What to buy (and what not to buy) on Amazon Prime Day 2020 in Canada
For more Prime Day sales, deals and must-haves, check out all of our coverage here.
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Amazon Prime Day is touted one of the largest online shopping events, growing to new records every year. Typically, the event occurs mid-July, but like everything else this year, things are a little different because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the event is scheduled for Oct. 13 to 14, bring this massive shopping event closer to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the larger holiday shopping season. With many families social distancing, this is a great chance to get ahead on shopping while leveraging Amazon Prime to deliver to relatives far and near.
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Planning your shopping is key, with the number of shopping events offering varying deals leading up to the holidays—especially if you’re looking to bank in on some great deals! Yes, you will see thousands of “deals,” but some are truly deals while others are slight markdowns. As a great starting point, to take advantage of Prime Day, you’ll need a subscription to Amazon Prime—you can sign up for a 30-day trial here.
Prime Day deals to keep an eye on
Historically, Prime Day offers excellent deals on technology like Amazon’s in-house devices. From the Amazon Echo Dot and line of Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon Kindle, Ring Doorbells, Blink smart cameras and monitoring, and Eero Wi-Fi mesh network, this can be a great opportunity to amp up your tech—especially with more of us working and studying from home nowadays. The retailer will likely offer discounts on their house devices as the smart home wars heat up with Google.
Other historic Prime Day deals were found in the small home appliance space, with significant discounts available for items like the Instant Pot DUO, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, and 23andMe health and ancestry kits.
4KTVs
The trend continues. Prime Day has a wide-range of 4K televisions across manufactures big and small, like Samsung, LG, Vizio and TCL. Previous years have seen significant discounts on that front, especially previous-generation models, and with Amazon Prime, setup is easy with delivery straight to your door.
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Look out for previous-gen tech
Older-generation devices are a great way to save as stores and manufacturers try to sell their inventory to make room for newer tech. Cycles for each product vary, so doing your homework in that area is smart so you’re aware whether you’re about to buy something that’s about to get refreshed—if that’s something that matters. Apple and Samsung just released new mobile devices and computers, so this could be a great chance to cash in on some savings if you’re looking for a previous-generation unit.
Support local small businesses
New this year, Amazon.ca has revealed a new storefront aimed at featuring Canadian small businesses coast-to-coast. There, you can find over 70 small business owners and on Prime Day, exclusive deals will be extended to Prime members. Even better, narrow local finds down to women-owned creators, innovators and handmakers, and family-focused items while curated collections include Home & Kitchen, Jewelry, Electronics, Sports & Outdoors, Beauty & Grooming, Toys & Game, Pet Supplies and Grocery.
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15% off select DIY cocktail kits and kombucha kits from The Cocktail Box Co. (Vancouver, B.C.)
20% off select product from GoGo Quinoa, like this Gluten Free Organic Rice & Red Quinoa Macaroni and Gluten Free Sriracha Puffs (Montreal, Que.)
35% of all products from LAMOSE, like this Insulated Wine Tumbler and 24 Hour Insulated Water Bottle (Calgary, Alta.)
20% off select premium luggage from CHAMPS (Montreal, Que.)
Up to 39% off select products from IMGadget, like this Gyrocopter PRO All-Terrain Hoverboard (Mississauga, Ont.)
20% off select souvenirs and funny gifts from Main and Local, like this Poutine Candle, Ketchup Chip Socks and Curling Rock Ceramic Coffee Mug (Montreal, Que.)
20% off select raw pure Canadian honey products from Drizzle (Calgary, Alta.)
Save up $14 on the Canine Breed Identification Test Kit from DNA My Dog and $15 on the Environment Allergy & Food Sensitivity Test (Dog) from Allergy Test My Pet (Toronto, Ont.)
20% off baby toys from Boxiki, like this Piano and Learning Tool and this ABC Sound Book (Vancouver, B.C.)
40% off feel good games from Totem (Chicoutimi, Que.)
20% off Live Kombucha Scoby from Karma Cultures (Calgary, Alta.)
20% off select outdoor accessories from LUPA, like this Extreme Cold Fleece Beanie and Classic Cuff Beanie (Montreal, Que.)
35% off the Leather Bones Dog Collar and 50% off the Spiked Leather Dog Collar from Angel Pet Supplies Inc. (Toronto, Ont.)
Save up to $50 on Smart Thermostats from Mysa (St. John’s, Nfld.)
20% off this kid’s Walrus Hand Puppet handmade in Canada from Cate & Levi (Toronto, ON)
20% off Rose Gold, White Marble and Dark Bronze Silicone Wedding Rings from Knot Theory (Vancouver, B.C.)
20% off Organic Rose Hip Oil and Organic Moringa Elixir from Fronaturals (Calgary, Alta.)
Check the price history
For people who question whether retailers hike prices on popular items before dropping them on Black Friday to call them “deals” should check out CamelCamelCamel.com. It’s a great website or Google Chrome extension that’s compatible with Amazon.ca, allows you to create a Price Drop Alert on items you are watching closely, view price history charts, and sort top price drops that you can take advantage of right now.
ALSO SEE: These are the most wished for items in Canada to add to cart ahead of Amazon Prime Day
Another tip to help make shopping easier is to add the items you want to a wishlist. On Prime Day, easily track prices changes to decide whether the deal is worth the purchase.
What to wait for
Amazon is likely to reserve some of the best deals for Prime Day. That doesn’t mean you won’t see great savings on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but if you’re looking to save on Amazon-exclusive items, Prime Day could be the perfect opportunity to jump on the purchase.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday will mean extensive savings on products across all retailers, so items that are traditionally door crashers, like older-model computers, TVs, and home appliances could see blowout deals later on. Black Friday is also typically when extended holiday return policies kick in, so if you aren’t sure about a holiday purchase, you have the flexibility to return up into the new year.
Other timed deals and outlets
Online retailers like Amazon can retain you on their website longer if they can offer you better deals throughout Prime Day. Lightning Deals are found on the Today’s Deals page, so make sure to look at Amazon.ca to see rotating timed deals and upcoming deals to visit back to unlock. It’s a way for retailers to keep you shopping longer, but also a great way to access unique deals that aren’t available elsewhere.
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