The next round of Prime Day deals may look inviting — but read this before adding anything to your cart.
Amazon
AMZN,
is tempting shoppers to open their wallets with a second 2023 Prime Day event — dubbed “Prime Big Deal Days” — running Oct. 10-11. It follows a similar strategy to what the online retail giant tried last year, when it also doubled down on its traditional summertime Prime Day promo with a second, two-day sales event in the fall.
But before you purchase anything this week, stop to consider whether the savings are really as good as they seem. You might want to flip the script on your shopping list, and head into this sale thinking about what NOT to buy right now, instead.
With that in mind, here are several items and product categories that industry insiders and deal-finders say you may want to scroll past during Amazon’s “Prime Big Deal Days” — especially since better deals are probably right around the corner with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The new iPhone 15 or Pixel 8, and other smartphones
Shoppers may want to postpone picking up new smartphones — and especially iPhones — during this Amazon event. “Apple
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and Google
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have recently released the latest versions of their flagship headsets, but Black Friday is when we tend to see the year’s best phone deals,” says Katie Roberts, consumer analyst with DealNews.com. “Walmart
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is a top store to check around Black Friday for bundles featuring iPhones and hefty gift cards. Last year, in fact, Walmart offered shoppers up to $750 worth of gift cards for buying and trading in select iPhones. The then-latest iPhone 14 lineup was part of the deal, and you could get a $300 Walmart gift card with those devices. Plus, certain iPhone 13 models came with gift cards that were worth up to $500.”
Related: Google Pixel 8 vs the Apple iPhone 15
And: How Google’s Pixel Watch 2 stacks up against the Apple Watch 9 and Samsung Galaxy Watch6
TVs
Amazon will be heavily promoting its own Fire TV products this week, and you might see some good prices there. But Kristin McGrath, shopping expert at BlackFriday.com, a site that collects Black Friday discounts from across the web, urges you to wait until, well, Black Friday. “That’s when all of the retailers pull out all the stops,” she says. “You will have a wider range of deals on a wider range of high-quality and bargain-bin sets during Black Friday sales from all retailers,” not just Amazon.
Roberts from DealNews.com agrees. “Last year, we saw a lot of deals around Black Friday for 65-inch TVs in particular,” she says. “Some of the best deals on 65-inch sets came from Amazon, Best Buy
BBY,
Newegg, and Walmart, so they’re worth checking out come November. Walmart, for instance, was selling a 65-inch TCL 4K Roku TV around Black Friday last year that came in at just $228.”
Clothing and shoes — especially winter clothes
Sure, you can find Prime Day discounts of 20% to 30% on plenty of things to wear, says budgeting guru Andrea Woroch. But “you can get typically get even bigger sales around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, especially from clothing-specific stores that offer exclusive products for major savings,” she says.
McGrath from BlackFriday.com notes that you can score great deals on clothes any time the seasons change — so now, for example, could be a good time to find discounts on fall apparel as retailers make room for cold-weather wear. Avoid winter clothes right now at all costs, however, unless you really need something ASAP. “Winter clothing is just starting to hit the shelves, so it’s at its most expensive,” she says. “If you can let your clothes from last winter stretch one more year, you can save a lot of money,” by shopping for winter clothes in the spring offseason, instead.
So if you are looking for deals on cold-weather gear, such as coats and boots, then wait until after the holidays, Woroch agrees. That’s when retailers are really looking to move inventory on those items, and you can score savings of 60% or more.
Lego Sets
Plenty of Prime Day shoppers will be looking for toys to get ahead on their holiday shopping. Amazon stated in their Prime Big Deal Days preview that shoppers will be able to save up to 30% on Lego during the event, notes Roberts from DealNews.com. But you still may want to wait.
“The deals on Black Friday will very likely beat that discount,” she predicts. “For Black Friday last year, Lego itself and Target
TGT,
both knocked up to 40% off Lego products, so they’re worth checking out around the shopping holiday.”
Furniture
Looking to buy an easy chair to watch all those football games this season? (And maybe catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift in the process?) Prime Day isn’t typically the ideal period to shop for furniture, says Nicole Leinbach, co-founder of the Independent Retailer Conference. “Furniture generally has higher discounts surrounding Labor Day and Memorial Day promotional events,” she says.
