The best deals to shop before the Prime Day sale and everything we know so far

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be here soon, which means Prime members will have a ton of sales and deals to peruse over a short period next month. Prime Day deals usually don’t discriminate: everything from clothing to shoes to household essentials can be discounted, and that includes consumer electronics, too. Prime members will have access to all the deals, but there are usually some sales available to all Amazon shoppers during Prime Day as well. Engadget will be featuring all the best tech deals we can find — both on Amazon and elsewhere — during Prime Day, but there are important things to consider beforehand so you’re prepared for the event. . Here’s everything we know so far about Amazon Prime Day 2024, plus some great Amazon deals you can shop right now.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

We don’t have official dates for Prime Day 2024 yet, but we do know it will be back sometime in July. The shopping event focuses on deals exclusive to Prime members, meaning you’ll need to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon is still offering a 30-day free trial for new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial closer to July and get in on the action.

If you don’t pay for Prime and don’t intend to, you should still check Amazon on Prime Day for sales that are available to all shoppers — there are always a few. Plus, it’s very likely that other retailers like Target and Best Buy will have their own competitive Prime Day sales during that time period as well.

Speaking of competitors, Walmart just announced that its version of Prime Day, dubbed Walmart+ Week, will run from June 17th to June 23rd. Walmart+ Week offers exclusive deals for Walmart+ members, and the retail giant seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on gas and travel discounts this year. It’s currently offering 20 cents for every gallon of gas purchased at Exxon and Mobil stations, as well as 20 percent Walmart Cash on travel accommodations purchased through Walmart+ Travel. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t see discounts on other items, including electronics, during Walmart’s members-only shopping event.

Amazon Prime Day Deals

Amazon Prime Day usually lasts two days, but for the past few years, the company has started making deals long before the event begins. We expect the same to happen this year, with early Prime Day deals possibly starting as soon as Amazon officially announces Prime Day 2024 dates.

Whether it’s first day early deals or sales of the day, Amazon devices are almost guaranteed to be on sale for this event. You can safely bet that things like Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers, and Fire TV devices will be at record low prices for Prime Day, so if you’ve been eyeing one of those items, it’s worth the wait that those bids decline. Prime Day is only matched by Black Friday in its discounts, so while that means you’ll likely have another chance to get that smart speaker on the cheap, it probably won’t be until shopping season of the holidays.

Amazon’s gadgets won’t be the only discounted items on Prime Day. You’ll find clothes, shoes, homewares, gadgets, accessories and more on sale, but here at Engadget, we’ll naturally focus on electronics. We expect this year’s first day to be just like last year’s, as it will bring big discounts on headphones, headsets, gaming accessories, SSDs and microSD cards, robot vacuums and more.

It’s also worth noting the types of deals you can expect to see on Prime Day. Some offers will be live for the entire event (which is usually two full days), while others will only last for 24 hours. These are the hardest to predict, as Amazon usually doesn’t give any indication of how long a particular sale will last. Our recommendation is to buy the things you’re most interested in as soon as you see the price drop – this will ensure you get them while the discount is available and while the item is still in stock.

You can also expect to see some “Lightning deals” happening during Prime Day. Thankfully, these are usually clearly labeled with the amount of time left to grab the deal listed on the product page. In our experience, only a handful of these flash sales are worth your money, but if you see something that’s been on your wishlist drop in price for just a few hours, it’s in your best interest to grab it right away.

How to prepare for Prime Day

It’s best to go into Amazon Prime Day as prepared as possible; it means knowing exactly what you want so you can stay focused and avoid distractions. Amazon’s entire site will be overwhelming on Prime Day, so the less time you spend aimlessly browsing, the more your wallet will thank you later.

One thing you can do to stay on track during Prime Day is to make a list of your essential items before the event. This takes a bit of prep work, but you’ll be thankful you did once the event arrives. Make a note of the most important items you want to get on Prime Day. You can either do this the old-fashioned way on a sticky note, or you can use Amazon’s wishlist feature. For the latter, add the items you want to buy on Prime Day to your wish list (or, even better, make a dedicated wish list with just your Prime Day wishes) and return to that list during the shopping event. Not only will you have everything you want all in one place, but you’ll also be able to see which of these items are cheaper on Prime Day than they were when you first added them to your list.

It’s also recommended to use a price tracker to make sure you’re getting a good deal. Sites like CamelCamelCamel allow you to track the price of specific items on Amazon. You can view price history charts and set up your own price drop alerts, getting emails when something you want gets a discount. CamelCamelCamel also has several browser extensions you can download so you don’t have to leave an Amazon product page to check price history.

Engadget will be covering Amazon Prime Day in its entirety, so if you’ve got a lot of tech on your to-buy list, be sure to check back here on Prime Day for the best tech sales we can find. We’ll be sure to include gadgets from across the board—from headphones to robot vacuums to gaming gadgets—plus the best anti-Prime Day deals you can find from other retailers. You can also follow Twitter account @EngadgetDeals and subscribe to the Deals Engadget newsletter to stay updated on the latest discounts.

Amazon offers you can buy them before Prime Day

While we wouldn’t call these sales “early Prime Day deals” just yet, they represent some of the best deals you can get on Amazon right now while we wait for the full details of Prime Day to be revealed. We’ll update this list as prices change and as we find even more of the best Amazon deals you can get.

Your Day 1 Shopping Guide: See all ours Prime Minister’s Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals at Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from the Autoblog experts for the best Amazon Prime Day Deals for your car, garage and home and find First day sales to shop on AOL, selected just for you.