7 questions you were too embarrassed to ask about Prime Day

A Prime Day primer, if you will

Happy Prime Day! By now, the buzz is likely swirling in full force. In a few hours, youā€™ll have either ordered something -- or a whole porch full of items -- or youā€™ll 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 youā€™re feeling like you missed the boat, or you want to be able to nod along with your friends, either IRL or online, letā€™s take a step back and talk more about Prime Day. Weā€™ll give you a ā€œprimer,ā€ so to speak.

Letā€™s 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. Itā€™s kind of like Black Friday for deals and promotions, except itā€™s held in the middle of July, not the day after Thanksgiving. And multiple retailers are involved in Black Friday. With Prime Day, itā€™s 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 thereā€™s no formal date set. Every year it seems to be a little different, but Prime Day is typically bigger and better each year, and itā€™s held in mid-July.

So, I have to be a Prime member?

Yes. Itā€™s $119 if you pay it once for the year, or $12.99 a month (so youā€™ll save about $37 over the course of the year if you choose the annual plan). If youā€™re 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 youā€™ll realize how much Prime members really benefit.

Weā€™re talking:

  • Free, fast delivery on most items.
  • A whole Netflix/Hulu-like streaming service -- youā€™ve got to watch ā€œThe 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 weā€™re forgetting -- click or tap here for a handy guide to making sure youā€™ll get the most out of your membership. Weā€™ve 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 havenā€™t canceled, Amazon will just assume youā€™d like to keep going. However, once youā€™re all registered for the trial, you can go into your settings and prompt Amazon to send you a reminder when youā€™re almost up, so that you wonā€™t miss your cancellation window.

Why should I care?

Well, we kind of broke that down above, but weā€™ll reiterate: Prime Day is about door-busting deals, and you can tailor the experience to flag you about items youā€™re 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. Itā€™s Christmas in July! And hey, not a bad idea to get a jump start on any holiday ordering. But if youā€™re not into ANY of the benefits weā€™ve listed so far? Thatā€™s OK, too.

We canā€™t 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. Hereā€™s another link about all those perks -- shopping, streaming, eating, reading, listening, you name it.

And then once youā€™re in, this article will explain how to search for and ā€œwatchā€ any particular items youā€™ve been scoping out. This is especially important, because once youā€™ve found something you really want, youā€™ll 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 ā€œlaunches?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, weā€™re still scratching our heads over that one, too.

Good luck out there!

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