From 2015 onward, Amazon’s Prime Day has been towering over other retailers’ grand shopping events, earning its place alongside Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
On this one-day annual event, Amazon Prime members get access to the estimated one million deals. The event is marketed for its steep discounts and exclusive deals that help people save big.
But whether Prime Day will take you to a happy place (as heavily hinted with an A to Z smile on Amazon’s logo) is a question many are asking.
If Prime Day gets you to pause for thought, you’ve landed on the right page.
- Is Prime Day a hoax?
- Is it just another marketing trap to lure you into impulsive buying?
- Will it have any effect on your budget and how much can you save?
This is what we approach today, alongside other questions that may have been plaguing you as June 2021 is nearing.
Contents
Is Prime Day Worth It?
Everybody loves a good bargain, and the truth is you can score a great deal on Prime Day on a range of merchandise, as many items are on deep discounts.
But just because some items are tagged with lower prices doesn’t mean they’re worth your hard-earned buck.
People tend to overshop on heavily marketed holidays, so it’s best to prepare a wish list so you have something to go on. To ensure what you’re getting is truly a great price, check pricing history before shopping.
Next, give honest answers to the below-listed questions:
- Is the purchase time-sensitive? How soon do I need it?
- How often does the item go on sale?
- Do I need a specific make and model?
However, not all the items will be massively discounted so you need to narrow your focus.
Prime Day is great for buying Amazon devices, as Amazon will be pushing sales on those rather than other brands.
That said, you can expect to save on Google Assistant products, Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Echo smart speakers, etc.
Also, you can hope for the best prices on electronics, including:
- TVs
- Smartphones
- Instant Pots
- Robot vacuums
Amazon Prime Day: The Best Deals From Last Year
If you mean to scour for good penny-worth deals this year, looking at last year’s best deals will give you some hints.
Last year’s two-day event made history marking two biggest days ever for small and medium businesses in Amazon’s stores worldwide.
Amazon stepped up with great lowest price offers cutting across a variety of categories. Below is an excerpt of last year’s press release.
“Prime members saved more than $1.4 billion during Prime Day, taking advantage of deep discounts and incredible deals over the two-day event.
Some of the top categories members shopped and saved globally included Home, Electronics and Nutrition & Wellness, with best-selling products around the world including the Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote, iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, and Lego Star Wars Stormtrooper Helmet, among others.”
There’s been a rising curve of holiday gift shopping in 2020, with 62% of customers making their purchases in this category.
Where to Find Alternative Sales During Amazon Prime Day 2021
But what if good deals for items on your radar are few and far between? What if you spot that your items are not too far off from the original price? In that case, you may want to check out Amazon’s competing retailers.
Since its launch in 2015, Prime Day has created a ripple effect with more and more retailers running similar sales, scrambling for customer attention.
So this is the time of the year to get goods at lower prices, and you may even score great deals for some quality products. Search for competitors such as:
- Best Buy
- Target
- Walmart
These retailers’ offers cut across a wider range of categories. And the best part—their sale offers run for up to a week, making room for some extra time to plan.
The competing retailers were shown to be rivaling Amazon with prices in the past few years. So, be sure to compare their offers.
How to Score the Best Amazon Prime Day Deals
Warm Up for the Event
Doing a little prep work will give you the upper hand during Prime Day. Waiting until the last minute is only bound to bring about poor judgment and rushed decisions.
Below are your simple warm-up steps to help you get the best Prime Day deals.
- Set up your Prime account. For first-time subscribers, there’s a 30-day free trial if you’re not confident you want to go all in.
- Download the Amazon app to get alerts when deals are activated for items on your wishlist.
- Consider the Amazon Prime credit card. This year, it ensures you a 6 percent cashback on Amazon purchases during Prime Day. A rewards credit card can help you maximize your savings even further.
Price Check Your Products
Use Amazon Assistant to compare sale prices and get the best price deals.
Another way to tell a good deal from a bad one is by using the CamelCamelCamel platform. The website informs if a price drops and gives you an all-time low price for a product you’re comparing.;
Here’s how the price comparison chart looks for Echo Dot.
This way, you can track price oscillations and see whether the current price makes sense. The good news is you can use it to compare millions of Amazon products.
Alternatively, use the Camelizer Chrome extension to get access to price history at any time.
