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Prime Day can be overwhelming. No, scratch that, that IS overwhelming. Amazon’s Holiday Big Discounts feature so many products and categories that it can be difficult to track down exactly what you need. And with the next Prime Minister’s Day event coming up hot this October (officially happening on October 8 to October 9), is prime time so that we can give some advice on how to buy it successfully.
Everything you need to know about Amazon’s October Prime Day sale: Official dates, competition and more
We don’t recommend buying everything you’ve ever wanted and throwing your mind (and your wallet) to the wind, but if there’s a good deal on something you need, you don’t want to miss out on that either. That’s why it helps to know what to buy and what to avoid ahead of time. Mashable already has a hub for Prime Day coverage that can give you in-depth analysis of every shopping category imaginable, but here are some quick tips on what to buy and what not to buy as you dig into next days Prime Big Deal month.
Deals we’ve already seen ahead of Big Deal Days
The best things to buy on Prime Day
While the Mashable Shopping team’s bread and butter is recommending all the latest and greatest products on the market, sometimes you already know exactly what you want and just need to know where to find it on sale. We can help you with that too. Here’s a rundown of all our top categories to shop during October’s Prime Day event if you want to score the biggest deals.
1. Apple products
Buying Apple’s flagship tech during Prime Day is a great hack. If you are already planning to buy some of the most expensive technology on the market, why not buy it at a discount? In light of Apple’s latest discounts and announcements, and ahead of a rumored M4 event, we expect to see discounts on older models of Apple Watches, AirPods, iPhones and more.
2. Amazon Devices
It’s no secret that the biggest Prime Day discounts are usually on Amazon devices. Whether you’re working on building your own smart home or finally ready to pull the trigger on a new e-reader, you can expect record low prices on Amazon Echo speakers, Echo Show devices, Kindles, and more. Just stay away from Ring cameras. (More on this below.)
3. Robot vacuum cleaner
There are good deals on outdoor robot vacuums all the time, but Prime Day almost always brings some of the biggest discounts on iRobot Roomba models, Shark vacs, and more big-ticket brands.
4. Everyday essentials
Even if you’re not planning on making a big tech purchase on Prime Day, it’s an ideal time to jot down household items you’d buy even if they weren’t on sale. From laundry detergent to towels and diapers, there are almost always deals on household products you can throw in your cart during a run to Target or Walmart. And with Prime shipping, your essentials will be at your door as soon as possible so you can spend more time tending to the home and less time shopping.
5. Pet supplies
If you are a pet owner, you know the difficulty of purchasing pet supplies such as food, toys, grooming products and more on a consistent basis. Luckily, Prime Day is the best time to stock up on household items, especially from the Amazon Basics brand.
6. Drones and cameras
DJI drone bundles, Holy Stone drones, and GoPro cameras are pretty much a given for the deals we can expect to see on Prime Day. We’ve also spotted good deals on cameras from Panasonic, Canon, Sony and Nikon in the past — just in case you’re finally ready to get serious about filming for your YouTube channel.
7. Smart watch
In addition to sweet Apple Watch deals, you can bet Prime Day will bring big discounts on Fitbits, Garmin smartwatches, and Samsung smartwatches.
8. TV
You might not find the best deals on premium TVs during Prime Day, but it’s a great time to get a deal on a mid-budget Fire TV. These won’t be your living room TVs, but they’re great for your guest bedroom or kids’ rooms.
9. Headphones
After covering nearly every Prime Day ever, we know for sure which headphone brands will be on sale during the big event: Bose, Sony, Beats, AirPods, and JBL models are sure to get some solid discounts. During last year’s Prime Day, we saw big price drops on Bose’s QuietComfort line of headphones, so we’ll be looking for sales on the latest QuietComfort Ultra headphones and earbuds.
10. Game Arrangements
Upgrading your gamepad and even buying new games feels like a drag – when you’re doing it at full price, that is. Fortunately, during Prime Day, you can grab notes on both. This time of year, you should also pay attention to some holiday packages.
Things to avoid on Prime Day
While Prime Day is full of good deals, there are a few things to watch out for when shopping. Mashable covered all the things we recommend avoiding in detail, but here are some quick tips.
1. Products sold by third-party sellers
Many third-party sellers on Amazon are legitimate, but the prevalence of counterfeit products makes us nervous about recommending anything listed by unknown, unverified merchants. They may also offer different customer service than Amazon itself.
Mashable Deals
Amazon’s A-to-z Warranty covers you if you have problems with a third-party seller. But if you don’t want to deal with the potential hassle of the claims process and its eligibility, a good rule of thumb is to stick to products that are shipped and sold by Amazon itself.
2. Ring the bells of doors and cameras
Deep Prime Day discounts on Ring cameras and bundles may be tempting, but we don’t recommend buying or using Ring devices because of the company’s history of major security and privacy issues. (Some recent steps have been taken to turn things around, but those problems were so big and recent that we still don’t fully recommend them. A company in the real security business needs to be tight-lipped.)
There are usually plenty of home security deals from other brands on Prime Day, and if you need a little guidance on the good ones, check out our guide to the best home security systems.
3. Anything you don’t need
As we mentioned before, it’s best to use Prime Day as a way to get something you need at a good discount. What is not so advisable is buying things just because. Something you don’t need or won’t use is still something you don’t need or won’t use, no matter how good the deal is.
4. Any deal that seems too good to be true
…There’s a good chance it probably is. For further reading, check out Mashable’s guide to finding the best Prime Day deals: We’ve got tips on how to spot the doorstops that are really worth it.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information and resources about third-party sellers on Amazon and Ring devices.