Amazon Prime Day 2021: What we know about the sale event plus the best deals available

May 21, 2021

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Amazon Prime Day 2021, one of the largest shopping events of the year, is fast approaching. According to reports from Recode and some Amazon merchants, the annual deal holiday will land sometime in June or July.

For those who are unfamiliar, Amazon Prime Day is an exclusive deal event for the site’s 150-million-plus Prime subscribers. Prime members can get some of the lowest prices of the year on Amazon devices and other products from leading brands. A Prime membership costs $13 a month or $119 a year and delivers other benefits, like free two-day shipping, rewards at Amazon stores like Whole Foods, and hundreds of streaming movies and TV shows from Prime Video. New subscribers can try Prime with a free 30-day trial.

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Planning for and shopping during Amazon Prime Day can be a little overwhelming. To help, we’re answering all the most common questions our readers have regarding the sales event, including dates, competing sales, and more. We’ve also gathered some of the best deals available.

How to prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2021

If you want to shop Amazon Prime Day 2021, you’ll want to start by becoming an Amazon Prime subscriber. You can pick up a monthly subscription for $13, but we think it’s wiser to pay the $119 annual subscription.

For first-time subscribers, there’s a 30-day free trial to take advantage of. While the upfront subscription cost may give you pause, we think that the benefits of an Amazon Prime subscription are worth the fees year-round.

Secondly, you’ll want to download the Amazon app. It’s handy for Prime Day, to receive alerts for when deals are activated.

Who can access Prime Day deals

Only Amazon Prime members can take advantage of this event. Signing up is easy, though, and a membership comes with many more benefits than just Prime Day deals access and free two-day shipping. New members can sign up for a free 30-day trial with full benefits before committing.

Last year, Prime members in the following countries participated in the event: US, UK, UAE, Spain, Singapore, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, China, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Australia, and — for the first time this year — Turkey and Brazil.

Where to find alternative sales during Amazon Prime Day 2021

Amazon Prime Day started as, unsurprisingly, an Amazon-centric sale event. Of course, that didn’t stop other retailers from offering their own, competing sales.

In the past few years, retailers offering competing sales included Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Kohl’s. This year should be no different. While we don’t expect any retailer to match the breadth of Amazon’s Prime Day offerings, we found that the retailers generally match some of the “doorbuster” sales on stuff like iPads and TVs, and there are some better offers, as well.

Walmart’s “Big Save Event” leapfrogged Prime Day by starting on October 11 and lasted until Thursday, October 15 — making it a day longer than Prime Day.

Target’s “Deal Days” event ran concurrently with Prime Day and offered shoppers “double the deals compared to last year.” As with Amazon Prime Day, Target offered “early-bird deals” ahead of “Deal Days,” plus exclusive discounts for Target Circle members.

Best Buy historically offers discounts during Prime Day and last year was no different. During the sale, Best Buy sold laptops starting as low as $120, JBL Free true wireless headphones for $60, and a Samsung 70-inch 4K smart TV for $530. Shoppers also saw discounts on Apple devices, laptops, big-screen TVs, and kitchen appliances during its competing Prime Day sale.

Which is better for deals: Prime Day or Black Friday?

It depends on what you’re shopping for.

Prime Day is, first and foremost, an Amazon event. This means Amazon Prime Day offers the best deals on Amazon products. So, expect to see deals on Amazon Echo smart speakers, Fire TVs and streaming devices, Kindle e-readers, Audible, and Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions.

Black Friday, on the other hand, doesn’t “belong” to any particular store. This means that shoppers can expect sales and savings from more retailers, outside of those few that compete with Amazon during Prime Day.

Additionally, Prime Day is better for scoring deals on products selling for under $100 and products you’ll buy more than once per year, like clothing, food, and beauty products, while Black Friday is for once-a-year and rarer purchases like TVs, gaming consoles, and laptops.

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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected].

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