Essentials

How to find the best deals for Amazon Prime Day 2022

By Fox Van Allen, Joal Ryan

July 11, 2022 / 1:31 PM EDT / Essentials

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 is the online retailer's biggest shopping event of the year. Spread out over two days in the summer -- like a mid-year Black Friday -- Prime Day features limited-time, limited-quantity deals (called lightning deals) on a wide variety of clothing, bedding, laptops, headphones, Amazon-branded gear and more. You'll also find spotlight deals on big-name merchandise that will last throughout the two-day shopping event.

There's a catch though: To get in on the savings this year, you need to be an Amazon Prime member.

Top products in this article:

Amazon Prime membership (monthly), $14.99

$14.99 PER MONTH

Echo Dot (4th Gen) smart speaker with Alexa, $28 (regularly $50)

$28 at Amazon

Amazon Fire TV 65" Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV with Dolby Vision, $500 (reduced from $830)

$500 at Amazon

Since the first Amazon Prime Day in 2015, Prime Day has evolved into a retail-industry phenomenon. Eager to compete against Amazon's mega-shopping event, other major retailers, such as Best Buy and Kohl's, offer their own online deals on Prime Day. Walmart even launched its own competing annual event.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2022?

Amazon has announced that it will hold its annual Amazon Prime Day sale on Tuesday, July 12 and Wednesday, July 13, 2022.

Amazon Prime comes with a 30-day free trial, if you're a new customer. That means you can sign up for Amazon Prime today, start enjoying all the benefits now, and participate in Amazon Prime Day 2022 without having to pay.

Start your free trial

Still not sure if Amazon Prime is right for you? Learn more about Amazon Prime by tapping the button below.

Join Amazon Prime (monthly), $14.99 per month

Learn more about Amazon Prime

What do you need to take part in Amazon Prime Day 2022?

Amazon Prime Day deals are, generally, exclusive to Amazon Prime members. Those who have never been Amazon Prime members can get a 30-day free trial right now.

An Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month (plus taxes), or $139 per year. It includes much more than access to Prime Day deals: You get free, two-day shipping on most Amazon products (and free same-day delivery in some areas), access to TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video, plus special deals at Whole Food Market and more.

You can see a full list of Amazon Prime benefits by clicking here. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime by clicking the button below.

Start your free trial

By the way: If you're not an Amazon Prime member, it's still possible to take advantage of some deals at that time. Big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kohl's have seized on Prime Day to offer their own deals in-store and on their websites, no memberships required.

What goes on sale during Amazon Prime Day?

There's no easy answer to the question, "what goes on sale during Amazon Prime Day?" Except, perhaps, for this: A lot -- as in, a lot of stuff goes on sale for Amazon Prime Day.

Amazon keeps its full list of Prime Day deals under wraps until they go live. That said, many items go on sale consistently from Prime Day to Prime Day.

Amazon Fire TV streaming stick 4K — Amazon

Expect sales on Amazon-branded products, such as the commerce giant's Alexa-based smart-home products, including the Echo Dot (the No. 1 Prime Day seller in 2020, per Amazon).

Echo Dot smart speaker, $28 (reduced from $50)

$28 at Amazon

It also wouldn't be surprising for Amazon to offer discounts on 2021 Prime Day top-sellers such as the iRobot Roomba 692 robot vacuum. In past years, shoppers have also found great deals on the Instant Pot multi-cooker, apparel from Adidas, vacuums from Dyson, Keurig coffee makers and much more.

Discounts on the Apple Watch -- and other Apple products such as AirPods Pro and MacBooks -- have been common during past Prime Days as well. For example, the Apple Watch 3, an older-but-still-useful version, was marked down to $169 for Prime Day 2021.

(If you're looking for a current deal on the Apple Watch, check out Amazon now -- you can pick up the Apple Watch Series 7 for under $329, a saving of more than $70.

Apple Watch Series 7, $329 (reduced from $399)

Get this Apple Watch deal

And while historically, the best deals on new televisions have emerged on Black Friday and during Super Bowl season, nowadays you can find great TV deals on Prime Day.

Have your eye on a 65-inch Amazon Fire TV with 4K resolution, perhaps? Then be sure to check in on Prime Day for a possible deal. And if you can't wait, then maybe get one now. Amazon currently has the $600 TV on sale for $500.

