Tag: amazon prime day

  • 23 Best Early Prime Day Deals on Products We’ve Tested (2024)

    23 Best Early Prime Day Deals on Products We’ve Tested (2024)

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    Another Amazon Prime Day event is set to run on October 8 and 9, but you don’t have to wait another week to bag a bargain. After trawling the world’s favorite online store, aisle by digital aisle, we’ve found the best early Prime Day deals for those looking to get a jump on their shopping.

    The WIRED Reviews team tests products year-round and uses multiple price-tracking tools to filter the noise. Our deals coverage is different because we begin by cross-referencing our buying guide recommendations. Throughout our Prime Day deals coverage, we only recommend products that someone on our team has personally tested and would recommend buying.

    Since its not even Prime Day proper yet, we’re being extra choosey with this list. We aimed to include only deals at or very close to their best price ever. We have not seen these products ever sold on Amazon for cheaper unless stated. We do expect that most of these picks will likely remain at these prices through the Prime Big Deal Days event. As always, you may need an Amazon Prime membership to get some of these discounts, but you can sign up for a free trial, and Prime offers plenty of perks.

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

    Deals on Amazon Tech

    Eero Pro 6E routers

    Photograph: Eero

    Not only are Amazon’s Eero mesh systems among the easiest to set up and use, they also double as smart home hubs with support for Matter, Thread, and Zigbee. The Eero Pro 6E (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a tri-band mesh that adds the 6-GHz band to the familiar 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. If you have a busy household with devices galore and a 1-Gbps or faster connection, this could be the ideal mesh system for you. It performed extremely well in my tests. Just bear in mind that the 6-GHz band is short-range. The pricey Eero Plus subscription is an extra $10 per month or $100 per year, but it adds a lot of value with parental controls, advanced security, ad blocking, and even a password manager and VPN service.

    For folks with smaller homes and connections up to 500 Mbps, the Eero 6 (3-Pack) is also on sale at $150 ($50 off), but we recommend stretching for the more heavily discounted Eero 6+ (3-Pack) at $195 ($105 off) if you can. That’s a great deal for an excellent mesh system.

    It may not be a great tablet, but the Fire HD 8 (6/10, WIRED Review) is the best-value option in Amazon’s line-up, and this is the deepest discount we have ever seen on it. Performance is reasonably snappy, the screen is OK, and you get hands-free Alexa, stereo sound, USB-C, and nearly 12 hours of battery life. If you want something for reading ebooks, watching movies, or commanding Alexa, this is a cheap way to tick all those boxes. The Fire HD 8 was once $5 cheaper than this, but not for months.

    More and more good-quality, affordable security cameras are hitting the market, and the Blink Mini 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorites. It can record 1080p footage at up to 30 frames per second, offers decent low-light performance, and boasts on-device person detection. The catch is the subscription at $3 per month or $30 per year for a single camera, but it nets you a generous 60-day unlimited cloud video history. This camera is ideal for sitting unobtrusively on a shelf and keeping an eye on your home when you are away.

    Rectangular cylindrical security camera sitting on a wooden surface

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    If you already have a Ring doorbell and need something inside the home, this camera lets you keep everything in one app. The Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen) records crisp 1080p footage at 24 frames per second, boasts color night vision, and has a privacy shutter you can swivel around. You get motion alerts, preroll captures a few seconds before each event, two-way audio, and there’s even a built-in siren. Just remember that you need a Ring Protect Plan ($5 per month for one camera or $10 per month for all your cameras and doorbells) for all the best features and cloud storage.

    Apple Deals

    9th Generation iPad

    Photograph: Apple

    The ninth-generation iPad (8/10, WIRED Recommends) may be getting long in the tooth, but it is still a great tablet. It has a 10.2-inch display, the classic Home button with Touch ID, the A13 Bionic chip that debuted on the iPhone 11, support for True Tone, and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera (with Center Stage). It is also compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil and Apple’s Smart Keyboard. We recommend its successor in our iPad guide, but this iPad is much more affordable.

