Amazon Prime Day: Is it a Deal?

If you have an Amazon account, or been anywhere online the past week, you’ve probably seen a lot of advertisements for Prime Day – Amazon’s own version of “Black Friday” that occurs in the summer as their biggest sale event of the year. This year, those dates fall between July 8 and July 11, an extension of their usual 2-day only event. 

If you’ve been saving and waiting for Prime Day to finally check out on some key purchases, read this first, so you can make sure the “deal” you find is actually a deal. Let us explain:  Sometimes, what you see as a “deal” with a bold, red tag on it is actually the price it always was but is now slapped with a sticker so it seems like it’s a big sale item. And if that’s still a good price to you, no harm in pulling the trigger on it, but if what you’re truly looking for is a deal, here’s how you can make sure you get one:  

1. Verify it's a sale price first

Luckily, there are tools nowadays that can track the price history of the item you’re looking at, so you can see if the price tag is truly the lowest it’s been:  

• CamelCamelCamel: A handy website that will show you the price history of the exact item that you link to.  

• Keepa: Rather than pasting an Amazon link into a website, install this browser extension that will overlay a price history chart right on the Amazon product page instead. No need to go back and forth between tabs.  

• Honey: Another browser extension that will show you a price history chart, plus, find active coupon codes for further savings.  

Tracking the price history will also confirm whether the original “list” price is inflated or not. For example, the product might show “was $99.99 –> now $39.99” but the $99.99 MSRP price might be a completely fake one that was never listed before.  

2. Compare prices

Even if you do find an actual deal on Amazon, take a quick moment to check that there aren’t even better prices somewhere else. You can do this manually by typing in the item you’re looking at into Google search, selecting the “Shopping” tab and scanning across the different websites listed to verify your Prime deal price is the best one.  

3. Check the reviews

Lastly, once you confirm this is a real sales price, and is the best one, before you tap “buy now,” do one last quality check. Sometimes, low-quality items from unknown brands will post a Prime Day deal to attract more sales. But is it worth it – even at the sales price – if it’s going to break or not work as well as you expect?  

One easy way to check the quality is by reading the reviews. It may add a few more minutes to your shopping, but you’ll be grateful for it in the long run.  

Now, you’re ready to start your shopping and save money on everyday essentials, back-to-school essentials, or those big-ticket items you’ve been eyeing for months. And if you’re not sure where to start, check out our favorite Prime Day deals, and get that list checked off.