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Amazon’s massive Prime Early Access Sale is here to kick off the holiday shopping season with two days of deals on everything from tech to toys.

Amazon’s new savings event for Amazon Prime members, the Prime Early Access sale, runs from Oct. 11 through the end of Oct. 12.

Amazon usually holds its annual Prime Day sale every July, but this year surprised shoppers with a second two-day sale featuring items from Apple, Samsung, Bose, Sony and more.

Shoppers will be able to get in a warm-up ahead of Black Friday with hundreds of thousands of deals in every shopping category — and not just at Amazon. Walmart, Best Buy, Target and other big retailers are offering competing sales events this year around the same time as Amazon's sale. So be sure to browse before you decide where to purchase your wishlist items.

Now that the Early Access sale is officially live, Prime members can go all-in on their wishlist shopping with discounts on hot-ticket items. In addition to serious markdowns on Amazon products, there are tons of big-name retailers and small businesses alike offering low prices on fitness gear, fashion, home goods — you name it, it’s probably on sale.

Want to snag the best deals of Prime Early Access? Here are some of the discounts that caught our attention, but it's good to move fast because deals will come and go (and possible sell out). Take note that most — but not all — of these deals require Amazon Prime membership.

• Shark NV352 Navigator Lift Away Upright Vacuum: $119.99 (list price $199.99)

• Shark IZ483H Vertex Cordless Stick Vacuum: $299.99 (list price $499.99)

• Vitamix ONE Blender: $149 (list price $249.95)

• Tineco A11 Tango Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner: $244.90 (list price $399.99)

• Up to 45% off toys from Nerf, Transformers, Hasbro

• T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized Nonstick 17-Piece Cookware Set: $121.80 (list price $199.99)

• JBL Boombox 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker: $299.95 (list price $499.95)

• Up to 60% off Calaphon cookware and kitchen appliances

• Up to 50% off iRobot Roomba robot vacuums

• Ninja BL770AMZ Mega Kitchen System: $119.99 (list price $199.99)

• 2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: $799 (list price $999)

• Kitchenaid Artisan Mini Plus 3.5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer: $259.99 (list price $379.99)

• Up to 25% off Peloton bikes, apparel and accessories

• Insignia 50-inch Class F30 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV: $249.99 ($399.99 list price)

• Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote: $19.99 ($39.99 list price)

• Fire HD 10 tablet, 10.1, 1080p Full HD, 32 GB: $74.99 ($149.99 list price)

• Bose QuietComfort 45 Bluetooth Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones: $229 (list price $329)

• Echo Auto- Hands-free Alexa in Your Car: $14.99 ($49.99 list price)

• Echo Buds (2nd Gen): $69.99 ($119.99 list price)

• Kindle Paperwhite (8 GB): $99.99 ($139.99 list price)

• Amazon Halo Band: $39.99 ($69.99 list price)

• SAMSUNG 65-Inch Class OLED 4K S95B Series Quantum HDR, Smart TV: $1,997.99 ($2,997.99 list price)

• SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds Live True Wireless Earbuds: $99.94 ($169.99 list price)

• Apple Watch Series 8: $349 ($399.99 list price)

• Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven: $119.95 ($159.99 list price)

For most people, Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month, or $139 per year, but you can start a 30-day free trial now and cancel anytime before the end of the trial period. Prime membership will get you fast free delivery on most Amazon orders, including groceries and prescriptions, plus unlimited content streaming, ad-free music, free games, 3,000-plus ebooks and magazines, unlimited photo storage, and of course, exclusive deals on Prime Day and the Early Access sale.

There are special offers for recipients of government assistance like SNAP, EBT and Medicaid, who can enjoy full Prime access for only $6.99a month.

Students can also save on Prime with Prime Student for $7.49 per month, or $69 per year — that includes exclusive benefits like 10% off flights and hotels through StudentUniverse.

Strategy is everything when it comes to deal-hunting, and Prime Early Access is no exception. Plan ahead before hitting purchase so you can walk away knowing you scored the lowest prices possible on your must-have items.

Going into a sale blind can lead to impulse purchases and missed deals. Plan out what goods you actually want and start your cart in advance — that way any discounts that drop later on will be applied automatically.

Don’t be fooled by sellers advertising standard prices as discounts. Sometimes items on Amazon get a price increase before a sale and then the price drops back down, making it appear like an amazing deal. Instead, use price trackers like CamelCamelCamel and Keepa to see the price history, and don’t rely on Amazon’s list prices, which are notoriously inaccurate.

It’s tough to balk at the cash-back rewards offered by the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card. Shoppers get anywhere from the minimum 5% to 20% back on their purchases, including orders from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market. There’s no annual fee, and even if you’re not a Prime member, you still get 3% back.

There are rotating Prime Early Access discounts that last only a few hours and drop throughout the sales event. If there’s an item you’re gunning for, make sure to select “Watch this deal.” These items are limited, so shoppers should be prepared to click purchase right away

Other retailers usually launch their own sales to compete with Amazon, and sure enough that's the case during the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale. Be alert to any other sales events going on around the same time so you can get compare prices between sellers.

While Amazon says the Prime Early Access Sale is an event that's exclusive for Prime subscribers, membership is not always required to take advantage of the deals. When one major retailer launches a sale price on an item, competitors often match the price and terms. And if the terms of one sale do not require membership in any paid program, odds are that competitors will match it. In other words, when a retailer like Walmart or Target has a deal available with no membership required, Amazon will probably match it and not require Prime membership to snag it.

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