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A new Amazon sale is always a big deal

No matter what time of year it is, there’s always a good reason to save money. Amazon understands this better than most, and tries to squeeze in as many sales as possible each year. This week, it announced another one: Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days. It takes place in October — which happens to be a great time to shop for holiday gifts. This isn’t a sale for everyone, though. It’s only for Amazon Prime members. Luckily, signing up isn’t hard.

What We Know About Amazon Prime Big Deal Days

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days is a 48-hour sale featuring deals on top brands, only for Prime members. Expect discounts on top products from Apple, Dyson, Sony, and Ninja — and this year’s sale spans 35 categories.

How to Join Amazon Prime

The only two hard facts we have about the upcoming sale are that it’s in October and only for Amazon Prime members. Here’s how to sign up for a Prime membership so you’re ready when the sale finally happens.

• Step one: Create a free Amazon account. You can do this from any mobile device or laptop on the Amazon website or app.

• Step two: Go to amazon.com/prime on the device of your choice.

• Step three: Follow the prompts to officially sign up for Amazon Prime. If you’ve never tried Amazon Prime before, you’ll get your first 30 days free as a trial membership.

You will still need to enter a billing method if you are using the free trial. After 30 days, you will start paying at a rate of $14.99 per month or $139 per year if you opt for the annual membership. The monthly membership costs $179.88 per year, for comparison.

Alternative Amazon Prime Memberships

If $14.99 per month or $139 per year seems like a lot to you, you might be in luck. Amazon offers two discounted memberships without sacrificing a single benefit.

• Amazon Prime Student: This membership option is only available to students enrolled at two- and four-year colleges. You’ll need a .edu email address or other proof of student status to take advantage of it. You get a free six-month trial upon signup, followed by a $7.49 monthly or $69 annual fee. It also comes with additional student-focused benefits.

• Amazon Prime access: This membership is only available to eligible recipients of government assistance, such as those on Medicaid. You must upload proof of this and it comes with a 30-day free trial, followed by a $6.99 per month fee. There is no annual subscription.

Amazon Prime Member Benefits

Access to major sales events each year isn’t the only benefit of Amazon Prime. Some of the other benefits include:

• Amazon Music: Amazon Prime members get access to a number of discounts, including special prices on Amazon Music Unlimited, discounts on groceries and recipes, and access to “lightning deals” throughout the year.

• Entertainment: With an Amazon Prime membership, you get access to a variety of premium entertainment, including full access to Prime Video, Amazon’s movie and TV streaming service, Prime Reading for your Kindle or other e-reader, Amazon Music, and Prime Gaming.

• Free and discounted delivery: One of the biggest benefits is free expedited shipping on many items. Some locations may even benefit from free same-day shipping.

• Free Grubhub+: Grubhub+ is included for free with every Prime membership. This alone is worth $120 per year, with benefits like free delivery fees on qualifying Grubhub orders over $12.

Plus, Amazon Student offers even more benefits.

• StudentUniverse Travel: You will receive a 10% discount on flights booked through this service and a gift voucher worth 10% of the price of hotel bookings made through this service.

• Course Hero: Students receive a free one-month trial of this service and 60% off the extended service, which includes 24/7 tutoring.

• Calm: Students get a discount on the premium Calm subscription to help them manage stress and anxiety.

• Prime Video Premium channels: Students can subscribe to premium channels including Showtime, Sundance Now and Epix for just 99 cents a month.

Any country that can benefit from the sale

The United States may be where Amazon started and is based, but it has been a global company for years. That means that Amazon Prime members in 19 countries can also take advantage of the Prime Big Deal Days sale. Those 19 countries are:

• Australia

• Austria

• Belgium

• Brazil

• Canada

• China

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Japan

• Luxembourg

• The Netherlands

• Poland

• Portugal

• Singapore

• Spain

• Sweden

• The United States

• The United Kingdom

The Best Items Likely to Be on Sale During Prime Big Deal Days

Apple Watch Series 8

Apple’s latest version of its smartwatch features advanced sensors that can track your health, including sensors that can perform an ECG and monitor your blood oxygen levels. It comes in two sizes and is on sale for 18% off.

SHOP NOW

iRobot Roomba i4-Plus Evo

A robot vacuum is a big investment, but the time you save from not having to clean your floors adds up quickly. This model can hold up to 60 days of dirt and is now on sale for 25% off.

SHOP NOW

Dyson Airwrap

This innovative answer to hair care comes with multiple attachments, such as barrels and brushes, which don’t come with the usual risk of heat damage found in similar items. The attachments are also designed with different hair lengths in mind as an all-in-one device.

SHOP NOW

Ninja Creami NC301

The Ninja Creami has been a social media sensation for months now, thanks to its ability to turn almost anything into ice cream. It’s also been nearly impossible to find in all that time, so keep an eye on availability if you want to experience its deliciousness for yourself.

SHOP NOW

Hot Wheels RC Barbie Corvette

With the movie “Barbie” recently surpassing the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, chances are you or a loved one, regardless of age, has Barbie fever. This RC Corvette is straight out of that movie.

SHOP NOW

Prices listed are based on the date and time of publication and are subject to change.