Amazon furniture sales are booming with this side of its business reaching a gargantuan $4 billion per year in revenue not so long back.
They now sell a whole range of furniture items from beds, right through to sofas and kitchen tables.
If you’ve ordered some furniture from the world’s number one online retailer, then you may be wondering what the etiquette is for tipping when the Amazon delivery driver rocks up.
Getting your tipping game on point can save you hundreds of dollars per year and can also save your blushes and prevent you from failing to tip when you really should.
If you’ve ordered some furniture from Amazon and are awaiting delivery or perhaps the driver has just arrived, then this article will answer all your tipping queries such as what the custom is for tipping, how much you should tip (if anything), what Amazon furniture delivery drivers earn and how much Amazon delivery is likely to set you back.
Keep reading to find out…
Should You Tip Amazon Furniture Delivery? The Short Answer
There is no requirement to tip Amazon furniture delivery but many people do so because of the size, weight, and bulk of the items. Amazon delivery drivers also earn a below-average salary so you may find it is in good conscience to tip them. $5 – $30 should suffice.
Amazon Delivery Drivers’ Salary
It’s true that some delivery drivers expect tips because they earn less than adequate salaries and need tips to bump up their income to allow them to make ends meet.
Indeed, this is something we discovered when we look at whether you need to tip Kroger grocery delivery – and, yes, you do.
However, this isn’t always the case and there are plenty of delivery drivers who earn good incomes and don’t need tips as we found when looking at the tipping etiquette for Nebraska Furniture Mart and Pottery Barn.
But what about Amazon delivery drivers?
According to Talent.com, Amazon delivery drivers earn $34,877 per year. However, when compared to other drivers in the industry this is a fairly measly salary.
For example, Talent.com states that the median salary for such a driver is $55,000 so $34,877 is drastically lower than the norm.
When you consider Amazon furniture delivery drivers have to carry fairly heavy items and do quite a bit of donkey work, you might perhaps consider a tip is warranted especially given their modest salaries.
We always feel that tips are justified when salaries are below market rate as we concluded when we looked at whether to tip Planet Fitness trainers.
How Much Will It Cost for Amazon Furniture Delivery?
The good thing about Amazon is that they provide free shipping on most items if you’re a Prime member but also free shipping if you’re not, provided the item is more than $25 in value.
This is one of the main benefits of using Amazon and one of the main reasons we love ordering from there – it’s super convenient.
Contrast that to other companies like Raymour and Flanigan that charge a ridiculous $175 for the delivery of a bed.
On this basis, you may think that you can stretch to providing a tip to your Amazon furniture delivery driver – especially when you add in their relatively poor salaries.
How Much to Tip Amazon Furniture Delivery?
There are two schools of thought when it comes to tipping.
Most people tip 10-20% of the goods or services but this is easier to do when it’s goods like a meal in a restaurant and gets a bit more complicated when you look at tipping delivery drivers.
For example, do you tip based on the cost of the delivery or the cost of the goods?
If it’s the delivery then your tip to an Amazon driver will be $0 given delivery is free in most cases.
If it’s the goods then you could be tipping up to $200 if the furniture costs you $1000. This is too much for most people.
Instead, we’d suggest tipping $5 – $30 as a fixed amount. Perhaps the upper end of those figures for a heavier delivery like a couch and the lower end for something like a bedside cabinet.
If two drivers turn up at your address then you’ll probably want to split your tip to make sure each person receives something.
What About Other Ways of Tipping?
There’s a cost of living crisis going on worldwide right now meaning that many people can’t afford to tip.
If you don’t want to tip with cash then you can still show your gratitude in other ways, such as by leaving a review on Google, a thank you card, food or drink, or just verbal praise.
Any demonstration of gratitude is likely to be warmly welcomed.
What About Increasing or Withholding a Tip?
Sometimes the service is so good that we just have to dip into our wallets to tip or to increase the amount we tip.
We certainly recommend tipping if you’ve purchased Amazon’s Assembly service. No one like assembling furniture and it is custom to tip this kind of worker.
We also recommend tipping or tipping more if:
- The delivery goes well and the driver is professional;
- If the delivery is on time;
- If the driver goes beyond his remit – for example by taking the furniture upstairs etc…;
- If it’s the holiday season;
- In snow or bad weather.
Sometimes you will come across rude or unprofessional drivers and you may think about withholding a tip in those circumstances.
You might also want to withhold one if the delivery is late or if the items are incorrect.
Further Reading: Do You Tip Furniture Assembly?
Final Thoughts
While you certainly don’t need to tip your Amazon furniture delivery driver, and a tip won’t be expected, many people do tip given that lugging around heavy furniture is fairly hard manual work.
Moreover, Amazon pays its employees fairly poor salaries – Amazon delivery drivers are no exception.
This means you may feel a tip is warranted especially if the driver has done a good job and has been professional.
Amazon also provides free delivery on items costing over $25, which most furniture items will be, so you’ve already saved a fair amount of cash by not having to pay delivery charges.
We’d propose $5 – $30 is reasonable but don’t discount non-monetary ways of tipping which are also likely to be just as well received.