    For outdoor types who use iPhones, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the best smartwatches available (probably the best). It is uber-durable, packs a big battery that can go nearly four days with normal use, and features precise GPS to better track your hikes and steer you home again. It also has a customizable Action button, and the screen can get crazy bright so you can read it even in direct sunlight. It is very pricey, but if you’ve been thinking about getting one, this discount might be the push you need (we have never seen it cheaper).

    Tech Deals

    Side view of large screen tv with app thumbnails on the screen

    Photograph: Parker Hall

    Home cinephiles willing to drop some cash for one of the best TVs this year will struggle to find a better option than the LG C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It boasts perfect contrast, fantastic highlights, and vibrant color, and it gets bright enough for well-lit rooms. It supports a 144-Hz refresh rate and Nvidia G-Sync for gamers, and there’s Dolby Vision for movie fans. We also love the LG Magic Remote, which makes it easy to navigate LG’s relatively good tvOS interface. This TV has been steadily dropping from its original $2,700 RRP, but this is the lowest price yet. You can also find discounts on the other sizes of this top-notch TV.

    With an unrivaled 30 hours of max battery life, Tribit’s Stormbox Flow (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a Bluetooth speaker with serious stamina. It also boasts an elegant, weatherproof design, tons of EQ options, a feature-packed app, and delivers clear and punchy audio with thumpy bass to match. The biggest-battery pick in our Best Bluetooth Speakers guide, this is a good deal at its usual price, so this discount makes it irresistible. You might even consider snagging a couple and pairing them for stereo sound.

    Doorbells don’t get smarter than this, and the Nest Doorbell tops our Best Video Doorbells guide. Many newer doorbells tout higher resolutions than the Nest’s 1080p, but Google’s doorbell has a higher frame rate at 30 frames per second and HDR support, which generally results in better-quality footage. You also get smarts like face recognition, so you know whether the kids are home or a stranger is lurking on your porch. You do need a Nest Aware subscription at $8 a month ($80/year), but that covers all your Nest cameras.

    Hand holding up a mobile phone showing the backside cameras and details

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    With much of what makes Google’s Pixel range enticing, the Pixel 8A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) deservedly tops our Best Android Phones list. It has a fun design, offers excellent performance, and has nice cameras, a bright, smooth display, and some of the smartest software features you will find in a phone today. Throw in wireless charging, IP67 water resistance, and seven years of support, not to mention secure face unlock, and you’ll see that Google cut no corners, despite this being its entry-level phone. Why spend more?

    The high-capacity pick in our Best MagSafe Power Banks guide, this Baseus charger has an ample 10,000-mAh capacity and a gently curved body that’s soft to the touch. It sticks easily to your iPhone and will provide a full charge with change. Wireless charging is 7.5 watts, but there is also a built-in USB-C cable for up to 30-watt wired charging, which is handy for folks with an iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 (or even an Android phone).

    Some of the best wireless chargers are cheap, like this handy stand from Anker. It will work with any Qi phone, including Apple’s iPhones, Google’s Pixels, and Samsung’s Galaxy S range. It can provide up to 10 watts, and it props your phone in portrait view, which is handy for video calls. The light on the front is a tad annoying if you plan to use this on the nightstand, and it has a MicroUSB port when USB-C would be better. You get a 3-foot cable in the box, but you’ll need a wall charger.

    Small white security camera with a discshaped top and small circular base sitting on a wooden surface

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    The top pick in our Best Indoor Security Cameras guide, the Tapo C120 from TP-Link records video at up to 2K resolution, supports two-way audio (with a slight lag), and supports up to 512-GB microSD cards for local recording. The starlight sensor offers impressive color night vision, there is on-device smart detection (people, pets, and vehicles) without a subscription, and it even has an IP66 rating, which means you can also use it outdoors (provided you can run the power cable). We like this camera at its usual price (it hovers around $35), so this is a deal worth bagging.

