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October Prime Day Is Coming. Here’s the Info You Won’t Want to Miss [CNET]

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If you missed Prime Day in July, don’t fret. Amazon’s next massive shopping event is just around the corner. Amazon announced Tuesday that it’s Prime Big Deal Days is set to take place Oct. 8 and 9, starting at 12:01 a.m. PT. Amazon Prime members will be able to shop exclusive offers and steep discounts on thousands of items. If you aren’t yet a Prime member, it may be worth considering, as a subscription will grant you plenty of perks outside of exclusive shopping events and free shipping.

Our CNET experts will be keeping this page updated with the latest news and offers as they come in, including early savings opportunities so that you can cash in on worthwhile bargains, so check back often as we get closer to the main event. Below the top deals listed here, you’ll find answers to some of your burning questions about Prime Big Deal Days 2024.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Best early October Prime Day deals

Echo smart speakers are massively discounted right now and Amazon is throwing in a Sengled smart bulb as well. The Echo Pop and bulb bundle is available for just $25, a 58% discount. Grab a new speaker with Alexa compatibility, or outfit your whole home while multiple items are on sale.

Some of our favorite budget wireless earbuds can be yours with a big discount right now, but make sure to enter the discount code EAP3CNET when checking out to get the best price.

These AirPods, shaped like AirPods Pro, offer great sound quality and up to 6 hours of battery life. They are sweat and water-resistant, ideal for workouts. You can save 23% with this early deal.

This fast 4K streamer is one of our favorite streaming devices. It can support Wi-Fi 6E. You can also live TV without cable or satellite. You can watch free Prime channels as well. And for all games, you can play some Xbox games without the need for the console like Forza Motorsport, Starfield, Palworld and more popular games.

More early deals:

You can also take a look at our roundup of best Amazon deals happening now if these deals don’t catch your eye.

Watch this: Amazon Prime Day 2024: Shopping Tips and Special Deals

What is Prime Big Deal Days?

Amazon’s October Prime Day event is officially called Prime Big Deal Days, but the shopping extravaganza essentially functions as a second Amazon Prime Day event ahead of the holiday season. If you’ve never shopped during a Prime Day sale before, you might be wondering exactly what it entails, so here’s a brief explainer. It’s a two-day Amazon sale that will offer exclusive savings to Amazon Prime subscribers with limited-time offers, flash deals and rock-bottom prices. It’s a rare chance to score Black Friday-level pricing outside of November, so it’s usually well worth shopping. The Prime Big Deal Days event is taking place this year on Oct. 8 and 9.

When is Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days Prime Day 2024?

Amazon’s Prime Day events have expanded over the years, and the Prime Big Deal Days is following last year’s tradition of taking place in October. 

As you can see from the history of Prime Day dates below, Amazon has held its Prime Day sales each July, with just a couple of deviations from that regular schedule. Notably, in 2020, Amazon pushed its Prime Day sale to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before returning the sale to the summer in 2021 in a slightly earlier June spot. Prime Day returned to its July slot for 2022, although Amazon did use October once again for an additional Prime Early Access Sale event that acted as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Last year, it was the same July-October pattern, but Amazon also added a new (not Prime-exclusive) sale for 2024 with the inaugural Amazon Big Spring Sale.

As a reference, here are the Prime Day dates from previous years and includes this year’s events:

  • Prime Day 2015: July 15
  • Prime Day 2016: July 12.
  • Prime Day 2017: July 11 to 12 (first to last longer than one day)
  • Prime Day 2018: July 16 to 17
  • Prime Day 2019: July 15 to 16.
  • Prime Day 2020: Oct. 13 to 14 (delayed by COVID-19 pandemic)
  • Prime Day 2021: June 21 to 22 (the earliest to date)
  • Prime Day 2022: July 12 to 13
  • Prime Early Access Sale 2022: Oct. 11 to 12
  • Prime Day 2023: July 11 to 12
  • Prime Big Deal Days 2023: Oct. 10 to 11
  • Amazon Big Spring Sale: March 20 to 25
  • Prime Day 2024: July 16 to 17
  • Prime Big Deal Days 2024: Oct. 8 to Oct 9

Are Amazon Prime Deal Days deals worth buying?

