Every year Amazon hosts a bargain battle for its Prime members. For the first time this year there is even a second version. After July 12th and 13th, Prime Day 2.0 will also run on October 11th and 12th. The first offers are already available, but these are likely to disappoint some users.
Like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Prime Day is one of the best-known bargain days in Germany. The (online) dealers lure the favor of buyers with numerous offers. Unlike these shopping days, however, Prime Day is organized exclusively by Amazon. For the first time this year, the retailer even goes so far as to launch a second version in the fall. Before the official start on October 11th, Prime members will already receive exclusive offers for various services. However, these have a catch.
First Amazon Prime Day 2.0 starts in October
The bargain hunt starts on October 11 at 00:00. Amazon will then regularly post new offers on its website until October 12 at 11:59 p.m. This means that the second Prime Day round is a little shorter this year than the main event in June. But just like back then, there are now numerous advance offers available. Amazon advertises this on its promotion page. These are mainly savings opportunities for various services and in certain categories. The in-house echo devices are also cheaper.
Advance offers available now
According to Amazon, Prime members can now choose from the first exclusive offers. However, many users will not be able to benefit from certain promotions at all. Amazon lists the offers or promotions available in advance of Prime Day 2.0 as follows:
Amazon devices
In the run-up to Prime Day 2.0, Amazon announces a discount on its own devices. It starts at 17.99 euros. At this price, buyers get the 3rd generation Echo Dot – the older, flat model. But the round Echo is also available at a discount, as are various Fire TV stick models, Fire tablets and Kindle readers. Also already on sale are products for home security, such as cameras from Blink, a sub-brand of Amazon.
But in the past few weeks, Amazon had repeatedly offered the Echo devices in particular with a high discount. The offers are therefore not really convincing.
Kindle Unlimited
Kindle Unlimited is a special offer for Amazon e-reader users. The subscription costs EUR 9.99 per month and offers unlimited access to over a million e-books, magazines and thousands of audio books. As part of Prime Day 2.0, the first three months of a new membership are free for Amazon Prime customers. But there are also two free months for new customers apart from the shopping event. So all in all a bit of a meager offer.
Audible
Prime members who have not yet tried Audible can also test the audiobook streaming service for free as part of Prime Day 2.0. There are still three free months until October 12th. The offer can be canceled at any time and costs EUR 9.95 per month after 90 days. Audible can also be tried out for free outside of Prime Day 2.0. However, the test phase is then limited to just 60 days.
Films and series cheaper
Only in the run-up to Prime Day 2.0 are Amazon also offering discounts on Prime Video. From October 7th to 9th, Prime members in Germany can save up to 80 percent on new and popular films, according to Amazon
Conclusion on the advance offers
All in all, the currently known advance offers for Prime Day 2.0 are a little disappointing. The discounts on the company’s own Echo and Kindle devices are not new, and the free months for online services aren’t worth anything either. Because unfortunately – and that’s the problem – the promotions only apply to new customers. Anyone who already uses Audible or Kindle Unlimited or has used it once should look into the tube. We find that annoying. So it looks more like a lure offer for a subscription than a real benefit for Prime members.
After all, the direct comparison of prices should be a little easier for buyers this year. Because a new law obliges Amazon to make the prices and the given, actual savings in discount campaigns more transparent. You can read more about this here: New price information on Amazon – bad for retailers, good for customers.
Requirement for Prime Day
The special thing about Prime Day is the fact that the offers only apply to Prime members. This distinguishes the shopping days from the other promotions such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Since the price increase in September, Amazon has charged EUR 8.99 per month or EUR 89.90 per year for Prime membership.
A Prime membership offers a number of benefits to those customers who shop frequently on Amazon. You will also receive deliveries with a goods value of less than 20 euros free of charge and sometimes on the same or the following day. Membership also includes access to the Prime Music and Prime Video streaming services. However, there are a number of other benefits that Prime offers. You can read about them here:
Anyone who does not yet have Prime access can try it out free of charge for 30 days and thus also gain access to the Prime Day offers. After the trial month, free access becomes a paid subscription unless customers give 48 hours’ notice in good time. Cancellation is possible online in the Amazon customer account under “My Prime Membership”.