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Amazon Prime Day error put high-end camera gear on sale for peanuts
Sometimes during major online sales, too-good-to-be-true deals accidentally make it to storefronts. Often the retailer cancels those orders after realizing the mistake, but sometimes lucky bargain hunters actually receive the goods they found for way below market value. Case in point: some eagled-eyed photography enthusiasts say they saved thousands on high-end gear during Amazon's strike-hit Prime Day sale, with the retailer seemingly shipping some of the goods.
The best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals: A few good deals remain
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of deals here.
The best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals: Best of the rest
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
The best Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals: Day two, the afternoon edition
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
The best Prime Day 2019 deals: Day two, the morning edition
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
The best Prime Day 2019 deals so far: PM edition
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
The best Prime Day 2019 deals so far
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
Should I buy this big thing if it's a Prime Day deal?
By Wirecutter Staff Amazon Prime Day 2019 is coming, and we're getting ready to bring you all the best deals on Wirecutter picks and recommendations from our expert staff. Bookmark our Deals page, follow @WirecutterDeals on Twitter, and sign up for our daily deals newsletter to see the best deals from around the Web on Prime Day—and every day. During the frenzy of deal events like Prime Day, you can grab everything from mattresses to widescreen computer monitors at a discount. For instance, one former Wirecutter writer and fitness enthusiast found this treadmill, a model similar to our upgrade treadmill pick, the NordicTrack C 990, on sale during Prime Day 2017. Offering a large display and included assembly for $150 less than the model we recommended, the value was apparent for what this person wanted and needed. And that's the key to any discount. A truly great deal has to lie at the intersection of need, quality, and value—but need is the most important of the three. A shopping holiday like Prime Day can often drive a big purchase in the improvident haze of the moment, but it's important to pause, step back, and ask yourself a question or two before you take your brimming virtual cart to checkout. You can reasonably expect that at least one or two of our mattress, TV, laptop, camera, projector, grill, or office chair picks will be discounted on Prime Day. But an impulse buy can often lead to regret about spending big on a dust-collecting reminder of a hasty decision. So before you buy, ask yourself a few questions. Is it actually a deal? We see a lot of good deals during big shopping holidays, but we see a lot of mediocre-to-bad deals too. Whether it's raising the price just before Prime Day to inflate the discount percentage or just an average deal we see every two weeks, there are a lot of pitfalls, even for the wary shopper. Luckily for you, our Deals team carefully researches price trends and deal histories on all of our picks to save you time and effort. So if you see the item featured on our Deals page during our Prime Day coverage, we've already verified that it's a deal worth spending money on. If you're evaluating a deal yourself, here are a couple things to keep in mind. Make sure to consider the percentage you can save when you're looking at a deal. A $50 discount on a $100 item makes it a steal. But on a $1,000 item, $50 isn't a huge markdown—and the sale might be worth skipping if you'd value the extra time to calmly think the purchase over. But if it's an item that rarely goes on sale or you're willing to buy at full price, sometimes a relatively small drop in price can be worth jumping on—especially if we haven't seen the price drop significantly lower (we're looking at you, MacBooks and iPads). Another important note is that an item's street price (the price it sells for on most days) is almost always different from the list price (the price the manufacturer recommends). Although it can be difficult to determine the street price on some items, you can always check the price history on websites like CamelCamelCamel. Or you can drop us a question via @WirecutterDeals on Twitter. Amazon displays both the percentage and the dollar amount you save when it shows sale prices—but it bases those figures on the list price, which doesn't give you the full story about how good the deal is. Our Deals team always makes sure to tell you the percentage you save off the street price as well as the price something sells for every day, and tries to give context on how the deal compares to prices we see throughout the year and during other major holidays. Will I use this? If an impulse purchase is aspirational, it can feel especially satisfying in the moment, marrying the buzz of a big spend with the notion that you're doing something good for yourself. But you should make sure this big purchase is something you already had on your shopping list or something you would want even at full price. (There are worthwhile variants of many items that may merit consideration if discounted, a topic we'll explore more below.) When you see something tempting, first ask yourself whether that thing resolves a problem or satisfies a need. A treadmill won't make you run a marathon, a grill won't make friends come over more often, and an upholstered bed frame won't make dates like you more. All of these things need to come from you. "I add things to an Amazon wish list, and if they are still on the list in three or four months I consider buying them," said Wirecutter senior staff writer Chris Heinonen, who covers TVs. If you add a 4K TV to your wish list now, you'll have time by Black Friday to consider whether you really want to take the plunge (a better time to buy anyway in most cases, especially if you're seeking a 2019 model). Is this a variation of what I've been eyeing? If you want a specific TV, consider other models in the same line or last year's model of the same television. Be careful—although you can nab a variant that offers nearly all of the features of your preferred model for significantly less, the quality and features can vary greatly even within the same brand. A logo isn't necessarily a bulletproof indicator that you're getting everything you want. You can reach out to our experts via @WirecutterDeals or @Wirecutter to see if a variant is worthwhile or if last year's model still presents a great value. What's my budget like? It doesn't matter if a nonessential item is half off if you can't afford it. Credit card interest and regret can quickly sour the momentary joy of immediate savings. Can I just fix my old thing? If you're buying to replace a broken or worn-out item you already own, first check to confirm whether your old thing is under warranty. Warranties from reputable companies can cover common fixes or even get you a replacement if something is beyond repair. For example, a foam mattress under five years old suffering from sagging or indentations may be covered by the manufacturer's warranty, and although such replacements can present a short-term hassle, it's well worth the thousand dollars you could save. While you're thinking about any substantial purchase, looking up the warranty and return policy of the item you're eyeing can help confirm that the big purchase you have in mind is the right buy for you.
