What to buy (and skip) on Prime Day, July 8-11

By Gqlshare Nerdwallet

By Tommy Tindall, NerdWallet

With Prime Day set for July 8-11 this year, you may be making a last-ditch effort to get good deals before prices go up.

Tariffs — and the rising prices that could come with them — are top-of-mind for many consumers, according to the Conference Board’s June Consumer Confidence Index.

But don’t panic buy.

“Power buy” instead, says Katherine Black, partner at global management consulting firm Kearney who leads food, drug and mass market retail.

By that, she means look at product categories that could go up, buy what makes sense for your needs and budget and use the sale to get ahead of upcoming spending cycles.

Here’s a short list of what to buy (and skip), some shopping tips and an idea of what a few of us Nerds are after this Prime Day.

Buy: Back-to-school tech

The Consumer Confidence report says buying plans for electronics are down, but you might want to rethink that.

A power move for Prime Day is to target discounts on back-to-school-related stuff early, says Black.

Your kids may not want notebooks and backpacks yet, but they’re probably down with getting a new laptop or Chromebook, if classes call for one.

Put student-related headphones, smart watches, calculators and items like Apple AirTags on your radar during the sale, too.

Skip: Summer and outdoor goods

Hold off on the summer-themed stuff for now, said Andrea Woroch, a money saving expert who shares budgeting tips on her website, andreaworoch.com, in an email interview.

“You can find clearance sales on summer apparel, outdoor furniture, patio goods, beach items, etc. later in August,” she said.

Buy: Amazon devices

A Prime Day given is good deals on Amazon’s own products.

It’s the best time of the year, other than Black Friday, to buy Echo devices, Fire TV products and tablets and Kindle e-readers, Woroch said.

“Although, we may actually see prices go up slightly around November as tariffs take on a bigger effect,” she added.

The Ring doorbell cameras and Blink smart home security products you see plastered all over your homepage are also Amazon brands, and promise to be on sale.

Skip: Anything that doesn’t feel like a deal

Prices are dynamic these days. Protect yourself from a bad deal by trusting the data over the percent off discount you see displayed (e.g., “lowest price in 30 days”).

Keepa and CamelCamelCamel are two sites you can use to check the price history of products sold on Amazon.

Here’s a prime example of the way it is: The popular Bose QuietComfort bluetooth headphones have a suggested price of $359 (current price on Amazon at the time of writing), but you should never pay that because they’re often on sale for $250. Prime Day may bring even more off.

Buy: Recurring essential items

Replenishing your essentials is a fun way to participate in the sale without going overboard.

Woroch uses Prime Day to stock up on the personal care products she uses all the time.

“This includes everything from makeup to haircare products to toothpaste,” she said.

The “buy it again” tab — which you can find in your Amazon cart — makes it easy to sift through stuff you buy regularly. I’m hoping for a few bucks off electric toothbrush heads and tea tree shampoo during the sale.

Other ideas for rebuys: Pet food and treats, vitamins, socks, light bulbs, batteries, granola bars, printer paper and razors.

Do: Take it slow to buy low this Prime Day

A 96-hour sale leaves a lot of opportunity to impulse buy, but you can use the extra days to your advantage.

“Give yourself as much time as possible, especially if it’s something that’s not on that pre-planned list,” says Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, a shopping and savings strategist at Rakuten.

She recommends the “48-hour rule” — where you put something in your cart, press pause, then come back a couple days later — to allow “that impulse to wear off.”

Try for at least 24 hours if you can. Because going off-script can be a recipe for Prime Day regrets.

Don’t: Get too far ahead of yourself

All the trade war talk can make it tempting to plan purchases way ahead. If you’re good like that go ahead and get your Christmas shopping started over Prime Day.

But just because lots of toys are made in China doesn’t mean you need to buy them all up now, said Woroch.

Feinstein Gerstley agrees that this kind of panic buying can work against you.

“We can’t get everything in advance, and so we don’t want to stress our budget and pre-purchase so many things when we’ll just have to keep buying them at the new rate anyway,” she says.

“Who knows what my kids will be begging for in October?”

Bonus: What we’re saving in our carts right now

A quick poll around the NerdWallet office shows my fellow writers have Prime Day on the mind. Most are playing it cool by placing an item or two in their cart to watch for a price drop when the sale hits.

Writer Kate Ashford is casually watching the Ninja Creami ice cream maker.
Writer Amanda Barroso’s family is ready for the Radio Flyer Voya XT two-seater stroller wagon if the discount is good enough.
Writer Anna Helhoski wants a Nori Press Travel Steam Iron for her time on the road when the price is right.
Editor Karen Gaudette Brewer may splurge on a table tennis table for Prime Day, but … also may not.
As for me, I’m not sure the deals will be good enough, but I’m after an outdoor griddle (because smash burgers are all I see on social media).

Tommy Tindall writes for NerdWallet. Email: ttindall@nerdwallet.com.

The article What to Buy (and Skip) on Prime Day, July 8-11 originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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