What to buy and what to skip on Amazon Prime Day: 7 On Your Side

Nina Pineda Image
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Amazon Prime Day: What to buy and what to skip
Nina Pineda reports on one of the biggest cyber shopping events of the year.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- We're just days away from one of the biggest cyber shopping events of the year. The 7th Amazon Prime Day, a two-day event, starts next Monday.

But are the deals really that hot or just hype?

A big tip right off the bat is that you must be a Prime member to take advantage of Amazon Prime. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial and then just cancel it once you make your purchases next week during this 48-hour sale. And a lot of the deals have already dropped.

The site has been pushing minicams and streaming devices, but Nathan Burrow with the New York Times Wirecutter scanned 47,000 Prime Day items last year and only posted about 340 deals. He says this year's even trickier.

"Yes, this goes back to COVID driven shortages and really what happened initially speaking, retailers were trying to maintain the same prices for consumers, but eventually, those hiccups and supply lines. The costs associated with them have been passed down to consumers in many cases," Burrow said.

His advice is to sift through the items carefully. Use a third-party price tracker, and check out the competition on the internet.

Big box stores will be price matching to get in on the action.

Best bets this year include:

- Amazon's Own Devices like Echo, Alexa, and Kindle

- Smart watches

- Small kitchen appliances like instapots, air fryers, and blenders

- Baby gear

- Home security systems

- Robots and stick vacuums

- Post-pandemic grooming gadgets like hairdryers beard trimmers

- Seasonal stuff like bug zappers will be slashed

- There will be a fair amount of deals on electronics like headphones and Bluetooth speakers

Anything with a screen is not a good Prime Day bet, so maybe wait until Black Friday for

High-end laptops and big-screen TVs.

Treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes also remain very expensive.

"If readers and viewers have any takeaway regarding Prime Day, you're looking for the best deals out of a lot of deals. Some are not that great. Take a patient and educated approach when you attack an event like Prime Day," Burrow said.

To support small businesses which sell on the site, you can click on the "Shop Small" link. If you spend $10 between now and June 20 on select small businesses, you'll get $10 to spend on Prime Day.

ALSO READ: How to avoid short-term summer rental scams

7 On Your Side's Nina Pinda helps you get your perfect summer rental without getting scammed.

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