Amazon Prime Day UK 2025: How to Avoid the Hype and Spot a Real Deal

I’ve been covering Prime Day since it launched in 2015, and one thing hasn’t changed: some deals are genuinely great — others are just inflated price drops around mediocre products, or worse. Here you’ll find out how to spot the genuine deals from the instant regrets.

Amazon Prime Day runs from the 8th July to the 11th July with new deals appearing and old ones disappearing regularly.

Whether you're after a new laptop, a discounted coffee machine, or a cut-price pushchair, our goal is simple: help you make smart choices and avoid wasting money. Prime Day can be brilliant — if you shop carefully.

Prime Day deals often shout about big discounts — 40%, 50%, even 70% off — but percentage discounts alone are meaningless unless you know what the product usually sells for.

Here’s what we look for when deciding if a deal is genuinely worth your time:

A real bargain is something you already wanted or needed, now at a genuinely lower price — not something you’re only buying because it’s 60% off for the next 15 minutes.

User reviews can be incredibly helpful, but on Amazon they’re a mixed bag. Some are fake. Others are written for entirely different products. And many are based on just a few days of use by someone who is not an expert. If you’re relying on Amazon star ratings alone to decide if something’s worth buying, you’re not getting the full picture.

Here’s what to watch out for:

Some sellers quietly swap out the product attached to a listing. So you’ll see thousands of 4.5-star reviews — but they were left for an old version, or a completely different item altogether. Then the seller relists the page with a newer (often more expensive or inferior) version, and the good reviews stick around.

Check the review images and the product Q&A section. If people are showing a completely different model or asking about features your product doesn’t have, that’s a red flag. I’ve dug in to see reviews of what was supposed to be a photography lightbox actually be of cotton towels. That is not helpful.

Sort by 1-star and 2-star reviews. Look for patterns. Are people complaining about the same issue? Is it a fault that appeared after a few months of use? Are people saying the product isn’t as described? A rule of thumb is that if you see more than 5% one star reviews then dig more.

You’ll often find gold in the negative reviews — they reveal things the main listing glosses over. You’ll also often see that negative reviews may be left due to delivery issues, which is not about the product at all.

If the product has 5,000 glowing reviews, but nothing new has been added in the last six months, that could mean it’s a discontinued version. Or worse — the listing has changed entirely and you're buying a different product under an old rating.

Watch for phrases like “I received this product in exchange for an honest review” or “The seller offered me a voucher”. Even when they’re marked as “honest”, the results are often skewed. It’s human nature.

It used to be a lot easier to spot fake reviews but these days reviews can be written by AI and look genuine. Fake reviews have been a scourge of Amazon for many years too so how do you spot them? If the language is too effusive and the language used is generic lacking in human turns of phrase or even basic errors then that could be a sign of an AI or fake review. While fake reviews have been officially made illegal since the 6th April 2025 this doesn’t seem to have had an impact on the fake reviews we see all over Amazon.

One of the downsides of Prime Day — and Amazon in general — is that it’s not just reputable brands offering discounts. Scam products and counterfeits can slip through the cracks, and unfortunately, they’re not rare.

First it’s worth understanding how Amazon works.

Many shoppers assume everything on Amazon is sold and sent by Amazon itself — when in reality, it’s a mix of:

Scammers often use FBA to appear trustworthy, but Amazon doesn't open every box. That means fake or dangerous goods can still be shipped via Prime.

Just because something is Prime-eligible or shipped by Amazon doesn't mean it's sold by Amazon. Always check the "Sold by" line under the Buy Now button. If it’s an unfamiliar third-party seller — especially one with a random name or little feedback — tread carefully. Better still click on the seller’s name and check their reviews too.

Always be more cautious when buying:

If you see a 1TB flash drive for under £20, it’s almost certainly a scam. These drives often report false capacity to your computer but corrupt your files or overwrite data once they exceed their true (tiny) storage size.

This is especially common with USB stick and external SSDs.

If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Legitimate 1TB storage — even on Prime Day — isn’t that cheap and worse still can make you lose important information you think is safely stored.

There are fake Anker chargers, fake Samsung microSD cards, and even fake Oral-B toothbrush heads. Some look convincing, but performance and safety can be dangerously poor.

Tips to avoid them:

Stick to “Dispatched and Sold by Amazon” whenever possible. Third-party sellers on the platform aren’t always vetted as strictly as you’d hope.

Avoid listings with inconsistent branding or poor grammar.

Check the number of sellers — if 20+ sellers are offering the exact same product name at wildly different prices, it’s often a knock-off trap.

Some brands exist solely to capitalise on Prime Day traffic. You’ll see bold claims (e.g. “#1 Best Selling Wireless Earbuds”) and hundreds of suspicious 5-star reviews — but poor reliability, zero after-sales support, and no brand presence outside Amazon.

If you can’t find the product on the brand’s own website — or if there is no brand website — walk away.

Amazon Warehouse is where you’ll find returned and refurbished products — often at a significant discount. During Prime Day, some of these already-reduced items get an extra 30% off.

Should you buy them? It depends.

Here’s how it works:

For bigger-ticket items like laptops or cameras, a “Like New” Warehouse deal can save you serious money — with little downside. I’ve bought speakers and camera equipment for serious discounts and they’ve lasted me for years.

Prime Day can offer solid savings, but not everything is at its best price — and not everything is worth buying just because it's discounted.

Here’s a general rule of thumb:

Better to wait (if you can):

If you're not in a rush and can wait until November, Black Friday or Cyber Monday may offer better deals, particularly on high-ticket electronics. That said, if the item’s on your wishlist and the price checks out via Keepa or a trusted price comparison, Prime Day can still be a good time to buy.

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of big discounts and countdown timers — but that’s how people end up with drawers full of gadgets they never use.

Here are some simple ways to shop smarter:

A good deal is only good if you actually use what you bought. Treat Prime Day like any other sale: a chance to save money — not an excuse to spend it.

Amazon tends to go big on its own hardware during Prime Day. That includes:

The discounts can be impressive — often 30% to 60% off — but it’s worth checking which model you’re actually buying. Amazon often keeps older versions live on the site, and the biggest discounts aren’t always on the latest tech.

Tips:

Prime Day is usually the best time to buy Amazon’s own products — just double-check the version before hitting Buy Now.

Amazon’s return policy is generally generous, but it’s not one-size-fits-all — especially during Prime Day when more third-party sellers are involved.

Always check the “Sold by” and “Dispatched by” lines on the listing, and read the Returns section under “Product details” before buying — especially if the item isn’t being sold directly by Amazon.

And remember, just because it’s a Prime Day deal doesn’t mean you lose your rights — but you may need to jump through a few more hoops if it’s not Amazon fulfilling the order.

Many people sign up for Prime just to unlock the Prime Day deals, but the membership includes a lot more than just early access to discounts.

Here’s what’s included with Amazon Prime in the UK:

If you’re only interested in Prime Day, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial and cancel after the event. But if you regularly use fast delivery, video streaming, or any of the extras, it could be worth keeping beyond the trial.