Knowing how to get the best deals in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale is crucial to benefit from some great discounts. What and when is Amazon Prime Day and is is the Prime Early Access Sale the same thing? Amazon Prime Day is a two-day sale event hosted by the mega retailer each year, where it offers massive reductions on thousands of products. But this year, the online giant is adding a new sale event into the calendar, the Prime Early Access Sale, which will take place on 11 and 12 October.
At a time when prices are rising all around us, there is a definite appeal to being able to get something for less, but it’s important to not spend recklessly. We explain the savvy tips and tricks you can follow to get the best deal, without getting caught up in the hype and overspending.
To get the best deals, firstly, you’ll need to make sure you are signed up to Amazon Prime. If you’re not already a member, you can get a 30-day free trial that will allow you access to all the benefits of Amazon Prime, including exclusive Prime Day and Prime Early Access Sale deals.
If you don’t want to continue with your membership after the Amazon sale event, then you’ll need to remember to cancel it (it’s a good idea to set a reminder in your phone if you think you might want to). If you’ll make use of all the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership, then you can keep it, and you will have to pay a fee of £8.99 per month or £95 per year. Paying annually works out cheaper, so pay this way if you can. If you do stick with your membership, then check out all the ways you can save money when shopping with Amazon.
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How to get the best deals in the Prime Early Access Sale
1. Create a wishlist
Sales like this are designed to make you spend money, so it’s important to be savvy to avoid unnecessary overspending. Have an idea beforehand of the items you want or need, and list them in priority order.
Andrea Knowles, the budgeting expert at vouchers.co.uk, says: “Whilst the excitement of an Amazon sale can result in you spending a lot of money, a bargain is only a bargain if you wanted it in the first place.”
It’s also worthwhile knowing that deals come and go throughout the two-day sale. So while it’s good to act fast if you see a product you’re after at a great price, if you don’t see your favourite item discounted on day one, check again on day two. While some reductions will be around for the whole 48-hours, others will only be around for a matter of minutes.
2. Be flexible
You may find that you can get a better deal if you are flexible about what colour or model you choose. If it makes no difference to you, then it’s worth opting for the cheaper option. But it’s a false economy if buying the cheaper version means it won’t meet your needs or if you won’t use it in the same way.
3. Check the price history to see if you’re actually getting a bargain
Before you make any Amazon sale purchases, it can be really useful to check out how much the items cost before they were discounted. Amazon price tracker website, camelcamelcamel, can help you see if you are actually getting a good deal. It might be that it’s even cheaper at a different time of year, and in that case, it may be worth holding off.
Martyn James, one of the UK's leading consumer rights experts says: “I get lots of complaints about items in the Amazon sale that turn out to have been more or less permanently discounted on the website throughout the year. Others have questioned whether the items were ever available at the non 'sale' price.”
It’s also sensible to check with other retailers to see if you can get it cheaper elsewhere before committing. Remember to factor in any delivery costs you might incur from other retailers when determining the cheapest place to buy.
4. Sign up for notifications
Make sure you have the Amazon app installed on your phone and make use of notifications. You can set up an alert in the Prime Day or Early Access Sale event page so that when the discount you’re waiting for is applied you’ll receive a notification. Not only can this save time, but it will also help you stay focused on the items on your wishlist, and not get caught up when you spot another deal when browsing.
5. Keep an eye on Lightning deals
Flash sales, or Lightning Deals, are worth keeping an eye on too. But you’ll need to be quick - some Lightning Deals will only be around for 30-minutes or so or until the item sells out.
Amazon lists upcoming deals as well as their start time so you can add items to a watchlist. This means you’ll get a notification when the deal begins and you can checkout before it sells out.
But again, a bargain is only a bargain if you were only going to buy it in the first place, so be mindful about getting swept up by time-sensitive or limited availability deals and spending more than you intended.
6. Don’t leave things in your basket
If you’ve found a really good bargain, then check out as soon as you can rather than leaving an item sitting in your basket, especially in the case of Lightning Deals. If the product sells out, or reverts to a higher price, you will have missed out.
7. Now is the time to bag an Amazon-own bargain
While thousands of products will be discounted over the Prime Early Access Sale, you’ll find that the best discounts can be found on Amazon’s own products like Kindles, Fire sticks and Echo Dots. If you’ve had your eye on one of these devices for a while, it’s highly likely you will be able to get a real deal in the 48-hour sale event.