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Prime Day is here again. I know it was Prime Day just a few months ago—we now get two Amazon retail holidays per year, in addition to Black Friday and other days created to get you to shop. Prime Day wouldn’t be possible without extensive labor abuses, so think about what you really need before filling up your cart, and always consider other retailers. The key is to stay focused on your shopping needs, bypass the Prime subscription if you don’t need it after Prime Day, and see if you can take advantage of Prime Day to gain discounts on other sites.
Start with a list and a budget
Do not overshop. Stay focused on what you actually need. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re surrounded by consumerist propaganda, but it’s crucial to distinguish between your needs and wants, and see Amazon for the exploitative, hyper-consumerist entity that it is.
Last year, when a friend casually asked me what was on my Prime Day shopping list this year, I realized the extent to which Amazon’s sales tactic has been accepted as an actual holiday. But don’t worry: It’s not sinful to not shop on Prime Day.
If you are shopping, start with a list and a budget. If you know what you want and how much you can spend, it’s easier to not go overboard. Also, try to avoid the promotional bloat and infinite scrolling on the app, which can eat up not just your money but also your precious time.
Sign up for the free trial
Don’t sweat it if you don’t have an Amazon Prime subscription. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial and cancel it free of cost once you’re done shopping on Prime Day. Just make sure you haven’t signed up with that email address in the last 12 months. If you have, simply use another email address. This is a great way to get deals without having to shell out the $139 fee yearly.
A student discount also saves you a lot of bucks. It’s $7.49 monthly compared to the $14.99 monthly for a regular Prime membership. See if you’re eligible for that.
Cross-check against other retailers
Everyone prepares themselves for Prime Day, not just Amazon. Knowing Prime Day is close, most other retailers slash prices, too. It’s a good idea to cross-check an item you’re buying against other retailers to see if you can snag a better deal on it.
Honey is a great tool for price comparison across the web. It scours the internet for the product you’re checking out and lets you know if it’s cheaper elsewhere. Honey is also available as an extension that you can add to the browser of your choice. It’ll automatically pop up every time you’re checking out on a website, without any additional effort from your end.
Compare against older prices
Comparing historical pricing is also wise, since not everything that’s marketed to you as a deal is actually a deal. Sometimes, retailers are dishonest about dropping the price on a product when all they’ve done is slightly increase it right before the sale, making it seem like a price drop.
Camelcamelcamel.com is an excellent free Amazon price tracker that shows you a product’s price history on the site. It also creates price watches and informs you when the price of a certain product has dropped. Like Honey, Camelcamelcamel is available as a browser extension, called The Camelizer.
Be smart about your shopping list
On Prime Day, Amazon offers the most generous discounts on its own products. It’s smart to hold off on buying gadgets such as the Amazon Kindle, Alexa, Fire Stick, Fire tablet, or the Echo Smart Speaker during the year so you can take advantage of Prime Day sales.
Look at the deals closely
While Prime Day is a two-day affair, some deals that say “Lightning deal” will last for a shorter time period (shown in hours and minutes), and other deals labeled “24 hours” will be available for just one out of the two days. If there’s something you really need, make sure you know how long it’s actually discounted.
Ask yourself if the purchase is urgent
The holiday season is about to start in full swing. Thanksgiving deals are coming up, followed by Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Ask yourself if each of your purchases is urgent, and if the answer is no, you might want to hold off on some to get a better deal soon.
If there’s a lot of tech on your list, you could perhaps wait for Cyber Monday to snag better deals on non-Amazon gadgets. Being too ambitious with your purchases now could lead to regrets in the near future. Trust me, I’ve been there quite a few times.
