Don’t buy a refrigerator, range or washing machine during Prime Big Deal Days. A blender, toaster, vacuum or air purifier, however, is a great buy. Focus on countertop kitchen appliances, as well as cleaning and wellness-related home appliances.
The absolute best time of year to buy toys is during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but because they’re so highly sought after, the most popular, newest models tend to sell out very quickly. If you find a toy on sale during Prime Day that’s on your loved one’s (or your) wish list, consider buying it while it’s in stock so you don’t risk missing out in November.
Once you tap into gift card sales, you’ve unlocked a new level of Prime Day shopping. Brands, services, entertainment platforms and restaurants offer around 20% off or more on gift cards of varying amounts, and you can find gift card sets, too. For example, we’ve seen sets of four $25 gift cards for the price of three. Buying a few gift cards as gifts or stocking stuffers is a great way to prepare for the holiday season. You can get them for yourself to save money in the future, too.
Keep in mind that gift card discounts are usually Lightning Deals during Prime Day, so they’re only available for a few hours and change throughout the day. That means hesitating to check out could mean you forfeit the sale.
Shop the best October Prime Day gift card sales here.
Once a holiday is over, seasonal items hit the clearance section, so that’s when you’ll find the lowest prices. But since Prime Day is the last big sale before Halloween and Thanksgiving, it’s likely your only opportunity to buy deeply discounted decor and hosting essentials, be it costumes, tablescape accessories and serveware. There will be lots of deals on Christmas, Hanukkah and winter holiday-related items during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but if you plan to hang lights or set up a tree before the end of November, I’d add those products to your Prime Big Deal Days shopping list.
I say it before every Prime Day because I do it myself: walk around your home, open your notes app and make a list of every household basic, pantry staple and wellness essential you’re about to run out of. I’d throw skin, hair and body care essentials onto that list, too. I can almost guarantee that 90% of your list will be on sale during Prime Big Deal Days — and who doesn’t love saving on bulk-sized packs of toothpaste, laundry detergent, pet food, protein powder, body lotion, paper towels and vitamins? Some everyday staples can also make practical gifts or stocking stuffers.
If big-ticket home and kitchen appliances, TVs, laptops or high-end electronics like video game consoles are on your wish list, wait until Black Friday to add them to your cart, says Vipin Porwal, the CEO of and a consumer savings expert at Smarty. That’s when there will be the most competitive discounts from a larger selection of brands across retailers. Also, Stephanie Carls, a retail insights expert at RetailMeNot, doesn’t recommend shopping for winter fashion during October Prime Day — you’ll see better deals on coats and snow boots once we get deeper into the season. Additionally, skip the furniture and mattresses for now. “Those items tend to drop in price during off-peak times like early spring, so there’s no need to rush those purchases during October,” says Carls.
Because online shopping activity increases so much during Prime Day, other retailers host competing sales around the same time to get in on the action. Here's a few you should have on your radar:
Plan ahead: Make a list, set a budget and stick to it. Also, do your research ahead of time. “The best way to save is to know what you’re shopping for and track prices ahead of time so you’re not just reacting to a red sale sticker,” says Carls.
Pay attention to prominently featured deals: “The better deals during Prime Day are often products that are featured or sponsored,” says Porwal. “Those brands pay extra to get preferred placement, so items are priced to sell and sometimes the best price of the year.”
Turn deal notifications on: Amazon’s app can send you push alerts about deals inspired by your shopping activity when you enable “deal and recommendations” notifications in settings. Porwal highly suggests taking advantage of this feature. “Many of the best-priced deals have limited supplies available, so once it’s gone, it’s gone,” he says. You can also add specific products to a wish list and ask Alexa to notify you about deals on those items.
Prioritize verified sellers: “A lot of Prime Day sale items are overstock inventory that merchants are trying to clear out while they have a massive audience,” says Porwal. “If it’s an item from an unverified seller or a brand you’re not familiar with and it’s not something you really need, sometimes the savings aren’t worth the risk.”
