When is Amazon Prime Day 2024? Date, start time, what to buy in July

Amazon Prime Day box against blue background
(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Prime Day 2024, is one of the biggest sales events of the year for bargain shoppers. July is nearly upon us and while summer savings are off to a great start, the best deals of the season are yet to come.

If you plan to shop this year's Prime Day sale, chances are you're wondering: When is Prime Day 2024? 

Amazon Prime Day deals start on July 16 at 12:01 a.m. PT and run through July 17, as announced by the online retail giant Tuesday. However, Prime members don't have to wait. Early Prime-exclusive deals on select Amazon Devices, Amazon MusicPrime Gaming, and more are available now. 

For example, you can get the Sony WH-CH520 for a record-low price of $35.99 (55% off) with Prime. This invite-only Prime Day deal goes live on July 16-17. You can request an invite now and if selected, you'll receive an email to access this deal during Prime Day. Quantities are limited so don't hesitate too long to smash that request invite button.

If you haven't already, join Amazon Prime now to nab this unbeatable discount and similar deals like this during Prime Day. Amazon offers a 30-day free trial so there's no risk. You may cancel or pause your Prime membership at any time. After the trial ends and if you decide to continue, you may choose to pay either $139 for a one-year membership or $14.99 monthly.

What should I buy during Prime Day? 

Just about everything is on sale during Prime Day so you might be wondering "What should I buy during Prime Day?"  

Next to Black Friday, Prime Day is the best time of the year to snag huge discounts on all things tech, including back-to-school essentials. Expect the best summer discounts on laptops, peripherals, tablets, headphones, and wearables. Outside of Black Friday, Prime Day is also a great time to buy a game console, rack up video games, and score a sweet price break on a gaming headset, mouse, and keyboard. 

Laptops: Many laptops for every use case go on sale for Prime Day. So, if you want a new daily driver for back-to-school, remote work, or gaming, it's one of the best times of the year to upgrade.

Last year, we saw deep discounts on machines from top-rated laptop brands Apple, Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung. This year's Prime Day laptop deals will offer more of the same. 

Amazon's Prime Day sale generally has excellent discounts on gaming notebooks. It's a great opportunity to save on gaming-specific laptops through Acer, Asus, Alienware, Gigabyte, HP's Omen series, MSI, and Razer.

Apple products: Prime Day is the precursor to back-to-school season and one of the best times of the year to buy Apple products. So, if you’re looking for a price break on a MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, or AirPods, Prime Day is your golden ticket to significant savings. 

This is the time of the year when we see the lowest price on almost every device in Apple’s ecosystem. Expect discounts on various models of the latest MacBook M3 notebook and previous-gen MacBook M2 notebooks. We’ll keep a close on potential early back-to-school deals from the Apple Education Store. Apple may bring back the deal where it bundled free AirPods or a gift card as with purchasing a MacBook or iPad. 

Amazon devices: Amazon Prime Day deals typically offer the lowest prices of the year on Alexa-enabled devices. Amazon’s early discounts slash up to 47% off select new and refurbished Amazon hardware, including Fire tablets, intelligent displays, Fire TVs, and Fire TV stick streaming devices. 

Prime Day Kindle deals will also be on the menu, which is especially welcome since these popular eReaders rarely see a significant discount. Every Kindle model will be on sale for Prime Day, from the excellent Paperwhite to the latest Kindle  Scribe. Prime Day is one of the best times of the year to buy a Kindle outside of Black Friday, typically when they typically drop to an all-time low price. 

Sometimes, Prime Day deals undercut or match prices we typically see only during the holidays. 

How do I shop for Amazon Prime Day deals?

Make a List: When shopping on Prime Day, it’s a good idea to make a list of what you want to buy. Just like you make a shopping list when grocery shopping, you can make a list for Prime Day. 

You can create lists on Amazon on your laptop's web browser or using Amazon's dedicated shopping app on your tablet or phone. 

Some Prime Day deals are so tempting that they may trigger impulse shopping. You’ll want to set a budget to ensure you don’t overspend. When you see an item you wish to buy, we recommend you compare prices across retailers to be sure you’re getting the best price.

Track prices: While we’re comparing prices, Camelcamelcamel is a free Amazon price tracker that offers comprehensive details about price history. For example, a search for the MacBook Air M3 shows that it sold on Amazon for as low as $899 within the past month. 

With Prime Day being known to offer the best summer savings, we can see this all-time low-price return for Prime Day.  

Do I need Amazon Prime to shop deals?

Anyone can shop on Amazon.com during Prime Day and any other day of the year. However, Amazon reserves many of its best deals for its loyal Prime members.  

Join Amazon Prime to shop invite-only Prime Exclusive deals and Prime Early Access deals. Amazon offers a 30-day free trial so you can test the waters before you decide to commit fully. You can pause or cancel your membership anytime, so there's no risk. 

Prime member or not, if you're frugal or want to beat the back-to-school rush, Prime Day 2024 is one sale you don't want to miss. 

Don't want to wait? Shop the best summer deals today with our pre-Amazon Prime Day deals roundup.

Hilda Scott

Hilda Scott uses her combined passion for gadgets and bargain shopping to bring you the best prices on all things tech. She has a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies from Hunter College and 11 years of tech and entertainment journalism. Her work has been featured on Tom’s Guide, iTechPost, Examiner.com, Parlemag, Enstars, and Latin Times. When she's not scouting for the best deals, Hilda’s catching up on her favorite TV shows and pro-wrestling matches.