What to expect for Amazon Prime Day 2019

Amazon has been giving us our Black-Friday-in-July sales on Prime Day since just 2015, though it might feel like it has been longer. You won’t need a manual to spend money come July 15th and 16th — Prime “Day” is two days, you see — but we do have a few words of advice and some details to keep in mind before you spend any of that hard earned cash on a new phone, smart TV, or pair of headphones.

Snag some deals early

They won’t compare to the spending frenzy itself, but some deals have been pushed out as appetizers ahead of the event proper:

Other non-tech details like discounts on furniture, household products, and a credit for shopping at Whole Foods are also listed here.

You’ll need to be a Prime member, download the Alexa app now

The basics are: Amazon will have a bunch of products on sale this upcoming July 15th and 16th, exclusively for Prime members. So the first requirement to participate in the sale is that you’ll need to be a Prime subscriber. If you aren’t, Amazon offers free 30-day trials for Prime, and if you start one now, it will last through the time of the sale. Just remember to cancel if you decide not to keep it.

If history is any indicator, some promotions will be Alexa exclusives, requiring that you ask the personal assistant about a specific deal. If you have an Alexa-powered smart speaker or Echo, you should be all set, but using the standalone app has also worked in the past, so consider installing it ahead of Prime Day.

Follow our coverage

Prime Day discounts won’t fall all at once, Amazon is pushing some into so-called “Lightning Deals” with limited quantities that are prone to sell out quickly. Some items may also go on sale at a delay from the start of the event itself. We’ll do our best to let you know when we spot good, limited-time deals or new discounts, as well as when products have sold out, or deals have expired.

Furthermore, it’s possible we could run into the sort of issues we saw last year when Amazon’s site…