Use price trackers: Retailers sometimes raise prices prior to major sales, and at NBC Select, we follow specific criteria to evaluate deals before recommending them (learn more here). We use CamelCamelCamel to evaluate an item’s price history and determine if it’s really a good deal or just temporarily marked down from an inflated baseline. You can, too.
Compare prices across retailers: A few of the sales happening at the same time as Prime Big Deal Days are exclusive to loyalty members, making comparing deals across retailers challenging. But when you can, compare retailers’ deal prices, additional promos and shipping fees to figure out who is offering the best discount overall.
Shop Lightning Deals: Lightning Deals only run for a few hours, and there’s limited inventory available — once the product sells out or the deal expires, it’s gone. These are some of the most lucrative discounts brands offer during Prime Day, so pay attention to them. New offers drop as often as every 10 minutes.
Checkout ASAP: Many items discounted on Prime Day are overstock merchandise that brands want to clear out while they have a massive audience, says Porwal. They list items at historically low prices to move inventory quickly, so if you like something, act quickly.
Double check return policies: Amazon doesn’t have a special return policy for Prime Day purchases, but make sure you know how long you have to return an item if needed.
Frequently asked questions
Tariffs are not making Prime Day sales worse compared to years past, but they are more targeted, experts told me. “Retailers are making strategic choices about what they discount,” says Carls. “The savings are still there, but they may not be as obvious.” That means instead of doing blanket discounts across their entire inventory, brands might drop prices on a handful of their bestsellers during Prime Big Deal Days, put Amazon-exclusive bundles on sale or more heavily lean into limited-time offers like Lightning Deals.
Additionally, some brands want to move products prior to doing tariff-related price increases, which will likely be followed by shoppers cutting back on spending. Because of this, you might see better-than-usual deals in categories expected to get hit the hardest by tariffs, like toys, home goods and apparel, says Carls.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are an entirely different ballgame compared to retailers’ October sales.
Think of these October sales as phase one of holiday shopping. They give you a head-start to avoid the rush, and while only a portion of retailers’ inventories are discounted, the October price is often just as low as it will be in November, says Carls. Also, since most October sales are exclusive to loyalty members, there are fewer people shopping, making you more likely to snag the most sought-after products.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are phase two of holiday shopping. They’re the biggest shopping days of the year, so all brands and retailers offer their flashiest, deepest deals across the most inventory. You’ll see some deals repeated from October, but tons of new ones, especially on bigger ticket, bucket list-type items. Keep in mind that the majority of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are open to everyone, so competition among consumers is at an all-time high and items are more likely to sell out.
Long story short, there are differences between retailers’ October sales and Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, making both types of events worth shopping if you’re thoughtful about what you buy and when. That said, early holiday shopping is extra important this year with concerns about tariffs on many people’s minds. “If there is concern that prices will rise closer to the holidays, October becomes the moment to lock in deals,” says Carls. “For many families, early shopping is not just about savings — it’s about avoiding higher prices down the line.”
Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days are both massive sales exclusive to Prime members, but the intention behind them is different. Prime Day happens in July, so it focuses on back-to-school shopping, warm-weather items, tech upgrades and home basics, says Carls. Prime Big Deal Days, on the other hand, happen in October, making it Amazon’s way to kick off the holiday shopping season, so discounts shift toward gifts. There are some repeat deals, but brands typically discount different products during two events to best address what people are looking for when each one happens.
Prime Day 2025 was also four days long for the first time ever, a change we expect to become permanent. Prime Big Deal Days are still two days long. Amazon likely made this decision in part to further differentiate the two events and emphasize that July’s Prime Day is the retailer’s annual flagship sale.
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
Vipin Porwal is the CEO of and a consumer savings expert at Smarty.
I’m a reporter at NBC Select who’s covered Amazon Prime Day for five years. I’ve written about Amazon Prime Day’s history, Prime memberships, the best deals and what to buy and skip during major sale events. I also appear in NBC broadcast segments about Prime Day. For this article, I shared shopping tips based on my years of experience reporting on Prime Day, and interviewed two retail experts.
