Amazon’s Prime Day is as close as you’ll get to a Black Friday event in the middle of the year, and if you’re searching for something in particular — or just want a good deal on cool stuff you didn’t even know you needed — you’ll need to know how to find them. We’ve got you covered.
When is it?
Prime Day starts July 10th and 9:00 pm EST, and lasts for 30 hours. Sales roll out gradually over the full length of the event, so it pays to follow these insider tips & tricks!
Where to watch
Amazon’s App – This is the most obvious destination if you’re search for bargains, and Amazon itself recommends using its official app for iOS and Android as the do-it-all tool for Prime Day deals. To get right to the good stuff, just open the app, tap the menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen and then select “Today’s Deals.” When you find something you like, you can drag and drop to the bottom of the screen to add it to your own shopping list. It’s a slick, speedy way to navigate all the best sales, and it will help you buy more, faster.
Facebook & Twitter – Like any major company, Amazon has destinations on every social media platform known to man, but unlike many others it’s actually extremely useful to follow these accounts during Prime Day. If this year’s Prime Day is anything like the last, the Facebook and Twitter pages for Amazon will be sending out notifications on its newest sales throughout the 36 hours of the sale, so keep an eye on the feeds and grab your goodies before anyone else can swoop in.
Alexa – You didn’t think Amazon would leave out its all-knowing virtual assistant when it comes to Prime Day, did you? Alexa has been a great deal hound for a long time, and if you don’t have time to tap your phone in search of a bargain, simply summon Alexa and say “Alexa, what are your deals?” for a brief rundown of the best buys. You can even place an order with your voice, as long as you have voice-activated ordering enabled (inside the Alexa app for iOS and Android).
Other places to look
Some of the most popular deals sites on the web are keeping tabs on Amazon Prime Day too, and will have up-to-date lists of the best sale prices for various products, so give these sites a look if you just can’t stand browsing Amazon yourself:
Tips for scoring the best deals
Lightning Deals – With so many items going on sale it’s hard to know exactly what discounts are the best, but you can always count on Lightning Deals as being the best of the best. These are limited-time sale prices for some of the most desirable items, and will pop up every single hour during Prime Day. Some of the sales last only minutes, because they get bought up by eager shoppers, so you really have to stay on top of these. Luckily, Amazon has a Twitter feed that posts new deals as they go up, so if you need to catch up you can see all the latest sales in a matter of seconds.
Fill your cart – Amazon’s sales system works a bit differently than most. The company lets you save deals into your cart so you can be sure you get the price you expect, but they only last for a limited amount of time. If you see a deal you think you might want, add it to your cart first, then debate it with yourself (or your significant other) over the next few minutes. If you wait, the deal could be gone before you even have a chance to decide.
Join the waitlist – There’s two sides to the convenience of the “add to cart” timer. If you tap on a Lightning Deal too late, you can join a waitlist for it. If someone who added the deal to their cart doesn’t check out in time, or decides they don’t want it after all, people on the waitlist get the chance to buy it instead, so even if it’s sold out, there’s still hope!