconds checking Lootism's verified coupon section for free shipping codes specific to that retailer. A working free shipping code on a small order saves more than most percentage-off discounts.

3. Sign Up for the Store's Email List (Welcome Offer Often Includes Free Shipping)

First-time customer welcome offers frequently bundle a percentage discount with free shipping on the first order. The combination — say, 15% off plus free delivery — turns what would have been a full-price order into a genuinely good deal.

Use Gmail's plus-address trick (yourname+storename@gmail.com) to keep welcome emails organised without cluttering your main inbox. Every address variant still delivers to your primary account, so you can use a unique address per store and filter them easily.

4. Amazon Prime (And How to Get It Free or Cheap)

Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping on millions of items pays for itself quickly for regular Amazon shoppers. But the full $139/year isn't the only way in:

• Prime Student: 6-month free trial, then 50% off the annual rate for verified students
• Prime free trial: 30-day free trial available to new members — use it during a heavy shopping month (November, Prime Day) to maximise value
• EBT/Medicaid discount: Qualifying US government assistance recipients get Prime at $6.99/month
• Share with household members: One Prime account covers an entire household (up to 2 adults + 4 teens) at no extra cost

Even without Prime, Amazon offers free standard shipping on orders over $25 on eligible items — and free same-day delivery at Whole Foods pickup locations in many cities.

5. In-Store Pickup Eliminates Shipping Completely

Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS) is available at most major brick-and-mortar retailers including Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Macy's. Choosing in-store or curbside pickup bypasses delivery fees entirely — and for large items (appliances, furniture, large electronics), it also avoids the handling surcharges that can add $30–$100 per delivery.

Many retailers sweeten the deal further: Target Circle members get an additional 5% off when using Drive Up pickup. Walmart's free grocery pickup has no minimum order requirement. If you live near a participating store, BOPIS is often the fastest and cheapest fulfilment option available.

6. ShopRunner: Free Two-Day Shipping at 100+ Retailers (Often Free)

ShopRunner is a membership service (similar to Prime but for non-Amazon stores) that provides free two-day shipping at over 100 retailers including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Under Armour, and GNC. The annual cost is $79, but it's frequently available free with certain American Express, Mastercard, and PayPal credit card benefits. Check your card's perks page — you may already have access without knowing it.

7. Free Shipping Day (December) — Plan Year-End Purchases Around It

Free Shipping Day is an annual promotional event (typically mid-December) when thousands of retailers offer free shipping with guaranteed Christmas delivery. If you have non-urgent purchases to make, holding them until this date and placing all orders at once can eliminate shipping fees across your entire holiday shopping list in a single session.

Set a Lootism Deal Alert for items you plan to buy in Q4 — the alert combined with Free Shipping Day timing is one of the most efficient year-end savings combinations available.

8. Consolidate Orders Into a Single Shipment

When ordering from a single retailer, split shipments each carry their own shipping cost. Most stores let you choose "ship everything together" at checkout — select this option and wait a few extra days rather than paying separate fees for each item. Amazon's "No-Rush Shipping" option even rewards you with credits (typically $1–3 store credit) for choosing consolidated, slower delivery instead of rushing items.

Over the course of a year, Amazon No-Rush credits alone can accumulate to $30–50 in free store credit — effectively free money for just being patient with your delivery windows.

9. Retailer-Specific Free Shipping Programs Worth Knowing

Several retailers run their own free shipping programs that are heavily underused:

• Target Circle 360: $49/year for free same-day delivery on orders above $35 (includes Shipt same-day service)
• Walmart+: $98/year includes free delivery on grocery and general merchandise orders above $35, plus fuel discounts
• eBay: Most listings include free shipping — filter by "Free Shipping" in search to only see qualifying items
• Etsy: Many sellers offer free shipping on orders over $35; use the free shipping filter when browsing
• Zappos: All orders ship free, both ways — no minimum, no membership required
• ASOS: Free standard shipping on all orders, no minimum

10. Use a Package Forwarding Service for International Orders

International shipping fees on US or UK retailers can be eye-watering — $30–80 per order in some cases. Package forwarding services like MyUS, Shipito, and Planet Express give you a US shipping address. You ship items there at domestic rates, then the service consolidates multiple packages into one international shipment, dramatically reducing total delivery costs.

For regular international shoppers purchasing from US stores, a forwarding service pays for itself within 2–3 orders compared to standard international shipping rates.

11. Free Shipping on Returns — Choose Retailers Wisely

When comparing two retailers with similar prices, factor in the return shipping policy. Paying $6.99 to return an ill-fitting item effectively adds to your purchase cost. Prioritise retailers with free return shipping:

• Zappos: Free returns, always, no questions
• Nordstrom: Free returns in-store or by mail
• Amazon: Free returns at Whole Foods, UPS stores, and Kohl's dropoff points
• Warby Parker: Free 30-day home trial on glasses, free return shipping

Factor the total cost including potential returns into your retailer choice — a slightly cheaper price at a returns-fee retailer often costs more in the end.

12. Time Your Order for Free Shipping Promotions

Retailers run free shipping promotions strategically — around payday periods, holidays, slow sales days, and to compete with rival promotions. Signing up for deal alerts means you get notified the moment a free shipping promotion goes live, rather than missing it because you happened to order a day too early.

Enable push notifications on Lootism or set Deal Alerts for your most-used stores. Free shipping promos often last 24–72 hours and rarely get promoted widely — the people who catch them are the ones who've set up advance notifications.

The Real Cost of "Cheap" Shipping

The underlying principle worth internalising: the advertised product price is only half the equation. A $45 item with $8.99 shipping costs more than a $49 item with free shipping — but most shoppers compare the product price alone and make the wrong choice. Before every checkout, calculate the total landed cost including delivery and factor that into your comparison.

Use Lootism's deals feed to compare prices across retailers simultaneously, including their free shipping thresholds. And check our verified coupons for any active free shipping codes before completing your order — two minutes of checking can save you $10–15 in delivery fees every single time.