    The Nimble Champ has topped our Best Portable Chargers guide for a few years. The middle option packs a decent 10,000-mAh capacity, is smaller than a deck of cards, and can deliver 20 watts to charge two devices at once via USB-C ports on either end. We like the speckled color finishes and the bright lanyard loop, but what really sells these power banks is the 90 percent certified recycled plastic construction and fully biodegradable packaging. You get a 3.3-foot USB-C to USB-C cable in the box.

    There’s no escaping the fact this is a pricey purchase, even with the discount, but the Alienware AW3423DW (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is quite simply stunning. This highly responsive Quantum Dot OLED displays gorgeous colors, boasts excellent HDR, and has superb contrast. I had to tweak the settings to get it looking right, the fan is often audible, and it’s not an ideal choice for bright rooms (avoid direct light on the screen), but with the right setup, this is easily one of, if not the best computer monitors for gaming.

    Home Deals

    Cosori Pro III Dual Blaze air fryer

    Photograph: Cosori

    The best air fryers help you cook quickly and potentially with less fat or oil. These compact convection ovens heat up fast to make stuff like crispy chicken, fries, and donuts. This Cosori model is our favorite smart air fryer because it can be controlled remotely using a smartphone or tablet (it has a digital control panel too). The slick black, classy design is great, the cooking drawer has a smooth action, and the handle stays cool. The sides can get a little hot, though, so it needs plenty of space. Temperature options range from 175 degrees Fahrenheit to a powerful 400, and there are 12 handy preset cooking modes.

    This may seem like a weird pick, but hear me out. My daughter is crazy about cats and has enough teddies and plushies to fill a swimming pool, but “squishy cat” has always been her favorite. Seriously, this super soft pillow is the most huggable thing ever. We have bought a few over the years and given them as gifts, and anyone who ever cuddles up with one of these cats falls in love. This is also the cheapest price I have ever seen.

    This is the tool roll pick in our Best Overlanding Gear guide, and WIRED senior writer Scott Gilbertson raves about it. Forget digging around in boxes and bins for the wrench you need, because all your tools are wrapped up in this durable roll made of 1680D Cordura, with heavy stitching (bar-tack stitching to reinforce seams). It offers three levels of tool sleeves on the inside of the roll that fit up to 14-inch tools and also has regular and zipper pouches.

    Black leather office chair with green design accents and angular backrest in a room with red walls

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Although we are not generally keen on gaming chairs, the Razer Iskur V2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is our pick for the best gaming chair in our Best Office Chair guide. It is comfy, not too garish, and has that all-important adaptive lumbar support. Like most gaming chairs, your lower back will get warm, and it lacks breathability. There’s also no seat depth adjustment, and the casters don’t move that well, but you can recline up to 152 degrees, and it is far more affordable than many of our office chair picks.

    Class Tracker makes the best paper planners for students, and its specialized college version is on sale. There are monthly calendars, but the weekly pages shine. Each day sports a section for things to remember, tests, papers, or projects due, and larger spots for assignments and a daily plan. A Self-Care Corner gives you space for nonschool things to focus on and a countdown box for something you’re looking forward to. If you or the student in your life is struggling to get organized, this planner could help.

    As our top pick of the best window air conditioners, Midea’s U-shaped AC (8/10, WIRED Recommends) comes with a bracket that balances the unit’s weight by leaning against the exterior wall so you can open the window without worrying the AC will fall out. The notch design also helps you reduce gaps to prevent air and noise from leaking. This AC is relatively quiet, can cool a room quickly, and works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for automation or voice controls.

