October Prime Day is a great time to kick off your holiday shopping, but it's also just as good as a time to swipe up extra savings on everyday products and affordable tech. Plus, with other major retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more looking to compete with Amazon, it's truly a shopper's market.
Also: The best October Prime Day deals right now
You don't have to wait to snag savings, thanks to plenty of early deals at major retailers arriving before October Prime Day officially kicks off on Oct. 8 (that's just days away). Here are some of the best anti-Prime Day deals we've found so far.
Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days (a.k.a. October Prime Day) is a two-day sales event for Prime members. This year, sales are live from Tuesday, Oct. 8, through the end of Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Most major retailers, including (but certainly not limited to) Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Costco, BJs, B&H Photo, and more have deals during the week of Prime Day. This is for one major reason: to compete. If they didn't offer the same (or sometimes better) discounts as Amazon, they'd lose many customers. To compete with the e-commerce giant, most other major retailers run similar sales of their own before, after, or during Prime Day. That's why it's key to scour not just one site before making a purchase.
Plus, deals are typically lower at Prime Day across major retailers, especially on big-ticket items like TVs, Amazon products, laptops, and more. It's also a great time to score savings on everyday essentials and products.
For the most part, the majority of retailers already price match or beat Amazon's Prime Day offer price by default to compete with the e-commerce giant. Thanks to competing sales, retailer-specific sale events, and the summer season, it's truly a buyer's market. If a retailer doesn't have the same price as Amazon, many retailers have price-matching policies to explore. It's important to read the fine print on each retailer's policy, but it never hurts to check for a price match.
Popular stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy do offer various forms of price-matching; however, some policies are particularly strict, like Best Buy's. The retailer won't price-match products on sale at competitors during member-exclusive events such as Prime Day.
The best way to take advantage of anti-Prime Day deals is to consult multiple retailers before checking out, research, and of course, stay in the know with ZDNET's Prime Day coverage. Most importantly, though, remember to keep your eyes out for discounts and listing prices. Sometimes, during big savings events, it's hard to tell what's really a "discount."
If you're checking in with all of ZDNET's Prime Day content, don't worry -- we'll be expert-vetting deals to ensure they're worth your money. If you're shopping on your own across retailers, make sure to do some research on historical pricing using tools like Google Shopping.
As a ZDNET editor, I only write about deals myself or a team member would want to buy -- devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. I looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.
I also examined customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals I recommend. These recommendations may also be based on my own testing (or testing by another ZDNET expert) -- in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.
ZDNET's experts are searching through Prime Day sales to find the best discounts by category. These are the best deals so far:
You can also find the best October Prime Day deals by price:
And the best deals from other retailers this week: