How to get Amazon Prime Day prices WITHOUT paying for a Prime account

(Image credit: Amazon)

published 12 July 2022

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Amazon Prime Day is here! It started at one minute past midnight last night (Tuesday, July 12) and runs right the way through until the end of Wednesday, July 13.

Amazon says that millions of items will be reduced and promises particularly good deals on Echo smart speakers and other Alexa-enabled devices. We're tracking all the early 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 the Prime Day bargains, Amazon wants you to have an Amazon Prime account, at the cost of £79 a year 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 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 during Prime Day and you'll be able to take advantage of the best deals (which have started already on Amazon). Now you can 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.

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.

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. 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 big, massive in fact, so Amazon's competitors aren't going to sit idly by and watch their customers flock to Amazon. That means that the big retailers compete 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 – some of them have started already!

Amazon Prime Day alternative sales – UK

Argos.co.uk – cheap garden and DIY equipment, toys, tech and more
AO.com – major deals on appliances, including fridges, ovens and coffee machines
Currys.co.uk – epic deals! Up to 30% off hundreds of items
Dell.co.uk – 'Black Friday in July' event; laptops from £249
eBay.co.uk – save on new or refurbished gadgets and home appliances
Very.co.uk – deals on electricals, fashion and home
Lovehoney.co.uk – up to 50% off a wide range of sex toys
Goldsmiths.co.uk – watches and jewellery half price
John Lewis – great savings, including some big Le Creuset discounts
Le Creuset – seasonal offers on high-end cookware
Nike – up to 40% off trainers and sportswear
ASOS – summer savings knock up to 80% off
Schuh – up to 70% off shoes, sandals and trainers
The White Company – quality bedding at reduced prices
Simba – save big on mattresses and sleep bundles

Amazon Prime Day alternative sales – US

Best Buy – massive savings in the Black Friday in July event
Dell.com – biggest sale of the summer on now
eBay.com – big discounts on new and refurbished tech and appliances
Home Depot – save on DIY tools, BBQs and home appliances
HP – up to 70% off, for 72 hours only
Lowes – big summer savings on home appliances
Lenovo – up to 60% off PCs and top tech during Black Friday in July
Microsoft – Surface deals plus Microsoft Store Exclusives
Newegg – 'fantastech' deals on a wide range of devices
Nordstrom – big anniversary sale
Target – 3 days of show-stopping savings with no membership fees
Walmart – rollbacks and savings in every department

As the Style and Travel Editor at T3, Spencer covers everything from clothes to cars and watches to hotels. Everything that's cool, stylish, and interesting, basically. He's been a part of T3 for over seven years, and in that time covered every industry event known to man, from CES and MWC to the Geneva Motorshow and Baselworld. When he's driving up and down the country in search of the greatest driving roads, he can be found messing around on an electric scooter, playing with luxury watches, or testing the latest fragrances.

With contributions from

Paul DouglasGlobal Digital Editorial Strategy Director, Future