Prime Day pro tip: Find extra deals with Amazon's app
By Nathan Burrow Amazon Prime Day 2019 will begin July 15, and we're getting ready to bring you all the best deals on Wirecutter picks and recommendations from our expert staff. Bookmark our Deals page, follow Wirecutter Deals on Twitter, and sign up for our daily deals newsletter to see the best deals from around the Web on Prime Day—and every day. Prime Day is coming, and with it tens of thousands of deals. Because you surely don't want to spend every minute of Prime Day on your laptop scavenging for deals (that's our job!), let me offer a tip: Use the Amazon app, available for iPhone and Android. The app offers a great experience plus mobile access to the same marketplace you can find on the main Amazon site, including advance Prime Day deals and promotions. Amazon adds more Prime Day–specific content to its app with every passing year. Last year, for instance, we saw a number of app-exclusive deals that you couldn't get on a laptop. Once you download the app, tap the Prime Day banner—it's presently displaying a days to Prime Day countdown. You'll find pre–Prime Day promotions as well as previews of the larger-scale Prime Day events (so far the the recent Taylor Swift concert and an upcoming celebrity Twitch Prime live gaming event have been featured heavily). You'll also see a "Get ready for Prime Day" section with a tutorial showing some of the features of the app, such as how to "watch" an item.
Prime Day and Whole Foods: What you should know
By Nathan Burrow Amazon Prime Day 2019 will begin July 15, and we're getting ready to bring you all the best deals on Wirecutter picks and recommendations from our expert staff. Bookmark our Deals page, follow Wirecutter Deals on Twitter, and sign up for our daily deals newsletter to see the best deals from around the Web on Prime Day—and every day. Lovers of organic produce (or just a bountiful salad bar) are nearly two years removed from Amazon's finalized acquisition of Whole Foods. In that time, the high-end grocery chain formerly saddled with the pejorative "Whole Paycheck" nickname has changed a lot. Behind the scenes, Amazon has introduced supply-chain shifts and datafication of the shopping experience. The result? For select items, it's something rarely associated with Whole Foods in past years: savings. Spring 2019 has already seen additional price drops, and if Prime Day 2018 is any indication, this year's Amazon event could result in even more opportunities to save at Whole Foods. The Wirecutter Deals team's favorite Prime Day Whole Foods promotion of 2018 was a $10-for-$10 offer that was effectively free money for Prime members. Thankfully, Amazon has revived the offer for 2019. Spending more than $10 at Whole Foods or on a Whole Foods order via Prime Now before Tuesday, July 16 (while scanning in the purchase via the Whole Foods or Prime Now app) gets you a $10 credit to your Prime account for use between 12 a.m. PT July 15 and 11:59 p.m. PT July 17. For regular Whole Foods shoppers who plan to do any Prime Day shopping, taking advantage of this promotion is a no-brainer. While Prime members save an additional 10% everyday on sale items at Whole foods, as Prime Day approaches, Whole Foods is also offering exclusive Prime Day discounts on a variety of foodstuffs. If you're a fan of Whole Foods' pre-prepared foods, you'll find a variety of them heavily discounted in the run-up to Prime Day, including rotisserie chicken, pizza by the slice, and baked goods. Earlier this year, we pit the Whole Foods 365 brand against Trader Joe's in a snack war for the ages. Although the Whole Foods 365 brand didn't always emerge victorious in those taste tests, we're sure that if we see Prime Day deals on Wirecutter faves like Whole Foods Original Hummus or Whole Foods Organic Dark Chocolate, we'll be calling them out on our page and on Twitter. Finally, if you're a regular Whole Foods shopper and a Prime member, the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card offered serious savings during Prime Day of last year (and may offer similar savings during Prime Day 2019). This card, which comes recommended in our guide to the best credit cards for groceries, offers 5 percent cash back every day for purchases at Whole Foods and Amazon—but during Prime Day festivities last year, that cash-back percentage jumped to 10 percent for purchases up to $400 at Whole Foods. That could be a very big deal for people making big grocery purchases during this event.
How to prepare for Amazon Prime Day
By Alex Roth Amazon Prime Day 2019 will begin July 15, and we're getting ready to bring you all the best deals on Wirecutter picks and recommendations from our expert staff. Bookmark our Deals page, follow Wirecutter Deals on Twitter, and sign up for our daily deals newsletter to see the best deals from around the Web on Prime Day—and every day. Amazon has officially announced Prime Day. The event will start at midnight Pacific on Monday, July 15, and will continue for 48 hours, 12 hours longer than last year. It's also more than just Amazon, with competing retailers offering discounts and price matches of their own. And while the opportunity to save has grown, so has the risk of wasting money on some impulse purchase you don't need. No matter where you shop, the key to coming out of Prime Day with your budget intact (and with something useful, or at the very least fun, on the way) is to do a little bit of preparation and to set some realistic expectations. Browsing Lightning Deals at 3 a.m. won't net you a great 60-inch 4K TV at 50 percent off. But knowing ahead of time what you want, and what price to pounce on, will.
