How to hack Amazon Prime Day

We’re less than a week away from Amazon Prime Day , so it’s time to make a game plan. As seasoned shoppers and deal experts, our staff has a few rules to live by when planning your Prime Day experience. Yes, we start our plotting before the big day, and you should, too. Here’s what to do.

Before you add anything to your cart, be sure to search for it on the Reviewed site . We test products on the reg and can guide you to the best of the best. Because it’s Amazon Prime Day, we expect a lot of Amazon-branded devices, like Kindles , Echo speakers and hubs , and Ring doorbells to be marked down.

Whatever you’re shopping for, go ahead and check the prices now so you’re confident that the deals are real and not a fake-out during the big sale. Add items to your cart ahead of time so that you can keep an eye on them during the event and check out with ease. Sometimes, we see things go on sale very briefly as lightning deals , so you’ll want to check your cart regularly to score the best discount.

If you don’t have a Prime membership, you’ll need one to take advantage of exclusive deals, as well as ultra-fast shipping. There are a lot of ways to get a Prime membership at a discount—you can see if you qualify right here .

Not into Amazon shopping? There are plenty of rival sales happening right now, and we’ve sniffed out the very best deals at all of them. Shop summer sales at Walmart , Target , Sam’s Club and Nordstrom to score big before Prime Day even begins.

Have fun filling your carts,

— Sara Beth Bolin, Newsletter Writer

Reviewed, part of the USA Today Network

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to hack Amazon Prime Day