    Wolf Gourmet kettle

    Photograph: Wolf Gourmet

    With a 1.5 liter capacity and the ability to set a precise temperature for your water, this kettle is the pro choice in our Best Electric Kettle guide. This kettle is built like a tank (with a five-year warranty), is very easy to clean, sports a double-walled stainless steel body, and feels great to pick up and pour. Temperature controls go from 95 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. You can set it to keep water warm for up to an hour after boiling. Even the discounted price is steep for a kettle, but if you need your brew at the right temperature, it’s gonna cost you.


    More Amazon Prime Day Stories

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  • How to Avoid Scams and Shoddy Wares on Amazon

    How to Avoid Scams and Shoddy Wares on Amazon

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    Step 2: Amazon’s search should choose the right Department automatically, but if needed, you can navigate to the top of the left rail and click on a Department that fits.

    Step 3: Once the page refreshes, scroll to the bottom of the left rail and choose “Amazon.com” as your Seller.

    Step 4: Now you will only see “Pixel 8A” products sold directly by Amazon.com.

    If you still don’t see “Amazon.com” as a seller, try hitting the “See More” button. It will bring up a dense but readable alphabetical page of sellers. If Amazon is one of those sellers, it will show up in the list. You can use CTRL+F (Command+F on Mac) to search for the word “Amazon.com.” Sometimes you’ll see “Amazon Warehouse,” but that only sells used and refurbished items.

    Avoid Fake Discounts

    When people see that a product they like is on sale, a little wave of excitement washes over them. Instead of thinking about how much we’re spending, we start to think about how much we’re saving. Coupons and discounts exist because they create a sense of urgency that causes many people to buy things they normally wouldn’t. Some sellers abuse that pricing power. There are a lot of products on Amazon that are endlessly on “sale” and that makes it hard to know if you’re getting an actual bargain.

    Luckily, there’s an easy way to check. Just copy the URL and paste it into CamelCamelCamel. You’ll get a page with a graph on it showing every price fluctuation in the past year. A lot of products have deceptive sale prices like this, to varying degrees. Knowing what the actual going rate is for a product puts you in charge.

    Alternatively, the Keepa extension for Chrome will add a similar box right into Amazon.com pages for you, though it does try and get you to register for free, and it might slow your browsing down.

    screenshot of CamelCamelCamel price tracker

    Photograph: Louryn Strampe

    Tools like Keepa and CamelCamelCamel may also help you determine the best time to buy an item. Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max, for instance, consistently fluctuates between its normal $60 price down to $40, like it is now. And that all-time-low includes special sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, meaning you (probably) don’t need to wait to score a good deal. The tools can help you spot similar trends in other products, like televisions, which tend to get a lot cheaper when Christmas draws near.

    Don’t Trust Every Review

    Amazon’s 5-star review system is supposed to make choosing products simpler, but it’s easily gamed. If you’re looking at an expensive product from a company you’ve never heard of, or if there are hundreds or thousands of very positive reviews, do a little sleuthing. Many sellers try to manipulate reviews to get their products listed more prominently on Amazon.

    Fakespot is an excellent tool to help you spot deceptive reviews. Just plug in an Amazon URL and it’ll give you a report. It isn’t a flawless tool, but it will give you a hint at whether a lot of reviews are fake or suspicious, and it spits out an AI-generated summary to try and help you parse the information further. We’ve got more advice on detecting fake Amazon reviews here.

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  • 20 Amazon Prime Perks You Might Not Be Using

    20 Amazon Prime Perks You Might Not Be Using

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    Prime Video is also included with your membership. There are some killer originals, like Fallout and The Boys in addition to other movies and shows. Purchased separately, Prime Video costs $9 per month. Note that these plans are with commercials. If you’re a Prime member and you want to go ad-free, it’ll cost another $3 per month.

    Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about Amazon’s members-only event, Prime Day. The annual “holiday” has outperformed both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in years past, but not every Prime Day deal is actually a bargain. The WIRED Gear team always covers the event to make good deals easier to find—our coverage is unique in that we only write about deals on products we have personally tested and can verify are great buys rather than flooding our posts with questionable random brands. This year, Prime Day is in July. Official dates have not yet been announced, though we anticipate the sale will fall on a Tuesday and Wednesday in the middle of the month. Early Prime Day deals are usually available in the days leading up to the sale, and we’ll have the best for you here.

