The annual Amazon Prime Day event takes place on July 11-12, but many of the best deals are already available if you’re an Amazon Prime member.
Oh, Amazon bought your favorite robot company
Amazon Prime Day was created for one reason: to get people to sign up as Amazon Prime subscribers. But the mini-holiday, launched in 2015, has far exceeded its original purpose, ushering in a whole new shopping season for Amazon and its many retail competitors, both online and brick-and-mortar. Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and other stores also have their versions, allowing savvy shoppers to make plenty of comparison purchases.
One of the big mysteries of Prime Day is that many of the best deals available to Prime members start weeks earlier. Many of these early offers are for Amazon-owned products from brands like Kindle, Fire TV, Ring, Eero, and Echo, but sometimes there are also early offers for Apple or Samsung products, video games, and other items.
Based on my years of experience as a tech reporter and product reviewer, below are some of the better early bird discounts. We will update this list regularly.
Apple Watch Series 8, $359 (normally $429)
Note that the latest Apple Watch sees this price drop regularly if you’re patient.
Anker MagGo, $69, after a 30% off coupon (usually $99)
Anker makes some of my favorite accessories. This is a power cube and phone charger combo with USB-A and USB-C ports. Be sure to click the checkbox on the product page to get the automatic 30% off coupon.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. $84 (normally $149)
That’s the lowest price I’ve seen on these pretty good AirPods alternatives.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, $59 (normally $69)
Yes, the latest Zelda game is already discounted. Note, however, that this applies to the physical version of the game.
Amazon Fire TV 75″ Omni QLED Series $899 (normally $1,099)
LG and TCL are my usual TV brands, but unless you’re going for a pricey OLED TV, this QLED model (which sounds the same but isn’t) offers local dimming, HDR support and solid build-in Fire TV software, all at a very good price for a 75-inch device.
When is Amazon Prime Day?
Prime Day officially begins July 11 at 3 p.m. EST and lasts 48 hours through July 12. However, early offers are already available and some offers will continue after July 12th.
Do you have to be an Amazon Prime member?
Yes, to get those Prime Day deals — and that’s Prime Day’s primary purpose: to get you to sign up for the $140-a-year subscription. A helpful trick: You can sign up for the 30-day free trial and then cancel. Just be careful because if you’re not careful it can be difficult to cancel.
Will other stores have Prime Day deals?
Yes and no. Ever since Amazon introduced Prime Day in 2015, competitors have been running suspiciously similar sales on overlapping days. Target, Best Buy, Walmart and similar stores, both online and in the real world, had their own special days with names like “Black Friday in July”. In 2023, Target will host Target Circle Week on July 9-15 and Walmart will host Walmart Plus Week on July 10-13. It makes sense to do a comparison between these different stores to get the best price.