Today is Amazon Prime Day! Here are 3 ways to get the very best deals

Trying to make the most of today amazon prime day? You are in the right place. Below we break it down in plain English, with practical tips you can actually use.

Key Takeaways

• Advertisement If you’re a Prime Member, Amazon wants to offer you some great deals on Prime Day, which is Tuesday, July 12, this year.
• But before you start buying, there are a few things you should know about the sale in order to get the very best deals.
• Read more: Is Amazon Prime worth it?  What are the best deals on Amazon Prime Day?

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If you’re a Prime Member, Amazon wants to offer you some excellent deals on Prime Day, which is Tuesday, July 12, this year.

But before you start buying, there are a few things you should know about the sale in order to get the very best deals.

Read more: Is Amazon Prime worth it? 

What are the best deals on Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon has been pretty secretive about the deals it plans to offer beginning at midnight Pacific Standard Time on July 12. But in a press release, this is what the company had to say about the mega-sale that seems like a close cousin of Black Friday:

‘Prime Day is a unique opportunity to discover new items and excellent deals, on top of our already low prices. Following last year’s record sales, we have dramatically increased the inventory behind numerous deals. In fact, in the U.S. we have nearly double the TV units compared to Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined,’ said  Greg Greeley, Vice President Amazon Prime.

‘Even with this massive selection we know numerous of the Prime Day offers will sell out, so members should download the Amazon shopping app to receive notifications on their favorite deals.’

Though some shoppers considered last years’ Prime Day somewhat of a letdown, the company plans to offer twice the number of deals it did last year. Upwards of 10,000 items will be on sale during this year’s Prime Day, with all the deals being listed here. 

How to get a free trial of Prime

If you don’t have a membership to Amazon Prime, not to worry! You can get a free 30-day trial here. Also, if you’re a student, you can get a free 6-month trial here! (But, keep in mind, if you have already tried Prime before, you will not be able to get the free trial again on the same account.)

Be sure to enter a reminder in your phone or calendar to cancel before the free trial expires in case you decide it’s not for you. But, take advantage of all that Prime has to offer while you’re a member, including free streaming of TV shows, movies, and music, free Kindle books and free photo storage.

Bonus tip: If you know a friend or family member who has a Prime membership, you can log in to their account and enter your own payment source and shipping information to take advantage of the deals. You can even split the membership fee if you want to continue sharing the Prime account.

Read more: 5 ways to maximize your savings on Amazon

Check out these 3 ways to get the best deals on Amazon Prime Day!

1. Make a list, check it twice.

The same rule that applies to grocery shopping applies here: Plan to shop for what you need or want and avoid the lure of impulse buys. Make a list, and then pre-shop to see what the best deals are on the item right now. Write down the best prices and save the links. That way, you’ll have this information ready for when the deals go live!

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2. Take advantage of additional deals.

There are already some excellent promotions Amazon is offering surrounding Prime Day. Here they are below!

• When you use your Amazon Visa card on Prime Day, you’ll receive $30 off your purchase of $150 or more with this coupon code.
• Take $10 off any purchase over $20 by making your order on Alexa. Alexa will also have some exclusive deals available. Simply ask, ‘Alexa, what are your Prime Day deals?” or visit Amazon.com/AlexaDeals. 
• The $50 Fire tablet is expected to be reduced to $35, according to CNET. 
• Kindle Unlimited, the $10 unlimited e-book and audio book service for Kindle users, will be discounted by as much as 40%. 
• Save $10 off your first Prime Now order of $20 or more, plus you’ll receive an extra $10 to spend on Prime Now later in the month.

3. ALWAYS cost check.

It might be helpful to have several browser windows open to cost check the items you plan to purchase once the sale goes live, as the truly excellent deals could sell out within minutes. Some sites you should probably cost check include Jet, Walmart, BestBuy, eBay, Macy’s and Costco. You can also use Froogle.com to find the best cost on a particular item, but keep in mind you may need to continue scrolling through the listings to find the best cost on an item.

Sites like Camelcamelcamel.com can help you take a look at pricing history to see if that item has ever been a lower cost before, while browser extensions such as Invisible Hand and PriceBlink can show you competitor pricing right within your browser window. 

But , and this is key , before you click ‘purchase’, double check those prices again. Prices can change in an instant as other retailers try to compete with Amazon on Prime Day.

P.S. Walmart is offering excellent deals to compete with Amazon

Take for example Walmart. Walmart is offering some excellent deals to compete with Amazon, so be sure to search whatever you’re buying at Walmart.com too to see which site has the best cost. Walmart’s $49 ShippingPass program allows shoppers to get free two-day shipping for half the cost of Amazon Prime membership. Walmart is certainly trying to offer some formidable competition, especially during Amazon Prime Day. 

Read more: Walmart is offering free shipping with no minimums this week

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Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check today amazon prime day against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at clark.com.