Amazon Layaway
The largest online retailer now has a layaway option as of fall 2022. At least, it’s pretty close to traditional layaway. So far, the company has marketed the program for holiday gift-giving, but it will be available year-round, including on Prime Day.
You’ll need to make a down payment of 20 percent, and then make four additional payments over eight weeks.
Here’s the fine print: For the 2022 holiday season, items much be placed on layaway by Oct. 23 to get the full eight weeks to pay. (Or, you can pay it off early.) If you miss a payment, you’ll receive an email about it and be blocked from placing additional items on layaway. Gift cards may not be used toward payment of items on a layaway payment plan.
The products must be sold by Amazon (not third-party sellers), and the program is not permitted in Connecticut, Washington DC, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, or Pennsylvania.
Items eligible for the program will be listed with a Reserve with Layaway label. Then, confirm that you wish to pay over time by clicking the layaway box during the checkout process. Furniture, electronics, clothing, and thousands of other items are eligible.
One perk of Amazon’s layaway program is that you can “lock in” sales and promotional prices at the time you place an item on layaway, even if the price goes up later.
There are no fees, late charges, cancellation fees, or restocking costs applied. Items purchased on layaway will be eligible to Amazon’s usual return policy.