Amazon Prime Day is arguably one of the most confusing shopping holidays in existence. It’s not even a “day”—the members-only event spans 48 hours. Amazon also promises “millions of deals,” but the displayed discounts are often misleading—or outright false. Some deals are actually available to people who don’t subscribe to Prime. Add in the frenzy of limited-time Lightning Deals and you’ve got a recipe perfect for spending too much money.

Fear not! We’re here to help. WIRED’s Gear team is familiar with common shopping pitfalls, and I’ve been a deals writer for nearly a decade. What time do sales start and end? How do you tell whether a deal is actually a deal? We pooled our collective knowledge to get you prepared for Amazon Prime Day.

Updated June 2024: We’ve updated this story with the official Amazon Prime Day dates, which are July 16 and 17, 2024.

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When Is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon has officially announced Prime Day will be held on July 16 and 17, 2024. It will begin at 3 am ET (12 am PT) and run for 48 hours.

When Do Prime Day Deals Start?

The event officially begins at 3 am Eastern time and runs for 48 hours. WIRED will cover the best Prime Day deals from both Amazon and retailers that have competing sales. Some deals and sales will begin ahead of the official start time. (We’ll be covering those too.)

Are Prime Day Deals Only for Prime Members?

Officially, yes. You must be an Amazon Prime member to shop for Amazon’s Prime Day deals. There is a free 30-day trial available for new accounts. (Prime membership comes with a lot of perks, and we’ve rounded up all of them here.) The trial will let you get in on the sale—just remember to cancel your membership to avoid any subsequent renewal charges.

There are some discounts available if you’re not a subscriber (those deals might not be that great). But other major retailers like Best Buy and Target usually hold concurrent sales during Prime-exclusive sales events. Their prices are often close to what Amazon is offering on the same products, and sometimes they match the price. This is a good way to take part in the Prime Day Sale if you don’t want to support Amazon.

Walmart is launching a rival Walmart+ Plus Week sales event for members, running June 17–23, 2024. Like Amazon Prime, Walmart+ gives you free express delivery and some other perks, but costs just $98 per year. The deals include 20 cents off a gallon of gas at Exxon & Mobil stations nationwide, so you could pay off your entire annual Walmart+ membership by buying just 490 gallons of gas!