Woroch also points to a reality many shoppers choose to ignore — that furniture is often something “better to see and test in person” versus rolling the dice online. And furniture stores will sometimes run 0% financing deals, she notes.
Electronics and small appliances, like robotic vacuums
Unless you’re looking to purchase an Amazon device — as the best Prime Day deals are generally on Amazon’s own electronics, like Kindle e-readers and Echo smart speakers — this is another category to consider skipping until Black Friday. Melissa Cid, a consumer expert with MySavings.com, says, “Black Friday sales have more variety and better prices,” pointing to such popular items as laptops, smartwatches and tablets.
McGrath from BlackFriday.com adds that floor-care and robotic vacuums, in particular, could go either way. “You may see some really good deals, but those could come right back around for Black Friday, so you don’t need to get that now unless you absolutely need to replace it,” she says. “There’s better items to spend time and money on during this second Prime Day sale than thinking, ‘I have to get the Roomba right now, or I’m never gonna get it on sale.’” It will be on sale again.
Videogame consoles, controllers and games
Gamers can score much better deals on gaming consoles, videogame titles and accessories like pro controllers if they wait until Black Friday. “That’s when retailers really rev up those deals, because they know people are trying to get them for the holidays,” says BlackFriday.com’s McGrath. “And that’s when you find really good gaming bundles: buy a console, and get extras like gift cards, controllers and games thrown in with price of that console.”
Plus, now that consoles like Sony’s
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PlayStation 5 or the Nintendo
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Switch are several years old, they’re not as hard to find as they were over the past few years. “It’s not the case anymore where consoles are massively selling out, so you have to grab it as soon as you see it,” says McGrath.
Cid from MySavings.com agrees. Black Friday has “the lowest prices every year for all of the popular games, including new releases,” she says. “As a mom of two teen boys, I can’t stress this enough.”
More tips for making the most of Prime Day:
Here are some extra, expert hacks to make sure you’re not wasting your time and money — especially with those Amazon “lightning deals” designed to trigger impulse buying.
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Compare prices across retailers and on price-tracking sites like Camelcamelcamel: “I always price-compare across merchants,” says McGrath from BlackFriday.com, “and even though this is Amazon’s big party, Walmart is throwing a sale on top of it, and Kohl’s
KSS,
+0.21%
and Best Buy are, too.” So you might find a better deal on another site. And then Camelcamelcamel lets you check the price history of Amazon products. “If this is indeed the lowest price a product has ever been offered at …. you can feel more confident picking it up,” McGrath adds. - Factor in the shipping cost and cash-back offers to choose between deals on different sites: Free shipping is standard for Amazon Prime members. “So if I have to pay for shipping, [a deal elsewhere] is usually not worth it unless the price is way lower,” McGrath says. Or, if an Amazon deal is nearly identical to a deal somewhere else, then see whether the other retailer is offering promo codes for 20% off, or perhaps 5% cash back on an item, which may make it a better deal than Amazon.
- Be wary of brands that you’ve never heard of: Even if you can find something on sale, it doesn’t mean it’s from a brand you can trust. Andy Friedland, a former Amazon executive who is now chief revenue officer of Swiftly, a retail-technology provider, says consumers are often drawn to products on Amazon through sponsored ads. But he warns that many of these items come via low-quality brands and manufacturers. And it’s not a good deal if the item itself isn’t any good.
- Hold off on anything you won’t need or use soon. Sure, it’s tempting to buy a cool-looking outfit at a great price. But if it’s a clothing item you’re not planning on wearing until next spring or summer, then you may be getting too far ahead of yourself, says Jen Reed, the influencer and shopping expert behind the popular @TheSisterStudioIG Instagram channel. “I’m planning to stock up on items that I’ll need over the next few months, like holiday gifts, restocks on my favorite products and essentials,” she says.
- Make a list and stick to it. BlackFriday.com’s McGrath says that she spends a day or two before any Prime Day-style event taking inventory of what is missing or needs to be replaced around her home. “Prime Day truly is chaotic, so go in with a list. Add these [needed items] to your Amazon wishlist, or set up alerts on the Amazon app. It saves you a lot of money on impulse buys,” she says. “Then, when you get online on Prime Day, you can see whether the things you want are on sale, quickly compare prices across retailers, and buy them” — if they’re a good deal.
“Go in with a plan, because the lightning deals are designed to get you to fall down a rabbit hole,” she adds.
