Amazon Sales and Events Guide

Going way beyond selling just books, Amazon is the go-to retailer for pretty much everything.

There’s very little that can’t be purchased from the retail giant, but how can you get the most bang for your buck?

Read on for our must-know tips when shopping at Amazon.

What are the various sale events?

No matter when you decide to shop on Amazon, there’s bound to be a great deal. Of course, as with any retailer, some of the best sales happen around Black Friday. But if you find yourself shopping on a random Tuesday, here are some of the sale opportunities you can expect:

• Deal of the Day: Each day, Amazon offers either a single product or a few closely related products that fall under its Deal of the Day promotion. These offers include limited-time discounts on popular electronics and items for your home. Keep in mind that the savings are available only for 24 hours and are often sold in limited quantities. Visit Amazon’s Deal of the Day page to view the most recent promotions.

• Lightning Deals: If you thought Daily Deals were short, Lightning Deals are even shorter. These offers are limited to one per customer until either the promotion period for the deal expires or all the available discounts are claimed. Lightning Deals can be found throughout the site, including the Gold Box page.

• Limited-time sales: If you’re looking for a longer sale period, Amazon’s limited-time sales might be the promotion for you. The selection of items is often varied and can include products as diverse as a Fire TV digital media player or a magazine subscription. The length of the sales varies, so make sure you read the fine print when browsing.

• Coupons: If you’re looking for a discount on a category of products or a specific item, we advise shoppers to take a look at Amazon’s coupon page, as there are usually a vast selection of items ranging across all categories. Recent coupons include 25% off Planters snacks and $10 off Philips Sonicare toothbrushes.

• Amazon Prime: If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, it might be in your best interest to sign up for Amazon Prime, which offers free two-day shipping on eligible products, plus unlimited streaming of music and video, early access to Lightning Deals and more, all for $99 a year. You can get a 30-day free trial membership to try out the service before committing. There are also two discounted Prime memberships available for qualified people: Amazon Student and Amazon Family. And don’t forget about Prime Day!

What products have been discounted?

Wondering what types of deals you can score during these sale events? We took a look at a few recent promotions to give you an idea of what to expect.

In January, Deals of the Day have included 50% off Vega One Nutritional Shakes, 38% off Jillian Michaels DVDs, and 60% off voice recognition software.

Also in January, we spotted a few examples of exceptional Lightning Deals: 67% off sterling silver earrings and 71% off a Tommy Hilfiger men’s trench coat.

During a December event, Amazon offered savings of up to 44% off on select Dyson upright vacuums including the Dyson Ball Multi Floor Upright Vacuum for $224.99 (regularly $399.99).

How can you find the deals?

Although a lot of these sales are great, it can be hard to keep track of them with such a limited-time window to make a purchase.

To ensure that no good deal goes unnoticed at Amazon, follow these tips for staying in the know:

1. Sign up for the Amazon Daily Deals email mailing list. You can do so by creating an Amazon account and inputting your email address within the preferences section of your profile.
2. Like the Amazon Facebook page and follow Amazon on Twitter. Social media is a good place to find out about Deals of the Day and Lightning Deals.
3. Install the Amazon mobile app. That way you can shop millions of products on the go, plus read reviews and check prices.

Kirsten VerHaar is an editor at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: kverhaar@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kirstvh.

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