10 Amazon Prime Day Life Hacks Everyone Should Know

Prime Day runs from June 23rd to 26th, and Lifehacker will be sharing the best deals based on product reviews, comparisons, and price tracking tools before it’s over.

Prime Day is here, and we’re all eagerly awaiting it . As the Shopping editor at Lifehacker, I’ve learned a ton of tricks over the years that help me filter out scams designed to trick you into getting a so-called “bargain” and find the real deals . Below are my top 10 tips to help you shop smarter during Prime Day.

Download the Amazon app to access exclusive Lightning Deals.

Many people assume that what you see on the Amazon website is the same as what you see in the Amazon app during Prime Day or a sale, but that’s not true. Amazon rewards shoppers for downloading its app by providing faster notifications and even some deals that are only available in the app. If you see a banner in the app that says “App Only” or “Mobile Exclusive Offer,” you won’t find it on the desktop site. The app also has a “Watch This Deal” option that notifies you in real time when an item goes on sale or is restocked. Be sure to turn on notifications (Settings > Notifications > Your Watched & Wishlisted Items > On) if you want to be informed as quickly as possible. This is great for flash sales or high-demand items that you know will sell out quickly.

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Use Amazon’s trade-in program if you’re upgrading your device.

If you hate throwing money away, never throw away any tech items, regardless of their age or condition. Instead, take advantage of the Amazon Trade-In program , which offers hassle-free trade-in offers for most tech items and all Amazon devices. Simply answer a few questions about the item and its condition, and Amazon will send you an offer in the form of an Amazon gift card or instant cash on the purchase of a new Amazon device. Amazon sometimes also offers a trade-in discount (often around 20%) during Prime Day.

Use price tracking tools to find the best prices.

Knowing an item’s price history will tell you whether it’s worth waiting a bit; it also ensures you get the best price. There are many price tracking tools out there, but if I were to recommend one for Amazon, it would be Keepa . Keepa automatically displays price history under the product image. It also lets you track specific items and sends notifications when their price drops below a threshold you set. You can download the extension for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Safari.

Look for coupons that can be combined.

Many items participating in the Prime Day promotion have additional coupon fields on the product page—these are easy to miss, or you might assume they’re automatically added to your purchase. If you see a banner with a checkbox, such as “Apply $20 Coupon,” “Save 10%,” or “Apply Coupon,” be sure to click it and ensure the coupon appears at checkout. You can use as many coupons as you find.

Check Amazon’s warehouse (or Amazon Resale) for Prime Day inventory.

We’ve all returned purchases to Amazon at some point. What do you think happens to all those perfectly working items you decide to return? Most of them end up on the Amazon Resale page. These items are also included in Prime Day and are already discounted. These will include items with open packaging and returned items, but you can find things like TVs, monitors, kitchen appliances, headphones, vacuum cleaners, power tools, computer accessories, and much more. And yes, Amazon has checked them all to ensure they’re clean and working properly.

Take advantage of Amazon’s free plans.

Your money earns more interest if it’s in a savings account (ideally , a high-yield one ) than if you give it to Amazon. So when they offer you a free, 0% APR, no-strings-attached payment plan, it’s an obvious choice. Not all items will have this option, but most high-end items shipped directly from Amazon do. Be careful, though: it’s very easy to overspend. Remember: ” Don’t buy what you didn’t plan to buy anyway.”

What do you think at the moment?

If you made a purchase just before Prime Day, please ask for a price adjustment as a courtesy.

Amazon doesn’t officially match prices with its own Prime Day deals, but some customer service representatives may issue a one-time coupon. If they don’t, you can usually return the original item and buy it again at the discounted price, as long as you’re within the return period.

Subscribe to our “Add to Cart” newsletter.

This year , Prime Day offers over two million deals . Sorting through them all and finding the real gems is incredibly difficult. It would require a team of people working around the clock with spreadsheets, the right tools, and industry expertise. Luckily for you, that’s exactly what my team at Lifehacker and I are doing. If you want all the information delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our Add to Cart newsletter . We cover more than just Prime Day; we curate the best deals throughout the year so you don’t miss a single bargain.

Compare prices on products offered by competitors during the Prime Day sale.

Amazon isn’t the only retailer running sales right now. Competitors like Walmart have their Summer Deals promotion, Target has Circle Deal Days , and Best Buy has Tech Fest . While Amazon has the largest selection of deals, every retailer always has a few deals that beat Amazon’s, so it’s worth checking out each one.

Check the Buy Again page to find hidden discounts.

If you’re looking for new releases or restocks, quickly review your previously purchased items. To do this, go to “Accounts & Lists” → “Repeat Purchases.” You might even find special offers, as Amazon sometimes offers discounts to repeat buyers of essential items.

Looking for something different? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are running Prime Day-style sales, which are especially helpful if you don’t have an Amazon Prime subscription.

  • Walmart’s Prime Day sale runs from June 22nd to 28th and includes discounts of up to 50%. This is an especially great deal if you have a Walmart+ subscription.

  • Best Buy’s Prime Day sale runs from June 22nd to 28th, offering some of the best deals on tech online. This is an especially great deal for My Best Buy Plus or Total members.

  • Target’s Prime Day sale runs from June 23rd to 26th, with discounts up to 50%. Joining the Circle program is free.

The best editor-verified Prime Day deals right now!

Proposals are selected by our commercial team.

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