Every year, Amazon Prime Day shows everybody why Amazon is the biggest player in retail with Prime Day, their own summertime mega-sale.
For 48 turbocharged hours every July, Amazon Prime Day offers a massive number of discounts, including a bunch of very popular Lightning Deals that pop in and out throughout the sale. Prime Day has become such a massive event for millions of shoppers worldwide, that countless other retailers have tried to capture some of the magic with their own "Black Friday in July" summer sales (including Walmart's Deals Day event and Target Circle Week).
To make sure you never miss Prime Day, use our new Deal Planner™ feature in the free Krazy Coupon Lady app to set alerts! We'll remind you as soon as the deals go live so you don't miss out. Download the KCL app now.
Amazon Prime Day is a 48-hour online sale that's only for Prime members
Technically, Prime Day is more than a day. It happens every year in mid-July, and it's always geared at back-to-school, tech and summer clearance.
The first Amazon Prime Day took place July 2015 as a way for Amazon to celebrate its 20th birthday, and it quickly became like a summertime Black Friday. The sale — which is exclusive to Amazon Prime members — has become the online shopping event of the summer with so much participation and hype that plenty of other retailers try to capitalize on Prime Day by holding their own Black Friday in July sales around the same time.
Some of the best deals of the two-day event are on electronics (particularly Amazon devices like Fire tablets or Echo smart assistants) — but there are also big deals on home appliances, kitchen gadgets, apparel, beauty, and gift cards. During Prime Day in 2024, Prime members could also request an invitation to access Invite-only deals, including up to 40% off Sony Wireless Headphones and up to 30% off the Peloton Original Bike and Bike+.
KCL Predicts the next Amazon Prime Day will kick off July 15, 2025
How do we make our prediction?
Prime Day usually kicks off the second or third Tuesday and Wednesday of July. There have been a few fluctuations over the years to account for the pandemic and the Olympics. Here are the most recent Amazon Prime Day in July start dates:
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Monday, June 21, 2021
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020 (delayed due to the pandemic)
Monday, July 15, 2019
Monday, July 16, 2018
We predict Amazon will repeat its 2024 timing and start Prime Day on July 15. Amazon consistently starts its Prime day deals at midnight PT (3 a.m. ET). Every Prime Day, sales and deals end at 3 a.m. ET or midnight PT on the last day of the sale.
How to prepare for Prime Day
If you want the best Prime Day deals, check out the following tips and read up on our Prime Day secrets.
Set Amazon Deal Alerts in the KCL app: Turn on Amazon deal alerts in the KCL app so you're the first to know when Prime Day deals go live. Here's how to set up app alerts.
Earn Amazon credit now: There are several easy ways you can earn Amazon promotional credits to use on future purchases. Sometimes, Amazon runs early offers for promo credits that you can spend on Prime Day.
Watch for third-party seller low prices: Third party sellers may have the lowest prices, but be sure to read reviews to make sure you're buying high-quality items.
Keep an eye on competitors during Prime Day: Target, Walmart, Kohl's and more tend to throw their own sales on top of Prime Day. Check to see if they're offering promo codes that help their prices beat Amazon's.
Check CamelCamelCamel for lowest prices: Look up Prime Day prices to ensure you're getting the best deal.
Prime Day Shopping Tips That Will Save You Money
Use these tips to save time and money while shopping Amazon Prime Day (we swear by them ourselves).
1. Check for low prices from third-party sellers on Prime Day, but read this tip carefully!
Third-party sellers on Amazon are the bosses of their products since they package and ship them to customers. They can set their own prices, they can charge for shipping, or they can drop their prices. On Prime Day, they can't offer Lightning deals or coupons, but they can adjust pricing to be competitive.
This means third parties may have better deals on Prime Day than direct sellers (big brands) or FBAs (smaller vendors who send their products to Amazon for shipping to the customer).
Both direct sellers and FBAs can still offer Lightning Deals and coupons.
To check for a lower third-party price on something, tap the “Also available from” section of the product page to see the list of who is selling it. It’s not unusual for a legitimate third-party seller with great reviews to sell an identical product for a lower price than Amazon is selling it for.
Third-party sellers can’t be featured as the main seller or “win the Buy Box,” as it’s called because they’re third-party, but that doesn’t mean they’re more spendy. (“Winning the Buy Box” is a term for being the featured seller of a specific item.)
