What is Amazon Prime & When is Prime Day 2024?

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What is Amazon Prime and when does Prime Day 2024 start? This two-day shopping event is only for Prime members with tons of great deals. Don't miss it!

1. What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is an Amazon subscription service. It provides members with special shopping, video, reading and entertainment options, as well as discounts and other benefits.

2. What are the benefits of Amazon Prime?

An Amazon Prime subscription comes with a variety of benefits, but its key benefit is free two-day shipping. Prime members can also share their membership with other family members easily.

RetailCoupons.com listed the Prime membership features you should be aware of below:

2.1 Unlimited reading

Members may read more than 3000+ magazines, novels, and other books for free. You can access this service via the Kindle and Fire tablets, as well as any iOS or Android device that has the Kindle app installed.

2.2 Streaming of movies and television shows is unlimited.

Prime Video allows you to watch thousands of TV episodes and movies at no extra costs. Members can also pay extra to subscribe to networks like HBO and Showtime.

2.3 Unlimited music streaming

With Amazon Music Prime, you can listen to over 2 million songs and explore Prime Playlists ad-free. Prime users may also save money on Amazon Music Unlimited, which offers over 100 million tracks.

2.4 Prime Day and Prime Early Access are both available.

This is a different benefit of Prime members. You can shop and save more money at yearly Prime Day with a thousand hot deals. Throughout the remainder of the year, you could get access to Lightning Deals 30 minutes before non-Prime members.

2.5 Whole Foods coupons

Prime members receive an additional 10% off eligible sale products at Whole Foods Market, both in-store and online.

2.6 Games for free

You get free PC games and in-game stuff, as well as a monthly Twitch channel subscription, with Prime Gaming.

2.7 Unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos at no costs

You get unlimited photo storage and 5 GB of video storage. In addition, your photographs will be backed up using the Amazon photographs app, which you can view from your computer as well as your mobile device.

2.8 Free same-day delivery

Prime members can receive free same-day delivery on more than 1 million products. The requirement is that their order has to value at least $35, as well as 1- and 2-hour delivery with Prime Now (available in certain locations) on tens of thousands of items.

3. How much does an Amazon Prime membership cost?

The cost of an Amazon Prime subscription varies by plan, but you can try a free plan for 30 days first before deciding to use a premium membership plan.

Here are Amazon Prime payment plans and how much it cost:

  • Monthly membership: it costs $14.99/ month.
  • Yearly membership: it costs $139/ year in total.
  • Video membershipit costs $8.99/ month.
  • Student membership: it costs $69 per year (or $7.49 per month). You can also get a 6-month free trial.

4. How to sign up for Amazon Prime

How to sign up for Amazon Prime

If you are not using Amazon Prime within a year, you could join Prime members for a free 30-day trial. Here is the step-by-step to do it:

  • Visit www.amazon.com/amazonprime
  • To begin your free 30-day trial, click the orange icon that reads "Start your free 30-day trial."
  • Sign in or up for an Amazon account.
  • Fill in the payment method and billing address.
  • Click the yellow icon labeled "Activate your free trial."

Following the expiration of your trial period, your account will be upgraded automatically to a premium membership plan.

5. What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is a two-day yearly discount event for Prime subscribers. It offers incredible discounts on hundreds of items in every product category, from electronics and appliances to home goods and apparel.

In 2015, it was first promoted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amazon as an event that has more deals than Black Friday. In the following years, it changed into a 48-hour event preceded by a week of preview offerings.

Prime Day is a fantastic opportunity to save big on items you've been eyeing, as well as to discover new products. That’s why in 2022, Prime Day produced nearly $11 billion in sales, making it the second-largest shopping day in history.

6. What's new or different about Prime Day this year?

This year, Amazon is releasing a new program for Prime Day, and this is “invite-only”.

If you are a Prime member, you can visit these products' listings to request an invitation to join the event. If chosen, you'll receive an email with a unique link to buy the item during Prime Day

7. When is Amazon Prime Day 2023?

When is Amazon Prime Day 2023?

The start day of Amazon Prime Day 2023 is on Tuesday, July 11 at 3 AM ET and runs through Wednesday, July 12. In general, deals about Amazon's own products on Prime Day have begun 48 to 72 hours before the official start date.

You can also see more early discounts from Amazon which are now pushing to appear as early as July 8 and 9. Prime Day will begin extremely early on July 11 and will feature waves of offers, some with limited inventory, throughout the day, in addition to all-day savings.

8. How to find the best Prime Day deals?

According to Amazon, if you want to save big on Prime Day 2023, here's how you can get started before and during the event:

  • You must have an Amazon Prime account.
  • Allow alerts after downloading the Amazon Prime app.
  • You can receive customized push notifications about updates on your recently seen products throughout the event by configuring alerts through the app.

If you have Alexa, you can use it to set up a notification about products on sale on Prime Day! The gadget will alert you to offers on items in your basket, wish list, or "saved for later" area up to 24 hours before they become available.

9. How are Prime Day deals organized?

Amazon offers a variety of deals that last variable amounts of time. You will only receive the discount if you place a purchase during the event while the deal is available.

Prime Day offers are often divided into two categories:

  • Lightning Deals: These deals are one-time on select goods that are only available for a limited time. They often last a few hours or until the item is sold out. New Lightning Deals appear every five minutes or so.
  • Deals of the Day: These offers are only valid for 24 hours. They usually highlight Amazon's best-selling items. As a result, many of the offers accessible on the first day of the sale may not be available on the second day.

10. FAQs about Amazon Prime Day

Is Amazon Prime Day worth it?

Yes, Amazon Prime Day is really worth it. It is one of the biggest sale events in a year with thousands of products on sale. Maybe not all of them will catch your interest, but this event gives many best deals for Prime subscribers to shop.

Especially on this two-day sale event, Amazon items such as Kindles, Fire TVs, and Echo gadgets often have the lowest prices. Aside from that, you'll discover discounts on household staples, cosmetic items, gadgets, and more.

Is Amazon Prime Day 2 times a year?

No, Amazon Prime Day generally happens only once a year. However, the year of 2022 is an exception. This is because Amazon held their event called Prime Early Access Savings for the first time, usually known as Prime Day 2.

Are Prime Day deals the same on both days?

No, it’s not the same. Amazon publishes thousands of deals over the two-day Prime Day event. Some deals are available on both days, but others sell out immediately. If you shopped on Prime Day's first day, you may expect a new batch of offers on the second day.

Can you return Amazon Prime Day deals?

Yes, Prime Day deals can be returned. Amazon's return policy for Prime Day purchases is the same as it is for any other day of the year. Most purchases, including Amazon gadgets, can be returned within 30 days.

However, certain things cannot be returned, such as groceries and gift cards, so check the tiny print carefully. 

Can you shop on Prime Day without being a Prime member?

No, you have to be a Prime member to catch the best deals on Prime Day events. However, you can use a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime around the event. Remember to cancel it as soon as the promotion finishes to avoid being charged.

What does Prime mean in Amazon items?

If you see the Prime badge on products, that means Amazon is committed to fulfilling orders with One-Day and Two-Day Delivery for Prime members at no additional cost.

Now you know everything about Amazon Prime & Amazon Prime Day, right? About what it is, what benefits it brings to you and when does it start to be ready for shopping? If you are still concerned about this event, leave the comment below and RetailCoupons.com will try our best to help you.

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Elissa Sanci
Elissa Sanci
Elissa Sanci is the Founder of RetailCoupons.com. She used to study at Santa Barbara City College, a famous public school in California with many diverse training professions, and she majored in horticulture.