Amazon is gearing up for Prime Day, the company’s annual event when it slashes prices on a wide variety of products for Prime customers. This year, it’s July 11 (though the actual span of deals will last about 30 hours). You’ll be able to find the deals on Amazon’s web page or its various mobile apps — but the event can be hectic. So, in preparation, here are some key tips so you can make the most of Prime Day.
What Is Prime Day?
- For the uninitiated, Amazon categorizes deals in three ways: Missed, upcoming and currently available.
- You’ll see a countdown ticking away until a deal goes live, and new deals can go up every five minutes. Once an item sells out or the deal expires, it’ll get placed into the missed category.
- The lowest prices are often found on items that have limited stock, so expect these items to sell out in minutes — if not seconds.
- If you miss a deal, don’t despair: there’s typically a waiting list if anyone drops out of ordering a particular product.
- The best deals this year might be on TVs, as the company has bumped up its stock with a “record level” of inventory.
- Check out the “Spotlight Deals” tab, it’ll show you a collection of top brands, popular items and deals that don’t expire until stock dries up.
How to Prepare for Prime Day
- First, you’ll need an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the price cuts — so if you don’t have one, you can sign up for one here.
- Download the Amazon app. It’ll send you helpful notifications when deals go live. You can choose “Today’s Deals,” or tap on “Upcoming” to view deals 24 hours before they become available.
- If you’ve never had Prime, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial of the membership. Perfect for Prime Day.
- Deals go quick — so it might be smart to switch your account to 1-Click Ordering.
- Use Amazon Smile, and the company will donate a portion of eligible purchases to a charity of your choice. At no extra cost to you.
Prime Day Pre-Sales and Promotions
- There will be deals leading up to Prime Day, too — starting July 5 at 1 a.m. ET.
- July 5: Alexa Voice Shopping Sale
- July 6: Amazon Music Sale
- July 7: Amazon Video Credit
- July 8: Everyday Essentials Sale
- July 9: Amazon Reading Sale
- Some of the Thursdays pre-sales will include fourth months of Amazon’s music service for 99 cents and a Kindle Unlimited membership up to 40 percent off.
- Amazon is also offering a $10 credit for new members who have never streamed an Amazon Prime video before.
- The company is also planning on offering exclusive deals to shoppers using an app or device equipped with Alexa.
Is It Worth it?
Some of the price cuts are awesome, and it’s certainly entertaining to see just what products Amazon will offer. And Amazon Prime itself is worth the $10.99 or so a month – you’ll get free two-day shipping, unlimited streaming of select movies and TV shows at no extra cost, and the ability to “borrow” e-books, among a range of other benefits and optional add-ons.