Amazon Prime Day 2016: How to Make the Most of the Event

— -- Amazon’s much-hyped Prime Day sale event is July 12, but the giant online retailer is already offering deals leading up to the big day.

Prime members pay $99 a year for free two-day shipping and access to streaming media.

On its second annual Prime Day sale, Prime members will have access to more than 100,000 deals. Sources at Amazon tell me they are trying to get every deal offered down to the lowest price it’s been on Amazon in at least 12 months, if not longer. It’s definitely an opportunity for savings.

In addition to their standards lightning deals this week, the retailer will offer between four and six special deals from midnight Pacific time until inventory lasts. Each day’s offers will have a different theme.

Here are today’s deals, which center around food and entertaining:

Summer Gadgets on the Go from Sunvalleytek: Save up to 60 percent. This brand is a bit obscure, but if you are in the market for a power adaptor, these deals could be good.
Lenox Butterfly Meadow 28-piece dinnerware set: Deal price $169.99.
Blendtec Total Blender: Deal price $279.99 (30 percent off).
Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-Less Turkey Fryer Bundle with 2 Leg Racks and Kabob Set: Deal price $77.99.

Strategies for Making the Most of Prime Day

1. You must be a member to participate. The good news is you can sign up now for a free 30-day trial. Just make a note to yourself to cancel it in 30 days and you can shop to your heart’s content next week on Prime Day.
2. Get the Amazon app. It has a watch list of products, so the night before or the morning of Prime Day you can scroll through to see what deals will go live. If something interests you, simply put it on your watch list and when the deal goes live your phone will receive an alert and you can swoop in to purchase the item.
3. With competitive pricing, other retailers will want in on the game. Check Walmart, Best Buy and all the big retailers for deals over the next week, too.
4. It’s true that some people complained that the items offered on last year’s inaugural Prime Day weren’t exactly bestsellers. My Amazon sources tell me this year’s deals will be about showing to Prime members areas of the site they’d never visited before. For example, if you normally visit Amazon for items such as towels and shampoo, they want to show you a deal on streaming media or online storage. And if you normally purchase gadgets, they want to show you a deal on shoes or other fashion, so it won’t be quite like a Black Friday event where there will be offers on universally loved items.