Amazon’s Prime Day is Tuesday, July 11th, with deals kicking off at 9pm ET tomorrow, July 10th. If you’ve never participated in the day before, it can be a bit overwhelming. It’s kind of like heading to Walmart on Black Friday, except since it’s on the internet you’re less likely to get assaulted.
New deals drop roughly every 5 minutes for 30 hours straight, so it’s a marathon, not a sprint, with a good strategy being the key to success. While there’s no surefire way to ensure you get all the deals you want, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success:
Make Sure Your Prime Account is up to Date
In order to take advantage of Prime Day you’ll need to be a Prime customer. Go ahead and take the time now to make sure your membership details are in order. If you don’t have a Prime membership already, you can also sign up for a free 30-day trial and take advantage of the deals.
Load up on Amazon Credit
Amazon is already offering a $10 credit the first time you add $100 to your Amazon gift card balance. Gift cards works just like credit on your account. If you know you’re going to spend a ton of cash Tuesday (or even just shop regularly on Amazon), then adding $100 to your account means an automatic 10% bonus.
Get It Now
If you’ve never tried Prime Now, Amazon is offering $10 off your first order plus a bonus of $10 off future orders using the code “10PRIMEDAY.” If you’re considering purchasing something, it could be a good idea to see if it’s available for immediate delivery in your area just so you can take advantage of this one.
Hang With Alexa
Access to this year’s deals starts at 9pm ET Monday for people who have Alexa devices. Say “Alexa, what are your deals?” to hear what’s available right now.
Download Amazon’s App
The Amazon app is your key to not missing out on any deals. Within the app go to “Today’s Deals” and then “Upcoming” to see all the Prime deals 24 hours before they go live. If there’s something you’ve got your eye on, you can “Watch this Deal” to get a notification when the sale has officially started for that item. To catch the good deals this planning step is key. Even better, if you’ve never used the app before, Amazon is offering $10 for your first sign in.
Join the Waitlist
Even if an item sells out (and trust me, the thing you want probably will), you can click the “Join Waitlist” button on the product page to get notified if for some reason more inventory becomes available.
Pay Attention
Just like Black Friday, there are going to be “deals” on Prime Day that aren’t really a bargain at all. Pay attention to what a deal actually is, how much or a product you’re getting (do you have somewhere to store that 48-pack of Charmin?), and whether or not it’s actually a big discount in the first place. There’s also the matter of making sure what you’re buying is something you actually want or need. No matter how cheap something is, if it’s useless to you then it’s not a bargain at all.