Amazon Prime Subscribers Get a Jump on Black Friday Deals
Prime members will see the deals 30 minutes before anyone else
If free two-day shipping and unlimited access to streaming movies and TV shows isn't enough to make you an Amazon Prime subscriber, the online retailer just added one more enticement: A 30-minute head start on the general public for some 30,000 Black Friday "Lightning" deals.
Amazon says the holiday specials, which have already started to appear in its Countdown to Black Friday store, will continue through Dec. 22. (Check out Consumer Reports' Countdown to Black Friday calendar.)
What Will You Be Shopping for This Black Friday?
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To date, the deals include:
- 30 percent off a Sony 55-inch 4K UHD TV bundled with a Blu-ray player.
- $170 off Sony’s Alpha a6000 mirrorless digital camera with a 16-50mm power zoom lens.
- 47 percent savings on Jaybird’s X Sport Bluetooth headphones.
- An Optima HD37 3D 1080p DLP home cinema projector priced under $800.
How good are these deals? With Amazon, it's often hard to tell, because you don't know whether the savings percentage comes off Amazon's regular price or the manufacturer's suggested retail price. In the case of the Optima projector, though, that's not an issue: The sale price is about $200 less than the price currently listed on Amazon.com. However, you can buy the projector at other outlets for $900 now.
Shopping for flash deals on Amazon can also involve a fair amount of work, since you have to check back regularly to get updates on specific items. To make things a bit easier this holiday season, Amazon has compiled an Electronics Gift Guide with roughly 600 tech gadgets, broken out by product category.
If you'll be doing some gift buying this month, be sure to check out our Black Friday shopping tips to get the best deals.
