If you’re looking for the best time to bag a deal on Amazon, you’ve probably come across the term ‘Prime Day’. But, what is it?
Black Friday is great but you can’t always wait until November to upgrade your phone, pick up a new game or replace your vacuum cleaner. This is where Prime Day comes in, offering price drops comparable to those seen in the Thanksgiving weekend sale in the middle of summer.
Read on to discover all you need to know about Prime Day, including when it is, what kind of deals are on offer and whether you need a Prime subscription to take advantage of them.
What is Prime Day?
Prime Day is a 48-hour sale that takes place once a year exclusively on Amazon.
The event covers a wide range of categories, with price drops appearing on TVs, laptops, headphones, smartphones, games and home tech (along with a bunch of other non-tech products). This includes items from top-selling brands like Apple, LG, OnePlus, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.
While many of the discounts stick around for the full 48 hours – or at least until they sell out – Amazon also releases quick-fire Lightning Deals throughout the sale, giving shoppers the opportunity to nab a deal for a short period of time only.
We’ll be covering all the best deals here at Trusted Reviews, so be sure to check back closer to the sale to ensure you don’t miss out on any fantastic offers.
When is Prime Day?
Prime Day was originally a 24-hour long event, but over the years has evolved into the two-day long deals-fest we see today.
Unlike Black Friday, there’s no set weekend for Prime Day. This has caused the sale to bounce around a bit throughout the years. It was even pushed back as late as October in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luckily, 2020 was an anomaly and, while the date itself isn’t set, you can generally expect the sale to take place during the summer months. Previous Prime Days having taken place in July, with the most recent one making an early appearance from Monday June 21 to Tuesday June 22 2021.
Amazon hasn’t made an official announcement for Prime Day 2022 yet, but we’ll update this guide with the dates of the sale when it does.
Is Prime Day only for Amazon Prime members?
Prime Day is, as its name would suggest, an Amazon Prime-exclusive sale. This means you need to be a Prime subscriber (or willing to sign up for a free trial) to access all the great offers released over the course of the two days.
If you haven’t already, you can sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial ahead of the sale – just make sure you cancel your subscription before the month is up if you don’t plan on carrying it over to avoid being charged.
While Prime Day only officially exists on Amazon, that doesn’t mean other retailers aren’t busy slashing their own prices in line with the sale in the hopes of luring you away from Amazon’s deals.
Currys, Argos and eBay have all offered competitive discounts during Prime Day in the past, giving those without a Prime subscription an equal chance of bagging a deal during the summer sale.
What is the return policy during Prime Day?
Amazon’s return policy is not affected by Prime Day, meaning you have the usual 30-days to send back any items you’re unhappy with. This excludes non-returnable items, which you can find a full list of over on Amazon’s help page.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.