With Amazon Prime Day on the horizon (the date hasn't been announced, but we know the sale will take place sometime in July), now is a smart time to make an Amazon wishlist to keep track of all the things you plan to buy using your Prime account. You can also share your list with friends or family (hint, hint) in case they need gift ideas in the future. Here’s how to do it.
How to create and add to an Amazon wishlist
To create an Amazon wishlist in your browser, hover over Accounts & Lists in the upper-right corner of the navigation bar and select Create a list from the left column. (You can also access this by clicking Accounts & Lists > Your Lists > Create a List). Enter the name of your list in the pop-up and click Create List.
To create a new list on the Amazon Shopping app, select the profile icon on the bottom navigation bar and click Your Lists. Hit the plus icon next to Your lists and registries, enter the list name, and click Create List.
To add an item to a wishlist, go to the product’s page you’re interested in and look for the Add to List drop-down (simply text on mobile) underneath the Add to Cart/Buy Now box. You can either select an existing list or hit Create a List to make a new wishlist.
How to share an Amazon wishlist
All Amazon wishlists are private by default, but you can share specific lists with friends and family. Open the list you want to send and hit Invite or Send list to others (if using Amazon via browser). In either case, you have the option to allow others to view and edit your wishlist, or view-only, and to copy the link to your list or invite other users via email.
If you decide you want to change your privacy settings, update the name of your list, or enable Alexa to add items to your list, simply hover over the three horizontal “More” dots and select Manage list. You can also toggle on Don’t spoil my surprises if you want others to be able to gift you items from your wishlist without you knowing about it.
To make the most out of July's upcoming Amazon Prime Day, you need to be an Amazon Prime member. However, a lesser-known Amazon Prime feature is that you can share membership perks with your family and only pay one membership fee. You can add one other adult, up to four teens, and up to four children to your Amazon Household, which allows everyone in the household to access all the standard benefits, from free shipping to streaming.
With an Amazon Household, everyone creates or keeps their own Amazon account but gets shared Prime benefits, even if they don’t actually live together. Here’s how to set it up for your family.
How to share Amazon Prime benefits with your family
To get started, you’ll need an Amazon account and a Prime membership (here’s how to sign up for Amazon Prime if you don’t have it already). After logging in, head over to the Amazon Household page and select Add Adult, Add Teen, and/or Add Child, depending on who you’d like to share your account with.
If you want to add an adult, you’ll be prompted to enter their name and the email associated with their Amazon account. You’ll then have to agree to link your payment wallet and choose which types of content—apps, audiobooks, and/or e-books—you want to share. Amazon does notify you if a Household member moves one of your payment methods to their wallet.
From here, your family member will receive an invitation via email to join your Household. To accept, they’ll click Get Prime Benefits and follow the prompts to agree to wallet sharing and to cancel their own Prime membership if they have one. Invitations are valid for 14 days. If the person you want to invite doesn’t have an Amazon account, they can create one during sign-up.
To add a teen who is 13 to 17 or a child who is 12 or under to your Household, you’ll need to follow the prompts to set up a teen or child profile—for teens, this includes indicating whether and how you want to review and approve orders and selecting a linked payment method. Children can’t shop on Amazon but can access Amazon Kids content and features.
A few limitations:
Amazon Households can only contain two adults and up to four teens and four children.
Household members must have an address in the same country (but do not have to have the same address).
If an adult has left an Amazon Household, neither adult on the account can join a different one for 180 days.
Prime Day is just around the corner. For two days in July, you’ll find promotions on products from companies both big and small, all vying for your clicks and your wallet. Many of these will claim to be great deals, and that not buying the item during Prime Day will mean you miss out on some big savings. But there are a few strategies you can use to quickly figure out whether that “amazing deal” really is all that.
How to tell a good Prime Day price from a bad one
One of the best things you can do to tell if a Prime Day deal is legit is to employ the use of a price tracker. These sites and tools keep tabs on the prices for any given product across the many different stores and vendors where it is sold, in order to give you the best possible price, as well as show you whether that current “deal” really is that much lower than the original price or other deals that are out there.
A common technique to make deals look good is to pump up the price of the product: That way, when the company slashes the price for something like Prime Day, it can claim a large discount, even if the overall price tag isn’t much lower than the original price (if it's lower at all). If something originally costs $60, a company can raise the price to $75, then cut it back down to $60, claiming it took 20% off. It’s accurate, but scummy, so watch out for it.
You can use a browser extension like Keepa to watch a product's price history. But other trackers, like Honey or Capital One Shopping, can help you find prices and price histories for items across multiple stores. Their browser extensions are especially useful: If there’s another store selling the same product you’re looking at on Amazon for less, you’ll get a pop-up letting you know, with a direct link to that store’s product page.
Knowing whether something is a good deal isn’t all about getting the best price, though. Sure, Honey might have confirmed this item isn’t any cheaper elsewhere on the web, but there’s more than just the general price tag to consider.
Amazon’s own products will have the best deals
It’s Amazon Prime Day, after all. The company is here to sell as much inventory as it can, but it’s happiest if you’re buying Amazon products from Amazon. As such, the best tech deals are likely going to be with Amazon’s own line of gadgets. Of course, just because an Amazon product is massively on sale, doesn't make it a "good deal." If you wanted a different brand over Amazon's, or if you just want to make sure you're getting the best version of a product, make sure to compare offerings from different companies, too.
Make sure you’re not buying an old piece of tech
I’m a big believer in old tech: I think we should be holding onto our devices for longer than many of us do. However, I don’t think companies should sell you old tech as if it were new, especially when new tech is right around the corner.
Amazon is actually sometimes helpful here: If you’re looking at an outdated version of a product, Amazon lets you know, and gives you a link to the current version of that device. However, that’s only true if Amazon carries that new version of the device or if there’s a direct successor to that product. Lines are blurred these days: Last year’s device isn’t necessarily obsolete just because there’s a new version out, so Amazon doesn’t always try to sell you on the newer product.
