money Amazon Prime Day 2021: Many of the biggest deals come with this caveat
Amazon Prime Day is synonymous with lightning deals and deep discounts, and some of the best deals this year may not be name brands, but those from the retail giant itself.
“At some point, this may become Amazon private label day,” Frank Riva, vice president of marketing at 1010data, told Yahoo Money. “Not Prime Day.”
The online retailer uses its manufactured sales event — which amounted to an estimated $10.4 billion in sales last year — to sell goods produced by a third party, but sold under one of Amazon’s hundreds of names.
AmazonBasics, Solimo, Rivet and Amazon Essentials are just a few of the most popular ones, and many of the deepest discounted and most advertised items so far this year are indeed Amazon owned. Echo, Halo, Ring, Luna, Smart Plug and Fire enabled TV’s dominated the sale preview.
“People sometimes are buying these things, and they may not even realize they're buying an Amazon private label,” Riva said.
What to buy? What to avoid?
While Amazon products are going to command more and more attention during Prime Day, there still are several name brand products priced at steep discounts.
Read more: Here's what to do with unwanted gift cards
For instance, some of the hottest non-Amazon items last year were the iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, MyQ Wireless & WiFi Enabled Smart Garage Door Opener, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Vitamins, and Kids Against Maturity: Card Game for Kids and Families, according to Amazon.
This year, home devices, TVs, laptops, small appliances, home decor, beauty and fashion items are the best things to buy during Prime Day — both Amazon branded and not.
“Electronics in general, whether it's an Amazon brand or not, will probably still be at the top of the biggest sellers,” Riva said.
Items to avoid: Gaming consoles, cameras, Apple products, and toys, according to RetailMeNot. Instead, save those purchases for Black Friday.
Other ways to get discounts
Amazon is also running additional promotions ahead of Prime Day that can save you money.
Save $10 when you spend $10 with small businesses.
Save up to 20% on Amazon’s private label everyday essentials.
Get up to 50% off Amazon devices, including Echos, Halo fitness bands, Insignia and Toshiba Fire TVs, Luna gaming accessories, various Ring products, and more.
It is also important to remember that in order to access Amazon Prime Day deals you must have an Amazon Prime membership. A membership for the year runs $119 or $13 if you pay one month at a time. If you sign up for Prime via your Alexa device by midnight on June 22, you’ll receive a $5 credit to your account.
Marissa is a reporter for Yahoo Money and Cashay, a new personal finance website. Follow her on Twitter @MarissaLGamache.
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