Leaked Amazon Prime Day Deals

Amazon turns 20 today, and to celebrate this landmark event the online retailer is offering a huge sale under the name of Prime Day.

With the right information, shoppers interested in taking advantage of Amazon Prime Day 2015 deal can get their money-saving strategies in place.

What You Need to Know to Shop Amazon Prime Day 2015 Deals
Prime Day Deals start rolling today (Wednesday, July 15 at 12 a.m. PDT), and new deals will begin as often as every 10 minutes. The Prime Day deals will include seven “Deals of the Day” as well as thousands of “Lightning Deals,” and purchases will come with unlimited free and fast shipping.

The catch: Shoppers must have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of these deals. For $99 a year, Prime members usually get access to unlimited free two-day shipping, as well as access to free movies and TV shows to stream on Prime Instant Video, among other benefits.

But if you don’t have a membership, you can still sign up for a 30-day free trial of the service to buy Prime Day deals.

Best Prime Day Deals
Prime Day deals are offered across different categories, including “electronics, toys, movies, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items and more,” said Amazon.

The company also said shoppers will find deals on items to meet every need, from back-to-school shopping to family road trips.

Marking down everyday items makes sense, as this is the category of items Prime members shop for the most.

But Prime Day will also offer opportunities to make bigger one-time purchases.

If it’s going to live up to the promise of comparing the event to Black Friday, then Amazon will probably provide discounts that will mimic the savings offered on the day after Thanksgiving.

Big-ticket electronics like TVs, laptops, tablets, Apple-brand items and video game consoles are some of the items marked down the most on Black Friday.

Shoppers should watch out for similar deals on these types of electronics on Prime Day, especially on devices that are made by Amazon and fall under its brands, like Fire tablets and Kindle readers.

GOBankingRates was able to confirm (yesterday) the following leaked Prime Day deals to watch for:

• Get $10 in Amazon.com credit with the purchase of an Amazon.com Gift Card multipack.
• Get 25 percent bonus Amazon Coins when buying 5,000 or 10,000 Coins.
• Prime Now is offering local deals in the six cities where the service is offered.

TVs and Personal Electronics Prime Day Deals

• A quality, brand-name 32-inch Smart HDTV for under $200
• 32-inch LED TV at $75
• 40-inch, 1080p LED TV at $115
• 50-inch 4K TV bundle for under $1,000
• Chromebook laptops for only $199
• $15 off Fire TV Sticks
• $30 off on Kindle
• $60 off on Fire HD 7 and Fire HD 7 Kids Edition
• Amazon’s lowest-ever prices on Bose headphones
• More than 50 percent off two Nikon COOLPIX cameras
• Two security camera kits for $279.99

Entertainment and Toys Prime Day Deals

• K’NEX sets discounted: 2-in-1 Ferris Wheel Building Set for $35.99, Crossfire Chaos Roller Coaster Building Set for $23.99
• Playskool Heroes Transformers Rescue Bots Optimus Prime Figure for $9.99
• 40 lightning deals on DVDs, with discounts up to 75 percent off
• “Harry Potter” books up to 50 percent off
• “Divergent Series” Complete Box Set of books 70 percent off

Home and Personal Items Prime Day Deals

• iRobot Roomba Pet Vacuum Cleaning Robot for under $300
• Husqvarna mower for under $300
• Discounts up to 70 percent on kitchen brands like Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Foodsaver and Thermos
• Discounts up to 50 percent on auto tools and road trip car products
• 50 percent off Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain
• 30 percent off select clothing, shoes, jewelry and watches
• Free luxury beauty samples box with purchase of $50 or more with code LUXSAMPLES
• 60 percent off Amazon Elements Baby Wipes with code ELEMENTS60

More Amazon Prime Day Deals

Prime Day Giveaways
Amazon is also offering a few giveaways on Prime Day to entice members to try out different features, primarily its Prime Photo and Prime Music services.

The #PrimeLiving Photo Contest invites members to share a photo showing “how Prime helps enable some of their happy moments” through July 15. A winner in each Prime-eligible country - U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria - will be selected to receive $10,000 in Amazon gift cards and have the option to set the winning photo as a screen saver on Amazon Fire TVs.

Another Amazon giveaway is offered through Prime Music. Subscribers can play any song, playlist, album or station on July 15 to enter to win up to $25,000 in Amazon gift cards.

Lastly, Amazon is giving customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany the chance to win a trip to the Season 2 premiere of the site’s original TV show, “Transparent,” along with a cast meet-and-greet. Enter by visiting amazon.com/redcarpet.

Related: 25 Ways to Save Money on Amazon

Amazon Aims to Broaden Customer Base With Prime Day Event
Of course, Amazon’s Prime Day fits nicely into its revenue plans. Offering a mega-sale will entice new and casual customers to try Amazon Prime, even if it’s just as a trial to access Prime Day deals. If a small portion of those trial members convert to paying Amazon Prime customers, this will be a win for Amazon - and not just because of the $99-per-year revenue.

In addition to the annual cost, Prime customers are central to Amazon’s business. They shop far more often on the site and spend more than other customers. On average, Prime members spend about $1,500 a year while non-members spend about $625, according to a survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

And if Amazon can grow its Prime membership it can get ahead of up-and-coming competitors. Walmart announced it was offering a $50-a-year free shipping program called Shipping Pass to rival Prime, and eBay is also testing an all-you-can-ship option.

There’s also a new service called Jet.com that functions as an online shopping club. It charges a flat $50 per-year fee for access to discounted prices, which The Motley Fool reports are 5 to 6 percent lower than anywhere online.

By getting shoppers to commit to Prime, Amazon will ensure that it continues to be the go-to online retailer for shoppers’ everyday needs.

Walmart, Target and Best Buy Set Rival Sales to Prime Day’s Deals for July 15
To answer the challenge issued by Amazon Prime Day, competitors have stepped up to offer big sale events at the same time. Walmart challenged Amazon more directly, putting its sale on July 15 directly up against the deals Amazon is offering.

Walmart even called out Amazon in a blog post for only offering low deals to Prime members with $99 memberships. “We’re standing up for our customers and everyone else who sees no rhyme or reason for paying a premium to save,” said Walmart.

Walmart’s sales event will include more than 2,000 discounts to online shoppers, with prices lowered on items like electronics, baby items, toys and home items, reports USA Today. Unlike Amazon’s Prime Day Deals, however, Walmart’s lowered prices will last for at least 90 days.

The Walmart rival sale launched a few days before July 15, though. On Monday, the retailer had already lowered its $50 purchase minimum to $35 to qualify for free shipping, which will last for 30 days or more, reports TIME.

Keep Reading: 30 Items to Avoid at Wal-Mart

FreeShippingDay.com is also running a July 15 sale that will get members who shop through its site 20 percent cash back at a wide selection of retailers, including Walmart. This means shoppers can score an additional 20 percent off on purchases during Walmart’s rival sale. Non-members can take advantage of this deal by signing up for a free trial membership.

Target ran its annual “Black Friday in July” sale on Sunday and Monday, which featured buy-one, get-one 50 percent off deals on select items. Best Buy also has a Black Friday sale slated for July 24 to 25, reports USA Today.

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