And that can be fine! Last-generation laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and phones have their place: Tech is advancing so rapidly that it can be frugal and practical to buy older tech that still works well. But Amazon telling you to buy something that won’t be able to update to the latest software later this year isn’t right. If you’re looking to buy a piece of tech on Prime Day, research is your friend. It’s more than OK to buy something that came out last year or the year before; what matters more is making sure the product still works as it should in 2024, and if it’ll last as long as you’d reasonably expect it to.
If the reason a device is such a good price is because it’s obsolete, that’s not a good deal.
Not everything that is “cheap” is good
On a similar note, be wary of cheap tech that simply isn’t very good. It might be affordable, but if it doesn’t work well, it’s not worth the cost.
Often, this issue arrises with the many brands you’ve never heard of selling items for pennies compared to other companies. Sure, you could save some money and go with these brands, but what about the long-term investment? After Amazon’s 30-day return policy is up, you’re sunk without a customer support channel, something many of these tiny companies lack themselves.
On the other hand, you might have heard of the brand, but the product itself just isn’t very good. It might seem like a steal to get a giant 65-inch 4K TV for $500, but if the picture quality is poor, was that really worth it? (No.)
Read the reviews (not on Amazon, if you can help it)
One way to make sure that TV is worth its steep price cut, or whether those cheap headphones are going to pass the listen test, is to read reviews for the products you’re considering buying. I’m not talking about Amazon reviews, either: Amazon’s ratings can be helpful, but they can also be compromised. Sometimes the 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. And in the age of AI, you can never be too sure who's writing that customer review in the first place.
When it comes to tech, the best approach is to listen to the reviewers with technical experience, who put these products through their paces before issuing an opinion. An outlet like our sister site PCMag will help you figure out pretty quickly whether that TV is really worth the hype, and they show their work so you can understand how they came to their conclusions.
At the end of the day, it’s all about taking your time and doing your research—the opposite of Amazon’s “BUY IT NOW” strategy. Fight the urge to buy something on impulse, and make sure your money is going toward the best possible product for your needs.
Amazon’s Prime Day sale is coming this July—but keeping up and keeping track of the best discounts yet to land and figuring out which deals are worthwhile may be almost impossible. As an alternative, you can have Alexa give you a heads-up about deals on products you already know you want to purchase, so you don’t have to spend time sorting through the noise.
Amazon Prime subscribers in the United States who also have Echo smart speakers can enable deal alerts to receive notifications 24 hours before discounts go live and even have your Alexa purchase these items for you. Here’s how to do it.
Then head to the Alexa mobile app and go to More > Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping and toggle on Deal Recommendations under the Shopping Recommendations options. This ensures you’ll receive notifications for items that appear in your shopping activity.
If Alexa finds an upcoming deal on something in your Saved for Later, your Wish List, or in your Shopping Cart, you’ll receive a pop-up alert on your Echo Show display or see a yellow light ring on your Echo speaker. You can also ask, “Alexa, what are my notifications?” to hear a list of deals it has compiled thus far.
Alexa can detect deals up to 24 hours in advance, so you can either ask it to remind you again when a deal starts or request that it buy the item when the deal goes live. Simply say, “Alexa, buy it for me,” and it’ll charge the default payment and send the item to the default delivery address on your account.
All the chaos overwhelms even the most seasoned online shopper, making it hard to know if you’re really saving money at all. But there’s one category that will undoubtedly stand out on Prime Days by design: tech made by Amazon itself. That means things like Fire tablets, Fire TV Cubes, and anything else specifically made by Amazon.
For typical tech sales, most retailers want you buying whatever they can convince you to plunk down money for, be it an iPhone or an Android, a Mac or PC, Xbox or PlayStation. They just want as much of your money as possible, and so traditional shopping events like Black Friday see deals across the spectrum of brands and manufacturers. But Amazon is different.
Amazon is both a store and amanufacturer
While the company sells tons of products from a wide variety of manufacturers, it also makes its own tech. If you’re looking for a new smart TV, Amazon makes one; if you just want the smart TV streaming device, Amazon makes that as well. For home security, you’re covered with Blink products. Alexa powers so many of these devices, so why not get one of its smart speakers or screens operated via the personal assistant? Amazon Basics even makes plenty of accessories, from USB cables to batteries.
Amazon now makes so much tech, it only makes sense that the company would prefer to sell you its version of a product over that of the competition. Instead of a Roku, buy a Fire TV stick. Instead of a Nest Mini, buy an Echo Pop. It seems Amazon has comparable products in almost every category—they even make their own earbuds (Echo Buds).
The quality of these products compared to the competition is certainly up for debate, and I encourage you to do your own research before buying any tech product—made by Amazon or otherwise. But whenever you do search for a tech product on Amazon, and especially during Prime Day, you’re going to be served up an Amazon alternative. It’s only in the company’s best interest to use the event to run big deals on its own products.
Amazon is still a market, and it’s good for them when you buy anything, so if you end up going with a Samsung TV over an Amazon TV, that’s still a sale. That's why you’ll still find plenty of deals throughout Prime Day for non-Amazon devices. But Amazon products will be pushed the hardest and likely see the biggest discounts and promotions.
Still, don’t impulse buy
Eye-grabbing discounts and tempting product bundles aside, don’t buy an Amazon device just because it looks like a killer deal. If you are in the market for a specific Amazon-made product and it goes on sale, great. That’s a smart purchase. If you were more interested in a non-Amazon device but the Amazon version is now significantly cheaper, though, it’s not necessarily worth chasing value over getting the product you actually want to buy.
Take the time to research the difference between Amazon’s version and the competition. If you do find an Amazon device you want to buy, you can set alerts to be notified when the product hits the price you're looking for. That’s good general advice for any Prime Day deal (or any big ticket purchase), but considering how hard Amazon will be pushing its own products in July, it’s especially important to keep in mind. If you buy anything on Prime Day, I hope you get deals on the best devices for you, whether Amazon made them or not.
Amazon's biggest sale of the year—and arguably the biggest sale of any retailer—is right around the corner, set to take place in July. Amazon's Prime Day sales event is a tempting time to take advantage of major discounts and do some shopping. But one payment option you'll want to avoid is "buy now, pay later" financing. While these plans can allow you to pay for purchases in installments without interest, they come with significant risks and downsides that make them unsuitable for Prime Day splurges. Nearly 20% of consumers using BNPL have missed payments, and 30% have overspent, according to a Bankrate survey. Let's take a look at the hidden costs of "buy now, pay later," and why you're better off paying upfront for all your Prime Day deals.
