Amazon Prime Day shoppers urged not to miss one important step before checkout

Amazon Prime Day is back. The online shopping extravaganza, which began yesterday (July 8) and lasts for four days, gives Prime members the chance to grab exclusive bargains and often massive discounts on a variety of items from electronics to beauty products.

There are plenty of exciting deals on offer – but you should be wary you are actually getting a bargain before you start spending. And one way to do this is by carrying out an extra check before completing checkout.

"It's not Amazon's fault, but fake deals have become the norm on Prime Day," said tech guru Max, who goes by PCHaxWithMax on social media. He revealed in a TikTok video: "The typical shenanigans are going off where tech companies put their prices up a few days before Prime Day and then 'discount' them back to the regular price on the actual day."

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This tactic makes shoppers believe they're snagging a "crazy deal", but Max has tips for seeing through the ruse. "The easiest way to avoid falling victim is to Google Amazon price history," he advised.

Max pointed out that there are several sites dedicated to this, including CamelCamelCamel.com, which tracks price fluctuations throughout any given product's sales history on Amazon. "I've just looked up a robot vacuum, which is on sale for £549 - apparently down from £800," he used as an illustration.

He then shared a screenshot and added: "But if we put it into Amazon price checkers, we can see that it has been this exact £549 price for the entire year."

Max finished with a savvy suggestion: "If you can avoid buying for an extra 10 seconds, just Google the price history to avoid falling victim to it."

Reacting on TikTok, one user criticised: "Very dishonest practice, mostly why it's the no-name brands doing this because they have nothing to lose and no customer trust anyways."

Another person revealed their price-watching strategy: "I've always saved all the things I like/want in a list and just monitor the prices of them and see if they end up in a deal worth buying."

Whilst a third noted a pricing trick they had observed: "I had a pair of sneakers in my basket for two weeks at 53€ and today it's shown with a -48% discount, but the same price. Never buying on Prime days."

Others defended the value of Prime Day, however, with one content shopper acknowledging: "Already found some pretty good deals on it to be fair."

And a second person said: "Amazon's devices are worth it if you need one."

During this year's event, Amazon has rolled out a 'Today's Big Deals' promotion, heavily featuring technology deals, as well as introducing a temporary 'New Deal Drop' that will require staying awake until midnight to catch the latest offers.

Keep in mind, Prime Day discounts and special prices are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. To join in, you can start a free 30-day trial now, which will cover the remainder of the promotion up to and including July 11.

For new customers, Prime membership is priced at £8.99 per month and offers one of the top perks - its next-day delivery service on thousands of items, and even same-day delivery in certain areas. Delivery without Prime either takes longer or comes with a fee.

The subscription also provides full access to Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music, along with Prime Reading and Prime Gaming services.