Amazon just announced a fall deals event for Prime members in October

UPDATE: Sep. 26, 2022, 1:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated.

Amazon will host a fall deal event for Prime members in the second week of October, the company announced Monday. The sale marks the first time the retail behemoth has run two Prime Day-style events in the same year, the first of which fell on July 12 and 13.

The news shouldn't come as a total surprise: CNBC reported in June that Amazon had notified select third-party merchants of a "Prime Fall" deal event through its internal Seller Central portal, instructing them to submit time-sensitive Lightning Deals (or flash sales) for consideration by July 22.

This fall event could help Amazon bounce back in revenue after an especially sluggish Q2. But the company will face a massive challenge in convincing consumers that they shouldn't postpone their holiday shopping until Black Friday, when products are usually at their year-round cheapest.

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Is anyone competing with Amazon's event?

No other retailers have yet announced a rivaling sale, though Target previously announced the revival of its Deal Days event from Oct. 6 to 8. That marks the official start of its holiday season and the beginning of its extra-long Holiday Price Match Guarantee, which is good through Dec. 24.

Target was the second major store to extend its holiday return policy for 2022, the first being Walmart. (Eligible purchases made there on or after Oct. 1 can be returned through Jan. 31, 2023.) Amazon would be wise to do the same.

How to sign up for Amazon Prime

Anyone who hasn't been an Amazon Prime member within the past 12 months can sign up for a free 30-day trial by following these steps:

1. Visit amazon.com/prime.

2. Click on the orange button that says "Start your free 30-day trial."

3. Sign in or create an Amazon account.

4. Add a payment method and a billing address. (Don't worry — you won't be charged.)

5. Click the yellow button that says "Activate your free trial."

After your trial period ends, you'll automatically be upgraded to a paid membership plan for $14.99 per month or $139 per year. Pro tip: The latter saves you just over $40 annually.

Getting your degree? Anyone with a .edu email address can take advantage of a free six-month trial that converts to a $7.49-a-month paid tier under the Prime Student program. (You can ride out that rate for four years or until graduation, whichever comes first.) As a member, you're entitled to several bonus offers on top of the standard Prime perks:

• A free six-month trial of LinkedIn Premium

• A free three-month trial of Calm Premium, which renews at a discounted rate of $8.99/year (normally $69.99/year)

• A month's worth of free 24/7 homework help from Course Hero

• Up to 10% off flights and hotels via StudentUniverse

EBT and Medicaid cardholders also quality for a discounted monthly rate of $6.99 — you just have to verify your eligibility every 12 months.

Is Amazon Prime worth it?

Prime's current annual rate is the result of a 17% price bump earlier this spring (from $119 to $139), which wasn't totally unexpected: Amazon has increased it by $20 every four years since 2014. But that higher cost is undoubtedly harder to swallow after two years of a pandemic that made us ultra-reliant on deliveries — especially when Walmart's rival service hovers at just $98 a year.

SEE ALSO: How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership

That being said, $139 is still a decent value for all of the perks a Prime membership includes if you're someone who does most of their shopping online. Subscribers get free two-day (or faster) shipping on millions of items, plus exclusive access to the Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Gaming, and Prime Reading libraries, unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos, and a free year's worth of Grubhub+. Amazon also offers special discounts on items to its members beyond special Prime events like these. Check out Mashable's guide to maximizing all the perks of a Prime membership while you're at it.

But there is a way to shop the fall event without committing to a Prime membership, and that's by scheduling your 30-day free trial around the sale. Just remember to cancel it as soon as the sale is over to avoid getting charged.

from Mashable https://ift.tt/WEq7Rz2