High late fees
The biggest danger with buy now, pay later is missing one of the recurring payments. If you fail to make an installment on time, you'll typically be hit with a late fee of $7 or more from the lender. And those fees can really add up quickly if you miss multiple payments. Suddenly that discounted Prime Day deal doesn't look so affordable after expensive late fees get tacked on.
Unexpected interest charges
Buy now, pay later plans are marketed as interest-free financing. However, in many cases, that 0% interest offer only applies if you pay off the full balance by a specific due date. If you have even $1 remaining after that cutoff, interest starts accruing at rates that can exceed 25% in some cases. So buyer beware—it's easy to inadvertently end up with interest charges if you're not vigilant about paying off the balance before the promotional period ends.
Impact on credit scores
Even though buy now, pay later isn't a traditional credit card or loan, the lenders do report payment activity to the credit bureaus. So if you miss payments or default on the installment plan, it can cause damage to your credit score that makes it harder to get approved for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and other financing down the road. Using buy now, pay later irresponsibly can easily offset any of your upfront Prime Day savings.
Limited purchase protections
When you use a credit card, you get valuable purchase protections like extended warranty coverage, price protection, and the ability to dispute fraudulent charges. Buy now, pay later plans generally don't come with these safeguards. So you're on the hook if something goes wrong with the Prime Day purchase or the retailer doesn't make things right. The smarter move is to only buy what you can afford to pay for outright using cash, debit card or a low-interest credit card during Amazon's Prime Day event.
Although buy now, pay later plans are helpful if you really need to finance something big, it’s best to avoid taking on debt for everyday expenses. A little patience and fiscal responsibility will serve you better than getting in over your head with these financing options.
Many major retailers attempt to compete with Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day (Walmart+ Week, for example) and of course, each one wants you to think their deals are the best of the best—but it's often a smoke screen. Amazon, in particular, has been caught in a lawsuit since last September by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states, alleging it inflated prices on their products using an algorithm.
In other words, if you have a hunch that the price for a “deal” on Amazon was actually cheaper in the past, you may be right: One study from 2022 revealed questionable tactics deployed by Amazon to trick consumers into thinking they are getting a deal when, in reality, the savings are negligible, at best—and even higher than before, at worst.
The trick is called “price-increase and list-price synchronization.” Basically, a seller disguises a price increase as a discount by increasing an item’s “list price” (the original price) and then slashing that list price to show you a “sale price” that might even be higher than the original price.
Here’s how this might play out in practice: Say Amazon lists a television for $500. Then, one day, the “List Price” becomes $600 with a slash through it. Amazon then bumps the TV to $550. A blissfully unaware buyer might be tricked into thinking they’re saving $50 when, in reality, they’re overpaying for the TV.
When I reached out to Amazon about the study, I received this response from a spokesperson: “Amazon provides clear and accurate pricing information on our product pages. This study was conducted more than five years ago, and doesn’t accurately represent the shopping experience today. We continually work to help customers make more informed purchase decisions and have since evolved how we describe pricing information.”
Take this 2020 Apple MacBook Air laptop, though. Back in October 2022, it was listed as $998 with a “Prime Exclusive Deal” where you are “saving 17%” or $200 off from the $1,198 “list price.” But when we look at the MacBook’s price history on Camelcamelcamel, a price tracking page, here’s what we find:
Screenshot from camelcamelcamel.com Credit: camelcamelcamel.com
Although it is discounted from its then-lowest price, the chart above shows the MacBook’s list price was never the claimed $1,198. Later, the price of the laptop conveniently rose just before Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale on October 11, 2022, only to then be discounted again for the event. It’s still the cheapest price of the year at $998, but it’s not as sweet of a deal as that new, higher “list price” would make it seem.
There is no official market value for any item since the free market sets the price of any good, so the practices by Amazon and others are not illegal. However, that doesn’t mean you have to be fooled. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure to use price-tracking pages like Camelcamelcamel for Amazon or Honey for major online retailers on deals you feel seem suspicious. Look at their price history to make sure that “deal” is actually a deal.
Amazon’s biggest sale of the year, Prime Day, will take place in July. Although the exact dates aren't set yet, you can expect early deals to roll in soon. And to take advantage of everything the sale has to offer, you’re going to need to be a Prime Member.
Millions of Amazon Prime users currently pay $14.99 per month or $139 per year for their memberships. For frequent Amazon shoppers, Prime can pay for itself quickly—mostly thanks to the shipping perks. But it may not make financial sense for infrequent users. If you’re on the fence about signing up for (or renewing) your Prime membership, here’s how to judge whether or not the benefits outweigh the $139 cost for you.
The benefits of Amazon Prime
Before we do the math, here are the main perks of Amazon Prime that make it worth the cost for so many users.
Free two-day shipping on millions of items: This is the main draw of Prime. If you shop frequently on Amazon and want quick free delivery, the shipping perks alone may make Prime worthwhile. Prime members also get free same-day delivery on over 3 million items in eligible areas. The ultra-fast (and morally dubious) shipping usually costs $9.99 per order for non-members.
Access to Prime Video: Prime includes unlimited streaming of movies, TV shows, and Amazon Originals. If you ask me, the content library isn’t as robust as Netflix or Hulu, but could still add value.
Other Prime benefits: You also get Prime Music for streaming songs, Prime Reading for ebooks and magazines, Prime gaming, free photo storage, and discounts/deals.
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card: Cardholders get 5% back on Amazon/Whole Foods purchases. So Prime members who use this card extensively can earn rewards that offset the annual fee.
Number of users: Prime benefits can be shared with other members of your household. The more users, the more value per person.
Doing the math
Browsing around on my non-shared, non-Prime Amazon account, I see that shipping costs typically run around six dollars per item. Of course, shipping costs will vary depending on the item and how quickly you want it, but let’s compare the cost to the appeal of Prime’s two-day shipping option. So, we have the cost of individual online orders (around six bucks a pop) compared to the free delivery that comes with an $139 annual fee. This means the costs you’d save on shipping become worth the the cost of Prime so long as you order online more than two dozen times a year.
