Every year, Amazon Prime Day shows everybody why Amazon is the biggest player in retail. They created their own summertime Black Friday event about a decade ago, and year after year, it continues to set online spending records.In 2022, Amazon introduced its October Prime Day event (it's gone by the name of Prime Early Access sale and, in 2023, Prime Big Deal Days) as the gateway to the holiday shopping season.
For 48 turbocharged hours every July and October, 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 early holiday sales in October.
We’ll cut through the noise and help you navigate Amazon's Prime Day events, so that you can find the best deals without wasting money.
Text HACKS to 57299 to stay in the loop on all the hottest Amazon deals all year long. You can also download the Krazy Coupon Lady app to find more Amazon deals.
Amazon Prime Day is a twice-a-year 48-hour online sale that's only for Prime members
Technically, Prime Day is more than a day. And it now takes place twice a year (once in July, followed by a second Prime-members-only event in October).
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.
Then, in 2022, Amazon started offering another Prime-members-only event. They called it the Prime Early Access event. Then, in 2023, Amazon repeated the October event, calling it Prime Big Deal Days. Despite the different names, we think of it as an October Prime Day, as it's open only to members and offers Black-Friday-worthy savings.
For both the July and October events, there are Prime Day deals in virtually every shopping category on the site. Amazon also has rotating Lightning Deals that launch every half-hour. 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. 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+.
Amazon's October Prime Day sale is predicted to start Oct. 15, 2024
How did we make our prediction?
For the past two years, Amazon's October Prime Day event has taken place the second Tuesday and Wednesday of October. However, in 2024, Amazon shook things up with its July Prime Day event, starting things a bit later than usual on July 16. So, we we expect to see October Prime Day pushed a week later, too.
Here are the most recent Amazon Prime Day in October start dates:
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 (called the Prime Early Access Sale)
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 (called the Prime Big Deal Days event)
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
Monday, July 15, 2019
Monday, July 16, 2018
What time will October Prime Day 2024 start?
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 October 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 Prime Day deal alerts in the KCL app so you're the first to know when Prime Day deals go live.
Earn Amazon credit now: There are several easy ways you can earn Amazon promotional credits to use on future purchases.
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.
Get free shipping from third-party sellers that normally charge: Some third-party sellers offer free shipping during Prime Day.
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
Whether you're shopping Amazon's July or October event, use these tips to save (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 cannot 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 deal alert for specific items you want to see on Prime Day.
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!
TIP: Here’s more about how to set a KCL deal alert.
6. Earn an Amazon Prime digital credit when you choose free No-Rush Shipping.
Don't care when your item arrives? Amazon Prime Day shopping tips include choosing free No-Rush Shipping on some items. Amazon will automatically apply a digital credit you can spend on a future Amazon order once your order ships.
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. Here's a quick look at what differs between them:
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.
Big Deal Days, Oct. 15 2024 (predicted)
Like Prime Day, Amazon Big Deal Days is a 48-hour sale that's exclusive to Prime members. Except this event takes place in October each year. This is the sale to find savings on Dyson, iRobot, and KitchenAid. Plus, the two-day event is one of the key pre-holiday-season sales.
Prime Day, July 16-17, 2024
Prime Day, the member-exclusive, two-day annual summer event, occurs in July. In 2024, we saw deals on Amazon devices (Amazon Echo, Kindle, Fire Tablets etc.), TVs, appliances, and more. Some prices during Prime Day beat those we see during the holidays.
Amazon Black Friday Sale, Nov. 15-25, 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).
Related reading:
Share Your Receipts With Amazon and Get $10
The Secret Way Amazon Cart Abandonment Discounts Work
Amazon Prime Day Staff Picks
