Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. While it was not accessible for South Africans in the past, this year online bargain hunters are in luck.
Amazon Prime Day started in 2015 by online retailer Amazon. It was a way to celebrate their 20th anniversary, but was so successful it became an annual event that often lines up close to Black Friday.
Amazon can be compared to a much bigger version of Takealot. According to the company, shoppers purchased more than 175 million items during Prime Day 2019.
While shipping to South Africa wasn’t an option for years, it has recently been included by Amazon, with specific delivery prices for our region.
Prime Day this year is from October 13-14 and is expected to a big one.
While this day is massive for savings in the US, these extra delivery costs and paying in dollars means you are likely to pay at least equal to what you could get on one of our local sites, if not more.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention though, Amazon has many outstanding products that aren’t available in South Africa. So if you’re keen to find that very specific piece of tech, Amazon Prime Day might just be your prime opportunity.
Do your research
This is the same advice for all major savings days, but if you haven’t shopped on Amazon before it is even more important. This is because Amazon makes our online stores look like quaint corner shops.
In addition, you will also be competing with millions of people worldwide for the products, not just South Africans, so getting in early and focus on what you want.
Don’t get caught up in the hype
Sales are meant to trick you into buying more than you need. Don’t get caught up in the hype otherwise you will end up spending way more than you bargained for.
If you impulse buy, it is also likely you will end up spending on products that you could easily get in South Africa for less, especially once you take shipping costs into consideration.
This tool can also help you see the history of Amazon prices for your product, so you can compare the savings and see if it really is worth it.
Don’t forget to check shipping costs
You might see a great laptop or game console deal and be sold, but if you haven’t included shipping you may end up being disappointed.
Check out Amazon’s shipping for South Africa (which includes two prices that need to be added together) before even looking for deals. This way you know how much the overall process will cost before getting your hopes high on slashed prices.