Amazon Prime Day deals officially go live on October 10, 2023. Here’s a quick guide to the top discounts across different categories, plus tips on making the most of the sale — even if you haven’t yet finalized your holiday shopping list.
Looking for a specific discount? Jump to the category you want:
Prime members: Shop these invite-only deals
Invite-only deals are the bargains Amazon expects to sell out. You can get yourself a spot in line by requesting an invite to an exclusive deal price. Here are ones to watch:
Prime beauty and fashion deals
Strictly focused on beauty and fashion buys? Here’s a preview of the best beauty and fashion deals you’ll see starting October 10.
Travel deals
Priceline, Avis, and Carnival Cruise Lines are getting into the Prime Day deal action. Starting on October 10, you can save:
- 20% off Priceline hotel express deals with a minimum purchase of $300 and maximum savings of $100
- Up to 35% off Avis base rates. You’ll also earn 20% back as an Amazon gift card when you pay now.
- Up to 40% off cruise rates plus discounted deposits and free upgrades on select sailings.
Access Prime Day travel deals here.
Home deals
Home deals launching on Tuesday include:
Kitchen deals
Kitchen deals available October 10-11 will include:
Toy deals
And a preview of the toy deals coming to you during Amazon Prime Day:
Amazon device deals
Tips for shopping top Amazon Prime Day Deals
It’s only October, which means you probably haven’t compiled your holiday shopping list. This may be what Amazon is counting on. Shopping without a list makes you far more likely to overspend. Avoid that outcome by following these three sale-shopping strategies.
1. Do a quick budget
Estimate the bills you expect to pay this month and next month, alongside your incoming cash. Think through any big expenditures that might be headed your way — items like property taxes or annual insurance premiums. Your goal here is to verify that spending extra today doesn’t leave you with a liquidity problem later.
To be precise about this, consider the form of payment you’ll use for the Amazon shopping and how that affects your cash balance. Paying with a debit card hits your bank account immediately. But using a credit card delays the pain for five to eight weeks, depending on the timing of your account statement.
Reviewing how your regular income and expenses should play out over the next couple months should help you understand roughly what you can spend — if anything — on Amazon Prime Day deals.
2. Ask the right questions
Before you tap Add to Cart, ask yourself these questions:
- Who is this product for?
- If the product is for you, were you already shopping this item before the Amazon sale? If no, why do you need it? How often will you use it? Spend a few minutes justifying the purchase to yourself. This can help you avoid the impulse to buy something you don’t need just because the price is nice.
- If the product is for someone else, is the price within the range of what you normally spend for gifts? Do you buy this person a gift every year? Are there other, better, cheaper gift ideas for that person?
3. Price check
No matter what the discount percentage is, do a quick online price check. Confirm that the deal is as amazing as it’s presented to be on Amazon.
4. Write it down
When you start shopping holiday gifts this early, it’s easy to forget what you’ve bought and for whom. Write down each purchase, the amount, and who it’s for. When it’s time to make a holiday shopping list, use this documentation as your starting point.
Also keep a running tally of how much you’ve spent, so you’re not surprised when the credit card bill arrives.
Shopping Amazon Prime Day deals successfully
The key to shopping Prime Day deals and other big sales successfully is limiting your purchases to things you’d buy anyway. Enforce that discipline on yourself by shopping slowly and methodically, analyzing each item before you pop it into your cart.
Admittedly, this method saps some of the fun from sale shopping. But it’s sure to leave more wealth in your bank account, which is a good trade-off.
