4 Things Every Deal-Seeker Must Know Before Amazon Prime Day

There is really no time left to waste.

If you’re curious about the deals Amazon will offer for its third annual Prime Day, now is the time to do your homework — and even to start shopping. Some early deals will be gone by the time Prime Day officially starts on Monday night.

Here’s what you should know:

1. You don’t have to buy Prime to shop Prime Day

Prime Day is named after Amazon Prime, a membership program that offers subscribers perks galore — including being able to shop for Prime Day deals. But you don’t need to pay for Prime to enjoy this perk.

You can sign up for the free trial instead. Just click on the yellow “Start your 30-day Prime free trial” button on the Amazon Prime webpage. Just remember to cancel your subscription before the trial ends so Amazon doesn’t charge you for it.

2. You can start shopping the deals right now

Every day leading up to Prime Day, Amazon is offering Prime members “all kinds of exclusive promotions and deals,” the retailer says.

Following are examples of Prime Day-related promotions that you can snag right now. In fact, some of these steals will end before Prime Day.

• A deep discount on Amazon Music Unlimited: If you haven’t yet tried Amazon Music Unlimited, you can get four months for $0.99. This on-demand music-streaming service normally costs $7.99 per month for Prime members. Subscribing to Amazon Music Unlimited gives you access to tens of millions of songs. The service competes with Spotify and Apple Music
• A free $10 Amazon credit: If you haven’t yet streamed a Prime video on your TV, you can get a free $10 Amazon credit for doing so — but only until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, July 7. We further explain this offer in “7 Great Freebies That Are Hotter Than July.”
• Up to 40 percent off Kindle Unlimited: Subscriptions to this e-reading service are 25 percent off (for the six-month plan) to 40 percent off (24-month plan). Amazon says this is a “limited-time deal” and does not specify when it ends, so it may not last until Prime Day. Subscribing to Kindle Unlimited gives you access to more than 1 million Kindle titles on any device — you do not need a Kindle e-reader.
• Savings of up to 35 percent on everyday essentials: Every day, Amazon is offering coupons for up to 35 percent off select food and household items in Prime Pantry.

3. Prime Day will last 30 hours

In the past Prime Day has lasted one day. This year, it will last 30 hours.

While Prime Day is technically July 11, it will start on July 10. So mark your calendar for 6 p.m. PT Monday instead of waiting until Tuesday.

4. Go shopping with Alexa

If you own one of Amazon's Alexa smart devices, like the Echo, use it to shop Prime Day.

You’ll get to start shopping two hours earlier than everyone else — at 4 p.m. PT on Monday — and be able to take advantage of special “Alexa Deals.” If you haven’t yet used an Alexa device to shop Amazon, you can even score a $10 credit just for ordering an Alexa Deal.

Have you shopped any early Prime Day deals yet? Let us know below or on Facebook.