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Maybe you’ve been eyeing those velvet hangers for your closet. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about splurging on a new TV. Regardless of the product in question, you’ll want to add Amazon Prime Day to your calendar if you haven’t already. Between the crazy-high number of deals available and the fact that this year, the shopping event is two days long—two! days!—you’re likely to find exactly what you’re looking for. You’re also likely to get overwhelmed the minute the homepage loads.
Don’t worry, we’ve come up with a game plan for you. Prep your shopping list, set a calendar alert for July 15 and 16, and get ready to save. Here’s how:
Get That Prime Membership
First things first: In order to shop Prime Day sales, you need an Amazon Prime account. If you don’t have one already (and aren’t sure you’re ready to commit), you can cheat the system a little bit by signing up for a free trial. Alex Roth, commerce editor at the review site Wirecutter, recommends taking advantage of the 30-day deal ASAP, pointing out to The New York Times, “Once it’s over, if you decide Prime isn’t for you, just cancel it before it ends. Set a calendar reminder so you don’t forget.”
Harness the Power of the Wish List
One of the reasons Prime Day can be so stressful is because it’s easy to get wrapped up in the sheer number of things on sale. This is how you end up impulse buying a cookie spoon. Enter: the Amazon wish list. Creating an inventory of the items you definitely want beforehand will help curb those last-minute purchases, says Reddit user waffles210, who writes: “If something on your wish list is on Prime sale, then you know it’s a product you want.”
Don’t Sleep on the Giveaways
“The only thing I’m participating in for Prime Day is the giveaways they’ve been running all week,” says Reddit user nowthereare66ofthem. What may seem like a long shot can actually turn out to be a delightful surprise. Reddit is full of Prime Day giveaway winners gleefully sharing some of their bounty: a mandoline, a dog leash, books, and a waffle maker, to name a few small but mighty prizes. Who doesn’t love waffles?
Know Your Way Around the Lightning Deals
Any frequent Amazon shopper is already familiar with the Lightning Deals section. On Prime Day, though, these deals are only available to Prime members—and since they’re around for a super-limited time, you need to be strategic. Business Insider recommends checking out the Upcoming Deals tab to see the discounts 24 hours before they go live and setting “Watch This Deal” push notifications on must-haves. See something you love that already sold out? Be sure to add your name to the wait list, in case it gets restocked that same day. Sometimes, the deals will still be applicable.
Be Smart About Saving
Yes, Prime Day is full of great bargains—but it doesn’t hurt to have an extra bit of reinforcement that what you’re buying really is a steal. Reddit user cscf0360 recommends getting the InvisibleHand extension for your Chrome browser: “It doesn’t track price history, but it does provide real-time price comparisons.” Once you’re sure there’s no better deal on another site, feel free to pull the trigger on that sculptural pendant light.
See more money-saving tips: The Latest Hardware Trend Might Actually Save You Money When to Splurge or Save on Furniture, According to a Designer Money Secrets of Designers Who Rarely Go Over Budget