Good news for early holiday shoppers: Amazon has revealed the dates for its second annual sales event, giving people a chance to cut costs on gifts well before Black Friday arrives. The Big Deal Days sale is set for October 6-7, and based on how the summer version played out, Prime subscribers can expect some serious discounts. We’re hoping for epic markdowns on Apple, Bose, Sony and Amazon devices — and even better if they’re the kind of discounts that make it worth buying before Black Friday.
Not every sale is great for tech deals. Presidents’ Day and Labor Day sales are geared more toward discounts on mattresses, fashion and home goods. But in our many years of covering October Prime Day sales, we’ve been pretty happy with the discounts we’ve seen on electronics and tech gadgets.
What Prime Day tech deals can you expect during Amazon Big Deal Days?
Often called Fall Prime Day or October Prime Day, Amazon Big Deal Days is a 48-hour shopping event with discounts across more than 35 product categories. For tech shoppers, that typically means savings on everything from Anker chargers and Samsung TVs to AirPods, streaming devices and smart-home gear — and, especially, Amazon’s own hardware.
Advertisement
Advertisement
October Prime Day is often one of the best times to buy Amazon’s own tech. Kindles, Fire TVs, Echo devices, Ring cameras and Blink security gear often see some of their steepest discounts of the year, so if one has been sitting on your wish list, this is when I’d start watching prices.
It’s also usually a good time to save on Apple. The brand just announced a few new products, like the AirPods 5 and the Apple Watch Series 12, but those might be too new to see discounts just yet. Still, we do expect to see deals on iPads, MacBooks, AirTags and the AirPods Pro 3.
Amazon’s fall Prime Day sale is also a great opportunity to stock up on accessories that keep your tech charged and running smoothly. USB cables, fast chargers, wireless charging stands, power banks and streaming sticks are all things we expect to see pretty deep discounts on as well.
How long does Big Deal Days last?
The Amazon Big Deals will begin at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET on Oct. 6 and run through Oct. 7. It’s a good window to start holiday shopping early, especially if you’ve been waiting on tech gifts, smart-home gear or Amazon devices that tend to see bigger markdowns during Prime events. We’re also keeping an eye on gaming tech, like handhelds, controllers, headsets and storage, since Prime events can be a good time to upgrade without paying full price.
Do you need an Amazon Prime membership to shop Big Deal Days?
If you want to take full advantage of Big Deal Days sales, yes — the exclusive discounts are for Prime members only. Not ready to commit? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. That will get you access not only to Prime Day deals but faster shipping, free streaming via Prime Video and Amazon Music, a GrubHub+ membership and plenty more Prime member benefits. If you don’t cancel before the trial ends, you’ll pay $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
Are Prime Day tech deals better than Black Friday deals?
Sometimes. It really depends on what you want to buy and which brands you’re shopping. Big Deal Days can be especially good for Amazon’s own tech: Echo devices, Kindles, Fire TVs, Ring cameras and Blink security gear tend to get some of their best discounts during Prime events.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may still bring deeper cuts on big-ticket electronics, gaming gear and toys, and those sales usually aren’t limited to Prime members. But if an Amazon device is already on your list, I wouldn’t automatically wait for November — Big Deal Days is often the better time to buy.
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)