    Amazon Day

    Overwhelmed by the sheer number of boxes at your door? (Honestly, as a product reviewer, same.) Amazon Day lets you schedule all of your deliveries to arrive on a certain day of the week. Rather than dealing with a box or two at a time on multiple days, you can get one package with all of your orders on whichever day you prefer. If you use Amazon Day, you aren’t locked in. That means if you’re ordering something you need quickly, you can still opt for the fastest shipping method. Amazon Day is a good way to cut back on cardboard (and your carbon footprint).

    Exclusive Deals

    Even outside of Prime Day, Amazon Prime members are eligible for special members-only discounts. That might mean a few bucks off your portable charger purchase, a 20 percent off coupon to use on dog food, or better prices on new Amazon devices. Individual discounts vary, but we see these sorts of promotions pretty frequently—and, as with Prime Day, not all of them are good.

    Early-Access Lightning Deals

    Both during and outside of special events like Prime Day and Black Friday, Prime members get early access to select Lightning Deals. You will be able to shop 30 minutes before other customers. Whether Lightning Deals are worth your money is another discussion entirely, but it’s a perk worth checking out.

    No-Rush Rewards

    If you don’t need your order to arrive right away, sometimes at checkout you’ll see the option for free No-Rush Shipping. Usually, choosing No-Rush Shipping gets you a free $1 digital credit to use on things like ebooks, digital games, movies, and the like. The rewards sometimes expire after a certain duration. I’ve used No-Rush credits to get as much as $10 off digital games on release day. Since video game discounts are rare, especially right after release, this can be lucrative if you time it correctly (and don’t mind waiting for your purchases to arrive).

    Grubhub+

    Amazon Prime members get free access to Grubhub+, which includes free delivery on orders over $12, plus an assortment of Prime-exclusive discounts at various restaurants throughout the year.

    Amazon Fresh

    Amazon Fresh lets you order groceries via Amazon and get them delivered to your door. It’s not available in all areas, but it is a different way to shop if you’re trying to avoid in-person trips. You also get a selection of products from Whole Foods available through Amazon Fresh. Somewhat confusingly, there are similarly named physical Amazon Fresh grocery stores in some cities.

    Since Amazon bought Whole Foods several years back, you can usually find picks from Whole Foods store brands within Amazon’s grocery services. It might make a good way to try something new or stock up on items you already like.

    Amazon Household

    For families, Amazon Household is a good way to share benefits between multiple people. You can share membership perks with two adults, four teens, and four adults. Parents can use Amazon Household to approve teens’ orders or set up parental controls on kids’ content.

    Amazon First Reads

    Each month, Prime members can check out Amazon First Reads. That’s two Kindle books from the selection for free. Non-Prime members can get their two books for $2 apiece. As a reminder, you can read Kindle books even if you don’t have a Kindle device, thanks to the free app available for phones and computers. We also have a buying guide to help you pick the right Kindle.

    Prime Reading

    In addition to First Reads, Prime members get access to tons of Kindle books via Prime Reading. There are more than a thousand items to choose from. Aside from books, you can access audiobooks and magazines, plus comics via Comixology. WIRED senior editor Michael Calore mentioned Prime Reading as one of his quarantine lifesavers in this Gadget Lab podcast episode.

    Prime Gaming

    Every month, Prime members are eligible for various rewards via Prime Gaming (formerly known as Twitch Prime). This includes in-game loot in a variety of popular games, free game downloads, free downloadable content (DLC) and expansions, and more. You also get a free Twitch subscription—which sounds like you can watch Twitch for free, but “Twitch subs” are actually subscriptions to individual Twitch streamers, and they normally cost money. With the free subscription you get from Amazon Prime, you can support channels you enjoy—creators make some money off the subscription, but it won’t cost you anything extra.

