Everything You Need To Know About Amazon Prime Day 2023: End Times, Invite-Only Deals, And The Competition
UPDATE: 5:10 PM ET | July 12, 2023
Day two of Prime Day is almost over, but the deals keep coming — here are some of our favorites right now:
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor(opens in a new tab) — $43.99 $69.99 (save $26 with on-page coupon) ????
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor is a frontrunner for 2023’s Game of the Year, and it just hit its lowest price yet. If you enjoyed the game’s predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you’re in for a treat here
Apple iPad Pro (WiFi, 128GB)(opens in a new tab) — $1,049 $1,999 (save $50)
The iPad Pro is Apple’s most powerful iPad to date thanks to the speedy and efficient M2 chip. During Prime Day, it’s listed at a nice little discount.
Amazon Echo Buds (2023)(opens in a new tab) — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)
If you’re not in the Apple ecosystem, Amazon’s Echo Buds might be the AirPod alternative that you’ve been looking for. You’ll get great sound quality and convenience for a super reasonable price.
A quick look at some of the best Prime Day deals (so far):
Amazon’s flagship Prime Day sale may not be as singular as it once was, but the members-only savings event remains a huge draw for inflation-weary shoppers hunting for summer deals.
Now that we’re on day two of the sales event, here’s what you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2023.
When is Prime Day 2023?Prime Day began on Tuesday, July 11 at 3 a.m. ET and runs through Wednesday, July 12 in 2023, with new offers dropping every 30 minutes during certain periods.
What’s new or different about Prime Day this year?Amazon is back to bragging(opens in a new tab) that it’s offering “millions of deals across categories” during this year’s Prime Day sale — “more deals than any Prime Day event before,” in fact. This is a return to form of sorts and a shift from its reined-in 2022 advertising, which emphasized “Amazon’s lowest prices ever on select products” and a wider selection of items from third-party sellers instead of a massive deal dump. (TL;DR: We are so back.(opens in a new tab))
Amazon has also introduced a brand-new “invite-only” deals(opens in a new tab) program for ten products it expects to sell out on Prime Day (see: a $100 43-inch 4K smart TV(opens in a new tab)), which should alleviate some of the frenzied chaos that typically surrounds its doorbusters. Prime members can visit these products’ listings to request an invitation; if chosen, you’ll receive an email with a unique link to buy the item at some point during the event.
Amazon hasn’t explained how it’s picking these lucky eligible shoppers; all we know is that these special deals are exclusive to Prime members (paid and trial).
What are the best Prime Day deals?Prime Day has always been Amazon’s favorite excuse to discount its own devices and services, and this year is no different. Beyond Amazon’s in-house lineup, our usual suspects for Prime Day doorbusters include robot vacuums, headphones, video games, fitness equipment, pet supplies, luggage, outdoor gear, cookware, and basically every Apple product under the sun. Check out our giant running list of the best Prime Day deals to get a broader view of what’s up for grabs, but here’s a quick look at our top picks in the hardest-hit categories.
(If it’s easier to organize your shopping list around what not to buy on Prime Day, we’ve also covered that below the following deals.)
Note: All newly added deals are marked with a ✨, while deals with a ???? have dropped to an all-time low price. Amazon’s exclusive invite-only deals are marked with a ????. Deals with a strikeout were either sold out or expired at the time of writing.
Best Amazon device deals Why we like itAmazon’s latest drop of Fire tablets (circa May 2023) are bougie-er than ever — without losing the budget factor, that is. The Fire Max 11 has nabbed a Mashable’s Choice Award for its large 11-inch display and speedy Octa-core processor, which are both perfect for streaming or light gaming. The 64GB base configuration is seeing its first-ever discount this Prime Day.
More Prime Day Amazon device deals
Amazon Echo Pop(opens in a new tab) — $17.99 $39.99 (save $22)????
Amazon Echo Buds (2023)(opens in a new tab) — $34.99 $49.99 (save $15)????
Amazon 32-inch 2-Series HD Fire TV(opens in a new tab) — $129.99 $199.99 (save $70)????
Amazon 43-inch Omni 4K Fire TV(opens in a new tab) — $99.99 $399.99 (save $300)????????
