Amazon Prime Early Access Sale (October 11-12)
Did you know that Amazon is holding their 2nd Prime sale of the year, on October 11 & 12? This now-massive sale event kicked off on July 15, 2015, as a 24-hour sale. Each subsequent year through 2019, Prime Day occurred in the second week of July and the sale grew from 24 to 48 hours.
Then the Pandemic hit in 2020, flipping retail on its head in myriad ways. Prime Day was postponed until October – again as a 48-hour sale – serving as an unofficial start to the holiday shopping season that year.
In 2021, experts and consumers wondered when Prime Day was going to be. Would it return to July? Or perhaps there would be two Prime Days, one in July and one in October? But Amazon surprised us all by holding Prime Day over 48 hours beginning June 21.
Sales in June 2021 were only a modest jump over 2020, so I’m not surprised that Amazon returned its big, annual sale to July in 2022, which turned out to be a good move. According to the Amazon team, it was the “biggest Prime Day event in Amazon’s history.” They went on to report that “Prime members purchased more than 300 million items worldwide and ‘saved over $1.7 billion.”
Now, Amazon has announced a second Prime Day sale, which will be held October 11-12. I am glad to see this and think it’s a smart move, given the excitement that was caused by its Prime Day sale in October 2020.
Here are the Best Amazon Prime Day Shopping Tips:
Amazon Prime Membership is Required
Amazon Prime Early Access deals are for Amazon Prime members only. If you are not a member, now is a great time to join so you can take advantage of all the discounts. The membership is $139 per year (or $14.99 per month) and includes unlimited two-day or in some cases next-day or same-day shipping all year long.
There are also a whole host of other benefits, including access to Amazon Video, Amazon Music, one free Kindle book per month, special discounts, a free Grubhub+ membership, and lots more. There’s a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial, so why not give it a try? (Just remember to cancel within that 30-day window if you don’t intend to continue.) And if you’ve done a free trial before, don’t worry – you’re eligible for a free Amazon Prime trial every 12 months!
Amazon Prime Membership Discounts
Students with a valid ID can get a 6-month free trial, and then it’s $7.49 per month, plus a slew of perks from other providers, like the Calm app and Grubhub.
If you are on public assistance and can provide an EBT or Medicaid card, you can get Amazon Prime for $6.99 per month.
Special Offers
Amazon often offers bonuses on top of their Prime Day discounts. Last year, you could get a $10 Amazon credit when you purchased a $40 Prime Day gift card. This gift card could be gifted to someone else, or be applied towards your Prime membership or future purchases. Look for offers like this, too.
Certain brands will have their own special deals on Amazon. For example, on Prime Day in July, if you ordered $75+ of P&G products, you received a $20 Prime Day Credit. Look for deals like this from your favorite brands.
Sign up for Amazon’s Credit Card
If you are a regular Amazon shopper, consider applying for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card. Periodically, Amazon offers an instant bonus upon approval. Right now, it’s a $100 Amazon gift card!
This card has no annual fee and allows you to earn 5% back on your Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, and 1-2% back on other purchases. These earnings can be applied to future Amazon purchases.
This year, through Prime Day, you can also earn even more on select eligible items just by using your Prime Rewards Visa. Throughout the year, you can earn up to 10% back on select items through Prime Bonus.
There are also benefits for foreign travel, like no transaction fees and travel insurance. Like many store cards, this card has a fairly high APR, so buy only what you can pay off in full each month.
Use Amazon Cash
If you don’t have a debit or credit card, you can still shop with Amazon by using Amazon Cash by adding a Gift Card Balance to your Amazon Account at select store locations (click here for locations). Add between $5 – $500.
Deal Spotting
Use the Amazon app or the Amazon Assistant browser extension to search for Today’s Deals or Deals & Savings, and add items of interest to your Lists.
Additionally, you can subscribe to receive deal notifications for your recently viewed items by visiting the Prime Early Access Sale page on the Amazon app between now and the event to create deal alerts. Once the sale begins, you will receive alerts for any deals that are available.
You can also scroll through “Upcoming Deals” and click “Watch This Deal,” to receive alerts for that item.
When Prime Day arrives, click on “Today’s Deals” to see what’s on sale. Most of the deals will be Prime Day exclusives, which will be available to shoppers while supplies last. “Deals of the Day” will only be available for 24 hours, and then there will be “Lightning Deals”, which like lightning, come and go very quickly.
Another smart thing to do is to add things that you want to your cart before Prime Day and click “Save for Later.” That way, on Prime Day, you can easily view all those items and see if they are on sale.
Ask Alexa
If you have any of Amazon’s devices, like the Echo Dot or Echo Show, ask Alexa what the deals are. For up to 24-hours before a deal goes live, Alexa can also notify you of deals on items you’ve added to your Wish List, your cart or your Save for Later list. Once you’ve ordered, you can also track your packages using Alexa.
Set Alerts
Other retailers may offer competitive deals on Prime Day. To ensure you get the lowest price, set deal alerts for specific items on Slickdeals. You’ll receive a notification when those items go on sale on Amazon or elsewhere. Also, bookmark the Slickdeals Prime Day page for all the best deals in one place.
Compare Prices
Don’t check out on Amazon before installing the Paypal Honey browser extension. Once installed, Honey will provide historical pricing so you can determine whether to buy now or later. You can also elect to set up price drop notifications.
I also really like the Cently browser extension from CouponFollow, which will let you know if you are getting the best price at Amazon or if there is a better price elsewhere. Remember, just because something is on sale on Prime Day, doesn’t mean you’ve found the best price.
Save at Checkout
Yet another fab browser extension is CouponCabin’s Sidekick. Once installed, it will pop up and offer to run coupons for you at checkout. The extension will cycle through several coupon codes to see if any are valid. If there is a valid code, you’ll automatically see that coupon applied to your purchase!
See What’s New
To commemorate Prime Day, Amazon usually launches a whole host of items, many with introductory pricing. Stay tuned!
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