Important note: You can get free shipping from Amazon without a Prime membership when your order has $25-35 or more of eligible items; however, your order will take five to eight days to be delivered.
The bottom line
Prime tends to provide good value for those who shop frequently on Amazon (over 23 times per year) or regularly use the other Prime perks like video streaming. Conversely, it may not be worthwhile for those who rarely shop on Amazon or won’t use the other benefits. Consider your usage and compare the $139 annual fee to the value you’d get from the free shipping and other Prime features.
I hate to admit it, but I’m an impulse buyer, with closets full of little electronic gadgets to prove it. Shopping events like Amazon Prime Day are bad for me. Even though I know Amazon is using all kinds of manipulation techniques to get me to buy things I don’t need, it still works—I made an Amazon impulse purchase while researching an article about how you shouldn’t impulse buy on Amazon. But this year, I’m going to resist my worst impulses by setting my own prices, and only choosing things I already wanted to buy before Amazon’s big day.
How to “set your own prices” on Amazon
Obviously you can’t make Amazon lower its prices at your whim, but you can set up an alert system to let you know if anything you want to buy dips in price enough for it to make sense for you to purchase it. It’s easy to do, too. Below is a step-by-step guide to setting your own personal maximum price for any item sold by Amazon:
Identify the items you’d like to purchase and throw them into your Amazon wishlist. Make sure your wishlist is set to “public.”
Click “import wishlist.” (You’ll have to copy and paste the URL from your Amazon wishlist.)
Once you’ve done that, CamelCamelCamel lets you add specific maximum prices (or percentage drops) for everything in your wishlist. Enter the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each item in your list, and then you can tell it to send you an email when any item’s price drops to your set spending limit.
Ignore all the Prime Big Deal Days hype and wait for the email alert letting you know that your chosen items have become cheap enough for you to buy.
Spend the day feeling smug and agree with yourself that you actually are the smartest person alive. Don’t even look at Amazon’s website. Seriously. Well, maybe just for a second. This time you’ll have the will power to avoid buying another chocolate fountain or a self-stirring mug with “SELF STIRRING MUG” written on the side, right?
More ideas for imposing limits on your spending
If you want to take tech-based shopping guardrails beyond the basic "time to buy" alert system described above, here are some ideas.
Block ads: If you're the type of person who responds to online ads, you can block a ton of them with a simple tool or app. Here's our overview of the best ad-blocking software.
Track your expenses: Whether you do it with pencil and paper or use an app, seeing how much you're spending can be a powerful motivation to be more thrifty.
Save up for something: Saving up for something in the future—a vacation, an electric surfboard, whatever—can make it easier to resist spending now.
Hit your internal pause button: If you can make a habit of waiting a day or two between thinking "I want those sunglasses" and entering your credit card numbers, you may decide your old sunglasses are just fine.
Consider professional help: It's normal and common to sometimes have a little difficulty controlling spending, but researchers say about 6% of Americans suffer from compulsive buying disorder which may be part of a larger psychological problem. So if your spending is driving you deep into debt, you're suffering real-world consequences based on your buying habits, or you just feel like shopping might be a problem for you, talk to a professional.
Amazon is one of the biggest retailers in the world, and that can make it quite challenging to shove past the FAQs, user forums, and Reddit threads to actually talk to a human over the phone. As you probably already know from trying to contact someone on Amazon's "Contact Us" page, there is no direct number to call. That's by design. Luckily, there are other quicker ways to get a hold of someone who can listen to your specific issues, which may be helpful to keep in mind as Prime Day approaches.
Get a very fast callback from Amazon
Amazon doesn't like you calling them, but with a few steps, you can get Amazon to call you.
Say "Request a phone call" from the customer service chat
Choose "Ok, I'll enter my phone number"
Credit: Screenshot Daniel Oropeza
As you can see from the screenshot, it takes a couple of tries on the chat to get the machine to give you the option of getting a callback, but that's nothing a little persistence can't fix.
Amazon’s Prime Day (days, really) has been a capitalist tradition since 2015. This year, the mega-retailer will be offering discounts on thousands of products of all kinds to Amazon Prime members for two days, probably in the middle of July.
In spite of the many online guides about how to take advantage of Prime Day savings, there’s only one piece of advice you actually need if you want to save money: Don’t buy anything you weren’t planning to buy already, and if you do find a bargain on something you wanted anyway, make sure it’s actually a bargain.
Only buy things on Prime Day that you were planning to buy already
Leaving aside the thornier issue of whether you should buy anything from Amazon on any day, you should only buy what you are already planning to on Prime Day because Amazon wants you to do the opposite. The entire sales promotion is designed to encourage you to purchase things you don’t want or need, and to get you to sign up for an Amazon Prime membership.
The summer months are, traditionally, the worst time of the year for online retailers. Customer engagement and sales are low, and people are more likely to be outside doing summertime things instead of impulse buying on their laptops. Amazon’s summer sale is an attempt to drive those numbers upwards by creating a “ticking clock” and a fake sense of scarcity—that’s why “lightning deals” have limited time windows and limited supplies. They’re taking advantage of people’s fear of missing out on bargains that often aren’t bargains at all.
Amazon Prime Day bargains can be misleading
Credit: Stephen Johnson/Keepa
In the chart above (made with Keepa, an extension that compares Amazon prices over time) you can see the volatility of the price of Amazon’s 4th Gen Echo Dot during the few months before the last Prime Day in 2022. While the “Lightning Deal” price of $19.99 is low, Amazon can only say it’s “60% off” because the non-sale price was raised to $49.99 from the $27.99 price they were charging in the middle of June. So it’s really more like 28% off—not a bad deal, but not the “I must buy this even though I don’t want it” size bargain it seems like.
If you happen to be looking for 4th Gen Echo Dot in 2024, the base price is still $49.99, and it hasn't gone on sale since November.
If you are going into this Amazon summer sale with open eyes and a steely heart, determined to resist attempts to make foolish purchases, below are steps you should take to maximize your chance of success and keep yourself from impulse-buying.