Know the Popular Deals
Another way to nail it with your savings is to have an idea of which products have been popular over the years.
Instant Pot was an absolute winner with 24,000 sales in 2015. The sales soared for the popular kitchen appliance, with 215,000 in 2016 and 300,000 sales in 2018.
Toys were among the top performers in 2017.
We don’t quite know what we’re in for in 2021, but we can at least get some ideas drawing on the expert guidance.
Experts expect items like Nintendo switch, TVs, smart home devices, beauty, fashion, and pet products to be all the rage in 2021.
There are also some early-bird offers including items such as:
- Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 quart multi-cooker at $119,95
- New Amazon Echo Show 5 at $63.75
- iPad 8th generation (32GB) at $299
- Amazon Fire Stick 4K at $39.99
Keep an Eye on Lightning Deals
Lighting deals, as their name suggests, are time-sensitive as they go pretty fast. They feature some of the all-time lowest prices for smart home tech, small home, and kitchen appliances.
An offer is set on a timer, and if you don’t check out with the product within 15 minutes, it’s off the table.
There’s this members-only perk of getting an extra 30 minutes to take advantage of the deals before they’re officially open.
Ask Alexa
Rapid life pace can mess with your plans to shop this Prime Day. Get Alexa to set you a reminder so you don’t miss out on the limited-time offers.
Even better, use your Echo device to sign up for Prime and you’ll get a $5 Amazon credit on this year’s annual sale event.
Join the Waitlist
To snatch a steep discount on an item you don’t want to miss out on, join the waitlist for it. When you’re next on the waitlist, you’ll receive an alert on your Amazon page or get a notification on your phone (if enabled).
You have15 minutes to complete the purchase, otherwise, it will be made available to the next person on the waitlist.
FAQs
Is Amazon Prime Worth It?
Signing up for Prime will cost you a $119 annual fee. Whether this cuts it for you is more of a personal thing.
If Amazon is the first query you type in when shopping for products, then your subscription is likely to pay off.
If you’re intent on using most of Prime’s popular services and tick most or all of the boxes below, then yes, paying $119 is worthwhile for you.
- Do you happen to complete 10–20 Amazon purchases a year?
- Do you see yourself benefitting from Prime Video, Amazon Music, or Prime Gaming services?
- Does free two-day delivery play a factor for you?
Are Amazon Deals Real?
Yes, Amazon deals are real most of the time.
If you tend to get cold feet when it comes to subscriptions, you can always claim a money-back guarantee (just check whether you’re eligible for free shipping).
Or even better, sign up for the trial period and then cancel the subscription before the trial period ends.
Do You Actually Save Money on Prime Day?
It is hard to pin down whether a big sale equals big savings, and this holds true for any major sale event. You can have the best discounts but if you can’t get the exact product you want at the lowest prices then those deals are questionable.
One way to go about this is to settle for an alternative discounted item that still works for you. Yet, your best bet is adding products to your wishlist and tracking price changes.
Also, to make sure you’re not compromising on quality, cross-reference your products with BestReviews.
What Should You Avoid on Prime Days?
There are some unwise purchases experts warn against this year:
- On Prime Day 2021 you’re unlikely to save on Google, Samsung, and Apple devices as they’re Amazon’s direct competitors.
- It’s wise to skip on toys, gaming consoles, and cameras this Prime Day and wait for sales later into the holiday season.
- It’s also better to wait for back-to-school sales if you’re in the market for tablets, laptops, and monitors.
What Is So Good About Prime Day?
Aside from gaining access to a great deal of discounted items (some of which ship even within a two-hour window) and gaining exclusive access to numerous Amazon Prime services, there are other perks to look forward to this year.
Some of the incredible incentives are listed below:
- Prime Day 2021 sets you up for a $10 credit upon spending $10 with any of the more than 300,000 small businesses at amazon.com/supportsmall.
- To support small businesses and earn 10 percent back, all you need to do is shop using the Amazon Prime credit card.
There’s always a long list of questions around Amazon Prime membership, but they double or even triple as soon as Amazon starts announcing the big sale day. They’re coming from new members and experienced subscribers alike.
Amazon’s Prime Day brings along plenty of puzzles and hidden values. Sign up for our Prime Factor Newsletter and navigate it like a pro.