Amazon Fire TV 65" Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV with Dolby Vision, hands-free with Alexa, $500 (reduced from $830)

$500 at Amazon

Here's how to shop local on Prime Day

Usually, one of the best deals to be had during Amazon Prime Day is the retail giant's small-business promotion. Amazon hasn't announced anything about this for Prime Day 2022, but it typically works like this: If you spend $10 at participating small businesses during a Prime Day promotional period, you'll get a $10 Amazon credit to spend during the shopping event.

No matter what time of year, you can shop small -- and local -- on Amazon through one of its affiliated small- and medium-sized businesses. You can find a full list of stores here. The list is searchable by region. It also highlights military-owned, women-owned, Black-owned and family-owned businesses.

How should you prepare for Amazon Prime Day?

It can be tricky to plan for Amazon Prime Day; the deals vary from year to year. But there are a few things to keep in mind while looking for the best Amazon Prime Day deals.

For starters: The best discounts usually apply to Amazon's own products. It's a good idea to put off any purchases of Amazon devices in the month before Prime Day -- they're the most likely products of to go on deep discount.

Prime Day is also a smart time to shop for everyday housewares, such as electric toothbrushes and small kitchen appliances. These products are typically featured sales items. We've seen great deals on coffee (such as K-cups), charging cables and other common essentials as well -- including prices that stand out as some of the best of the year.

But not every Prime Day deal will be a good one. To know for sure, try CamelCamelCamel -- it's a site that tracks Amazon prices. Just paste an Amazon URL in the site's search bar and you can see every the year-over-year price history for any Amazon item.

Amazon deals ahead of Amazon Prime Day

There's no reason to wait until July 12 to shop Amazon deals. The online retailer is offering slashed prices on a bunch of popular and top-rated products right now.

Shop all the best Amazon deals ahead of Amazon Prime Day right now.

Apple AirPods Pro: $175

Right now at Amazon you can score a discount on Apple's newest sweat- and water-resistant earbuds, the Apple AirPods Pro.

Apple AirPods Pro, $175 (reduced from $249)

$175 at Amazon

Vitamix E310 Explorian blender

The Vitamix E310 features a 48-ounce container and aircraft-grade stainless steel blades. The blender offers 10 different speeds, including a pulse feature.

This kitchen gadget is $20 off right now at Amazon.

Vitamix E310 Explorian blender, $330 (regularly $350)

$330 at Amazon

Apple Watch Series 7 (41 mm): $329

Right now, you can save on Amazon on the GPS version of the 41 mm Apple Watch Series 7. At Apple, the model lists for $399 -- and up. On Amazon, prices and availability may vary depending on the color of the watch. We also saw a deal on the 41 mm watch with GPS and built-in cellular: It's going for $429 right now. That's down from the $499 Apple list price.

Apple Watch Series 7 GPS (41 mm), $329 (regularly $399)

$329 at Amazon

Apple Watch Series 7 GPS + cellular (41 mm), $429 (regularly $499)

$429 at Amazon

iRobot Roomba i3+ with automatic disposal: $399

iRobot Roomba i3+ (3550) Robot Vacuum with Automatic Dirt Disposal Disposal — iRobot via Amazon

Looking for a Roomba that automatically empties its own dust bin? You'll pay more for the privilege, but the Clean Base included with the Roomba i3+ only needs to be emptied once every 60 days. It's currently $151 off at Amazon ahead of Amazon Prime Day.

iRobot Roomba i3+ with automatic disposal, $399 (reduced from $550)

$399 at Amazon

Check out our Amazon Prime Day deal roundups

We think Amazon Prime Day 2022 is going to have some great deals, but you don't have to wait until the end of July to find them. Amazon is slashing prices on a bunch of products right now. Here are all of our Amazon Prime Day deal roundups:

Amazon

Fox Van Allen

Managing editor Fox Van Allen is an expert in tech, laptops and computers, toys and video games for CBS Essentials. When he's not writing about (or playing) the Nintendo Switch and PS5, Fox's hobbies include reality TV podcasting, designing board games and hanging out in his favorite warehouse stores.