Use an Amazon Prime free trial
You won’t be able to take advantage of any Prime Day offers without signing up for a membership to Amazon Prime. The service costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year, but they offer a 30-day free trial for first time users, so you can sign up, get your Instant Pot, and then cancel it for nothing. (Just set an alarm so you don’t forget.)
Amazon offers a six-month Amazon Prime trial period for students, and it’s half price, $7.49 a month, after that. If you’re on EBT or Medicaid, Prime costs $6.99 through Amazon Access and offers all the benefits of a traditional Prime membership and a one-month free trial for new users.
Use Amazon’s wishlist to your advantage
You can use Amazon’s wish list feature as a way of maintaining buyer discipline—just go to Amazon’s list page, create a new list called “Things I was going to buy anyway,” and add the items you hope will go on sale. Tell yourself you’ll only buy these items, no matter how big the discount is on LED lightbulbs.
Take advantage of Amazon’s promotional offers
During Prime Days past, Amazon offered a variety of promotions to get free credits to buy Amazon products. Customers could earn credits by choosing slower shipping, attending certain movies, using different Amazon services, and jumping through other hoops. Research and take advantage of these deals to shave even more off Amazon Prime Day prices. These can sometimes be a pain, but if you want to shave off a few bucks, it might be worth it to you.
Amazon hasn't announced any special promotions for Summer Prime Day 2024, but when they do, we'll let you know.
Set your own prices
Retail comparison tools can be used to make sure your Amazon bargain is actually a bargain. For example, CamelCamelCamel provides price histories of every item on Amazon and will send you an email when your selected products fall to a specific price. You can import your “Things I was going to buy anyway” wishlist into CamelCamelCamel, then set the maximum price you’ll pay for your goods. That’ll give you the freedom to ignore Amazon entirely during Prime Day unless you get the “buy” signal in your inbox.
Compare against other retailers
Even if the thing you were planning to buy already shows up as a sale item on Amazon at a price you like, don’t rush to click “buy.” It still might not be the best deal possible. Because of the popularity of Prime Day, other retailers (Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more) have been offering their own sales promotions to compete with Amazon Prime Day, so check the prices at those retailers before pulling the trigger.
You might want to wait until the fall
If you can handle waiting, you might get a better deal in a few months. As much as Prime Day is hyped, the biggest retail savings and markdowns are almost always during the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday savings are, overall, likely to be bigger than Prime Day savings, unless you’re buying things like school supplies and outdoor furniture that usually aren’t put on sale in November.
Amazon’s biggest sale of the year, Prime Day, is set to start in July, but many early deals will surely be rolling in, as they have in the past. To take advantage of everything the sale has to offer, you’re going to need to be a Prime Member. If you sign up for an Amazon Prime account to take advantage of Prime Day but decide you don’t want to pay for an ongoing membership, you’ll need to cancel your subscription before the end of your free trial.
How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership
You can cancel your Prime subscription via browser by first logging into your Amazon account. Amazon has an End Your Prime Membership button on its support page to launch the process, or you can follow the steps detailed from Amazon's page:
Press on the Manage Membership drop-down menu, and press the Manage Membership button in that menu.
Press on the End Membership button.
Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed to canceling your Prime subscription.
What to know when canceling your Prime membership
As mentioned, closing your account will immediately end your access. Amazon also offers you the option to pause your benefits and billing temporarily instead of canceling them completely. Either way, your Amazon account is still active—you simply won’t have Prime benefits.
Finally, if you have other subscriptions connected to your Prime account, those will end when your billing is up. And if you signed up for Prime through the Android mobile shopping app or the Prime Video Android app, you’ll have to go through Google Subscription to manage your membership.
Amazon is excellent at capitalism. The ubiquitous online retailer uses every psychological trick imaginable (and some we probably can’t imagine) to maximize its profits, and one of the most powerful tools in the company’s arsenal is controlling the price of products during sales like its Prime Day promotions. The next one is expected in mid-July.
A lot goes into how Amazon determines its prices, of course—inflation, supply and demand, and so on—but “making you think you’re getting an amazing deal” is an obvious motivation during promotions like Prime Day. To be fair, this is nothing new, and the tactic is used by most/all retail sellers, but, judging by their success, Amazon seems particularly good at it.
Consumers hoping to buy things that are worth the price they pay for them have a powerful, easy-to-use weapon that would have been nearly impossible to use before the internet: the ability to easily check the history of the price of a product.
How to check price history on Amazon
Credit: Stephen Johnson/Keepa
In the chart above (made with Keepa, a Chrome extension that compares Amazon prices over time) you can see the volatility of the price of an Amazon Fire TV Stick over the last year. While Amazon says the list price of the item is $39.99, as you can see, it's "on sale" as often as it's not, which stretches the common understanding of what a "list price" and a "sale" are.
Amazon offers the item for a lower price so often, you'd be foolish to buy it for the list price, but the Prime Day price of $24.99 isn't the best deal either. It's not lower than the price on most other "sale" days. The best time to buy a Fire Stick TV is around Christmas: You could have picked one up for $19.99 for almost the entire month of November.
Credit: Keepa
The same broad principle applies to non-Amazon-made products, usually, although the prices of third-party products tend to be less volatile than Amazon products. Consider the Bissell, 2747A PowerFresh Vac & Steam All-in-One Vacuum. It was listed for the Prime Day price of $129.99 in 2023. That’s 30% off the stated "list price" of $185.39. A great deal, until you look a little closer.
If you had purchased this vac back in April, it would have cost you $153.39, so you’d really only save a little over 15% by buying had you bought it on Prime Day, not the advertised 30%. Anyone unlucky enough to have purchased this vacuum between May 1 and May 3, or May 10 through May 13, 2024 paid $289.99, a full $136.60 more than the lowest price.
How to check a product’s price history before you buy a product on Amazon
Because Prime Day deals aren’t posted until their specific time window, you can’t tell in advance how much of a discount you’ll get on a specific product. But if you’re buying something on Prime Day, you can check the price history instantly before you purchase something.