Amazon 65-inch Omni 4K Fire TV(opens in a new tab) — $559.99 $759.99 (save $200)????
Amazon 75-inch Omni QLED Series 4K Fire TV(opens in a new tab) — $879.99 $1,099.99 (save $220)????
Kindle e-readers(opens in a new tab) — up to 38% off
Amazon Echo Show bundles(opens in a new tab) — up to 50% off
Fire TV streaming devices(opens in a new tab) — up to 58% off
Amazon streaming, audio, and gaming Prime Day deals
Amazon Music Unlimited(opens in a new tab) — three free months for new users
Prime Gaming(opens in a new tab) — unlock bonus classic games like Prey, Baldur’s Gate II, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Select Prime Video titles(opens in a new tab) and rentals — up to 50% off
Select Prime Video Channels including Starz(opens in a new tab), Cinemax(opens in a new tab), and Hallmark Movies Now(opens in a new tab) — $0.99/month for two months
Two-month Paramount+(opens in a new tab) and AMC+(opens in a new tab) subscriptions — 50% off
If you need to restock your pantry, your Prime membership will save you 20% on a $50-plus order of Amazon-brand everyday essentials(opens in a new tab) like snacks, school supplies, groceries, toiletries, and pet products for a limited time.
Robot vacuum deals Why we like itiRobot quietly released the Roomba j6+ as a more affordable alternative to its most vigilant (and most expensive) small obstacle avoider, the j7+. During Prime Day, you can score the j6+ for 50% off at $399.99 compared to the j7+’s underwhelming discount which leaves it at $649.
The j6+ can still identify the two most troublesome obstacles for robot vacuums — phone chargers and pet waste — while the j7+ and currently sold-out Combo j7+ have extra smarts to detect objects like socks and backpacks.
More Prime Day robot vacuum deals
Yeedi Vac Max(opens in a new tab) — $189.99 $349.99 (save $160)????
Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid(opens in a new tab) — $319.99 $649.99 (save $330)????
Roborock Q5+(opens in a new tab) — $399.99 $699.99 (save $300)????
iRobot Roomba s9+(opens in a new tab) — $599.99 $999.99 (save $400)????
Roborock S8+(opens in a new tab) — $799.99 $999.99 (save $200)????
Apple deals Why we like itThe M1-powered MacBook Air from 2020 still holds its own against newer, more powerful releases — especially under $750, beating the $799 it was hovering around for months prior to Prime Day. The Mashable’s Choice Award-winner has stellar battery life without a fan to tell you it’s working overtime, plus graphics that are five times faster than predecessors without an M1 chip.
More Prime Day Apple deals
Apple AirPods (2nd generation)(opens in a new tab) — $89.99 $129 (save $39.01)????
Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS, 41mm)(opens in a new tab) — $279.99 $399 (save $119.01)????
Apple iPad Mini, 6th generation (WiFi, 64GB)(opens in a new tab) — $379.99 $499 (save $119.01)????
Apple iPad Air, 5th Generation (WiFi, 64GB)(opens in a new tab) — $499.99 $599 (save $99.01)????
Apple iPad Pro (WiFi, 128GB)(opens in a new tab) — $1,049 $1,999 (save $50)
Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (Apple M2 Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)(opens in a new tab) — $1,199 $1,299 (save $100)????
TV deals Why we like itSpring 2023 saw several new budget QLED releases from TCL to challenge its current (really great) cheap QLEDs. The Q7 is a punchy crowd favorite across the internet, and a more than 30% discount during Prime Day brings the giant 85-inch version of it to $1,499.99 — easily its lowest price ever since debuting at over $2,000.
New developments with the Q7 include Game Accelerator mode up to 240Hz and the 4K picture-optimizing AIPQ Engine Gen3 processor, which is the same one that powers TCL’s premium QM8.
More Prime Day TV deals
These are organized by size and then price.
Samsung 55-inch QN90B QLED TV(opens in a new tab) — $1,097.99 $1,697.99 (save $600)????
Hisense 55-inch U8 ULED TV(opens in a new tab) — $799.99 $1,099.99 (save $300) ????
TCL 65-inch QM8 Mini-LED QLED TV(opens in a new tab) — $1,199.99 $1,699.99 (save $500)????
TCL 75-inch S6 QLED TV(opens in a new tab) — $748 $899.99 (save $151)????
Samsung 85-inch QN90C QLED TV(opens in a new tab) — $3,697.99 $4,797.99 (save $1,100)????
Gaming deals Why we like itAmazon Prime members get access to Prime Gaming(opens in a new tab), and during Prime Day, Prime Gaming offers claim to several pretty sweet free games. Our favorite of those is Prey, a creepy cosmic FPS from 2017. Scoring an 8/10 from reviewer Dan Stapleton on team IGN(opens in a new tab) (which is owned by Mashable’s publisher, Ziff Davis), its “curious alternate-history universe, intriguing sidequests, hidden threats, and detailed environmental storytelling” make up for its mediocre combat.
More Prime Day gaming deals
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor(opens in a new tab) — $43.99 $69.99 (save $26 with on-page coupon)????
Sony INZONE H7 Gaming Headset(opens in a new tab) — $148 $229.99 (save $81.99)????
Acer Nitro 27-inch XZ27 1500R Curved Gaming Monitor(opens in a new tab) — $159.99 $329.99 (save $170)????
Logitech G Cloud(opens in a new tab) — $299.99 $349.99 (save $50) ????
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (Intel Core i5-12500H, Intel Iris Xe, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(opens in a new tab) — $859.99 $1,499 (save $639.01)????
Kitchen deals Why we like itThe wide version of the newest Instant Pot multicooker is seeing a rare discount this Prime Day. The 7.5-quart Instant Pot Rio Wide Plus offers a 35% larger cooking surface than the 6-quart model, making room for a five-pound roast or nine-inch cake pan. Button-wise, the Rio line combines several major cooking functions that make Instant Pot so iconically versatile: pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sauté, rice, sous vide, cake, and yogurt. It also features a quieter, less-scary steam release.
More Prime Day kitchen deals
Instant Essentials Air Fryer (4-quart)(opens in a new tab) — $39.99 $79.95 (save $39.96)✨????
Keurig K-Iced(opens in a new tab) — $66.49 $99.99 (save $33.50)✨????
Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Frying Pan (2.7-quart)(opens in a new tab) — $76 $95 (save $19)✨????
SodaStream E-Terra Sparkling Water Maker(opens in a new tab) — $89.99 $159.99 (save $70)✨????????
Philips Viva Collection Compact Pasta Maker(opens in a new tab) — $124.99 $249.95 (save $124.96)✨
Camping, drone, and more outdoor deals Why we like itAmazon isn’t the spot for DJI drone deals at the moment, but Holy Stone has Prime Day drone deals in the bag. Its HS720E GPS FPV quadcopter, which is seeing a 38% discount, is easy to fly and captures 4K footage — a solid entry-level choice for aerial photography newbies.
More Prime Day outdoor deals
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth with Straw Lid(opens in a new tab) — $31.98 $49.95 (save $17.97)✨????
CamelBak HydroBak Hydration Pack (50-ounce)(opens in a new tab) — $35 $50 (save $25)✨????
Core Camping Tent (6-person)(opens in a new tab) — $54.99 $129.99 (save $75)✨????
Joola Ben Johns Pickleball Set (two indoor and two outdoor balls, two paddles, and bag)(opens in a new tab) — $60 $79.95 (save $19.95)✨
Intex Challenger Inflatable Kayak with aluminum oars(opens in a new tab) — $83.20 $169 (save $85.80)✨
What not to buy on Prime DayNot all of those “millions of deals across categories” will be worth adding to your cart. After covering Prime Day for years, here’s what we’d recommend skipping:
Anything from Ring. The home security company’s popular video doorbells always get really cheap during Prime events since Ring is an Amazon brand, but they’re ultimately a privacy nightmare.
Toys. Amazon is offering some good Prime Day discounts on Barbie toys and apparel(opens in a new tab) as a tie-in to the iconic doll’s big-screen debut later this month, but otherwise, it’s best to save your toy shopping for Black Friday — the holiday season brings new releases and a boatload of deals.
Video game consoles. Hold off to upgrade until holiday sales and bundles start trickling out in November unless you’re interested in a PlayStation 5: Sony’s God of War Ragnarök bundle(opens in a new tab) was $60 off on Amazon in the weeks leading up to Prime Day, and while it’s since sold out, we could get a restock at some point soon.
Almost anything sold and shipped by a third-party seller. Third-party merchants on Amazon aren’t scammers across the board, but buying something from a seller you don’t recognize can be risky. (Fake reviews and counterfeit listings are way more common — and convincing — than you’d think.) Stick with products that have “Ships from Amazon.com” and “Sold by Amazon.com” under their “Buy Now” buttons just to be safe.
Any deal that seems too good to be true. Amazon has a bad habit of inflating MSRPs to make discounts appear better than they really are. You can verify whether a deal is legit or not by comparing prices across other major retailers and running the product through camelcamelcamel(opens in a new tab), a free Amazon price-tracking site.
Anything you get the urge to impulse-buy. Are you buying a new TV because you actually need a new TV, or just because it’s $100 off right now?
Who’s competing with Prime Day?Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are all throwing their hats into the anti-Prime Day ring.
The former is hosting a new summer savings event called Walmart+ Week, a seeming expansion of last June’s Walmart+ Weekend that more directly competes with Prime Day. It’s live on the Walmart website from Monday, July 10 at 12 p.m. ET to Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m. ET. (More like Walmart+ Three Days And Some Change, but I digress.)
Members of the big box store’s Walmart+(opens in a new tab) subscription service get early access to the sale for the first 24 hours before it opens to the public on Tuesday, July 11 at 12 p.m. ET. That only includes paid Walmart+ members, so you’ll have to upgrade from its free trial tier if you want to participate. (Good news: Annual memberships are 50% off(opens in a new tab) until July 13.) Here’s a quick look at the best Walmart+ Week deals we’ve come across so far:
TCL 65-inch Class 5-Series 4K QLED Dolby Vision HDR Smart Roku TV(opens in a new tab) — $398 $599.99 (save $201.99)
Xbox Series S + Xbox Wireless Controller(opens in a new tab) — $289.99 $359.89 (save $60)
NordicTrack Studio Bike 1000(opens in a new tab) — $417 $999 (save $582)
GE Profile Opal Nugget Ice Maker + Side Tank(opens in a new tab) — $398 $579 (save $181)
Dyson Ball Multi Floor Origin(opens in a new tab) — $189.99 $299.99 (save $110)
Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent(opens in a new tab) — $99 $269.99 (save $170.99)
Solo Stove Mesa(opens in a new tab) — $59.99 $129.99 (save $70)
Meanwhile, Target is running one of its semi-annual Circle Week sales from Sunday, July 9 to Saturday, June 15. (A whole actual week!) Billed(opens in a new tab) as its “biggest sale of the season,” the event is open to members of the retailer’s totally free Target Circle(opens in a new tab) loyalty program and runs online, in stores, and on the Target app. Highlights include:
Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Intel Core i5-1235U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)(opens in a new tab) — $389.99 $739.99 (save $350)
Keurig K-Mini(opens in a new tab) — $59.99 $89.99 (save $30)
Dyson V8 Origin(opens in a new tab) — $299.99 $429.99 (save $130)
Save 20% on Xbox Game Pass subscriptions(opens in a new tab)
50% off select outdoor and pool toys from Target’s Sun Squad line(opens in a new tab)
20% off all Barbie products(opens in a new tab)
Get a free $15 Target gift card when you spend $50+ on household essentials(opens in a new tab)
Get a free $10 Target gift card when you spend $40+ on beauty and health products(opens in a new tab)
Finally, Best Buy has revived its Black Friday in July event from Monday, July 10 to Wednesday, July 12 in stores, online, and on its mobile app. The sale is open to everyone, but members of the retailer’s new paid My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total plans get access to special promotions and better discounts on certain items. (Subscriptions(opens in a new tab) cost $49.99/year and $179.99/year, respectively.) Here’s an overview of its top deals:
Apple MacBook Air, 13.3-inch (Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD)(opens in a new tab) — $749.99 $999 (save $249.01)
HP OMEN 16-n0033dx (AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, AMD Radeon RX 6650M, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)(opens in a new tab) — $799.99 $1,579.99 (save $780); extra $100 off for paid My Best Buy members
Sony WH-XB910N Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones(opens in a new tab) — $119.99 $249.99 (save $130)
Dyson V15 Detect Extra(opens in a new tab) — $649.99 $799.99 (save $150); extra $50 off for paid My Best Buy members
Nintendo Switch(opens in a new tab) — $299.99 + free $25 Best Buy gift card; free $50 gift card for paid My Best Buy members
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)(opens in a new tab) — $54.99 $99.99 (save $45)
Fitbit Sense(opens in a new tab) — $149.95 $249.95 (save $100) for paid My Best Buy members
GoPro Hero11 Black(opens in a new tab) — $349.99 $499.99 (save $150); extra $50 off for paid My Best Buy members
Igloo IMX 24 Quart Cooler(opens in a new tab) — $109.99 $149.99 (save $40); extra $30 off for paid My Best Buy members
Aside from aggressively lurking on Amazon’s dedicated Prime Day page(opens in a new tab) (and reading our coverage of the sale), there are several ways to ensure you don’t miss out on a great deal:
Sign up for those invite-only deals. We’ve flagged the best ones if you need some guidance.
Organize your Amazon Wish List. Amazon’s virtual shopping list feature puts all of your must-haves in one convenient spot so you can see which ones are on sale for Prime Day at a glance (instead of flipping between links and tabs). Check out Mashable’s guide to “wishlisting” for more intel.
Download the Amazon Shopping(opens in a new tab) mobile app. The app features a Prime Day event page where you can set deal alerts for your recent Amazon searches and views; you’ll get pinged with a push notification as soon as an offer goes live.
Take advantage of Alexa’s advanced deal alerts feature. Amazon’s virtual assistant can notify you of a sale on an item in your Wish List, Shopping Cart, or “Saved for Later” queue up to 24 hours before it goes live. Enable the feature on a newer-gen Echo smart speaker, and you’ll see its light ring turn yellow (or you’ll get a pop-up alert) whenever an item you’ve saved has a discount in the pipeline. You can then ask for more information about the deal, set a reminder for when it’s available, and even give Alexa permission to order it for you using your default payment info when the time comes.
Frequently Asked Questions Prime Day is an annual sitewide sale that Amazon puts on for members of its Prime subscription service. First held in 2015 in honor of Amazon’s 20th anniversary(opens in a new tab) (with mixed success), it was originally plugged(opens in a new tab) as a “one-day-only event filled with more deals than Black Friday.” In the years since, it’s morphed into a 48-hour affair that’s preceded by a few weeks of preview offers. “Prime Day” is a misnomer at this point.
You can score Prime Day deals without committing to a paid Prime membership by signing up for a 30-day free trial(opens in a new tab) around the event (as long as you haven’t completed a trial with that email address yet). Just remember to cancel it as soon as the sale is over to avoid getting charged.
If you haven’t been a Prime member within the past 12 months, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial by following these steps:
Visit amazon.com/prime(opens in a new tab).
Click on the orange button that says “Start your free 30-day trial.”
Sign in or create an Amazon account.
Add a payment method and a billing address. (Don’t worry — you won’t be charged upfront.)
Click the yellow button that says “Activate your free trial.”
After your trial period ends, you’ll automatically be upgraded to a paid membership plan for $14.99 per month or $139 per year. (The latter saves you just over $40 annually, FYI.)
Getting your degree? Anyone with a .edu email address can take advantage of a free six-month trial that converts to a $7.49-a-month paid tier under the Prime Student(opens in a new tab) program. (You can ride out that rate for four years or until graduation, whichever comes first.) As a member, you’re entitled to several bonus offers on top of the standard Prime perks:
A month’s worth of free 24/7 homework help from Course Hero(opens in a new tab)
A free three-month trial of Calm Premium(opens in a new tab), which renews at a discounted rate of $8.99/year (normally $69.99/year)
Up to 10% off flights and hotels via StudentUniverse(opens in a new tab)
EBT and Medicaid cardholders also qualify for a discounted monthly rate(opens in a new tab) of $6.99 — you just have to verify your eligibility every 12 months.
Haley is a Mashable shopping reporter based in Chicago. Before joining the team, she covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote about exotic pet ownership for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and blogged for several Jersey Shore stars. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). You can follow her on Twitter at @haleyhenschel(opens in a new tab) or reach her via email at [email protected](opens in a new tab).