What You Need to Know About Amazon Prime Day 2024

Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. There’s a pretty good chance that you won’t find deals like those available during Prime Day 2024 again until Black Friday rolls around, some four-plus months after the sale ends.

With that in mind, we’ve put together everything that you need to make sure you’re ready to get the biggest deals of the year from the biggest online retailer.

What Are the Amazon Prime Day Dates in 2024?

2024 will be the 10th year that Prime Day has been a staple of e-commerce, even though it was canceled in 2020 due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over those 10 years, Amazon Prime Day has traditionally taken place in mid-July. The retail giant recently announced that things won’t be any different for 2024, announcing that Prime Day 2024 will be July 16 and 17.

The first wave of discounts will start at 12:01 AM PDT on July 16 (3:01 AM EST), and the sale will run for 48 hours.

What Items Will Be Marked Down for Amazon Prime Day 2024?

Amazon traditionally doesn’t announce items that are going to be marked down for Prime Day. That’s been the case since the first time the event was held, largely because they don’t want to deal with people putting items in their carts, pulling them out of inventory, and then holding them until the prices drop.

However, we do know that items from approximately three dozen different categories will be marked down. If the past is any indication, you’ll be able to find some of the biggest names in tech, clothing, home goods, and more during the Prime Day 2024 event.

We also know that Amazon typically puts a lot of its in-house brands and items on sale during Prime Day. It’s absolutely a great marketing tool, and it works great for the buyer, too.

Since Amazon is the name behind items like the Fire TV Stick, Echo Dot, Alexa, and the Kindle Paperwhite, you can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to grab some top-notch items during Prime Day 2024.

In the past, there have also been a lot of items from Apple, including AirPods, iPads, and even MacBooks.

Crest 3D Whitestrips have also become a Prime Day staple in recent years. This not only speaks to the variety of items that you can get on Prime Day but also highlights the fact that some of the biggest brands in the world are represented in this massive event.

Do You Have to Have Amazon Prime to Get Prime Day Deals?

The answer to this question isn’t quite as straightforward as you may think. Yes, to take advantage of every deal associated with Prime Day 2024, you’ll need to have an Amazon Prime account.

Fortunately, if you don’t have one, you can almost always sign up for a 30-day free trial, which means if you make an account today but don’t think you need to have Prime for the long haul, you can cancel your account after the event and not have to pay for it.

If you decide you want to hang onto your Amazon Prime account, you’ll only have to pay around $15 per month for it.

However, you can also find items that are marked down on Amazon during Prime Day without having a Prime account.

No, you may not be able to grab Apple AirPods for $99, but there are plenty of deals available to those who don’t have Prime.

Having said all that, there’s really no reason not to make an account for Prime Day, especially with the knowledge that you can cancel your account as soon as the sale ends.

Is Prime Day Only Available on Amazon?

As the name would indicate, Prime Day deals are only available on Amazon. However, this hasn’t stopped some of the other top names in the world of e-commerce from taking part in the festivities.

Lots of other brands have started scheduling online-only events during or around Prime Day, including Nike, Walmart, Nordstrom, Target, and Best Buy.

Some of these retailers schedule their sales to run during the same 48-hour window as Prime Day while others schedule theirs just before Prime Day starts or even the morning after it ends.

If you have some online retailers that you enjoy shopping, be sure to look at their sites for more information about upcoming summer sales. They probably won’t highlight the fact that their deals are related to Prime Day, so keep that in mind.

Are There Different Types of Prime Day Sales?

Yes, there are different types of sales that are available during the Prime Day event.

Deal of the Day

For instance, there are some deals, called Deal of the Day, that run for 24 hours. This means that some of the items that get marked down at 12:01 PDT on July 16 won’t be on sale at noon on July 17.

These deals are clearly marked to keep you from missing out on them by leaving the items in your cart for too long.

If you’re worried about having to place multiple orders, don’t be! Since you have to have Prime to get access to these deals, you won’t have to pay shipping on multiple orders.

Flash Sales

Prime Day is also famous for its Flash Sales. These items often get marked down for a limited period of time (which is clearly defined by a countdown that appears on the item page) or until Amazon simply runs out of the item.

There is a lot of conflicting information about what happens if you stash one of these items in your cart, with some users saying that they’ve lost the item due to other users going through the checkout process, so it’s probably a good idea to finish your order when you find a flash sale item that you want.

Invite Only

Amazon has also rolled out a type of sale called “Invite Only,” and it’s just as unique as it sounds. According to Amazon, users who have Prime can request access to exclusive deals.

These requests will be able to be made in the days leading up to Prime Day’s official kickoff, so if you already have Prime, you’ll want to keep an eye on your account for opportunities.

There’s a bit of mystery associated with these items, as you won’t know if you earned an invite to these exclusive sales until Prime Day officially starts. You’ll receive an email and a push notification if you earn an invite.

Amazon has been careful to announce that requesting an invitation does not guarantee that you’ll get access. They’ll be using some sort of random selection to decide who gets an invite.

When the invitation process opens, you’ll be able to see items that are going to be part of these exclusive sales.

Go to the “Deals” page for that brand, and follow the directions on the screen to request an invite. There is no limit to how many items you can request an invite to the special deals for, but you can only request one invite per item, per Amazon Prime account.

Get Ready for the Big Day(s)

Amazon Prime Day 2024 is slated to be the biggest day on the annual e-commerce calendar, at least until Black Friday rolls around.

This information can help you ensure that you’re ready to take advantage of huge markdowns and finally grab those items that you’ve been thinking about buying all year.