Happy Prime Day! By now, the buzz is likely swirling in full force. In a few hours, youāll have either ordered something -- or a whole porch full of items -- or youāll want to step away from social media, if we had to guess.
If years past have been any indication, there will be a LOT of hype about Prime Day.
So, in case youāre feeling like you missed the boat, or you want to be able to nod along with your friends, either IRL or online, letās take a step back and talk more about Prime Day. Weāll give you a āprimer,ā so to speak.
Letās start from the beginning. What the heck is Prime Day, anyway?
The first-ever Prime Day was held in 2015, to celebrate 20 years of Amazon. Itās kind of like Black Friday for deals and promotions, except itās held in the middle of July, not the day after Thanksgiving. And multiple retailers are involved in Black Friday. With Prime Day, itās obviously just Amazon -- and of course, seemingly a million companies sell through Amazon, so that makes it arguably just as good. Plus, the free shipping! Oh, and thereās no formal date set. Every year it seems to be a little different, but Prime Day is typically bigger and better each year, and itās held in mid-July.
So, I have to be a Prime member?
Yes. Itās $119 if you pay it once for the year, or $12.99 a month (so youāll save about $37 over the course of the year if you choose the annual plan). If youāre curious about Prime, now might be a good time to give the 30-day free trial a shot -- not only will you score the Prime Day perks, as in, starting today, but youāll realize how much Prime members really benefit.
Weāre talking:
- Free, fast delivery on most items.
- A whole Netflix/Hulu-like streaming service -- youāve got to watch āThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"Ā -- this is perfect for those of you who are cutting the cord and ditching traditional cable.
- Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Book Box if you have kids -- we just found out about this while researching this article and signed up immediately.
- Amazon Photos, Amazon Household, Alexa benefits -- if you use this kind of smart speaker, that is.
- Discounts at Whole Foods. (!!!)
- And probably a slew of other benefits weāre forgetting -- click or tap here for a handy guide to making sure youāll get the most out of your membership. Weāve been members for years and learned a few tricks!
By the way: You do have to input your payment information to start the trial, and after your 30 days is up, if you havenāt canceled, Amazon will just assume youād like to keep going. However, once youāre all registered for the trial, you can go into your settings and prompt Amazon to send you a reminder when youāre almost up, so that you wonāt miss your cancellation window.
Why should I care?
Well, we kind of broke that down above, but weāll reiterate: Prime Day is about door-busting deals, and you can tailor the experience to flag you about items youāre specifically looking for. This story will show you how:Ā Make sure you don't miss a thing
If you like deals, and the convenience of having all your sought-after new items dropped at your doorstep, Prime Day will be for you. Itās Christmas in July! And hey, not a bad idea to get a jump start on any holiday ordering. But if youāre not into ANY of the benefits weāve listed so far? Thatās OK, too.
We canāt say we exactly understand, but at least now you know!
How do I fully take advantage of this?
Like we said: become a Prime member. Hereās another link about all those perks -- shopping, streaming, eating, reading, listening, you name it.
And then once youāre in, this article will explain how to search for and āwatchā any particular items youāve been scoping out. This is especially important, because once youāve found something you really want, youāll need to jump on that deal before it sells out.
Prime Day can get kind of competitive (but at least this eliminates the in-store fights that sometimes come with Black Friday, right?)
Oh, and set your cellphone alarms: Prime Days run from midnight Monday to 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
Wait, Prime DAY or Prime Days?
Days! Prime Day is actually two days this year: Monday and Tuesday.
Why do I keep hearing about Prime Day ālaunches?ā
For a limited time, new products will be released just to Prime members. Learn more.
These are things like The most perfect canopy for tailgating, Hannah Andersson onesies, noise-canceling wireless headphones, a phone mount for your car, a cute Cozy Coupe that looks like a ladybug and a few beauty items -- just to name a few (we feel very seen, after sharing with you our picks).
You might want to watch for these newest offerings from Amazon as well, like the Echo Show 5, Fire 7 tablet and Kindle Oasis.
Why was there a Prime Day concert?
Yeah, weāre still scratching our heads over that one, too.
Good luck out there!
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