I’m sure Amazon would rather keep the history of its prices secret, but since they’re public, people have made sites, apps, and extensions that collect pricing history and allow you to comparison shop over time. I use the Keepa extension for Chrome because I like how it puts the price history of items right on every Amazon page you browse, but that’s not the only simple-to-use, free Amazon-specific price history tracking option. Others like Camelcamelcamel and Earny do basically the same thing with slightly different bells and whistles—I use CamelCamelCamel to get alerts when an item I’m tracking drops to a price I find acceptable. If you don’t already, you should use one of these tools before believing the hype of Amazon’s advertised discounts.
Walmart+ is the retail giant's subscription service that offers free shipping, fuel discounts, and more. Compared to Amazon Prime's $139 annual cost, Walmart+ does provide a more affordable option for quick delivery and other membership perks. Walmart+ offers some enticing perks and benefits, but are they valuable enough to justify the cost? Let's break it down.
How much does Walmart+ cost?
Walmart+ has a price tag of $98 per year or $12.95 per month ($155.40 per year if you were to pay monthly). For comparison, Amazon Prime charges $139 per year or $14.99 per month ($179.88 per year if you were to pay monthly). Both services have a 30-day free trial.
What does a Walmart+ membership include?
Free unlimited delivery
One of the biggest draws of Walmart+ is free unlimited delivery from Walmart stores. This includes same-day delivery on groceries and other essentials from your local Walmart store with no per-delivery fees. If you frequently order online from Walmart, this perk could easily cover the cost of membership.
Fuel discounts
Walmart+ members get 10¢ off per gallon at Exxon & Mobil stations, up to 10¢ off at select Walmart & Murphy stations, and member prices at Sam's Club fuel centers. For the average driver who fills up once a week, this discount could lead to around $100 in annual fuel savings.
Mobile Scan & Go
The ability to scan items with your phone as you shop and pay quickly through the Walmart app can save you significant time versus waiting in checkout lines. It's a convenient perk akin to Amazon's shopping experience.
Early access to deals
Walmart+ members get early access to special promotions, product releases, and Black Friday events before they're available to the public. This could help secure hot-ticket items.
How Walmart+ compares to Amazon Prime
Free delivery may be Amazon Prime’s standout perk, but the membership service does include other benefits that Walmart+ doesn’t currently offer. As each program stands, you may have access to free delivery on more items—without Walmart's $35 minimum order—through Amazon Prime, and Amazon Prime offers free access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos, and Prime Wardrobe.
On the other hand, Walmart+ offers membership for $41 cheaper per year. And although Walmart+ requires a $35 minimum order for free grocery delivery, you may see lower grocery prices in general from Walmart.
Is Walmart+ worth it for you?
The value proposition comes down to how frequently you order from and visit Walmart stores. If you're a weekly Walmart shopper who also regularly fills up on gas, Walmart+ could easily pay for itself through delivery and fuel savings alone. Occasional shoppers will have to weigh the convenience against the $98 annual fee.
Compared to Amazon Prime's $139 annual cost, Walmart+ does provide a more affordable option for quick delivery and other membership perks. But it remains to be seen if Walmart+ can truly compete with Amazon on merchandise selection and shipping speeds. Only you can decide if the savings and perks outweigh the annual membership fee based on your typical shopping habits.
Amazon’s Prime Day is set to kick off sometime in July, but they’re not the only retailer with big plans. As is often the case, the big retailers try to have a sale of their own, usually before Amazon's sale, probably in hopes you will do your shopping with them instead. Walmart is the first of those big retailers to let their plans be known.
What is Walmart+ Week?
Walmart has its own "Prime Day" equivalent with a new name this year: The Walmart+ Week sale, which they announced in late May in a press release. Like Prime Day, you will need to be a Walmart+ member to participate in this sale. The membership is $98 a year (or $49 if you're a qualified government assistance recipient), which is basically what Amazon Prime costs. That said, you can sign up for a free 30-day Walmart+ trial.
Walmart+ Week starts on June 17 and runs until June 23. (Prime Day will likely be around the second week of July.)
What to expect for Walmart Deals Holiday Kickoff sale
Walmart’s sale will include deals from many departments, likely including toys, electronics, appliances, furniture, and more. The deals won’t go live until June 23 and should be mostly online, but there will likely be in-store sales as well. If it is like their past sales, you can also expect new deals to drop consistently on Walmart’s website throughout the sale.
Here are some of the deals Walmart published on their press release:
Get "double the discount" on fuel at Exxon & Mobil stations nationwide (that's 20 cents off every gallon).
Earn up to 20% back in Walmart Cash on flights, hotels, car rentals, and activities booked through Walmart+ Travel.
Get Express Delivery, which delivers your order in under two hours, without the usual $10 fee.
Experience three free months of Walmart+ InHome. This is a delivery service similar to Instacart where Walmart employees bring your orders ($35 order minimum) into your home and even into your fridge.
Get access to "new and unique items for members only" (no word on what, exactly, these are).
Walmart also mentioned a "mystery offer" to be revealed on June 20. I don't know what the offer will be, but if it's any good, I'll be covering it and letting you know.
Prepare your wallets and get ready to sign up for that free Amazon Prime trial membership: An Amazon press release has officially revealed that Prime Day 2024 will occur this July. (Not that it is much of a surprise—this will be the 10th annual Prime Day sale, after all.)
Amazon's biggest sale of the year (and arguably the biggest sale of any retailer) will soon be underway, and Lifehacker will be bringing you the best deals available while warning you of the ones you should stay away from.
What is Amazon Prime Day 2024?
Amazon Prime Day is a 48-hour sale, offering discounts on the Amazon website in virtually every category. It began in 2015 as a one-day event to celebrate Amazon's 20th anniversary, but it has grown exponentially since then, and now qualifies as a major shopping event, with other retailers spinning up their own sales to capitalize on the hype.
Of course, calling it "Prime Day" is a bit of a misnomer. In recent years, Amazon has also released "early Prime Day" deals that can last up to a week or two, and there's another "Prime Day"-like sale in the fall, officially called Prime Big Deal Days (though the deals usually aren't quite as impressive).
