Amazon Prime Day is arguably one of the most confusing shopping holidays in existence. It’s not even a “day”—the members-only event spans 48 hours. Amazon also promises “millions of deals,” but the displayed discounts are often misleading—or outright false.
Some deals are actually available to people who don’t subscribe to Prime. Add in the frenzy of limited-time Lightning Deals and you’ve got a recipe perfect for spending too much money. Fear not! We’re here to help.
WIRED’s Gear team is familiar with common shopping pitfalls, and I’ve been a deals writer for nearly a decade. What time do sales start and end? How do you tell whether a deal is actually a deal? We pooled our collective knowledge to get you prepared for Amazon Prime Day . Updated June 2024: We've updated this story with additional details about Prime Day, which is set for sometime in July 2024.
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Amazon has officially announced that Prime Day will be held in July. We believe, based on past sales, that Prime Day 2024 will take place on a Tuesday and Wednesday sometime in the middle of the month. The event officially begins at 3 am Eastern time and runs for 48 hours.
WIRED will cover the best Prime Day deals from both Amazon and retailers that have competing sales. Some deals and sales will begin ahead of the official start time. (We'll be covering those too.
) Officially.
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