Prime Day in October live: top deals in Amazon’s Early Access sale

TechRadar's top tips for Prime Day

1. Find an Amazon Prime free trial…
Amazon Prime Day deals are reserved for Prime members only. It goes without saying you'll want to be signed up by midnight and the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial is a fantastic way to do that. While it's not open to those who have previously had a trial open on their account before, it's an extremely low-committal way to get your hands on all the best deals over Prime Day. Note, you will have to cancel your trial before it's over though if you don't want to be charged, so bear that in mind.

2. …but don't rely on it
Counter-intuitively, it's not just Amazon that's going to be offering excellent deals over this second October Prime Day event. You can expect stores like Walmart and Best Buy in the US and Currys in the UK to host their own sales. Basically, it's worth shopping around if you're interested in a particular product. While these other stores may not have as big of an inventory as Amazon, they do sometimes offer cheaper prices on hot-ticket items. If you can get a certain Amazon deal cheaper somewhere else, we'll be sure to tell you with our coverage here.

3. Know what you want to buy…
It's always a good idea to have a shopping list ready before you head into a retail event like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. There are always literally thousands of deals on offer so having a clear idea of what you need (and what you don't) can help you stay on budget and save precious time. If you have a particular product in mind, take the time to check its price history or the other models in the range. 

4. …but stay flexible
This point follows on from our previous one, namely it's worth having a few alternative products on your shopping list, just in case the model you've been eying up isn't on sale. This is where research again comes in handy as it'll immediately help you source alternatives.

For example, you may not be able to find an OLED TV from your favorite brand in a certain size but you may find another from a rival brand that's just as worth your time. You could also, potentially, find a cheaper model or a more expensive model and one that's actually better suited to your needs. Again, utilizing resources like TechRadar's own buyer's guides and reviews is incredibly handy if you're looking to clue yourself up on alternative choices.

5. Get in there early…
The vast majority of Prime Day Early Access deals will be going live at midnight tonight, so you can basically be first in the queue by staying up and checking them out tonight. There should be thousands of deals – some of which may sell out, depending on whether it's a popular model or not. In this case, it's probably a good idea to order your items sooner rather than later.

6. …but check back throughout the event
That said, Amazon does love a lightning deal. Scattered throughout this year's second Amazon Prime Day event will be a couple of super-hot listings with record-breaking price cuts. It's too early to tell what these will be yet (it can be literally anything), but it's always worth keeping an eye out for these. They'll be prominently listed on the Amazon deals page – and we'll be highlighting any particularly good ones right here too.

One early Prime deal to check out…

In the US? here's a quick listing that we've spotted that's a Prime-member's only deal. Basically, this is a Prime Day deal in all but name and one we don't expect to go any lower tomorrow.

So, the award for the first Prime Day deal goes to… the Fire TV Cube. While it's usually overlooked in favor of the smaller (and cheaper) Fire TV Sticks, we think the Cube is a fantastic choice – especially if you have a higher-end 4K TV. 

Amazon Prime Early Access sale starts at midnight

Hello avid deals hunters! We're kicking off our coverage of the Prime Day Early Access sale a little early today. The festivities proper will be landing at midnight tonight, so that's when you'll want to tune in if you're eager to bag a bargain. In the meantime, we've rounded up a couple of early deals to check out – all of which we expect won't be beaten once the sales proper begins tonight.