In short, yes. Thousands of items will see price reductions, with some of the deals returning to or reaching all-time low prices. Because there is no telling how much inventory is available or how long the price cuts will last, you’ll want to act quickly under those circumstances.

When do Prime Big Deal Days deals end?

The Prime Big Deal Days event will last for two days. It usually kicks off at midnight Pacific and ends 48 hours later.

Amazon’s Prime Day and Prime Day-like events haven’t been single-day affairs since 2016, spanning two days for the first time in 2017 and continuing to be 48-hour bonanzas since then. Many of the deals launching at the sale’s opening time will be available throughout the event, supplies permitting, with other, more limited-time Lightning deals launching and expiring within two days. Generally speaking, the deals will end at midnight on Oct. 9 this time around. Some deals may arrive early or linger beyond those set times.

Does Prime Day happen twice a year?

Looking at past years, there has been a second Prime Day-style sale in October for the past two years now. It started in 2022 as the Prime Day Early Access sale. In 2023, the trend continued with the Prime Big Deal Days sale, and now we have confirmation that Amazon will once again utilize this spot on the calendar for a sale Oct. 8 and 9.

How does Prime Big Deal Days work?

The idea behind the sale is pretty simple: Subscribers to Amazon’s Prime service can get exclusive discounts on thousands of products and services across the site during a limited period. The products, while still available to non-Prime members, will have extra savings for members, with many prices dropping down to new all-time lows.

When you’re logged in to your Prime account and looking at a product landing page, you’ll see the discounted price if it’s on sale. You don’t need any special coupon codes, nor is there a need to use a specific payment method to get the discounts. If you spend your money wisely each year, you can easily make back your Prime membership cost in savings during the event.

What products go on sale for Prime Big Deal Days?

Since Amazon sells pretty much everything, its Prime Big Deal Days bonanza features deals on pretty much everything too. Whether you’re shopping for tech, kitchen gear, outdoor furniture or everyday essentials, October Prime Day will offer something in the way of savings for you.

In past sale events, some of the best savings have been on Amazon devices. This includes Kindle readers, Echo speakers, Fire TVs and more. It’s not just Amazon’s own brands that see steep discounts. You will be able to grab great deals across a variety of big-name brands, including significant savings on items like laptopsTVs and fitness gear, to name a few.

Do Prime deals change throughout the day?

Unfortunately, yes. All the deals we listed here, and the rest of the deals on Amazon, are subject to change at any given time before, after and even during the sale event. Here at CNET, we’re constantly going through our pages to make sure that they are updated with the latest prices. However, since prices can change at any time, if you see something you like, we recommend buying it as soon as possible before the price changes, the deal expires or the item becomes unavailable. 

Do you need to be an Amazon Prime member to shop Prime Big Deal Days deals?

Yes, Amazon’s Prime Deal Days sale requires a Prime subscription if you want to nab any of the Prime-exclusive deals. You don’t have to be a paying subscriber, as long as the event falls within your Prime trial period. That means you can start your monthlong trial just before the event and get in on the savings for free. For more info on that, check out our guide to getting Amazon Prime perks without paying for a subscription.

Will other retailers launch anti-Prime Big Deal Days sales?

Each Prime Day event brings with it other retailers announcing sales that directly compete with Amazon’s event, and it will be no different this October, either. We’ll let you know when other retailers announce their anti-Prime Big Deal Days sales.

Do Prime Big Deal Days deals last both days? 

While some will, others won’t. New deals get added regularly, and old ones sell out or get changed. Our CNET experts are monitoring the sale and will keep this page updated throughout the event as deals expire or any new finds crop up, so keep checking back. 

Where can you find deals right now?

The CNET Deals team covers all of the best price drops, discounts and deals daily from all the top retailers. Whether it’s a one-day promo at Woot, a weekend sale at Best Buy or a coupon code for a product at Amazon, if it’s a great deal, we’ll be covering it.

Be sure to check out all of the great deals each day at CNET.com/deals and sign up for our CNET Cheapskate newsletter for a daily digest of deals delivered to your inbox. You can also sign up for CNET Deals text alerts for curated deals during the event, and install our CNET Shopping browser extension to help ensure that purchases you make all year round will be at the lowest price available.