It's day 2, but these tricks still work to help you rake in more savings.

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme. 

Prime Day is upon us once again. It’s that time of year when Amazon puts forward some of its best prices on the site. To take full advantage of these sales, you need a little insider info, which we have and are about to pass on to you.

First, put the “Day” in Prime Day in quotes since it takes place over 48 hours, from 3 a.m. ET on July 12 to 2:59 a.m. ET on July 14. There's still time left, so check out our updated Prime Day deal picks and our tips on how to save the most money, as well as Amazon's own Deals page(Opens in a new window) . Or you can browse our top picks by category:

Prime Day deals are for Prime subscribers, which you might think are just those who spend $139 on Prime services. But if you want access to Prime Day discounts without committing that much cash or time to Amazon, you can sign up for a monthly membership(Opens in a new window) for $14.99 and then cancel it once Prime Day has passed. There’s also a 30-day free trial for first-time subscribers, so you can get all the deals and pay nothing for the membership if you cancel within a month. 

There are other ways to save on Prime. If you’re a student, you can get a membership(Opens in a new window) for $69 per year or $7.49 per month. If you receive Medicaid, EBT, or other government assistance, you might qualify to pay $6.99 per month(Opens in a new window) .

If you know someone with Prime who doesn't mind sharing, they can add you to their account with Amazon Household(Opens in a new window) . Your profiles and purchase histories will remain separate, but payment information will be available to both parties, so if you're doing this with a roommate, make sure you trust them with your credit card details.

To get $10 off on Prime Day, sign up for an Amazon Stampcard(Opens in a new window) , which functions as a sort of Amazon-sponsored scavenger hunt. Activate it, and then complete four activities: make a Prime purchase, stream a show on Prime Video, listen to a song on Amazon Music Prime, and borrow an ebook on Prime Reading. You’ll then get a $10 credit added to your account. It's not the only way to earn free credits on or before Prime Day; here's a rundown.

So maybe the biggest question when it comes to Prime Day is: What’s the biggest deal? You can expect the best savings on products that are made by Amazon itself. When it comes to electronics, that means things like Amazon’s Echo lineup, as well as its Kindles, Fire Stick TVs, and Fire Tablets.

For tech accessories, smart home, office supplies, fitness, home goods, and more, that’s Amazon Basics(Opens in a new window) . Amazon makes products for pretty much every aspect of life and they’re all found on its brands hub page(Opens in a new window) . 

For electronics, you should look at the model name and SKU numbers to make sure that the model on sale is the one you actually want. With electronics and everything else, you should check that the deal is really a deal by looking at its price elsewhere. 

Not every great Prime Day deal can be found on Amazon. Its competitors usually have sales of their own. Target Deal Days(Opens in a new window) go from July 11 to July 13, as does Best Buy's Black Friday in July event. Walmart has also announced its own Summer Sale.

There's a big world of shopping out there beyond Amazon and its big-box competitors, but you don’t want to spend all day trying to compare prices yourself. That’s where price-comparison browser extensions, sites, and apps come into play.

Google Shopping(Opens in a new window) is one of the best ways to find the lowest price on an item. Run a search for what you’re looking for, and you’ll see “low price” on the best price for that item. 

CamelCamelCamel(Opens in a new window) tracks prices only on Amazon. You can use it to find the biggest price drops on the site and to set up a price alert for when an item you want is at a price you’re willing to pay. Visit the site or download the browser extension to track prices. 

Honey(Opens in a new window) is a browser extension that finds you the lowest price on Amazon, as well as tons of other retailers. You can set price alerts and Honey also hooks you up with coupon codes.

RetailMeNot's Deal Finder(Opens in a new window) browser extension automatically applies the best promo codes and cash back to maximize your savings online.

Price.com(Opens in a new window) has both a browser extension and an app (iOS(Opens in a new window) ) that let you compare prices across online stores, including Amazon. 

And speaking of apps, there are lots of price-comparison ones out there. Joining Price.com’s are BuyVia(Opens in a new window) , Flipp(Opens in a new window) , Mycartsavings(Opens in a new window) , and ShopSavvy(Opens in a new window) . You can search and compare product prices on all of them and set up price alerts for items. 

You don’t want to buy something just because it’s on sale. So before Prime Day, come up with a list of what you’re looking for deals on and add the items to your Amazon wishlist. This way if any of your items get included in a Prime deal, you can just check the list to see if anything’s on sale and easily move items to your cart and check out. 

If you see a deal you like on Prime Day, move fast. Not only can an item sell out because of demand, but some prices are Lightning Deals, which means that they run for a limited time. Find them on Amazon’s Today’s Deals(Opens in a new window) page and the Prime Day(Opens in a new window) page. If you’ve missed out on a Lightning Deal, click Join Waitlist to sign up for the Lightning Deal waitlist(Opens in a new window) , which lets you scoop up an item that someone else has let sit in their cart for more than 15 minutes. 

Prime Day is the perfect opportunity for scammers. You might see links on social media or get suspicious-looking texts or emails. Avoid getting phished and search for the deals you see out in the wild by typing the product name yourself directly on Amazon’s site or app. 

If you’re worried that a passel of packages will show up on your doorstep late next week, tempting porch pirates, you have a couple of options to lower the chances they'll be stolen. 

If there’s a day of the week when you know you’ll be home, select it as your Amazon Day. Go into your account and under Ordering and Shopping Preferences, click on Amazon Day, and set your preferred day of the week. Then at checkout, choose to have your packages delivered on your Amazon Day when you’ll be there to receive them.

Alternatively, have your packages shipped to an Amazon Hub locker or counter(Opens in a new window) near you where you can pick up your packages. A Locker is a secure, self-service container that is typically located in a supermarket, convenience store, or bank. A Counter is a counter at a retail location, such as a convenience store or pharmacy. When you check out, go to the shipping address, choose Your Pickup Locations and then tap on Find a Pickup Location Near You. You’ll then be able to select a Locker or Counter that’s nearby. 

Disclosure: RetailMeNot is owned by PCMag parent company Ziff Davis.

For up-to-the-minute stand-out deals on our favorite products, check out PCMag's Prime Day live blog, and our mega-post of all the very best deals curated by our product experts.

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My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme. 

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

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