14 Amazing Amazon Prime Day Deals You Can Shop Ahead of Time

Early birds, rejoice.

14 Amazing Amazon Prime Day Deals You Can Shop Ahead of Time

Brace yourselves: Amazon Prime Day 2021 is in your near future. There's a lot of talk about what will pop off during the two-day event, but if the bounty of early-bird deals below is any indication, this year’s Prime Day is poised to be bigger than ever.

We know, the thought of all those slashed prices can be overwhelming, and that’s because it is. Prime Day is hardly another big sale event you can just casually browse, so if you’re looking to build your cart ahead of the kick-off, here’s everything we know so far about Amazon Prime Day 2021.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

In case you’re new to Prime Day, it’s Amazon’s biggest sale of the year. Yes, bigger than its Big Style Sale. And yes, also probably bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Now in its seventh year in the United States, Amazon Prime Day is a free-for-all for millions of Prime members who can score sweet deals across a range of categories for a full 48 hours. (The sales event started as a one-day celebration of Amazon’s 20th anniversary, but it’s been so popular that people keep asking for more, and sellers are more than happy to oblige.)

As a Prime member, you can expect to see generous discounts across fashion (the company does own Shopbop, after all), premium beauty, fitness, home, and tech items. Big-name brands like Levi’s, Olaplex, Apple, Sony, Bose, Samsung, Nintendo Switch, and Roomba tend to join the action, meaning you can stock up on summer fashion essentials, refresh your top shelf, and finally score that wireless vacuum you’ve been eyeing since tidying up became a form of meditation.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2021?

Better late than never. Amazon Prime Day 2021 is officially taking place on Monday, June 21 and Tuesday, June 22. In previous years, the e-commerce giant has held the annual shopping event during the second week of July to get in on traditional summer sales and attract new Prime members just ahead of the frenzied gifting season. (The outlier was last year, when it was moved to October likely due to the coronavirus pandemic.) But with a confirmed date for the end of June, they're getting a headstart—and we couldn't be more ready for it.

One thing we didn't see coming (but a major win for small businesses) is, according to its press release, the retailer will offer Amazon Prime members a $10 credit to use on Prime Day to customers “who spend $10 on select small business products and brands based in the U.S. in Amazon’s store, including products from Amazon Handmade and Amazon Launchpad.” That's happening in the days leading up to Amazon Prime Day, from June 7th through June 20th.

How to get Lightning Deals during Amazon Prime Day 2021?

Ah yes, the infamous Lightning Deals. These limited-time, make-your-pulse-quicken bargains are exclusive to Prime members—and they often end up being some of the best Prime Day deals. If you’re not yet a member, you can sign up today for a free 30-day trial (which you can always cancel later on) to start building your wish list ahead of the big sale. An annual Amazon Prime membership costs $119 (students pay $59) and includes access to Prime Video, Whole Foods promotions, and free two-day shipping, in case you were wondering about the subscription perks. And when you sign up for Prime now, you can also score a free four-month subscription to Amazon Music.

As the name suggests, Lightning Deals invoke somewhat of a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” feeling, meaning you’ll need to move fast to hit the checkout button. Don’t fret too much if those smart speakers or Apple Airpods Pro sell out, though, since some Lightning Deals make an encore toward the tail end of Prime Day.

If you really have your eye on something (and we mean like really, really), you might find it helpful to curate a wish list ahead of time. You can then set up push notifications in the Amazon app in case they turn out to be Lightning Deals. Just a thought!

Will there be competitor sales during Amazon Prime Day?

Yay, capitalism! Multibrand retailers including Target, Walmart, and Best Buy have dropped early-bird promos of their own—and popular brands like Dyson and Nespresso have equally tempting offers on their websites.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals from previous years

In the last few years, Prime Day has emerged as a strong contender for home and tech deals you’d otherwise snap up during the holiday season. (Think Vitamix blenders, Apple Macbooks and iPads, Ring doorbell cameras, and all the Alexas and Amazon Echo Dots your home can sustain.) And with many of us continuing to study or work from home for the foreseeable future, we expect to see the same range of Prime Day sales up for grabs—think gadgets and anything else you might need to make yours a smart home.

If you’re curious about what specific products were trending last year, here’s a snapshot of what people added to cart: e-readers and Fire tablets, wireless vacuums, blenders, smartphones, and smart TVs (or their cousins, like the Amazon Fire TV Stick). Bundle deals also turned out to be crazy popular, with many customers-turned-subscribers signing up for free trials of Kindle Unlimited and Audible books. (Makes sense, right? How else are you going to use your new Amazon devices?)

Can’t wait to start filling your cart? Check out these 14 early Prime Day deals, below.