Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale has arrived, but it’s not what we expected — not at all. Certainly, at first glance, it’s not unlike any of the mega retailer’s major sales events, offering a range of savings on a range of different products across a range of categories. But (and trust us, we were surprised by this one too) it’s a lot better than we could have imagined.
as with Today’s Peak True, this new Amazon sale is a two-day global shopping event that offers discounts to Prime members. But while the summer event has plenty of good deals, they’re hidden among the endless lists of 5% off headphones with no name. And don’t get me started on Black Friday, there are simply so many deals you can spend all week scrolling through and never make it to the end.
By contrast, Prime Early Access seems to hit the perfect point between big savings and easy browsing, with plenty of great deals but less malice. And some of the deals are really special.
Want proof? Well, air fryers are in the news right now, and there’s no doubt that they can save you money on your energy bills. In the US, you can currently choose a file Vortex 5.7QT Air Fryer Combo for only $69.99 (Opens in a new tab), down from $139.99 and online at the lowest price ever. In the United Kingdom, the InstantPot Duo Crisp + Air Fry is £128.99 (Opens in a new tab)£61 off its usual price. These two deals are good, although the latter has been reduced to £99 before.
Or take the always-popular TVs. With the World Cup in Qatar approaching, a lot of people will be keeping an eye on the cheap OLED array – in this case, check out 48-inch LG A1 – Only $646 in Prime Early Access sale (Opens in a new tab). Yes, this is actually an OLED TV for under $650, which makes it even cheaper Ever The OLED TV we’ve seen, is out of models we don’t really recommend.
Or, if you have a little money to spend, the 77-inch Sony A80J BRAVIA OLED 4K Ultra HD Smart TV is $1,999 (Opens in a new tab) Now, saving you $1,500. Again, this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this model. It’s always rare to find a 77-inch OLED TV for under $2,000, but finding the excellent A80J at this price is ridiculous.
And of course, Amazon lowered the prices of its own devices, as it always does, resulting in lower Amazon Echo Dot (4th generation) to $24.99 (Opens in a new tab) and the Fire TV Stick 4K also coming to £24.99 (Opens in a new tab). These prices are unlikely to drop on Black Friday.
good timing
While the Prime Early Access Sale is definitely smaller than Prime Day (and a lot more manageable than Black Friday), Amazon has been this way before. Does anyone remember Amazon Epic’s daily deals last October? no? Well, that’s no surprise, because this event was more flat than a pie in a pants iron. The deals were less than epic and, for most consumers, barely stood out among Amazon’s usual daily deals.
But Amazon seems to have done more this time around, and that may be because it realizes that people have less money in their pockets right now.
Make no mistake, this new sales event comes at a welcome time. A combination of rising inflation, rising energy prices and stagnating wages has left many people with less money to spend than in previous years, both in the UK and the US. Any sales event that presents people with an opportunity to buy something they really need, but for less than usual, is commendable.
Shop wisely
Of course you could say that Amazon is just creating its own order, in order to increase its profits – and obviously this is true. But don’t reject it based on that alone. As long as you only spend what you can afford, and limit yourself to things that were already on your shopping list, a Prime Early Access Sale can help you save money in the long run.
The other thing you should definitely do is treat each trade with caution. Just because the price has been lowered, it doesn’t mean it’s the lowest price ever. camel camel camel (Opens in a new tab) It’s your friend here, because this great site will give you a complete history of Amazon prices for a specific product, so you can see at a glance how the current price compares to past sales. If it is not at or near its lowest value, and you do not need it now, it is better to wait.
It’s also worth shopping for, even if it’s a good Amazon deal. The likes of Walmart and Best Buy in the US and Curry’s and John Lewis in the UK offer year-round deals too, and they may have even bigger savings.
And of course you have to keep that in mind Black Friday Deals Just around the corner. Amazon will undoubtedly drop some prices more during this event, although some may not change much.
If you decide to shop over the next couple of days, remember that you’ll need to be a Prime member to take advantage – but you can get around that by subscribing to 30-day free trial (Opens in a new tab). Just be sure to cancel the trial before it ends, if you don’t want to sign up for an entire year.
Our tip: Browse the deals below and if you like what you see, head over to our site Today’s Peak hub for much more.