Prime Day 2018

Amazon Prime Day 2018: When It Starts and How to Score the Best Deals

Thomas Trutschel/Getty Images

KIM DUONG 

If your interests include scoring a good deal, then it’s likely you have an Amazon Prime membership, and thus, know of Amazon Prime Day, the online retailer’s annual flash sale event (it’s like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, except exclusive to Amazon Prime members and, often, so much better).


With deals on thousands of products over a 36-hour period, Prime Day is a sale event not to miss — but just make sure you have a Prime membership so you can partake (pro tip: If you’re not an Amazon Prime member but still want to get in on the sales, then sign up for a 30-day free trial now so you can access the deals once Prime Day starts).

This year, Amazon Prime Day will start on July 16 and run through July 17, happening a week later so as not to clash with the World Cup (the people at Amazon are just really considerate like that).

We may be about two weeks ahead of the ultimate Amazon haul of our lives, but it would be smart to start prepping now. See below for our guide to navigating and scoring big on Amazon Prime Day 2018.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is the online retail giant’s highly anticipated annual discount shopping event that boasts Black Friday-like deals exclusively for Prime members. Having started in 2015, Prime Day is only now in its fourth year — but my, has it grown with record-breaking sales that even stun Amazon execs themselves.

What time does Amazon Prime Day start?

Amazon Prime Day will start on Monday, July 16 at 3 p.m. ET and will run through Tuesday, July 17. This 36-hour period is six hours longer than last year’s Prime Day, which was six hours longer than the previous year’s Prime Day.

Do you have to have a Prime membership to shop Amazon Prime Day deals?

Yes, the sales event is exclusive to Amazon Prime members — but don’t worry, not all is lost. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial now and shop Prime Day deals. And when the trial ends, you can either cancel your membership or keep enjoying all the cushy perks (such as free two-day shipping on literally millions of items and same-day delivery of Whole Foods groceries). If you want a snapshot of just how good an Amazon Prime membership is, you should know that JPMorgan analysts say it’s worth $785 annually, as opposed to Amazon’s asking price of $119 per year. Yeah.

What items will be on sale on Amazon Prime Day?

Shoppers should expect deals on a range of products (including Amazon bestsellers) and covetable tech devices (such as TVs and smart home devices), travel accessories, fashion, groceries (yes, really), kitchen tools, furniture, back-to-school supplies, everyday essentials, and so much more.

Last year’s markdowns included 30% off luggage, 51% off headphones, and 25% off Kindle readers — the perfect trifecta for any traveler.

What’s new for Amazon Prime Day 2018?

This year, Prime members can shop Prime Day Launches — a range of new items and special-edition products that are available only for a limited time. Starting today, you’ll get early access to these major deals. Head to amazon.com to see what items you can be the first to shop.

What were the most popular Amazon Prime Day buys in 2017?

According to Amazon, Prime Day 2017 was the biggest global shopping event in the company's history, surpassing both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The most popular purchase overall was the Echo Dot, but Amazon also broke down the top buys by country, excluding Amazon devices. In the U.S., the Instant Pot DUO80 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker and 23andMe DNA Tests took the top spots, while most Prime members in the U.K. bought the TP-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug and Sony Playstation 4. Italy, of course, went all in on the Caffe Vergnano 1882 espresso machine, and France and Belgium revealed their binge-watching habits by buying Game of Thrones - The Complete Season 1 to 6 Blu-Ray.