One caveat though — make sure you read the reviews and you’re sure the third-party vendor is offering a legit product before you get too excited.
2. You can get free shipping on Prime Day from third parties who normally make you pay for shipping.
Third-party sellers know Prime Day is a huge opportunity to sell large volumes due to the increase in traffic to Amazon's site. But since they can't offer Lightning Deals or coupons, they have to stay competitive. In addition to dropping the price, they'll usually offer free shipping, too.
3. Keep your eyes on competitors during Amazon Prime Day because of MAP pricing.
What the heck is MAP pricing?
Minimum Advertising Pricing (MAP) is an agreement between retailers (like Amazon or Walmart) and direct sellers or vendors (think: Purina or GoPro) that keeps prices at a certain minimum amount. It basically says if vendors go lower than the agreed-upon pricing, they won’t be able to do business with that retailer anymore.
Amazon Prime Day (and other holidays like Black Friday) are considered “MAP holidays.” When these roll around, Amazon will allow vendors to drop their prices by a certain price point, not a huge drop, but let’s say 10% – 15%. This means vendors will have sales and deals on Amazon on Prime Day, but so will their competitors.
For this reason, check with Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, or any other retailer offering the same product you’re eyeing on Amazon! Go with whatever has the best offer. Maybe Target has a Circle offer you can combine, or Walmart has it for same-day pickup?
4. Prime Day prices are probably low — but check CamelCamelCamel to be sure.
Don't buy anything on Prime Day without first making sure it's the lowest price Amazon offers.
CamelCamelCamel.com tracks Amazon prices and maps them out so you can see price changes in your item.
This information is gold if you’re trying to decide what time of year to buy something.
Of course, we’d like to think Prime Day is actually the best time of year to buy from Amazon (Amazon definitely wants us to think this), but enter the Amazon URL for your item on CamelCamelCamel.com just to be sure.
5. Set a Krazy Coupon Lady app alerts so you know when the sale goes live
Sure, you can stare at Amazon all day, or just use Krazy Coupon Lady Deal Alerts. If there's something you've needed that you'd like to find a deal on, set up a deal alert inside the free Krazy Coupon Lady app and then watch for a notification on Prime Day.
You might be one of the first ones to find out about a crazy low price!
KCL TIP: Here’s more about how to set a KCL deal alert.
6. Organize your Amazon wish list, or add things to your cart in advance.
By putting items on your wish list or adding them to your cart before Prime Day, you'll find everything in one spot when the deals start dropping. We highly recommend the Amazon app. That's where you can access the "My Lists" section and easily see which items have been discounted.
7. Not an Amazon Prime member? You can still shop on Prime Day with this shopping tip.
Okay, okay, Prime Day is technically for Amazon Prime members, but if you're not a member, just sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime and you'll get access.
Remember to cancel your membership if you don’t want to keep it beyond Prime Day. But bear in mind that in many instances a Prime membership can end up paying for itself.
How Prime Day stacks up with other Amazon sale events
Amazon has a few major sale events throughout the year.
Amazon Holiday Beauty Haul, Oct. 21 - Nov. 3, 2024 (confirmed)
Amazon throws an October sale that offers up to 50% off top beauty brands. You don't need to be a Prime member to shop it. Learn more about what to expect from the Holiday Beauty Haul event.
Amazon Spring Sale, March 19 - 24, 2025 (predicted)
The Amazon Spring Sale is open to everyone, no Prime membership necessary. Although the sale in 2024 was the first ever spring sale for Amazon, we predict this event will return again next spring. Look for deals on home goods, Amazon devices, spring apparel, sports and outdoor equipment and more.
Amazon Black Friday Sale, Nov. 22-29, 2024 (predicted)
Amazon is known for its rather long Black Friday sale which starts a week before Black Friday and runs through Cyber Monday. The Amazon Black Friday sale is always open to all shoppers (no Prime membership needed) and features some of the same deals seen during the Prime Day events (if not better).
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Oct. 14-15, 2025 (Predicted)
This is Amazon's second Prime-members-only sale every year. Like Prime Day in July, it runs 48 hours, but it's geared at early holiday shopping: toys, tech, and gifts. Expect Amazon to also repeat some of its Prime Day pricing on its own products. Learn more about Prime Big Deal Days.
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