Amazon Prime Day 2021: Many of the biggest deals come with this caveat

·Reporter

June 21, 2021 at 1:32 PM·3 min read

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.

In this photo illustration, an Amazon Prime Day logo is seen on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

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.

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.

Amazon packages waiting on a home's doorstep. (Photo: Getty) (jahcottontail143 via Getty Images)

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

Prompts on how to use Amazon's Alexa personal assistant are seen in an Amazon ‘experience center’ in Vallejo, California, on May 8, 2018. (Photo: REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage) (Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters)

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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What to buy? What to avoid?

Other ways to get discounts

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