Every year I buy several Amazon smart plugs (opens in new tab) during the annual shopping bacchanal known as Amazon Prime Day. This is different from Black Friday, which Amazon now also has, as the weather outside my window is usually 30 degrees warmer and I’m thinking more about the beach than work.
I don’t need all these smart plugs and have them piled up in my closet as I struggle to figure out which plugs in my house should be smarter (usually not so many). I buy them, though, because I can’t resist a good deal (really, any of us can).
Even before Prime Day officially kicks off on July 12th and 13th, the damn plugs are almost half full, and I’m struggling to control myself. That’s really the story of my Amazon Prime Day experience: me scouring the depths of Amazon.com for amazing—sometimes lightning—deals on things I just don’t need.
My other Goto Prime Day product category is Storage Devices. I buy standard micro-SD and SD cards in droves. Sometimes I hop on a portable SSD drive, because who wouldn’t? 17% or more off a 1TB drive (opens in new tab)? I don’t need more external storage, but how can I resist?
I recently bought a new oven with a built-in fryer, which means I don’t need a countertop version. And I’m still two clicks away from buying one KOOC XL Large Air Fryer (opens in new tab) because it’s 53% off. That’s an incredible deal. Why shouldn’t I buy it? Because I literally don’t need it. But I can get it in red! Not. I have to stop.
Stopping is impossible when there is a single destination filled with so many sales. If Amazon were a physical shipping center, it would be like 10,000 Macy’s Basements or Costcos stacked on top of each other, with ramps built into the top floor so you could jump and slide down, exiting on whichever floor you wanted.
I stumbled on one LG OLED 4K 55 inch (opens in new tab) that’s 27% off. It looks adorable. I don’t have a room to put it in and there’s nothing wrong with my current TVs…but this is a good deal. I bet if I asked Alexa – which is built into this TV – it would tell me to buy it. Alexa can also be biased.
You know I could get an almost 4-foot-deep oval pool for $619 (opens in new tab)? That’s a 36% savings on something I absolutely don’t need in my backyard, but when will it be so cheap again?
I spend so much time on Amazon looking for things I don’t need that I sometimes smell a deal before I see it—or maybe I imagine I do. This one “Bacon is my favorite language” blanket (opens in new tab) It’s not just a true statement, but it’s 60% off. There’s no place in my house for this ugly piece of fabric and thread, but I still feel its tug.
In this case, it’s a matter of limit. Any deal 60% off or more is instantly as appealing as a freshly baked apple pie. I can’t help but consider it. On second thought, the perfect Amazon Prime Day site for me is the part that organizes the business by the scale of sale. I don’t care what it is, if it is only 50% off or more (opens in new tab)I will consider it.
This is where I found it cool Milk Frother (opens in new tab) which, from the look of the photo, should be renamed “Milk Splasher”. Still, for $14.39. I think this portable device would be a nice addition to my new kitchen. Never mind the fact that I don’t drink cappuccinos or lattes. I just think I need… er… want.
Ultimately, I am powerless against the siren song of big business. Amazon Prime Day is nothing more than that. So what if it’s for a bunch of things I don’t need? Sometimes wanting is enough, right?
If you’re looking for some amazing Amazon Prime Day deals and have the same lack of control as I do, start with this list: