PSA for Amazon Prime Day

[AntiTrust]

Easy way to check whether or not the prime day 'sales' are actually worth buying. Use an Amazon Price Tracker! 

 

Here are two of my favorites:

https://camelcamelcamel.com/

https://keepa.com/#!

 

Often you will find with amazon that the items they put on sale go on sale all the time and shouldn't be bought when they aren't on sale. For example have a look at this tripod I bought recently It sells for anywhere from $26 - $50 !! 

 

Please make sure you check that the 'deals' are actually deals before you buy. happy hunting! 

[Bitter]

I've never found a good deal on Prime Day, it's all stuff I don't want or the pricing isn't any better than I could find it on eBay for.

[FriedEngineer]

1 hour ago, Bitter said:

I've never found a good deal on Prime Day, it's all stuff I don't want or the pricing isn't any better than I could find it on eBay for.

I did get a good deal on an electric toothbrush (that I was going to buy anyways) a few years ago, but in general and especially for tech and computer stuff, I completely agree.

[-------------]

Here's my tip:

 

Create a list of items beforehand you're interested in buying. Of these items, consider an alternative or two. Add those, and roughly group them by reordering the list. For example, I have the Nano 202 Mini-ITX case at the top of my list. Below I've added a Silverstone slim Mini-ITX case and a more expensive Corsair variant.

 

Once Prime Day starts, monitor your list for the flash deals. Occasionally click to a product page to see similar products and whether they're on sale. If you're open to buying products outside of your list, after you've checked your core items filter by category on the 'Deals' tab. There you'll see a range of products - most low-quality - but all on-sale relevant to your shopping interests.

 

Following that, and before you make a purchase, check other websites for competing discounts. Only make a purchase once you've vetted the price at every major retailer (and perhaps using the camelcamelcamel extension to glean it's price history). I suggest checking the large websites such as Ebay and Newegg, etc.

 

These steps are interchangeable of course. I tend to perform them in sets every few hours to keep myself disciplined. By organising a list beforehand, and separating the catch all category searches into a separate process, you keep your wallet safe from impulse purchases. You also remain cognizant of the best deal per product, given you have a routine "check before you buy" mentality.