What are the dates for Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon hasn't officially announced the dates of Prime Day 2024, but the company did indicate it will be sometime in July. Its last few Prime Days have been on the second week of July, so it will likely fall between July 7 and 14, with "early" deals starting a few days or weeks earlier.
What you can expect on Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day always comes with surprise deals, but there are usually sales across a wide variety of products. To get an idea, you can see our 20 favorite deals from Prime Day 2023. While you might not find all of these same deals, you are very likely to find similar ones this summer. Amazon products like Fire TVs, tablets, smart speakers, and security cameras tend to hit new low prices, or match their lowest prices from previous sales.
Can you shop on Prime Day without being a Prime member?
You don't need to be a Prime Member to shop on Prime Day, but most of the best deals are for Prime Members only. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial, which is definitely enough to cover the whole event. However, not everyone will be eligible for these trials, so be sure to read the terms.
What is special about Prime Day?
As a shopping writer, I can tell you that most of the lowest prices I have seen, whether for a tablet, a TV, or an appliance, hit on Prime Day (at least according to price-checking tools). The breadth of products on sale is also much greater than at other points throughout the year. But that doesn't mean all of the deals are great—you'll still have to do your due diligence to make sure the deal you're looking at is legit.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
While it probably doesn't make sense to become a Prime member only to score Prime Day discounts, there are a lot of other benefits to subscribing. In any case, if you're shopping for Prime Day, make sure you come out a winner and go in with a plan.
Are other companies also doing deals during Prime Day?
Yes. While Prime Day is solely an Amazon deal, it also gets competition from the likes of Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and other retailers. Walmart is the only one so far who has announced the dates for its "Prime Day" deals this summer (called Walmart Week), taking place from June 17 to June 23. The deals are for Walmart+ members, which, like Amazon Prime, is not free. However, you can get a free 30-day trial, otherwise it'll be $98 a year.
This post will be updated with all the latest information about Prime Day 2024 as it is released.
There's a reason why an estimated 180 million people in the US are Amazon Prime members—and it's not Prime Video's user interface, that's for sure. Even if you're not the biggest fan of the company's founder, business practices, or workplace culture, it's incredibly hard to resist the convenience of (usually) fast and free shipping.
It became even more difficult in 2022, when members could also get a one-year subscription to Grubhub+ at no additional cost, entitling them to even more opportunities for free delivery—albeit for a limited time. But that's no longer the case: Thanks to a recent upgrade, that perk is now permanent for Prime members.
But before you get free delivery on your pizza order, you'll need to activate the benefit. Here's what to know.
How to activate the Grubhub+ benefit on Amazon Prime
The free Grubhub+ membership isn't automatically applied to Amazon Prime members' accounts: You have to activate it in order to take advantage of the benefit. To do this, go to www.amazon.com/grubhubwhile signed into your Prime account, and click the yellow box that says "Activate now."
Alternatively, if you've recently received an email from Amazon (more specifically, store-news@amazon.com) with the subject line "New update to your Prime membership" you can activate Grubhub+ by clicking the yellow "Activate now" box.
Either way, once you've activated the benefit, you should receive an email from Amazon confirming your new permanent Grubhub+ subscription. If you already pay for Grubhub+, that plan will be canceled as soon as you activate your free subscription through Amazon Prime. Of course, if you cancel your Amazon Prime membership, your free Grubhub+ subscription will go away too.
If you no longer want the free Grubhub+ subscription, you can cancel it by going to the “Manage apps & services with data access” within the “Your Account” page on Amazon and unlinking your Grubhub and Amazon accounts, or by contacting Grubhub customer support.
What are the benefits of permanent Grubhub+ membership?
Removing the one-year limit to Amazon Prime members' free Grubhub+ subscription is important for a few reasons. First, there's the fiscal benefit: Now, as long as you keep paying the $139/year Amazon Prime membership fee, you'll get a $120/year Grubhub+ subscription for free indefinitely, instead of only once.
This upgrade also makes the free Grubhub+ benefit more appealing to Prime members who may be hesitant to sign up for trials or subscriptions because they want to avoid the worry and hassle of losing benefits, or being auto-subscribed to a paid service when the trial ends.
Plus, now you have the option of placing your orders through Amazon, in addition to the Grubhub site or app.
And, of course, there's all the usual stuff you get with a Grubhub+ subscription, including:
Free delivery on eligible order of $12 or more (before tax, tip, and fees)
Lower service fees
5% Grubhub+ credit back on pickup orders (which you can use on future orders for the next 90 days)
Other exclusive offers and deals
Once you activate your free Grubhub+ subscription, you can get $5 off one $25+ order fromnow through June 3, 2024 at 2:59 am EST (June 2, 2024 at 11:59pm PST), or while supplies last, by entering code PRIME5 at checkout.
The FTC has alleged that Amazon "tricked, coerced, and manipulated consumers into subscribing to Amazon Prime," a court order said, failing to get informed consent by designing a murky sign-up process. And to keep subscriptions high, Amazon also "did not provide simple mechanisms for these subscribers to cancel their Prime memberships," the FTC alleged. Instead, Amazon forced "consumers intending to cancel to navigate a four-page, six-click, fifteen-option cancellation process."
In their motion to dismiss, Amazon outright disputed these characterizations of its business, insisting its enrollment process was clear, its cancellation process was simple, and none of its executives could be held responsible for failing to fix these processes when "accidental" sign-ups became widespread. Amazon defended its current practices, arguing that some of its Prime disclosures "align with practices that the FTC encourages in its guidance documents."
Online shopping has become a go-to method of purchasing for many people now, especially after lockdowns and easy accessibility to global stores. However, all the fun benefits of deals, discount codes, and door-step deliveries, mean a plethora of cybersecurity issues for safe online shopping. Here is a list of ways that you can ensure you stay protected and secure when participating in safe online shopping. Some may be obvious, but are incredibly effective, nonetheless. Keep reading to find out how you can keep having fun shopping online while also reducing your vulnerability to attacks and hacks.
10 Tips for Safe Online Shopping
1. Safe passwords
Ensuring that your password is unique and strong is essential. Refraining from using obvious words in relation to you like your name or personal information isn’t the way to go! Ensuring the use of multiple different types of characters such as (@#_$%!&), along with not using the same passwords regularly on different sites is recommended. Changing passwords on individual sites also helps as it allows for less easily guessed instances.