    $10 off Game Preorders

    This discount used to be much better, but it’s still worth looking into if you are in the market for a new video game. Occasionally, Prime members can receive $10 off when they preorder a game. Eligible titles show up here when they’re available. Some video games also have free Release Date Delivery—just look for that shipping option when preordering a game.

    Prime Try Before You Buy

    Buying clothes online can be an arduous process. Prime Try Before You Buy (formerly Prime Wardrobe) offers a selection of items you can try on at home before committing. Pick out what you want and you’ll get it for a week. If it’s a winner, you can keep it. If it’s not a perfect fit, you can return the items for free. I prefer to use this method when pieces are already discounted, since the price you’ll pay if you decide to keep something is whatever the price was at checkout.

    Unlimited Online Photo Storage

    Prime members get access to unlimited full-resolution photo storage, and 5 gigabytes of video storage as well. You can store, print, and share photos using the Amazon Photos app and back everything up to the cloud. If your account ever loses Prime status, you’ll need to pay at least $2 per month to keep storing your photos and videos, so this shouldn’t be your primary backup method. You might want to consider using one of these options as well.

    Discounted Amazon Kids+

    Amazon Kids+ (formerly FreeTime Unlimited) is Amazon’s content service for kids. The service is compatible with several iOS, Android, and Amazon devices, like Fire Tablets. It essentially provides a bevy of parental controls whilst giving kiddos access to age-appropriate shows, books, games, and the like. Kids+ costs $8 per month, but Prime members can snag the subscription for $6 per month (or $79 and $48 per year, respectively).

    Additional Perks for Specific Customers

    Expecting a new addition to your family? Select Prime members can claim a free Baby Registry Welcome Box by creating a registry that has at least $10 worth of purchases (by themselves or others). Learn more here.

    Select wireless carriers have special cell phone plans for Prime members. Members also get 10 percent back as a credit each month. These plans aren’t for everyone—and your current provider may be cheaper—but they could be a good option for those seeking prepaid, inexpensive phone service.

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  • How to Shop Like a Pro During Amazon Prime Day – July 2024

    How to Shop Like a Pro During Amazon Prime Day – July 2024

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    Amazon Prime Day is arguably one of the most confusing shopping holidays in existence. It’s not even a “day”—the members-only event spans 48 hours. Amazon also promises “millions of deals,” but the displayed discounts are often misleading—or outright false. Some deals are actually available to people who don’t subscribe to Prime. Add in the frenzy of limited-time Lightning Deals and you’ve got a recipe perfect for spending too much money.

    Fear not! We’re here to help. WIRED’s Gear team is familiar with common shopping pitfalls, and I’ve been a deals writer for nearly a decade. What time do sales start and end? How do you tell whether a deal is actually a deal? We pooled our collective knowledge to get you prepared for Amazon Prime Day.

    Updated June 2024: We’ve updated this story with additional details about Prime Day, which is set for sometime in July 2024.

    If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

    When Is Amazon Prime Day?

    Amazon has officially announced that Prime Day will be held in July. We believe, based on past sales, that Prime Day 2024 will take place on a Tuesday and Wednesday sometime in the middle of the month.

    When Do Prime Day Deals Start?

    The event officially begins at 3 am Eastern time and runs for 48 hours. WIRED will cover the best Prime Day deals from both Amazon and retailers that have competing sales. Some deals and sales will begin ahead of the official start time. (We’ll be covering those too.)

    Are Prime Day Deals Only for Prime Members?

    Officially, yes. You must be an Amazon Prime member to shop for Amazon’s Prime Day deals. There is a free 30-day trial available for new accounts. (Prime membership comes with a lot of perks, and we’ve rounded up all of them here.) The trial will let you get in on the sale—just remember to cancel your membership to avoid any subsequent renewal charges.

