Amazon Prime Day returns with longer sales and even more deals

What started as a one-time event for Amazon’s 20th anniversary is now an annual tradition. Amazon just announced that Prime Day is back for its third trip around the Internet.

The deals begin at 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern on Monday, July 10, 2017 and last for thirty hours until 2:59 AM EST on Wednesday, July 12. On the west coast, the end time is 11:59 PM Pacific on Tuesday, July 11.

Amazon is promising more than 100,000 deals across the company’s U.S. and international sites for Prime members. The retailer says there will be new deals almost every five minutes during the sales period.

For anyone who has an Alexa-enabled device, however, the bonanza starts two hours earlier on July 10 at 4 PM Pacific / 7 PM Eastern. At that time, Alexa devices will let you shop with your voice to grab some early Prime Day deals. This is the first year Prime Day will have voice shopping, Amazon says. The Prime Day voice shopping period follows the company’s first voice shopping weekend during the 2016 holiday season.

While Prime Day is still a few days away, there are some “teaser” deals you can start getting today. Amazon says it’s offering “rare deals” from its own stable of services including Audible, Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime Video, and Kindle Unlimited.

Martyn Williams

Amazon is also building up to the shopping festivities with five days of deals prior to Prime Day. Each day the sales are based around a different theme. On Wednesday, July 5 there will be more voice shopping deals; on July 6, Amazon Music; July 7 is Amazon Video; July 8 is Everyday Essentials (Amazon’s line of gear for the home); and July 9 is Amazon Reading. During every lead-up day, Amazon will also offer deals on smartphones and Amazon devices, and products from Prime Pantry—the company’s store for groceries and other home items. Plus, anyone who signs-up for Prime using Alexa’s voice shopping feature during the lead-up will pay $79—or $20 off the usual membership fee.

The impact on you: Amazon will offer deals on all kinds of products on its site on Prime Day, but only for members of Amazon Prime. Anyone who signs up for Prime that day can still take advantage of the sales, even if you start with the free 30-day trial. While Amazon’s first Prime Day in 2015 was roundly criticized for sub-standard offers, last year’s deals were better. They may further improve this year as Amazon determines how low it can go a few months prior to the holiday price slashing.

Stay tuned for PCWorld’s Prime Day coverage. We’ll be sifting through Amazon’s offerings and highlighting the best deals on PCs, PC accessories, games, and electronics.

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