2. Debit cards over credit cards
It’s recommended that when it comes to safe online shopping, using payment gateways like PayPal, Venmo, or Stripe is better. Other than those, credit cards should be preferred over debit as debit cards are linked to your bank account whilst credit cards can be protected better. Debit cards create higher risk events of personal and sensitive data being obtained.
3. Enable multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication is an added utility which means that there is another safety layer added before anyone can access your account after knowing your username or password. Multi-factor authentication protects in 3 layers: first your passwords, or then something personal to only you like your fingerprint, or facial recognition. The 3rd way is through MFA apps, or getting a code sent through your messages or your email, to make sure you can do safe online shopping and the purchase you’re making is actually coming from you.
4. Check bank statements
This one is much simpler. Turning on automatic payment notifications to track every payment made will help you track when your money was spent and if it has gone somewhere genuine. If the charge seems fraudulent, you can then take the necessary steps to contact your bank and have them pause or shut your card so that further fraudulent purchases can be stopped.
5. Wi-Fi: Make sure it’s at home or secure instead of publicly available
When not using your own Wi-Fi, ensure you’re using secure, private networks for safe online shopping. Public Wi-Fi networks are much easier to access for scammers as poorly protected connections allow any information you find, very easily retrievable for them. This is especially dangerous if the public Wi-Fi network you’re using is at a mall while you try to access banking or payment sites for any purchases you will be making.
6. Use secure websites
The key to safe online shopping is to use a secure website. The padlock icon near the URL and the URL itself starting with HTTPS means you’re on the right track- The S in the end stands for secure. If that final S isn’t visible, it means that you’re dealing with a site that isn’t encrypted. Search engines like Google tend to flag sites that don’t have a valid Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate as unsecure. It’s better to not input your payment details into sites like these.
7. Be wary of emails
Email scams known as phishing have become the most common forms of scamming nowadays. Your inbox may contain an email that may present you with deals, discounts, and sales through names and links which are close misspellings of popular websites. They are easy to fall for and may be hard to detect if the email somehow automatically fails to end up in your spam folder.
8. Don’t buy from links that seem malicious/ don’t come from a trusted source
Other than e-mails, social media is also a place where links that can’t be trusted would be presented to you. Be wary of TikTok advertisements or ads shown between your Instagram stories which present you with deals and offers that seem too good to be true. Now, it becomes harder to tell with the use of deepfakes and AI to show the promotion of these scam products by influential people.
9. Data backup
Ensuring that personal information and data are regularly backed up on your device or saved on the external hard disk is essential now due to ransomware attackers that can access your device and close off your access to important files or delete them entirely. Ensuring you have completed software updates is essential too as they help in ensuring fewer ransomware attacks and vulnerabilities on your devices to invasions.
10. Protect your device/connect securely
Some other ways to protect your device through your connection is: One, with a VPN, or two, by ensuring no details are saved on your browsers. VPN or Virtual Private Network encrypts your data and masks your IP addresses. This makes your identity, location, and browser activity hidden from potential attackers.Secondly, make sure that your device forgets your credit card details or password details. If these are remembered by your browsers, it makes these pieces of information immensely easy for attackers to obtain as they are all stored in one place when accessed by them. While some of these may seem more easily achievable and accessible than others, they’re all a step in making sure your information is protected. We recommend regularly practicing all the above tips. These steps work even better together. So make sure to update your passwords and data backups, apply VPNs, stay wary of phishing emails, and practice safe online shopping.
FAQs on Safe Online Shopping
What is the most trusted safe online shopping site?
Determining the most trusted online shopping site involves considering several key factors. Reputation is crucial, with established brands like Amazon and Flipkart often ranking high due to their track record of customer satisfaction. Security is paramount, with HTTPS encryption and clear data privacy policies being essential indicators. Customer reviews on platforms like Trustpilot offer valuable insights into user experiences. Additionally, convenient payment options and positive personal experiences play a significant role in establishing trust.
Which online shopping practice is safest?
For a safe online shopping experience, it's crucial to implement multiple security measures and exercise caution throughout the process. Begin by verifying the authenticity of the website and remain wary of deals that appear too good to be true. Stay vigilant against phishing scams and opt for credit cards over debit cards, as they typically offer better fraud protection. Ensure your passwords are strong and unique, and consider enabling multi-factor authentication for added security. Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks for shopping, and for an extra layer of protection, consider using a VPN. By following these steps, you can enhance your online safety and protect yourself against potential threats while shopping online.
What is a safe online shopping site?
A safe online site uses HTTPS encryption, signified by a padlock symbol and "HTTPS" in the URL bar. It should also have a clear and concise privacy policy.
What are fake shopping websites?
Fake shopping websites are designed to look legitimate but steal your personal information or payment details. They often offer deals that seem too good to be true.
Which websites can I trust?
Amazon offers an extensive range of products with fast shipping. eBay, the largest online auction site, offers both new and used items, but it's essential to check seller reviews. AliExpress provides diverse products at budget-friendly prices, backed by seller ratings. Dealextreme offers competitive pricing, urging buyers to check reviews for confidence.In Fashion, Asos offers a wide range of clothing, footwear, and accessories for diverse preferences. Farfetch specializes in luxury fashion, featuring exclusive brands for discerning shoppers. Notino, a European-based online store, offers fragrances and cosmetics from popular brands at attractive prices.For Discounts, Cashback World provides benefits and discounts on purchases from partnered companies, online and offline, enabling savings across various products and services.
How to check a fake website?
To discern the authenticity of a website, several key indicators can be examined. Firstly, verify the presence of HTTPS encryption and a valid SSL certificate. Next, scrutinize the website's content for any typos or grammatical errors, which can often signal a lack of professionalism. Conduct thorough research into the company behind the website, looking for a physical address and phone number to ensure legitimacy. Additionally, reading online reviews caliasdasdn provide valuable insights into the experiences of previous customers. Finally, consider utilizing website safety checkers like F-Secure Online Shopping Checker for an extra layer of security and assurance.Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.
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