prime day

The 13 Early Prime Day Deals Worth Your Time (So Far)

saved
Comment
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Retailer

Last week, Amazon officially announced the dates for Prime Day. (You can read my explainer on the sale here.) This year’s sales bonanza will take place from Tuesday, July 8 at 3 a.m. ET to Saturday, July 12 at 2:59 a.m. ET. That’s double the length of last year’s sale. And in keeping with the “more the merrier” theme, Amazon started dropping early deals last week.

Amazon is flagging items in its deals section as a “limited time deal” or “with Prime.” Since everything under these labels could be considered an early Prime Day deal, I have stuck mostly to Strategist-approved items that are marked down to extra-good prices. So far, it’s mostly tech (especially Amazon-brand tech), but I found a few expert-approved pillows and well-priced summer essentials in the mix today. I’ll be keeping tabs on the actually good deals I spot below, so check back often for new finds.

Amazon Fire TV 50” Omni Series 4K UHD
Saved
View
Photo: Retailer

No surprises here: Most of the extra-early deals are on Amazon’s own tech devices. The Fire TVs are a good bet since they don’t often go on sale outside of Prime Day or Black Friday.

Hisense 43-Inch Class A4 Series FHD 1080p Smart Fire TV
Saved
View

My friend texted me recently to ask if I thought Hisense TVs would be on sale for Prime Day, so I’m feeling vindicated that I was correct in assuming they would. I find these are pretty good TVs if you’re on a budget!

Blink Outdoor 4 - 3 Camera System
Saved
View
$100

Home-security gear isn’t cheap, but bundles help. Right now, you can get a whopping 62 percent off a three-pack of Blink’s outdoor cameras, which have motion detection, two-way audio, and up to two years of battery life.

Read more: Best Home-Security Cameras

Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus
Saved
View
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus
$55
$55

If you’re deeply embedded in the Amazon ecosystem and want a way to access it all without opening your laptop, Amazon’s Fire tablet is a cost-effective option. When former Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn reviewed it, he called it a “portal to Amazon’s services” that also has easy access to Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and the like. It’s definitively not on the same level as an Apple tablet, but for $55, it’s a great option for travel or kids.

Dyson V8 Plus Cordless Vacuum
Saved
View
Dyson V8 Plus Cordless Vacuum
$350
$350

This is a fairly standard — but still good — sale price on a Dyson. The V8 is a previous model of the brand’s cordless stick vacuum (and it was once our favorite lightweight cordless vacuum, before Dyson released a newer model), but it’s still incredibly powerful and well-engineered, and now just $350.

Jackery Explorer 240 v2 Portable Power Station
Saved
View
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 Portable Power Station
Saved
View

Jackery makes some of the best portable power stations — good for charging and power on the go, like when camping, but also for electrical outages (such as, say, during a heat wave). One of its cheapest options, the 240 v2, can charge your phone, laptop, or speaker from five different ports, including AC and USB, and it’s $60 off. But for even more power (and a much bigger discount), the 2000 v2 can power home appliances like a coffee maker or even a refrigerator thanks to a 2,000-watt output — and it’s $600 off, a discount of 40 percent.

Read more: The Best Survival Tools

Hisense Medium Room Window Air Conditioner
Saved
View

Speaking of summer heat waves, here’s a small but timely discount: Our favorite affordable window AC unit is $50 off right now. It’s a bit louder and less efficient than some of our other picks, but senior writer Michael Zhao says it’s “still very quiet and packs a lot of features into a sub-$300 AC.”

Read more: The Best Window AC Units

Coleman Utopia Breeze Beach Sling Chair
Saved
View

Also good in a heat wave: a beach chair. We spotted this one from heritage outdoor brand Coleman for just $32. It’s got a drink holder, a back pocket for storage, and it packs up into a small sling bag for easy carrying (it weight just over five pounds).

Coop Sleep Goods Eden Adjustable Pillow
Saved
View
From $84

There are a couple good pillow deals right now. First, our favorite adjustable cooling pillow is 20 percent off. It’s filled with crosscut memory foam, which sleep writer Amelia Jerden says “produces more evenly sized chunks for an ever-so-slightly more consistent feel.” The gel infusion in memory foam and a mesh gusset allow for a little more airflow, too.

Read more: The Best Cooling Pillows

Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Cloud Pillow
Saved
View
Tempur-Pedic Symphony Pillow
Saved
View

Two expert-approved Tempur-Pedic pillows are on sale right now. The Tempur-Cloud is our best overall memory-foam pillow thanks to its versatility (“It’s surprisingly comfortable whether you’re sleeping on your back, side, or stomach,” Jerden says) and dense contouring foam that provides neck support and cushioning. It’s close to its lowest price ever today at just $50. But for even more versatility, the Symphony memory-foam pillow has one flat side and one arched side that you can flip over for more or less neck support. It’s over $40 off right now.

Read more: The Best Memory-Foam Pillows

Bagail 4 Set Compression Packing Cubes
Saved
View

For summer travel ahead, a set of no-nonsense packing cubes, recommended by Jewels Rhode of Travel With Jewels, that comes with multiple sizes for trips of any length.

Read more: Everything You Need to Fly Personal-Item Only

What I predict will be on sale for Prime Day

I anticipate many Strategist best sellers will be on sale this year. It’s a good bet that most of the beauty and wellness products we featured last year will be on sale again. It’s also a good time to bookmark big-ticket items, like air purifiers and Vitamixes, as well as daily essentials like teeth whiteners and toothpaste. And the noise-canceling headphones I’ve had for years were under $200 for the first time last year — here’s hoping that’s the case again.

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
Saved
View
Verb Ghost Conditioner
Saved
View
Crest 3D Whitestrips Sensitive - 18 Treatments
Saved
View
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier
Saved
View
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones
Saved
View
Vitamix A2300 Ascent Series Blender
Saved
View

More From The Strategist

See All

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

The 13 Early Prime Day Deals Worth Your Time (So Far)