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Amazon’s annual sale is almost here and Prime Day 2021 is shaping up to be a big one, with more than one million deals expected globally over the June 21-22 period. If you want to get the best deals on genuinely good products next week, here are five tips from the Reviewed team that will help you take advantage of the sale—and not get taken for a ride.
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1. You need a Prime membership, but there are tricks to get it for less.
A Prime membership is the entrance fee to take advantage of Prime Day deals on Amazon. Normally, a one-year membership costs $119. With that, you get access to Prime Video, Amazon Prime Music, and free two-day shipping for most items. The easiest and cheapest workaround is to simply sign up for a 30-day free trial, shop Prime Day, and then cancel. There are also discounts for students, EBT, and Medicaid recipients.
2. Amazon-branded products almost always get big discounts.
It should come as no surprise that Amazon puts its own products front and center during its biggest sales event. Echo smart speakers, Kindle e-readers, Echo Buds, Fire tablets, Fire video streaming devices, and Ring doorbells are some of the brand’s popular name-brand products. But Amazon has expanded to more than 100 house brands, especially prevalent in apparel and furniture.
3. Making a game plan will save you time and money.
It seems obvious, but making a plan is probably the surest way to stave off buyer’s remorse. Remember the central tenet of Reviewed bargain hunting: “There’s no such thing as a good deal on a bad product.” If you know you’re in the market for headphones, a bathing suit, an air conditioner, or whatever it is, take some time to familiarize yourself with the brands that have a good reputation. Read professional reviews (like Reviewed!) and the user reviews. Decide how much you’re willing to spend and stick to your budget. If you’re shopping on Amazon, you can add your favorites to your cart or wish list and, if the price has dropped come Prime Day, the lower price should be reflected in your cart.
4. Don’t get tricked by fake price drops.
Retailers routinely say that product has a “20% discount” or “$50 off,” etc., but they can sometimes get creative with the math. The appliance industry is notorious for jacking up the prices on products ahead of a major holiday so they can offer seemingly large discounts. The Reviewed team often uses Keepa and Camelizer, two completely free, third-party tools that show the Amazon price history going back a year or more. Both are available as browser extensions that insert a useful price history graph right onto the product page. These are powerful tools that put the consumer in a much more informed position.
If all of this seems overwhelming, we’re here to help. The Reviewed team scours the sale and does all the comparisons to highlight the best deals on the best products, so you won’t have to do the work. You can find all of our results at primeday.usatoday.com throughout the sale.
5. Shop around. Lots of other retailers have sales during Prime Day.
Amazon may have invented Prime Day, but other retailers certainly took notice and are doing their best to win your dollars. Best Buy, Walmart, Samsung, and many others are offering strongly competitive sales events of their own. If the product you’re interested is not an Amazon-exclusive, it pays to shop around before you click the buy button.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest deals, reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
