Mark your calendars, ready your holiday wish lists, and set an alarm for 3:01 a.m. EST, or just bookmark this page: Amazon has officially announced that this year’s Prime Big Deal Days (a.k.a. October Prime Day) will run from Tuesday, October 8, through Wednesday, October 9, and we will be covering it all with our trademark obsessiveness.
Ahead of the sale, I’m here to explain what exactly it is and why you should be shopping this October. (Didn’t Prime Day just happen? Yes, it did.) I’ll also be rounding up the best early deals as they appear — they usually start a few weeks out from Prime Big Deal Days — so stay tuned. And to make sure you don’t miss a single good deal, sign up for our email newsletter.
So what is Prime Big Deal Days?
It’s essentially the same concept as Prime Day, but it’s in October instead of July. (A lot of people just call it October Prime Day.) Thousands of items will be discounted for 48 hours, and the deals will be available only to Prime members.
The biggest difference between Prime Big Deal Days and regular old Prime Day is the framing: Amazon touts Prime Big Deal Days as the kickoff to holiday shopping — even though it’s more than six weeks before Black Friday.
This is sounding familiar. Didn’t Amazon do this last October?
Yes, but the sale is fairly new. It started in 2022, when it was called the Prime Early Access Sale (as in early access to holiday deals). Last year, Amazon updated the name to Prime Big Deal Days, and it seems that’s the official name from here on out. (Why it was renamed is a mystery to us all, though I prefer the acronym PBDD to PEAS, for whatever that’s worth.)
What’s going to be on sale?
We don’t know just yet, but as this sale is meant to be a holiday-shopping kickoff, there will likely be lots of gifts and holiday décor in the mix, particularly bigger-ticket beauty tools, artificial Christmas trees, and tons of kids’ toys and games. If last year is any indication, I’m also anticipating a lot of discounts on pillows and bedding and plenty of makeup and skin-care products. As with past Prime Days, there will also probably be discounts on unsexy essentials, like toilet paper and teeth-whitening strips, and, of course, all Amazon devices. Basically, if it was on sale during Prime Day in July, there’s a very good chance it will be on sale again.
Why shouldn’t I just wait until Black Friday to kick off the holiday-shopping season like a normal person?
The main benefit of getting your holiday shopping done this early — besides peace of mind — is avoiding shipping delays and making sure you get the things you actually want before they sell out. And as I’ve covered October Prime Day twice already, I can tell you the discounts I saw during the October sale didn’t get much better on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, so I wouldn’t worry too much about getting duped by a seemingly good deal now only to see it even cheaper later.
Where can I find deals that are actually worth it?
Our big hub o’ deals goes live on Tuesday, October 8, as your cheat sheet for keeping track of the discounts. There will most likely be early deals, too — those usually start a couple of weeks before the sale but really get good only in the week leading up to it. I’ll be rounding up all of those when there are enough good ones to write about. In the meantime, I recommend you sign up for our email newsletter to keep up-to-date on all the best sales, October Prime Day or otherwise.
Do I really need to be a Prime member to get these deals?
Unfortunately, yes. If you aren’t signed up for Prime already, it costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year — and if you’re not ready to fully commit, you can sign up for a week of Prime access for $1.99. Or if you’re really trying to save some cash, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial right now (or any time before October 8. It’ll cover the entirety of Prime Big Deal Days).
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
