Amazon's fourth "Prime Day" is off and running, and if the error messages are any indication, it should be huge! According to CNBC, the start to Prime Day is giving shoppers all kinds of trouble. In some cases, people would see adorable Amazon dogs, but no shopping. Others would get their shopping cart filled and then get a "we're experiencing heavy traffic" when trying to check out.
But a lot of these things seem related to simple system overload. And when systems as robust as Amazon's systems are getting overloaded with shoppers, you can imagine that tons of us are looking for deals on the site.
Actually, about 60% of Americans say they'll shop during Amazon Prime Day, which actually runs through tomorrow (Tuesday 7/17). That's an incredible number, and it's just got to dwarf the numbers of shoppers during Black Friday. Meanwhile, just about everyone has a page with the best deals during Prime Day. Check HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE. Like Black Friday, some Prime Day deals are awesome. Others are "meh." So be sure you're getting an actual good deal before buying. In general, you'll do better with stuff made by Amazon -- like Kindles and Amazon Echos.
The Prime Day discounts have not gone unnoticed by competitors. Target is having its own version of Prime Day, possibly without the error messages (at least in-store). And if you'd rather have a Google Home than an Amazon Echo, Target will be giving 30% off Google products. Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe's and just about every big box retailer in America is doing its own big sales to compete directly with Amazon.
So shop away. But just because it's Prime Day doesn't mean you have to shop at Amazon. And if you're not a Prime member, you can't really take advantage of its benefits anyway. Yes, there's a reason Amazon is doing this -- to sell memberships to the tune of $119/year. Which, by the way, is totally worth it for both the free shipping and the great shows on Prime Video (Watch Man in the High Castle).
But even without Prime, there will be plenty of savings just about everywhere you shop, even some for those who prefer brick and mortar shopping.