If you’ve visited Amazon today, you may have been bombarded with Prime Day deals and talk of all things Prime Day 2022. Phrases like Lightning deals and “biggest savings” probably have your finger quickly hovering over the Add to Cart button. But before you get sucked into buying because the deal is 50% claimed, have you wondered if that deal you’re getting is actually a good deal?
In the end, it’s our hard-earned money we’re using to buy something, so it’s a good idea to check that we’re actually getting a good price.
How to tell if that Amazon Prime deal is really a deal
- Shop around
Amazon is hosting Prime Day 2022, but Target, Walmart and Best Buy are offering deals of their own Image: Maria Diaz / ZDNet
Many other competitors sell the same items Amazon does and do their own discounts during Prime Day deals. Of course, you may not find every single thing you’re eyeing on Amazon, especially if it’s one of its own devices, but it doesn’t hurt to shop around and see if it is in fact a low price.
At this point, Target is running Deal Days through July 13, Best Buy is doing Black Friday in July, and Walmart has tons of Rollbacks on tech on its site as well.
2. Use tools
This is an example of the Fire TV Stick 4K’s price history on CamelCamelCamel Image: Maria Diaz / ZDNet
If you’re an Amazon shopper like I am, you’ve probably noticed that the company is always doing some sort of deal to sell products and, while many times these are actually great deals, it’s good to know how to determine that.
There are third party sites like CamelCamelCamel, for example, that let you simply copy the Amazon URL into it and find the price history on that item, featuring visual charts, lowest price history, and price trends. You can also add an extension to Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari called the Camelizer.
Honey also provides Amazon price tracking. Just add the extension to your browser and a pop-up will launch when you visit an Amazon product page.
3. Read reviews
Always read the reviews beyond their star rating Image: Maria Diaz / ZDNet
I know, it’s tedious, but reading reviews before buying is more important than you think. There are unfortunately trends of fake reviews on Amazon products and reading the reviews is how you can spot them.
To spot fake reviews, check when there are too many similar ones written within a day or a few days of each other or if they have similar pictures. Also, check older reviews. Many sellers change their highest-rated listings to take advantage of the 4.8/5 star reviews without having to work for them. So that listing for smart LED light strip with 5-star reviews could have been toilet paper rolls three months ago.
4. Make sure it’s legit
Don’t just trust anyone that tells you it’s the lowest price ever. Use trusted sources, like our Prime Day hub, to explore and make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Once you’ve checked that you’re actually getting a good deal, you can feel good adding that item to your Amazon cart and checking out.
