How to Shop October Prime Day 2025, According to Our Deals Editor
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I began working at the Strategist in early September 2022, just a few weeks before Amazon’s first-everOctober Prime Day— or as it was called during its initial year, “Prime Early Access Sale.” I’ve since covered three October Prime Days and three regular Prime Days (including thefour-day sales bonanza that was this year’s July Prime Day), so I feel pretty confident in saying I know how to get the most out of shopping the sale, from which “early deals” are worth it to which deals you might find at an even cheaper price during Black Friday.
Below, I’ve racked my deals-obsessed brain and come up with a list of tips, including which categories have the best deals, which you can safely skip, which deals tend to sell out fastest, and more.
Treat so-called “early deals” with caution
I’malreadykeeping tabs on thebest early October Prime Day dealsto shop (they started extra-early this year), but they’ve been very carefully selected based on my experience covering these sales. Amazon always discounts some of its in-house tech before the sale begins, and the deals don’t get better once Prime Day begins, so I always recommend grabbing those things now if you want them. (Interestingly, those deals haven’t started quite yet, but I’ll be adding them to my roundup when they do.) Other brands are trickier because sometimes the discount will get deeper once the sale begins. If I haven’t featured it in my roundup, it’s probably safest to wait.
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There are already a few good deals from Shark, which is one of our top-recommendedvacuum(and other floor-cleaning) brands. Forty percent off is a great discount no matter when it’s offered.
October Prime Day deals aren’t that different from July Prime Day deals
The main difference between the two is October Prime Day is billed as a kickoff to the holiday shopping season (July is just a big summer sale). That means you’ll find a lot of gift-y items, especially toys, in the upcoming sale. Beyond that, it’s a lot of the same deals on the same products. So before the sale starts, I suggest taking a look atour past Prime Day coverageand seeing what catches your eye. About 80 to 90 percent of those products will also be on sale in October, and at a similar, if not identical, discount. If anything catches your eye, use ourproduct-save toolto save them to yourNew Yorkaccount so you can easily see if anything’s on sale come October Prime Day.
Big-ticket kitchen items are a good place to start
In general, Prime Day is a good time to get more expensive products in any category, but especially in thekitchencategory. You’ll find the best deals of the year on things likeblendersand coffee machines — including some of thebest deals you’ll ever see on Vitamixes.
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During July’s Prime Day, our favorite fancycoffee makerwas the lowest price we’d seen all year at half off (!). Hopefully it’ll be back on sale again this time around. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out.
Same goes for tech …
… Especially if you’re in the market for something from Amazon’s in-house brands. I waited for months to buy myKindleduring 2023’s October Prime Day, when I knew it would be on sale — and it was even more discounted than I expected it to be.Apple productsarealwaysdiscounted, too, including headphones, AirTags, and watches, all typically for better prices than you’ll normally find. And since the theme of October Prime Day is holiday shopping, you’ll find plenty of giftable items in the tech category, likespeakersandgaming consoles.
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AirPods go on sale throughout the year, but they’re usually a touch cheaper during Prime Days. And given Apple just released a newer model of AirPods, we suspect the older models will be even cheaper this October Prime Day.
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Another heavy hitter: My beloved Bose headphones usually go under $200 for Prime Day.
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This little airplane device(which makes a great gift) almost never goes on sale, but it was on sale for $39 in July. Not a huge discount, but just about the best you’ll ever get.
Vacuum deals are abundant
We always see dozens ofvacuums on sale during Prime Dayfrom some of our favorite brands, like Dyson and Shark.
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A Strategist-approvedwet-dry vacuumthat can handle cereal spills was $200 off in July.
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This delightfulupholstery cleaneris always at its best price on Prime Day (that is, under $90).
Pay careful attention when searching for fashion deals
The Prime Day fashion deals can be really good, but there’s a lot of junk you have to wade through to find them. I suggest checking outShopbop’s storefront, where you can find a variety of designer and designer-adjacent apparel that has a good amount of stock (with no junk in the mix).
But no matter where you’re finding the fashion deals, be aware that the discount will vary by size and color. Oftentimes, a shirt is half off in one color and full price in another, or a pair of shoes is $50 off in size 8 but only $30 off in size 9. I have absolutely no idea why, but it’s something to note.
When in doubt, get the Levi’s
If there’s one thing in the fashion section you can trust to be on sale, it’s Levi’s jeans (andshortsandjean jackets). They go on sale every Prime Day, the deals are much better than what you’ll ever find on the retailer’s website, there’s often good size availability, and there are several washes to choose from.
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Levi’s Wedgie Straight Jeans
Our best-in-class pair, the straight-leg Wedgiejean, usually goes on sale — and often for over 50 percent off.
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I’m partial to the Ribcage jean myself, which I purchased a few Prime Days ago while it was 40 percent off.
Add premium beauty items to your cart in advance, and don’t dillydally
By far the widest range of deals will be in the beauty category. It’s the main category I shop from since there’s so much to choose from. The “premium” beauty category is especially good, with fairly steep discounts on pricier beauty items. However, some premium items sell out in the first day, so you’ll want to be fast. I’d recommend adding items youhopewill go on sale to your cart in advance so you’re ready to hit “purchase” early on day one.
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Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey was themost-purchased product by Strat readersduring July’s Prime Day. (It was 30 percent off, which is a great deal for the makeup-bag staple.)
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Laneige’s lip masks and balms (also very gift-y!) were the most popular products during last year’s October Prime Day. They were 30 percent off, which is also a best-of-the-year deal on the brand.
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Our best overallsunscreengoes on sale a few times per year, and you can be confident that it will probably be on sale for Prime Day, so it’s a good time to restock.
Stock up on drugstore beauty, too
Of course, you don’t have to shell out for expensive skin-care products if you don’t want to. A lot of our best sellers last year were everyday beauty buys like face wash and micellar water. The prices don’t typically change on these items from day one, so don’t wait till later in the sale for a better deal. It’s not coming.
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Thissnail mucinserum has been a Prime Day best seller for the last three years. It usually goes on sale for $10 to $13 dollars.
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It’s not a bad idea to stock up on the basics, like our favoriteface washfor oily skin.
If you don’t need anything new, stock up on household essentials and everyday basics
There arealwaystoothpastes,trash bags,toilet paper,hand soap, and a host of other household essentials on sale for Prime Day. The discounts are often quite good, and even when they’re just 20 percent off, you’re still saving on something you already need and use. Definitely don’t miss the chance to stock up onteeth-whitening strips. They’realwaysthe cheapest they get all year during Prime Day, and they’re consistently a top-purchased item by our readers.
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Ziploc bags were one of the most-purchased items among Strategist readers during July Prime Day.
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Crest’s 3D Whitestrips are always in our top-ten best-selling products each Prime Day. They’re usually 35 percent off, which is the deepest discount you’ll get all year.
Now is the time to get that electric toothbrush or water flosser
Let me start by saying this: You shouldneverpay full price for anelectric toothbrushorwater flosser. They go on sale all the time. The question is
“When do they go on sale for the best price?” and the answer is Prime Day. I can reliably find a couple of our best electric toothbrushes on sale every Prime Day, and I usually find our favorite water flosser (in multiple sizes) marked way down too — both for lower-than-average prices.
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Plenty of electric toothbrushes go on sale, but we suggest sticking to tried-and-true brands like Philips or Oral-B.
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Our best-in-classwater flosserwill most likely be on sale for half off (just $50) again in October, as it was in July.
Prime Day is not the time to buy nice-looking home objects — but it is the time to buy air purifiers and office chairs
Sure, you can occasionally find a decentrugor futon if you search hard enough (andsenior writer Lauren Roalways does, so follow her for her vetted picks), but for the most part, the Prime Day furniture and décor deals are lacking. Luckily, if you’re after less aesthetic items, likeair purifiers,mattresses,office chairs, and organization items, there’s often quite a lot to be found. Just be sure to pay attention to brands here. I don’t recommend buying an office chair from a brand whose name is a random combination of letters and numbers, but if you find one from a reputable brand, like Branch or Modway (both of which we’ve reviewed in our story on thebest ergonomic office chairs), go for it.
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Theair purifierthat several Strategist staffers (myself included) swear by was $155 in July.
Double-check the original price to make sure Amazon isn’t inflating it
Amazon loves to inflate listing prices to make things seem like a far better deal than they are. Sure, that hand soap marked down to $3 from $7 seems like a good deal, but if you check Target, you’ll see that its regular price is $4. So when in doubt, Google the product to see what other retailers are charging and make sure you’re getting the best deal. Stay vigilant, folks.
If you really want something, buy it the first day of the sale
Obviously, we all want theverybest deal, which often means waiting to see if prices drop even further on the second day of the sale. Having covered four Prime Days already, I can tell you that it’s pretty rare a deal gets significantly better on day two. Last year, Laneige’s brandwide discount increased from 20 to 30 percent off the second day of the sale, and Bissell’s popular steam cleaner got a few dollars cheaper, too. But those are the outliers. Generally speaking, it’s more likely a product will sell out before it gets cheaper — especially if it’s a big-ticket item like a Vitamix.
So my recommendation: If youreallywant something, buy it on day one before it sells out. If you’re willing to gamble, you can hold out till the morning of day two to see if the deal gets better (and hope the product is still available).
Save products you want to buy in advance
You can add them to your Amazon cart, of course. Or, to keep your cart from being cluttered, use ourproduct-save tool, which let’s you save items you see on the Strategist to yourNew Yorkmagazine profile. You’ll be able to see their up-to-date prices there, and you can easily shop from there, too.
Shop around
For better or worse, Prime Day has become its own internet-wide shopping holiday. Lots of brands run competing sales with equally good discounts. I’d keep an eye out for good deals on clothing and furniture, in particular, since Amazon often has a more limited selection in those categories. But as we did in July, we’ll be rounding upallthe best deals during Prime Day across the whole internet, so follow our coverage to make sure you don’t miss a single good deal during the sale.
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
