Prime Day is finally here, and while Amazon’s big annual blowout sale offers some of the biggest discounts to be had outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, the catch is that they are (mostly) limited to shoppers who have a paid Prime membership. The good news for non-Prime members, however, is that other retailers have taken notice of Amazon’s success and are running their own July sales in an attempt to steal a piece of that Prime Day pie.
So far, we’ve seen some great July 4 and Prime-Day-adjacent sales from online outlets like Dell and Lenovo, but one site that might be off your radar is eBay. It has come a long way from its days as an auction site for second-hand goods, and it’s come into its own as a legitimate retailer and a great place to score deals on brand-name stuff like designer clothing and Apple hardware. Apple tech in particular can get pretty pricey, so events like Prime Day – and the sales that are competing with it – are your best chance to snag things which don’t go on sale all too often, like cheap MacBooks and iPhones, at sweet discounts.
Best Apple Deals on eBay
Certain things, like iPads and Apple Watches, have been on sale a lot this year (and we can’t complain about that), but deals on pricier Apple devices such as MacBooks and iPhones have been a bit more fleeting. The biggest discounts that Apple heads should keep their eyes peeled for during the eBay Prime Day sale are for higher-ticket stuff like MacOS computers and iOS smartphones, but if you’ve been hemming and hawing over whether or not to grab that iPad, you might find an even better deal here than the ones that we’ve seen in 2019 so far.
eBay Shopping Best Practices
As always when shopping online (although maybe more so with eBay), it’s important to keep an eye out for certain pitfalls. The golden rule of deal-hunting is, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” so give a wide berth to sellers and listings featuring things that seem priced too low. Another red flag to look out for is sellers with little to no feedback or poor ratings. eBay-run promotions like this one almost always feature sellers who are actual businesses rather than regular users, though, so if you stick to the promoted sale items you should be in safe waters.
One more important thing to check for – especially when buying “open box” and refurbished items – is warranty info. Is your item covered by the original Apple warranty, or does the third-party seller offer one of its own? The original manufacturer’s warranty is always preferred, but a responsible third-party business will also offer post-purchase support. If none is provided, it might be better to walk away.
Looking for more great stuff? Find tech deals, Prime Day deals, and much more on our curated deals page.