    There are some discounts available if you’re not a subscriber (those deals might not be that great). But other major retailers like Best Buy and Target usually hold concurrent sales during Prime-exclusive sales events. Their prices are often close to what Amazon is offering on the same products, and sometimes they match the price. This is a good way to take part in the Prime Day Sale if you don’t want to support Amazon.

    Walmart is launching a rival Walmart+ Plus Week sales event for members, running June 17–23, 2024. Like Amazon Prime, Walmart+ gives you free express delivery and some other perks, but costs just $98 per year. The deals include 20 cents off a gallon of gas at Exxon & Mobil stations nationwide, so you could pay off your entire annual Walmart+ membership by buying just 490 gallons of gas!

    Is Prime Day Worth It?

    It depends. For some items, Prime member-exclusive event prices tend to be some of the lowest we see all year. That’s especially true for Amazon hardware, like Kindles, Fire Tablets, Fire TV Sticks, and Echo devices, but there are other factors to consider. Prices fluctuate throughout the year, and some products are discounted quite often. Even if the price is good, a deal on a product that goes on sale all the time diminishes the overall quality of that deal.

    The sheer volume of deals promoted by Amazon during sales like Prime Day is a blessing and a curse. The truly good discounts can be difficult to pinpoint—there’s so much stuff on sale that the overall selection can feel overwhelming. But there’s a good chance that the item you want will be on sale. We’ve seen some fantastic Prime-exclusive discounts in the past, ranging from dirt-cheap Kindles to elusive price drops on the Nintendo Switch. The tricky part is to find the diamonds in the rough.

    WIRED covers legitimately good deals all year long, including during the Prime Day event. Our tips below will help you find those great discounts on your own.

    How Do I Know Whether a Deal Is Good?

    ABC: Always be checking (prices, that is). Researching an item’s price is the most important aspect of determining the quality of a discount. Don’t fall prey to deceptive marketing language and inflated MSRP prices—our tips only take a few moments. The easiest step is to take a second to Google the items you’re considering so you can see the price across multiple stores.

    One tool we like to use is Camelcamelcamel, which tracks Amazon’s prices over time. Paste the Amazon link or ASIN (found in the Product Information section on the Amazon product page) into Camelcamelcamel’s search bar and you’ll be able to see an item’s lowest recorded price, its average price, and how frequently the price fluctuates. Some deals, such as Lightning Deals, are excluded from the pricing history, but it’s useful to see what an item has sold for in the past. We also like Keepa, which has an extension (available for multiple browsers) that shows the recent price history for products directly on the Amazon page so you don’t have to open a new tab.

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  • 11 Best All-Clad Cookware Deals Right Now (Spring 2024)

    11 Best All-Clad Cookware Deals Right Now (Spring 2024)

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    Not all cookware is created equal. Anyone who has purchased a cheap starter set of pots and pans will know—after a few years (sometimes months), the nonstick coating flakes off, the handles loosen, or the entire surface becomes warped and uneven. Buying cheap gear only to replace it is a waste of time and money. It may be some of the most expensive kitchenware you can buy, but All-Clad comes highly recommended by WIRED reviewers and culinary experts. They’re spendy, but these pots and pans are reliable and practically last forever. Like, forever forever.

    So how do you snag this coveted cookware at stomachable prices? One surefire way to save money on All-Clad is by shopping its Factory Seconds sale, which comes around every few months. We go into more detail and list our favorite discounts below. The current Factory Seconds sale is live now and ends on May 28 at 11:59 pm ET.

    Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

    If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

    What Are Factory Seconds?

    The Factory Seconds Sale is run by Home and Cook Sales, an authorized reseller for All-Clad and several other cookware brands. The items featured in the sale (usually) have minor imperfections, like a scuff on the pan, a misaligned name stamp, or merely a dented box. Every product on the website lists details about the imperfection. You’ll need to enter an email address to access the sale.

