We're halfway through the year, so that means Amazon Prime Day is upon us once again. It's a shopping extravaganza that's met with lots of excitement and a little anxiety, because it can be hard to figure out what's a deal and what's not. Don't worry; you just need a little insider info.
More Than Just a Day
Even though it's called Prime Day, the sale takes place over 48 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. PT / 3:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11. You can pick up items on sale before then though, so check out our Early Prime Day Deals picks.
Membership Has Its Privileges
(Credit: Bob Al-Greene)Prime Day deals are for Prime subscribers, which you might think are only those who spend $139 on a yearly Prime subscription. But if you want access to Prime Day discounts without committing that much cash to Amazon, you can sign up for a monthly membership for $14.99 and then cancel it once Prime Day has passed.
There’s also a 30-day free trial for first-time subscribers, so if you qualify, you can get all the deals and pay nothing for the membership if you cancel within a month.
There are other ways to save on a Prime subscription. Students can get a membership for $69 per year or $7.49 per month. Anyone receiving Medicaid, EBT, or other government assistance might qualify to pay $6.99 per month.
If you know someone with Prime who doesn't mind sharing, they can add you to their account via Amazon Household. Your profiles and purchase histories will remain separate, but payment information is available to both parties—so if you're doing this, make sure you trust the other party with your credit card details.
What's the Big Deal?
Maybe the biggest question when it comes to Prime Day is: What’s the biggest deal? You can expect the best savings on products that are made by Amazon itself. When it comes to electronics, that means Amazon’s Echo lineup, as well as its Kindles, Fire Stick TVs, and Fire Tablets.
For tech accessories, smart home products, office supplies, fitness gadgets, home goods, and more, the house brand is AmazonBasics. Amazon makes products for pretty much every aspect of life, and they’re all found on its brands hub page.
For electronics, you should look at the model name and SKU numbers to make sure that the model on sale is the one you actually want. With electronics and everything else, check that the deal is really a deal by looking at its price elsewhere.
Sales Elsewhere
(Credit: Target)Not every great Prime Day deal is offered by Amazon. The company's competitors usually have sales of their own. Target Circle Week goes from July 9 to July 15. Walmart has Walmart Plus Week, for members of its Walmart+ program (currently 50% off to join). And don't forget about Best Buy and Dell, both of which are hosting Black Friday in July sales right now.
Comparison Shop
(Credit: Getty Images/DBenitostock)There's a big world of shopping beyond Amazon and its big-box competitors, but you don’t want to spend all day trying to compare prices yourself. That’s where price-comparison browser extensions, sites, and apps come into play.
Google Shopping is one of the best ways to find the lowest price on an item. Run a search for what you’re looking for, and you’ll see “low price” on the best price for that item.
CamelCamelCamel tracks prices only on Amazon. You can use it to find the biggest price drops on the site and to set up a price alert for when an item you want is at a price you’re willing to pay. Visit the site or download the browser extension to track prices.
Honey is a browser extension that finds the lowest price on Amazon, as well as tons of other retailers. You can set price alerts, and Honey also hooks you up with coupon codes.
RetailMeNot's Deal Finder browser extension automatically applies the best promo codes and cash back to maximize your savings online.
Price.com has both a browser extension and an app (iOS) that let you compare prices across online stores, including Amazon.
And speaking of apps, there are lots of price-comparison ones out there. Joining Price.com’s are BuyVia, Flipp, Mycartsavings, and ShopSavvy. You can search and compare product prices on all of them and set up price alerts for items.
Plan Ahead
You don’t want to buy something just because it’s on sale. So before Prime Day, decide on the items you’d like to get on sale, and add them to your Amazon wishlist. This way, you can check the list to see if anything’s on sale and easily move items to your cart and check out.
If you use the Amazon app, you can also get notifications if any of these items go on sale. To enable it, go to Settings > Notifications > Your Watched and Waitlisted Deals.
Plenty of Phish in the Sea
Prime Day is the perfect opportunity for scammers. You might see questionable links on social media or receive suspicious-looking texts or emails. Avoid getting phished: Don't click those links, but search for the deals you see in the wild directly on Amazon’s site or app.
Prevent Porch Pirating
(Credit: Getty Images/asbe)If you’re worried that a passel of packages will show up on your doorstep late next week and tempt porch pirates, you have a couple of options to lower the chances your stuff will be stolen.
If there’s a day of the week when you know you’ll be home, select it as your Amazon Day. Go into your account, and under Ordering and Shopping Preferences, click on Amazon Day, and set your preferred day of the week. Then at checkout, choose to have your packages delivered on your Amazon Day when you’ll be there to receive them.
Alternatively, have your purchases shipped to an Amazon Hub Locker or Counter nearby where you can pick up your packages. A Locker is a secure, self-service container typically located in a supermarket, convenience store, or bank. A Counter is a counter at a retail location, such as a convenience store or pharmacy. When you check out, go to the shipping address, choose Your Pickup Locations, and then tap on Find a Pickup Location Near You. You’ll then be able to select a Locker or Counter that’s nearby.
Disclosure: RetailMeNot is owned by PCMag parent company Ziff Davis.
