
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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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).
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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
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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
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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.
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.
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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.