If you’re ready to embark on a shopping spree, the summer’s biggest sales event is just days away: Amazon Prime Day will kick off on July 16 at 3 p.m EST, promising 36 hours of discounts on popular products exclusively available to Prime members. Considering the online retail giant experienced record sales in 2017, with Prime Day growing by more than 60 percent from the previous year, this year’s shopping bonanza is sure to rake in higher sales and offer bigger discounts.
While there are plenty of deals to take advantage of for Prime Day 2018, assessing the sales can be confusing and time-consuming. Plus, many offers may only be available for a short period of time, making it hard to navigate the frenzy and optimize savings.
[Read: 5 Best Items to Buy on Amazon Prime Day 2018.]
Though there are plenty of savings to be had, landing the best deals during Prime Day requires more than just clicking the buy button. Here’s how to shop wisely and maximize discounts on Prime Day, according to the pros.
Sign up for free. In order to access the deals available on Prime Day, you must be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren’t already signed up, take advantage of their free 30-day trial. The only snag: If you don’t want to continue the service after 30 days, you’ll have to remember to cancel your membership before the trial period wraps up. Otherwise, you will be automatically enrolled and charged the annual $119 fee. If you want to enroll, take advantage of extra savings by shopping through TopCashback.com, a cash-back shopping site, which currently provides a free $15 Amazon gift card to customers who sign up for Prime membership.
Know what to buy. While there are plenty of attractive deals to seize upon, some product categories stand out in terms of savings. According to Chelsea Hudson, shopping expert at TopCashback.com, some of the biggest discounts can be enjoyed on Amazon products such as Kindles and Echo devices, and shoppers can also find deals on modern electronics such as smart home devices, TVs, video games and consoles.
Meanwhile, Sara Skirbol, a shopping and trends expert at the discount shopping site RetailMeNot.com, suggests waiting to buy cookware, shoes, accessories and designer clothing until Black Friday or Cyber Monday for better bargains.
Create a detailed shopping list. Sales events such as Prime Day have a way of luring shoppers to buy more than they need by creating a sense of urgency. However, winding up with products you don’t need, no matter how little you paid, is ultimately a waste of money. Avoid this trap by preparing a shopping list to stay focused. Include back-to-school items that you may need and gifts for upcoming birthdays and events. You can even snag a present or two for the winter holidays if the price is right. Once you have your detailed shopping list ready, research prices ahead of Prime Day as a reference point, suggests Trae Bodge, smart shopping expert at TrueTrae.com. This will allow you to identify the good deals from the duds, she says.
Gear up your cart. Amazon will release a series of Lightning Deals, promotions offering a product in a limited quantity for a short period of time that can be easily missed if you don’t monitor the deals closely. Stay prepared by getting your cart ready for speedy checkout. To do this, save your payment information and shipping details ahead of the sales event and review the upcoming deals section for a list of times product deals will be released, suggests Jessica Turner, author of The Mom Creative blog and author of “Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive.”
“If you find something you want, add it to your cart to save yourself a step when the deal goes live,” she says.
It’s also beneficial to create a watch list that includes products you want or need on Amazon, says Michelle Madhok, online shopping expert and founder of deals site SheFinds.com. That way, you’ll receive a notification when those items go on sale.
Review price histories. Amazon fluctuates pricing for its products multiple times per day. Comparing the current selling price against how much the same item was selling for a few hours ago as well as a few days or weeks ago can give you a better idea of whether or not the Prime Day sale offer is a good deal or not, says David Mercer, CEO and founder of RankTracer.com, a free Amazon price tracker service.
The best way to determine whether you are getting a good deal on Prime Day is to compare the sales price with the price history for the item you’re interested in buying using sites like RankTracer.com. You can even set price drop alerts so you know when to buy a product at a greater discount.
[See: 10 Money-Saving Websites to Check Before Shopping.]
Compare deals across multiple retailers. Though Prime Day is an exclusive sales event for Amazon shoppers, many other retailers are planning to capture some of the shopping buzz by offering their own deals. Make sure to compare prices before buying anything because you never know what other merchant may offer bigger savings on the same or a similar product. What’s more, these online stores may not require a membership, helping you save even more.
“The key to saving is research,” Hudson says. “Many other retailers host their own version of Cyber Monday in July, so research various sites to find the best deal. You may find similar deals at another retailer without having to buy a membership.”
Bodge suggests downloading a browser extension such as Wikibuy to get instant price comparisons while browsing sale items on Amazon. Meanwhile, Slickdeals, a deal site, provides a sale alert feature, which sends you up-to-the-minute notifications for deals available at any online retailer, helping you pinpoint the best values across multiple stores quickly, Bodge adds.
Score deals at Whole Foods. New this year, Prime members can shop Prime Day deals in person at Whole Foods with exclusive discounts on Alexa-enabled devices and natural and organic products. Plus, Prime members can score an additional 10 percent off hundreds of sale items throughout the store. To access the discounts, download the Whole Foods Market app and scan the Prime Code. What’s more, those who shop at the food store from July 11 to July 17 will receive a $10 credit on Amazon to use toward Prime Day sales.
Get on the wait list. If there was a particular deal you missed, fret not. You may be surprised to score similar savings when the product becomes available again, so sign up for the wait list to keep an eye on availability, Turner says. “I’ve been surprised before when I have gotten a deal after the fact.”
[See: 10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud.]
Shop safely. You may be tempted to browse Prime Day deals and snag a few great offers while grabbing a cup of joe before work or at a nearby bookstore on your lunch break. Just make sure you aren’t doing so on an unsecure public Wi-Fi network to avoid leaving yourself vulnerable to hackers looking to steal your passwords and sensitive personal information.
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9 Amazon Prime Day Shopping Strategies originally appeared on usnews.com
