AMAZON Prime day is fast approaching and shoppers may want to take note of items they should be looking for and the ones to avoid.
This year’s Amazon Prime Day runs over two days on July 11 and 12 – so get those dates in your diaries now.
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Deals kick off at 12.01am on Tuesday morning, and finish at midnight on the Wednesday.
Provided you’re signed up to Amazon’s perks-filled Prime subscription scheme, for 48 hours you can get your mitts on all sorts of items for a lot less than usual.
While there are often Prime Day deals that are worth your time, some are not always value for money.
We spoke to shopping experts to find out which things shoppers may want to focus on getting, and the ones to avoid.
Amazon products
Dan Evans and Marianna Ricciardi, editors at HotUkDeals said it’s important to do your research.
Marianna said: “For Prime Day, we can expect good savings on Ring Doorbells, Amazon Echo products, Blink products as they are Amazon own products and they have total control of price drops and changes.”
Shoppers could grab deals for as much as 50% off their original price.
Even before Prime Day, Amazon was selling a Fire HD 8 Plus tablet at a 43% discount. saving customers around £50.
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Apple products
Another area the experts suggest to go for is Apple Products.
They’re very rarely on sale and while there are many items that are similar and cheaper, if you want to go for the real thing this could be the time.
Dan Said: “As Apple products go so rarely on-sale (if ever in the UK) make sure to keep an eye on Airpods deals, Apple Watches and Apple Accessories like Mag Safe chargers, iPhone Cases and so on.”
Despite the experts’ above suggestion that shoppers go for Apple products, Nick Drewe, retail expert and founder of online discount site wethrift.com thinks differently.
He said: “Apple’s products are a direct competitor to Amazon’s in-house electrical goods, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to reduce their Apple offerings to a price where they are dissuading consumers from opting for their own tablets or TV fire sticks.”
Make sure to compare prices of the product you’re after first – you might get it cheaper elsewhere even if Amazon is selling it at a discounted rate.
DIY tools
Marianna said: “For all DIY fans, Prime Day is the ideal moment to stock up on tools, buy new DIY toys that were full price for the entire year or just try something new for a project you were meant to start months ago.
“Bosch products usually come with a very nice price drop during Prime Day and some of them are already discounted on Amazon as part of their Early Deals.”
At the time of writing, we couldn’t see any Bosch product that was on sale already but it’s worth keeping an eye out from now to see if Amazon cuts prices early.
The ones to avoid
Televisions
Nick said: “Unless you are in need of a new television due to your current set being broken or faulty, I’d suggest avoiding the temptation to purchase one brand new during Prime Day.
“Brand new televisions are a hefty financial investment, and Black Friday is historically a much better time of the year to secure the cheapest deals on the latest makes and models from the likes of Samsung, Panasonic or Sony.”
Home furniture
Finally, Nick suggested shoppers avoid buying home furniture.
“If you are currently looking to upgrade your bed, dining table or any other large items of furniture, then Prime Day deals may not be all they are cracked up to be once you take delivery fees into consideration,” he said.
Nick added: “When delivery fees for heavier items are added onto sale prices, the furniture that seems so appealing on screen may just turn out to be more expensive overall.
“Instead, local furniture retailers – who regularly hold seasonal sales and deals – may just work out cheaper in the long run, especially if you can arrange to pick up the items yourself or the delivery fees are calculated by how far away your home is located.”
Prep prep prep
Like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, shoppers should prepare ahead of Amazon Prime Day.
That way you’ll stand in good stead to get the items you’re after before they go out of stock.
Dan said: “Make a list of what you want to buy, keep an eye on the price, compare it to other similar sites, and put them in the cart before the event starts to be ready to checkout.”
Ben Hofman, founder of Atlantic Access which helps brands launch onto Amazon and other platforms, said Amazon will determine when the discount goes live for products tagged with the official ‘Prime Day’ badge, not the seller.
“When it’s gone, it’s probably gone so making purchasing decisions early is always worthwhile. Pricing will not get lower towards the end.
“If you have kids like I do – it’s also a great time to buy birthday presents in bulk for all those parties.”
Approach big price reductions with caution
HotUKDeals’ Marianna said: “Sometimes Amazon will sneakily and steadily increase prices on very popular items in the lead-up to Prime Day so that it looks like you are getting a bigger bargain than you actually are.
“For this reason, it’s always worth keeping a tab on what you’re after to avoid overpaying and using a price comparison extension such as KEEPA that will give you the price history of a specific item.”
Ben warned shoppers to be cautious too.
He said: “Prime Day has become a second Black Friday for Amazon – a time to drive higher sales for a quick, short period of time.
“However, like Black Friday, there are also a lot of sellers trying to trick customers by increasing prices just before the day, then cutting them back to a price that is, in fact, not that good a discount.”
He said to ensure you’re getting a good deal, use websites such as camelcamelcamel.com, which shows the historical pricing of the product.
He added: “That way, you can tell whether you are getting a good deal.”
How to take part in Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day deals are only available for Amazon Prime members.
If you have never signed up for Prime, you can make the most of the 30-day free trial.
This will give you access to the sale deals during Prime Day, with the same perks as normal members.
Simply sign up on the Amazon website. Just remember to cancel your membership after the trial is up to avoid paying the £8.99 a month/£95 a year fee.
You can read more about Amazon Prime membership here.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
