How to Know If a Prime Day Deal Is Really Just an Advertisement
Prime Day 2022 runs from Tuesday, July 12 to Wednesday, July 13, and during that time there will be more deals than you can count: expensive technologies will be several times cheaper than the original cost, some of them will be limited in time. There will be pressure to buy something right here and now so you don’t risk losing the sale and paying – sigh – full price . But there are a few strategies you can use to find out if this “amazing deal” really is.
How to tell if a Prime Day price is really the best deal
One of the best things you can do to determine if a Prime Day deal is legit is to use a price tracking system . These websites are designed to track the prices of any particular product across the various stores and vendors where it is sold, in order to provide you with the best possible price, as well as to show you whether this current “deal” is indeed much lower than the original price or other deals that are out there.
A common method to make deals attractive is to pump up the price of a product: that way, when a company cuts a price, it can claim to have done so to a large extent, even if the overall price is low. below the original price (if at all). If something originally cost $60, the company can raise the price to $75 and then lower it back to $60, claiming it was 20% off. It’s accurate, but mean, so keep an eye on it.
When it comes to Amazon price tracking, you can’t do better than CamelCamelCamel . But other trackers like Honey or Capital One Shopping can help you find prices and price history for items across multiple stores. Their browser extensions are especially useful: if there’s another store selling the same item you’re viewing on Amazon for a lower price, you’ll get a pop-up with a direct link to that store’s product page.
These alerts will come in handy this week: Retailers like Target and Best Buy are “accidentally” running their own online sales this week, meaning deals will flow . If you want to make sure that the device you’re eyeing on Amazon is actually the best price you can get for it, try one of these services.
However, knowing if something is a good deal isn’t just about getting the best price. Sure, Honey could confirm that this item isn’t cheaper elsewhere on the web, but it’s not just the overall price tag that needs to be considered.
Remember that Amazon’s own products will have the best deals.
After all, this is Amazon Prime Day. The company is here to sell as much inventory as possible, but it’s best if you buy Amazon products from Amazon . So the best tech deals will undoubtedly come from Amazon’s own line of gadgets. You can expect the deals the company is offering on devices like the Echo, Fire TV, and Blink to be the best this year (unless price trackers prove otherwise). For anyone who has long wanted to buy one of Amazon’s devices, Prime Day is the perfect time to do so.
You need to be more careful with deals with other companies as well as Amazon marketing in order to push your own products to the top.
Make Sure You’re Not Buying Old Appliances
I’m a big believer in old tech : I think we should hold on to our devices longer than most of us. However, I don’t think companies should sell you old technology as if it were new, especially when new technology is around the corner.
In fact, sometimes Amazon helps here: if you’re viewing an outdated version of a product, Amazon will let you know and link to the current version of that device. However, this is only true if Amazon offers this new version of the device, or if there is a direct successor to this product. The lines are blurry these days: last year’s device isn’t necessarily outdated just because a new version came out, so Amazon doesn’t always try to sell you a newer product.
And that might be good! Laptops, tablets, smartwatches and the latest generation of phones are taking their place: technology is advancing so fast that buying old appliances that still work well can be economical and practical. But Amazon telling you to buy something that won’t be able to update to the latest software later this year is wrong. If you want to buy some technology on Prime Day, research is your friend. Buying something that was released last year or the year before is more than normal: it’s more important to make sure that the product still works properly in 2022 and lasts as long as you reasonably expect.
If the reason for such a good price of a device is that it is outdated, this is not a good deal.
Repeat after me: not everything that is “cheap” is also good
Likewise, be wary of cheap technology that just isn’t great. It may be affordable, but if it doesn’t work well, it’s not worth the cost.
Often this problem comes from the fact that many brands that you have never heard of sell products for pennies compared to other companies. Sure, you can save some money and choose these brands, but what about long-term investment? As Wirecutter’s Lauren Dragan warns , once Amazon’s 30-day return policy expires, you’ll lose the customer support channel, something many of these tiny companies lack.
On the other hand, you may have heard of the brand but the product itself is not very good. Getting a giant 65-inch 4K TV for $500 might seem like a steal, but if the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired, is it worth it? (Not.)
Read reviews (not Amazon if you can help)
One way to make sure the TV is worth its price cut, or that these cheap headphones will pass the listening test, is to read reviews of the products you’re considering buying. I’m not talking about Amazon reviews either: Amazon ratings can be helpful, but they can also be compromised. Sometimes reviews don’t even match the product they’re supposed to be talking about, which doesn’t bode well for the integrity of the review.
When it comes to technology, the best approach is to listen to technically experienced reviewers who test these products before giving their opinion. A website like RTINGS will help you figure out pretty quickly if this TV is really worth the hype, and you can see their work to understand how they came to their conclusions.
In the end, it’s all about taking your time and doing your research – the opposite of Amazon’s “BUY NOW” strategy. Fight the impulse to buy and make sure your money goes to the best product for your needs.