What time does October 2023 Amazon Prime Day start?

If you missed out on Amazon Prime Day back in July, the gods of Prime decided to give you a second shot, and just in time for the early Christmas shoppers to take advantage. Amazon is hosting a second Prime Day for 2023, this time on Oct. 10 and 11. Though, they’re not officially calling it Prime Day 2, instead opting to name the days “Amazon Prime Big Deal Days” this time around. The two days promise big savings site-wide for Prime members as if getting free two-day shipping isn’t saving enough money.

While you should get your credit card prepped and ready to go, don’t expect to start shopping right at midnight, depending on your time zone. The official start of the Prime Big Deal Days sale is universal, meaning no matter where you are in the world, the sale starts for everyone at the same time of day to give everyone an equal shot at the deals. If you’re in the US, though, be prepared to pull an all-nighter.

What time does Amazon Prime Day start?

The official start time for Amazon Prime Day is 3am EST on Oct. 10. Sadly, US Prime members are getting the short end of the stick, as the sale starts between 9pm and 3am, depending on where in the US you’re located. However, international Prime members will have their pick of the draw as the sale starts during daytime hours.

What exactly is Amazon Prime Day?

Short answer: Amazon needs a quick way to boost their Prime subscriptions once a year. Long answer: Amazon wanted to build customer loyalty, so in 2015, they rewarded their existing Prime subscribers with an exclusive sale, with thousands upon thousands of discounts to choose from. Prime Day then became a yearly tradition from 2015 onward. In 2022, thanks to the yearly event’s popularity, Amazon launched a second Prime Day-like event, called the “Prime Early Access Sale,” in October of that year.

Each Prime Day has various discounted products, whether you’re looking for fashion, technology, home goods, toys, or beauty and health. Amazon also offers a variety of “Flash Deals,” limited-time offers with a set number of offers tied to the sale to make the sale that much more enticing. Keep in mind the only way to access any of these sales is through your Prime membership. If you don’t already have a membership, you can sign up for a free trial during the sale.

What are the rival sales?

Many popular retailers have seen the excitement that Prime Day has caused since its start in 2015 and didn’t want to miss out on the action. Many big box retailers in the U.S. are hosting their fall sales to compete with Amazon Prime Day’s October sales. Walmart is hosting a Deals Holiday Kickoff sale from Oct. 9 to 12 with a variety of offers. For those looking for tech-specific deals, Best Buy is also offering a flash sale on the 10 and 11. Target just hosted its Circle Week for Target Circle members last week, but leading up to the holidays, Target is offering a variety of daily deals online for shoppers.