It’s like Christmas … for yourself … in July: What to know about Amazon Prime Day now that it’s here
In recent years, Amazon’s Prime Day has been a huge hit among consumers. Now, it’s a two-day event. As it kicks off this Tuesday and Wednesday, online shoppers have been scoping out the best deals on things they want, or finding deals on things they didn’t know they wanted until they saw it.
But there are plenty of reasons to be cautious before you click “buy” over the next two days, though with Amazon being such an online behemoth, there’s bound to be some legitimately good deals.
“Some of the best deals we’re hearing about have to do with smaller appliances, especially things like air fryers and robotic vacuums,” said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst with Bankrate.com. “I think it’s definitely worth checking out Amazon devices. They often have really good sales on their own devices.”
But just because there are some deals to be had, it doesn’t mean that everything for sale is the best deal you can find.
“Certain things go on sale at certain times,” said Rossman. “It tends to be that larger electronics and appliances and toys … [are] often more slanted toward the Black Friday time frame. So, if you don’t really need it now, you might get a better deal by waiting a few months.
“Labor Day sales are pretty famous, too. Especially things like mattresses, bedding, larger appliances,” he added. “I think a lot of the best Prime Day deals will probably revolve around smaller electronics.”
But truth be told, whatever deals you find on Amazon this week might not even be the best deals. Retailers like Walmart and Target are also upping their online sales this week in the hopes of competing against Amazon.
“It’s definitely worth shopping around,” advised Rossman. “If you have your eye on a specific item, don’t just assume that any one retailer has the lowest price … things can vary.”
Most importantly, don’t be pressured to buy something because the clock is ticking on the website.
“I think there’s also pressure to overspend sometimes,” conceded Rossman. “And I think also the finite nature of this sale, like ‘the clock is ticking. You’ve got to act now.’ Sometimes that leads people to overspend. So you definitely want to be mindful of that, especially in a time of high inflation and high interest rates.”
With interest rates on credit cards as high as ever, overspending this week could really cost you down the line.
“Sometimes this stuff really adds up. And I think the time sensitivity of Prime Day is part of what can incentivize overspending. Often we say, ‘take a breath, sleep on it, check again the next day,’” said Rossman.
“The nature of these Prime Day sales is that they go very quickly. So I think it’s actually really important to go into this with a plan. If you have something that you need that you’re going to buy anyway in the next few weeks, maybe you can find a good deal. But if you’re just kind of browsing for the heck of it, that’s when you might overdo it,” he said.