It’s official: Amazon Prime Day is coming in just a few weeks, from June 23 to 26. With it comes the promise of summer’s best deals on everything, from tech and TVs to beauty and fashion must-haves. But are Prime Day deals actually good? If they are, how can you tell? The Business Insider Reviews
It’s official: Amazon Prime Day is coming in just a few weeks, from June 23 to 26. With it comes the promise of summer’s best deals on everything, from tech and TVs to beauty and fashion must-haves. But are Prime Day deals actually good? If they are, how can you tell?
The Business Insider Reviews team has been covering the event for years, which is why you can trust us to highlight only the best discounts on products we trust. As Deals Editor, I’m our team’s expert on the matter, with countless days and nights writing sale coverage under my belt. With that in mind, I’ve broken down what you need to know to be your own deals expert, below.
For when we’re not around, I’ve listed our tips and tricks for Prime Day deals shopping below. These are the hacks for scoring the best discounts during the Amazon-exclusive event to help you tell when a Prime Day deal is actually a good deal.
Lightning Deals and coupons
Amazon offers Lightning Deals and coupons throughout the year, but for Prime Day, the limited-time offers are much more frequent.
- Lightning Deals: Short-lived offers displayed on product listings, bringing items to incredible low prices. These are typically limited to a specific time and quantity before they expire.
- Coupons: Opt-in discounts available by selecting a checkbox on the product page or, more rarely, entering a coupon code at checkout. These can be pretty great deals, but they’re not always all-time lows.
As a rule of thumb, Lightning Deals are always excellent deals. At worst, they’ll match the previous all-time low, if not beat it by a landslide.
Coupons, on the other hand, aren’t necessarily as good. Rather than assuming the best of them, it’s best to keep an eye out for them on every product you buy. Typically, they’re not the most obvious and can sometimes amount to only a few cents off, making them forgettable. However, it’s worth keeping an eye out for the occasional gold mine that knocks an extra $50 off your purchase.
Price tracking
Price history is valuable when evaluating a deal’s “goodness.” Short of watching prices regularly throughout the year and taking notes on rises and falls (like I do), it can be difficult to acquire this knowledge. Luckily, there are some tools you can use to bolster your confidence when adding to the cart.
Camelcamelcamel
- Camelcamelcamel: Perhaps the simplest to use, this website gives you a full price history graph when you enter a product page URL. It’s pretty accurate, but fluctuations from third-party sellers, coupons, and Lightning Deals can introduce some confusion.
Keepa
- Keepa: A plug-in for frequent deal hunters, this can be installed on most major browsers to generate price history graphs on every Amazon product page you visit. It’s generally less fine-tuned than Camelcamelcamel, lacking the same amount of detail, but it’s good for an overall pricing view.
These tools can offer priceless knowledge that can help steer you in the right direction. They’re both free, too, so there’s no reason to skip out on them for your biggest purchases.
List price vs. typical price
More often than not, deals on Amazon come with a vibrant red “Limited time deal” tag, complete with a crossed-out “List Price” to show you just how much you’re saving. While this may, at first, pique your interest for potential savings, it doesn’t take long to realize that “List Price” is often far from a product’s typical price.
When I say “typical price,” I’m referring to the price an item is available at for most of the year. The price-tracking tools I mentioned above help inform this number, along with cross-referencing other stores (like Walmart or DTC brand sites) and the overall knowledge I’ve gained from keeping tabs on these items for so long.
Amazon; Keepa/Business Insider
For example, the AirPods Pro 3 may look enticing at only $199. However, many Apple aficionados can tell you that the brand’s products are almost always on sale. A quick glance at price history shows the earbuds are almost always available at $199, making that price more of a baseline than a can’t-miss deal worth jumping on. In this case, I’d say the Pro 3’s typical deal price is $199, and you should avoid ever paying any more than that.
Amazon Prime (Annual Plan)
All Amazon Prime memberships include Prime Video, so you can watch everything from “The Boys” to Thursday Night Football while getting two-day delivery on your latest orders. If you plan to hang onto your Prime subscription for the longterm, you’ll find some savings in an annual subscription.
Follow us on Instagram and WhatsApp for more deals and buying guides
You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.
Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *