Amazon Prime Day is SO nearly here. It starts at one minute past midnight on Monday July 15 and then runs right the way through until the end of Tuesday July 16. That's a very long day, lasting a total of 48 hours.
This year the retailer promises that millions of items are going to be reduced. It says there will particularly good deals on Echo smart speakers and other Alexa-enabled devices. We're tracking all the deals in our best Amazon Prime Day deals article, which will be kept updated throughout the sale period to help you get the best bargains.
To be eligible to snap up those Prime Day bargains, Amazon wants you to subscribe to an Amazon Prime account. That will cost you £59 a year (currently reduced from £79 (opens in new tab)) in the UK or $119 a year in the US. But what if you want to get Amazon Prime Day prices but you don't want to pay for a Prime account? Read on, as we have some ideas...
1. Get yourself a free Amazon Prime trial account
If you've never had an Amazon Prime account before you can get one for free as Amazon offers all new customers a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime for absolutely nothing. Sign up for the free trial a few days before Prime Day and you'll be able to take advantage of the early deals (which have started already on Amazon (opens in new tab)), enjoy the discounts over the two-day Prime Day sale period and still have weeks left to take advantage of free next-day delivery which is a perk of being a Prime member.
If you're a student, there's even better news as your free Prime Student trial (opens in new tab) will last you a whole six months, which will cover you for Black Friday as well as Prime Day!
- Start a free Amazon Prime trial account (UK) (opens in new tab)
- Start a free Amazon Prime trial account (US) (opens in new tab)
2. Join an Amazon Household
Does someone else in your household already have a Prime account? Then you're sorted! Amazon Household lets Prime members share "select benefits" with one other adult member of the household.
Those benefits include access to the all-important Prime Day sale prices as well as unlimited one-day delivery plus same-day delivery in eligible areas, access to thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video, access to over a thousand books, magazines and more through Prime Reading and 30-minute early access to Amazon.co.uk Lightning Deals with Prime Early Access.
Learn more about Amazon Households. (opens in new tab)
3. Make a Prime-owning friend order for you
Do any of your friends have a Prime account? Then speak to them nicely and ask them to order the sale items you're after and pay them in cash or via something like PayPal (opens in new tab). If they refuse then they're not the kind of friends you wanted anyway. Prime members can choose to have their orders sent to any address free, not just to their own home, so the items can still be delivered to your door.
4. Shop in one of the other Prime Day sales
Prime Day is massive so Amazon's competitors are all competing to out-Prime Prime Day with their own sales and tasty discounts. Also, if you're after cheap Google smart speakers in the sale, then Amazon doesn't even sell those so you'll need to head to somewhere like Currys in the UK or Walmart in the US. Whatever you buy from one of these alternative sales, you'll get some fantastic savings with no requirement pay for a subscription.
Just check out the non-Prime Day sales that are running this month below – most of them have started already!
Currys PCWorld sale – LIVE NOW
In the UK, Currys is running a Black Tag Summer Event (opens in new tab). It features discounts of up to 50% on products like Google Smart speakers, TVs, fridges, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and more. There are thousands of products on sale and Currys is offering free next-day delivery – without the Prime price tag. Some particularly nice example deals are below.
- Philips Hue White and Colour Ambiance Mini Smart Bulb Starter Kit with Google Home Mini Bundle - £90 saving, now only £69.99 (opens in new tab)
- Google Home Mini - £25 off, now just £24 (opens in new tab)
- Google Home - £30 off, now just £59 (opens in new tab)
- Google Home Hub - £40 off, now only £79 (opens in new tab)
- Google Pixel 3a - £50 off, now £349 (opens in new tab)
- Nespresso Magimix CitiZ Coffee Machine - £40.99 off, now only £89.00 (opens in new tab)
- Fitbit Inspire HR with Google Home Mini Bundle - £34.99 off, now just £79 (opens in new tab)
- See more items in the Black Tag Summer Event (opens in new tab)
eBay UK Prime Day sale – LIVE NOW
eBay UK (opens in new tab) is running 15 days of deals with discounts of up to 70%. The sale started on Friday July 5. Some of the featured sale events on eBay UK include off up to 70% off electronics including 50" LED TVs, Google Home Minis and 20% off everyday essentials. Additionally two items will have prices cut to £79 every day – these include brands like Simba, Vax, Oral B, Google, Karcher and De’Longhi.
For more information about eBay UK’s deals visit https://www.ebay.co.uk/deals (opens in new tab).
eBay US Prime Day sale – LIVE NOW
In the US, eBay is running a July 15 Crash Sale. "If history repeats itself and Amazon crashes that day, eBay's wave of can't-miss deals on some of the season's top items will excite customers around the world," the company says. The eBay Crash Sale is part of a series of events which started on July 1. For three weeks, there will be deals on electronics and home items, fashion, sporting goods, and more. eBay promises discounts of up to 80 percent off from top brands like adidas, Apple, Dyson, Garmin, and Samsung at eBay.com/deals (opens in new tab).
Walmart Prime Day sale – LIVE NOW
Walmart (opens in new tab) is holding its competing sale from July 14 through July 17. The company will be releasing thousands of special buys and rollbacks on "top items" in electronics, video games, home, fashion and toys. Deals include the HP 15.6" HD Touch Display Laptop for $429 ($150 saving) (opens in new tab) and the Dyson Multifloor Bagless Upright Vacuum for $154.00 ($125 saving) (opens in new tab).
Orders over $35 receive free two-day shipping or free next day delivery, depending on eligibility and customer location.
The best headphones and speaker deals at Walmart are listed below. They could sell out fast as quantities are limited.
- Google Home Mini - Aqua | Was $49 | Now $25 | Save $24 (opens in new tab)
- JBL Flip 4 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker | Was $99 | Now $74.95 | Save $24.05 (opens in new tab)
- Bose Solo 5 TV sound system | Was $249 | Now $199 | Save $50 (opens in new tab)
- Sony WH-XB700 Wireless Extra Bass Headphones (Blue) with AUX Cable and Case | Was $129.99 | Now $99.99 | Save $30 (opens in new tab)
- Bose SoundSport Free Wireless Headphones | Was $249 | Now $199 | Save $50 (opens in new tab)
Newegg Prime Day sale – LIVE NOW
Newegg (opens in new tab) has announced its fifth annual 'FantasTech sale', which is live now. It started on July 8 and runs through July 18, promising "discounts on some of the latest and greatest tech: PCs, gaming laptops, components, monitors, TVs."
Dell Prime Day sale – LIVE NOW
Dell has an event called "Black Friday in July (opens in new tab)" event which includes deals across all personal, small business and gaming PCs, monitors and other electronics. It started on July 1 at 8am ET.
Lovehoney Prime Day sale - LIVE NOW
Lovehoney US is offering up to 50% off sex toys from 1 – 7 July in its Bed, White and Blue sale (opens in new tab), while Lovehoney UK is also currently promoting up to 50% off a range of products for women, men and couples (opens in new tab).
Target Prime Day sale – starts on July 15
Target (opens in new tab) is holding a sale on July 15 and 16 called "Target Deal Days" and the retailer is at pains to point out that no membership is required to shop its deals. "Target Deal Days offers include rarely-on-sale, exclusive home, apparel and toy brands, discounts on hundreds of thousands of items and new deals each day," says the retailer.
Nordstrom Prime Day sale – starts on July 19
Nordstrom (opens in new tab) will be holding an Anniversary Sale starting Friday, July 19. The sale lasts for two weeks until August 4, then prices go back up on August 5. The sale features brands like Topshop, Madewell, Veronica Beard, Frame Denim and more. You can get early access to the sale from July 12 at 12:30pm ET if you have a Nordstrom Reward Card (opens in new tab), which grants you access to the Nordy Club (opens in new tab).
