Following the announcement that Prime Big Deal Days will be held on October 8-9th, I felt that it would be prudent to share some top tips on how to bag the best Amazon Prime Day deals before things really kick off.
While historically Prime Day has seen discounts across own-brand and tech, I've seen a growing trend of more and more brands who have products listed on Amazon to jump in on the action by offering deals that we can't (really) afford to miss. This includes brands such as Shark, Keurig and Husqvarna who span across the small appliance and yard care categories.
The competition to spend your money elsewhere other than Amazon has really ramped up too, with anti-Prime Day deals rearing their heads from retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy. This means that you are in complete control where you shop because you can compare the discounts and prices, and decide where you prefer to shop rather than feeling that you have to be loyal.
Follow my steps to how to shop Prime Big Deal Days to ensure your dollars go further during the hotly anticipated event that is Amazon Prime Day.
How to shop Prime Big Deal Days
1. Sign up to be an Amazon Prime member
Prime Big Deal Days is a member-only event, which means that you'll need to be an Amazon Prime member.
Anyone can join Prime or start a 30-day free trial at www.amazon.com/amazonprime to participate in Prime Big Deal Days, as well as all the benefits included in the program, and you can join any time throughout the two-day mega event. If you want to cancel when the month is up, you can do so easily and it won’t have cost you a cent - besides what you spend on Prime Day itself, of course.
If the free trial is not an option for you, or you've been a Prime member before, Prime membership currently costs $14.99 a month or $119 for a year. You’ll get faster delivery option, exclusive savings, convenience, and quality digital entertainment and more, so there’s little not to like.
2. Know what you want to buy
Amazon sell literally 1000s of products for the home and yard so it can be all too easy to get distracted. Having an idea of what it is you want to buy can help to narrow down the search, and stay focused when it comes to choosing a deal.
It could also be worth staying flexible with your product choice. If you know you want a coffee maker, for example, we wouldn't advise settling on one particular brand; do some research into a few contenders. There are a number of brands that have made the cut onto our best coffee makers guide for all very different reasons so, take it from us; the coffee maker you've heard the most noise about may not necessarily be the best option for you during the deals event.
However, it's also worth looking at the spec and features that you know you want in that new product. It may be a case of sacrificing a couple of specs in order to save the most money, or to get what you really want.
“We are always looking for ways to offer customers even more value and opportunities to save throughout the year. Prime Big Deal Days will offer Prime members a wide selection of deals across some of our most popular items, including products from big brands and small businesses across the UK.”
J.Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager
3. Make a wishlist
One of the many perks of Prime membership is that you can (also) share several benefits with another person in your Amazon Household. This means that you could get the a variety of Prime Big Deal Days discounts without paying for an account yourself. Your willing benefactor will simply need to invite you from the Membership section of their Prime account.
Or, if you're feeling generous and want to share your own Amazon Prime benefits, you'll need to visit your Membership hub, find the "Share your Prime Benefits" section, head to Manage Your Household and then add the name and email address of the lucky person that you want to give benefits to.
Once you've got access to your Prime benefits, you can then be on the prowl for best deals of the day. You can do this by sticking with us, Top Ten Reviews, so we do the research for you, then you can go into Amazon Prime Day having a rough idea of what products you actually need or want to buy.
4. Set Alexa deal notifications
It would be a good idea to free up your calendar and have Alexa set up an event reminder for Big Deal Days. This will mean that you can be alerted at the start of Prime Big Deal Days by saying, “Alexa, set a reminder for Prime Big Deal Days.”
You can also subscribe to receive deal alert notifications related to recent Amazon searches and recently viewed items. All you have to do is visit the Prime Big Deal Days event page on the Amazon Shopping app between now and Prime Big Deal Days to create deal alerts. Once Prime Big Deal Days arrives, you will receive push notifications on available deals you’ve subscribed to.
5. Download camelcamelcamel
This is one of the tools of the expert deals hunters. It's a free Amazon price tracker which monitors the prices of products on the online store and alerts you when there's a price drop. This means that you could get the chance to buy a product or device for it's lowest ever price. Download camelcamelcamel and add the price history charts to your browser as an extension for a super-easy deal find.
The pricing history works both way too. If you spot that the price hasn't dropped as far down as other retailers, then you know that you're going to be getting a better deal elsewhere.
6. Add products to you basket like, now
If you know what you want, and it's on Amazon, then add it to your basket to save time when the Prime Big Deal Days arrives. There is a chance that the product won't be discounted and / or it'll go out of stock, but if you are happy to wait then this tactic could pay off.
Bear in mind that the absolute best deals are probably going to be kept under wraps until the event. And lastly, if you see a genuinely amazing deal on the day/s—and some are definitely better than others—be sure to hit check out sooner rather than later.
