Create an Amazon Wish List and Share It With Others

What Is an Amazon Wish List and Why Create One

An Amazon Wish List is a personal collection of items you find on Amazon that you want to save for later. Think of it as a digital shopping list where you can gather products you're interested in without buying them right away. When you create a Wish List, Amazon stores links to those items in your account, making them easy to find whenever you return to the site.

Get Your Free Texas Homestead Exemption Information Guide →

People create Wish Lists for many reasons. Some use them to keep track of items they want to purchase for themselves when they have the budget. Others create Wish Lists specifically to share with family and friends before birthdays or holidays, giving people clear ideas about what gifts would be appreciated. Parents often maintain Wish Lists for children's gifts throughout the year. Some shoppers use Wish Lists to compare prices over time, noting when items go on sale. Small business owners and professionals might create Wish Lists for office supplies or equipment they need.

According to Amazon's own data, millions of customers maintain active Wish Lists. The feature has become particularly popular during gift-giving seasons, with significant increases in Wish List sharing between November and December each year. In recent years, Wish List usage has grown beyond traditional gift-giving, with people using the feature for wedding registries, baby registries, and general personal shopping organization.

Creating a Wish List takes just a few minutes and requires no additional fees or special membership beyond a standard Amazon account. The basic Wish List feature is available to all Amazon customers at no cost. You can create multiple Wish Lists if you want to organize items by category, person, or occasion.

Practical Takeaway: A Wish List serves as a free organizational tool that works whether you're shopping for yourself, setting up a gift registry, or helping others understand what you want. Consider creating one if you shop on Amazon regularly or want to share gift preferences with others.

Setting Up Your First Amazon Wish List

To create your first Wish List on Amazon, start by logging into your Amazon account. You'll need an active Amazon account with a valid email address and password. If you don't have an account yet, you can create one by visiting Amazon.com and selecting "Create Account" at the top of the page. The account creation process asks for your name, email address, and a password of your choice.

Learn How to Make Smoked Salmon at Home →

Once logged in, look for the "Returns" option in the top navigation menu, or you can search for "Wish List" using the search bar. On some versions of Amazon, you'll see a heart icon that takes you directly to your Wish List. When you first access this area, Amazon will show you the option to create a new Wish List. Click on "Create a List" or the plus (+) symbol to begin. Amazon will then ask you to name your Wish List and optionally describe its purpose.

When naming your Wish List, use a title that's clear and descriptive. Examples might include "Birthday Gifts for Sarah," "Home Office Supplies," "Books I Want to Read," or "Christmas 2024." You can also add a brief description explaining what the list is for. This description is helpful if you're sharing the list with others, as it gives context about the list's purpose. The description field is optional, but including one takes only a few seconds and can be very useful.

Amazon lets you set the privacy level for your Wish List at creation time. Your privacy options include making the list public (anyone with the link can see it), making it private (only you can see it), or setting it to a middle ground where certain people can see it. Think carefully about which setting matches your needs. If you're creating a list to share with family for gift-giving, you probably want to share the link with specific people. If you're making a personal shopping list just for yourself, private is the right choice.

After naming your list and setting privacy preferences, click "Create List." Amazon will then show you a blank Wish List that's ready to receive items. The system will save this list to your account automatically. You can return to it anytime by logging into Amazon and navigating to your Wish Lists.

Practical Takeaway: Creating a Wish List involves logging into your Amazon account and spending about two minutes naming and setting privacy options for your new list. Choose a descriptive name and privacy setting that matches how you plan to use the list.

Adding Items to Your Wish List

Once your Wish List exists, you can begin adding items to it. The process is straightforward and can be done in several ways. The most common method is to browse Amazon.com as you normally would, find a product you're interested in, and then add it to your Wish List rather than purchasing it immediately. On any product page, you'll see a heart icon or an "Add to Wish List" button. Click this button, and if you have multiple Wish Lists, Amazon will ask which one you want to add the item to. Select the appropriate list, and the item is saved.

Free Guide to Finding Your Property Tax Records →

You can also add items to your Wish List using the Amazon mobile app, which works identically to the website. Open the product page, tap the heart icon, and select which Wish List should receive the item. Many people find the mobile app convenient because they can add items while shopping in physical stores or seeing products mentioned by friends. The mobile app is available for both iPhone and Android devices and can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store respectively.

When you add items to your Wish List, Amazon saves several useful details about each product. The system records the item's current price, product description, customer reviews, and availability status. If the price of an item on your Wish List drops, Amazon can notify you about the price reduction if you've turned on price-drop notifications in your account settings. This feature helps you monitor when items become cheaper.

You can organize items within your Wish List in different ways. Amazon allows you to move items around by dragging and dropping them to reorder your list, which lets you prioritize items by importance or price. You can also add personal notes to individual items. For example, you might add a note saying "Size medium preferred" or "Silver color preferred" or "Check dimensions before purchasing." These notes are visible to anyone you share the list with, making it easier for gift-givers to make informed choices.

Most people add items to their Wish Lists as they naturally browse Amazon over time. You don't need to create the entire list at once. It's common for people to add items weekly or even daily as they discover products they want. Some people also search Amazon for specific categories of items (like "kitchen gadgets" or "gardening tools") and add multiple items from those searches all at once.

Practical Takeaway: Adding items to your Wish List is as simple as clicking a heart icon on any Amazon product page. You can add items gradually over time, organize them by priority, and even add personal notes to explain your preferences for each item.

Sharing Your Wish List With Others

Sharing your Wish List with friends and family is one of the primary reasons people create them, especially during gift-giving occasions. Amazon makes sharing relatively straightforward. When you're viewing your Wish List, look for a "Share" button or link-sharing option. Click this button to reveal sharing options. Amazon will generate a unique web link to your Wish List that you can copy and send to others. The link looks something like "www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/[unique ID]."

Free Guide to Resetting Your Car Radio →

You can share this link through several methods. Email is a popular option—you can copy the link and paste it into an email message to send to family members or friends. You can also share the link through text message, social media platforms like Facebook or messaging apps like WhatsApp, or even by printing it if you're giving someone a physical card. Some people include their Wish List link in annual holiday cards or in email signatures during the gift-giving season.

When you share your Wish List, you control who can see what. If you set the list to "Public" sharing, anyone with the link can see all items on your list. If you prefer more privacy, you can set the list to "Private" in your account settings, and only people you specifically give the link to can access it. It's worth noting that Amazon does not share your Wish List with others unless you actively send them the link yourself. The company will not distribute your list to random people or use it for marketing purposes beyond showing you related product recommendations in your own account.

When someone receives your Wish List link, they can open it in any web browser (desktop or mobile)