    While the blemishes may vary, the merchant says all of the cookware will perform as intended. Should any issue arise, nearly every All-Clad Factory Seconds product is backed by All-Clad’s limited lifetime warranty. (Electric items have a slightly different warranty; check individual product pages for details.) We’ve used a dozen Factory Seconds pots and pans, and they’ve all worked exactly as advertised. Just remember that all sales are final.


    The Best All-Clad Factory Seconds Deals

    Below, we’ve highlighted noteworthy discounts from the broader sale. The “before” prices are based on items in new condition. Also, check out our cooking buying guides, including the 7 Essentials for Every Kitchen, Best Chef’s Knives, Best Blenders, and Best Air Fryers.

    AllClad Essential Frying Pan

    All-Clad D5 Essentials Pan

    Photograph: All-Clad

    The Essential is one of our favorite pans. It’s, ahem, essential in the kitchen. We like that it works well for all kinds of tasks. Its high walls prevent grease from splattering on your countertop, and it can double as a flat-bottomed wok or even be a Dutch oven substitute. It’s also dishwasher safe.

    If you tend to splash your sautéed vegetables out of the frying pan, a deeper sauté pan is just what you need. It’s got a large base to cook in, but tall sides to keep your ingredients inside the pan and off your stove. Plus, the sides are flat, so you can use them for leverage if you’re flipping something with a spatula.

    Everyone needs a good, large, stainless steel frying pan. It’s not nonstick, which does take some getting used to—make sure your grease or oil is hot before you add food—but once you get the hang of cooking on stainless you’ll never want nonstick again. Good quality stainless provides an even heat, with fewer hot spots, and makes cooking easier once you master it.

    All Clad 3Quart Saucepan

    Photograph: All-Clad

    All-Clad’s melding of copper, aluminum, and 18/10 stick-resistant stainless makes for one of the best heat-conducting pans WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson has used (aside from cast iron). He uses a smaller version for sauces, boiling potatoes, making bourbon-bacon bark, and countless other tasks. This is a kitchen workhorse. The included lid reduces evaporation (if you wish).

    This basket is awesome for grilling items like asparagus or fruit. The bottom has perforations to allow smoky, charcoal-y goodness to flavor your food, without the danger of losing items down the grate as they cook.

    AllClad Oval Bakers Pans

    Photograph: All-Clad

    These little oval-shaped dishes are great for portioning out side dishes or individual servings, but if you’re like me and you don’t own a microwave, they’re also fantastic for heating up leftovers on the stove or in the oven.

    A stockpot is a niche item, but sometimes you just need a gigantic cooking vessel. This is designed for that purpose. It includes a steamer basket and a colander, so you can prepare multiple ingredients at the same time. Pro tip: If you ever want to make a seafood boil at home, this pot is basically perfect.

    If you are in the market for a stockpot, this eight-quart vessel will be right up your alley. It’s got melding of copper, aluminum, and 18/10 stick-resistant stainless we love as a part of the D5 collection, and you’ll want great heat conduction with how much cooking volume it has.

    AllClad 5piece Measuring Cups Set

    Photograph: All-Clad

    These measuring cups are super durable. Your grandkids’ grandkids could probably get some use out of them. I like that they’re deep. When I’m pouring out a quarter-cup of oil for a recipe, I don’t have to worry about keeping my hand steady as much as I do with shallower, wider measuring cups.

    Since shipping costs $10, these wouldn’t be a great deal on their own, but they could make a solid add-on if you’re placing a larger order. It’s hard to say a lot about potholders. They either work or they don’t. These do, and they’re easy to clean.

    All-Clad makes great utensils. Cooking utensils are a strange category—the bad ones usually work fine, but you end up needing to replace them sooner. All-Clad utensils hold up over time. This set would make a good Father’s Day gift or addition to your camping gear. It includes tongs, a fork, a spatula, and a basting brush, plus a nifty, durable carrying case to pack them all up. If you don’t care about the carrying case, you can get just the tools for $50 instead.

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