Amazon Prime Early Access sale: how to bag the best deals

Amazon is running its second huge sale event of the year this week, with thousands of product prices set to be slashed during the two-day Prime Early Access Sale.

The online retailer is offering “some of the steepest” discounts of the year, said The Verge, making now “a good time to snag an older Echo Show model, the last-gen Echo Dot, or even Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite”.

When is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale?

It is running on Tuesday 11 October and Wednesday 12 October, and is “expected to serve as the unofficial kickoff to this year’s holiday sales”, said Forbes.

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Amazon Prime members will have access to “the pre-Black Friday shopping bonanza” from midnight tonight, said The Independent.

The first Prime Day was held in July 2015 to commemorate the website’s 20th anniversary, but this is the first time two Prime Day sales have been held in one year. “Yes, we know – two in one year, we can’t quite believe it either,” said the paper.

Here’s how to make the most of the sale.

Get access

The deals available during the Prime Early Access Sale are only for Prime customers, but “there’s an easy way to get round this without shelling out for membership”, said The Money Edit.

Amazon offers a trial membership that will give you full benefits for 30 days. Be sure to unsubscribe once you’ve had your fill of Prime Day deals, unless you want to become a full-time member.

Unfortunately, “you can’t make a habit of signing up and cancelling” to make the most of discount events, said The Money Edit. UK shoppers can typically only begin a new trial if they’ve not held a membership within the past twelve months.

Get alerts

“Prime Day is chock-full of impulse buys,” so Business Insider recommends building an Amazon Wish List ahead of the event and adding any items you’re keen to bag for a bargain. Then download the Amazon mobile app and set up deal alerts to be notified when these items go on sale.

If you have an Alexa, you can also get deal alerts through this – and the device “can even make the purchase for you”, noted Business Insider.

Shop popular items

If you know there’s something that you would definitely buy if it goes on sale, add it to your cart now so you don’t need to spend time searching for it when the price drops.

Amazon will also release a Top 100 list featuring some of the most sought-after and gift-ready products, including beauty, tech and homeware.

Among the deals set to go live, the 32-inch JVC 2K Fire TV will be on sale for £145, more than £100 off its previous selling price. A 14-inch HP laptop has also had its price slashed by £180, and will be on sale for £349.99.

Keep checking for new deals

Amazon typically offers a few different types of discounts during sale events, noted Business Insider. Deals of the day “last 24 hours only”, meaning discounts that show up on day one might not be running on day two.

Lightning deals are “flash” offers on specific products that “usually last for a few hours, or until the items sell out”. Check back frequently for updates – new deals of this nature “pop up as frequently as every five minutes”.

Is a deal really a deal?

“One of the most common Prime Day questions is ‘how do I know if I’m getting a good deal’”, said Business Insider. The site recommends using CamelCamelCamel to check a product’s price history.

It’s also worth seeing if an Amazon competitor is offering the same product at a cut-down price during the Early Access Sale. The Money Edit suggests using Idealo and PriceRunner to make comparing prices quick and easy.

Expect a random selection

Amazon has said that “hundreds of thousands of deals” will be offered across its shopping categories, including electronics, kitchenware, toys, beauty and fashion.

“Having a plan can help you avoid being tempted into spending on items you don’t really want,” said The Money Edit.