I can’t hide it – I’m an Amazon junkie! So I’m going to share my best practices for Amazon Prime Day 2023!
You might wonder how I, as a small business owner, could give my money to a monopoly like Amazon. I do my share of shopping with friends who have businesses. Danah calls it her social networking business. I call it direct sales. It’s all the same. It’s a person you know, or come to know, who sells a product and earns a commission on their sales. I still do my fair share of this kind of shopping!
But please don’t beat me up for my Amazon habit! Did you know that over 50% of everything sold on Amazon comes from small and medium-sized businesses? People just like you and me can sell on Amazon!
With that being said, I am going to share my favorite Amazon items and how to shop Amazon Prime Day 2023! While I don’t sell on Amazon, I do have an affiliate link, so anything you look at might give me a small kickback. As a matter of fact, just by entering Amazon through the links I’m going to share, if you make a purchase, even if it’s not what I’ve shared, I should still get a commission for sending you into the Amazon abyss!
What is Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is an exclusive event for Amazon Prime members. The first Prime Day was on July 15, 2015, on Amazon’s 20th anniversary. It was started as a way to celebrate Prime members, and IMO, has grown into a holiday of sorts. It’s the official start of my Christmas shopping, as I usually find at least 1 deal for the kids that I just can’t pass up!
When is Prime Day 2023?
Amazon Prime Day 2023 is Tuesday and Wednesday, July 11th and 12th. It’s 48 hours, from 12 am on the 11th, until 11:59 pm on the 12th. If you’re reading this after 2023, it’s pretty easy to Google search and find the dates!
Amazon Prime Membership
You have to be an Amazon Prime member. You can pay monthly, or annually, which gets you a discount. At the time of writing this, the monthly membership is $14.99 USD/month, or $139 annually. There are ways to get discounts, like with your Snap/Link card, or student discounts.
The list of benefits is so long! There are delivery benefits, streaming and digital benefits, shopping benefits, reading benefits, and more. Free shipping and access to Prime Video are my top favorite perks. But while looking for this list, a free year of Grubhub+ caught my eye!
If you’re not a member yet, you can go here to get started!
What I buy on Amazon
I buy everything from toys to clothes and electronics. My hobby is jewelry making and I have found some of my best supplies on Amazon, like zippers and swivel clips! This leather tassel end cap is used in my most popular Etsy item!
The last thing I bought on Amazon is an LED Night Light. We had one that I bought a few years ago and Ethan recently found that one. So I had to get another one for Zander. I searched and could have gotten the exact same one but decided that a different one would be better to avoid confusion about who’s is who’s!
Earlier this summer, I bought a couple of different swimsuits! I love this flowy swim top! I’m not a huge fan of clothes shopping, but if you can think it, you can search it, and you can likely find several options! What I love about it is the ease of returns. It took us 3 tries to find the right size of shoes for Ana’s first communion.
Electronics on Amazon
Kids’ tablets. ‘Nuff said! I’d have to count how many of the Fire tables I’ve bought over the years due to kids getting older and getting upgrades. I’ve claimed the free warranty return a couple of times and that worked well. Most recently, I traded in an old tablet for a discount on a new one. I usually wait for Black Friday deals, or Prime Day (duh!) to get the best deals. Remember to get the screen protectors too!
If you’re like me, you want to talk hands-free. Like I need both hands free to think straight, lol. I found Amazon to be the best (easiest) place to get Bluetooth earpieces. I like this brand and style, but I usually can find one that costs about half of this. This IS the last one I got, but the sound quality isn’t great. Hopefully I can get a new one this year on Prime Day! 🤞
I have gotten a couple of different sets of earbuds, only multiple for having lost a pair. Interestingly, I found that I can use just 1 earbud for phone calls! So this is my current favorite! Oh, and it’s actually on sale right now!
Amazon around home
You need to organize? Check out Amazon for home organizing ideas. I decided I needed something for mail and bills that need to be paid. I searched for “mail organizing caddy” and then “farmhouse mail organizer wall mount” and this is the one I ended up with. But there are so many cute options! I picked this one because it’s a nice price point, plus I wanted hooks.
I have also ordered larger home items, like a writing desk and storage cubbies. The desk I have is no longer available, but I like this writing desk for Ana’s room!
Amazon for business
Clearly, the desk and Bluetooth can be considered “business” essentials for me. And the craft supplies are my small business supplies. I have gotten other items like paper and pens. At one time, composition notebooks were part of my client organization plan, where I had a different notebook for each client. I got this laptop elevation stand to keep my laptop off the table. The added space underneath it was an added bonus.
Most interestingly, when preparing the write this post, I stumbled across AWS, or Amazon Web Services. I will go into this in more detail in a different post. (watch for the link to appear here!)
Tips for shopping Prime Day
I highly recommend making a list or a budget, or both. Having both a list and a budget will keep you from getting things that you don’t really need. If you’re keeping an eye out for toys or possibly Christmas gifts, ask your kids ahead of time what’s new and hot. You don’t want to get it if it was last year’s “it thing”.
Put an alarm on your phone. I would look the days leading up to it to see what promotions they have going on. I have read that starting on July 3rd, you can purchase $50 Amazon Gift Card for yourself and you’ll receive a $5 credit. It doesn’t seem like much, but that’s like saving an additional 10%. And if you know you’re going to spend it, it doesn’t hurt to save a little more!
Will you be shopping on Amazon Prime Day 2023? I hope you found this helpful! Let us know what you’re watching for (or what you get) at this year’s Amazon Prime Day shopping event!