October Prime Day, officially called Prime Big Deal Days, runs October 6 to 7, 2026, starting at 12:01 a.m. PDT, according to Amazon’s announcement. Amazon says it’s 48 hours of Prime-only pricing across more than 35 categories, with new deals dropping three times a day. For us, the October Prime Day deals worth caring about are sealed collectibles, toys and general-release sneakers, not the hyped pairs.
- Dates: Tuesday, October 6 and Wednesday, October 7, across 22 countries, however dates can vary by country.
- Drops: midnight, 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT on both days, per Amazon.
- Discounts: Adobe forecasts event deals peaking at 19% off the listed price, as reported by Chain Store Age.
- Cost of entry: Prime is $14.99 a month or $139 a year, according to Amazon.
When does October Prime Day 2026 start, and when do deals drop?
Prime Big Deal Days is a 48-hour sale that opens at 12:01 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, October 6, and runs through the end of Wednesday, October 7, Pacific time. You need an active Prime membership to see event prices.
The part that matters for us is the drop schedule. According to Amazon’s event page, new Today’s Big Deals go live at midnight, 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT on both days, and they last only while stock does. We converted those times for anyone running outside the West Coast:
| Drop | PDT | EDT | UTC | CEST (Central Europe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drop 1 | 12:00 a.m. | 3:00 a.m. | 07:00 | 09:00 |
| Drop 2 | 8:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 15:00 | 17:00 |
| Drop 3 | 1:00 p.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 20:00 | 22:00 |
If you’re on an EU or Japan store, check your local event page first, since Amazon says dates can differ by country.
How big are the discounts expected to be?
The discounts are expected to be solid but not wild. Adobe forecasts that Prime Big Deal Days discounts will peak at 19% off listed price, with $9.9 billion in US online spend across the two days, up 9.2% year over year, according to Chain Store Age’s report on Adobe’s holiday outlook. Last October, Adobe measured $9.1 billion in spend with discounts peaking at 18%, per Chain Store Age.
The category numbers below are Adobe’s peak forecasts for the whole 2026 holiday season (same Chain Store Age report), so treat them as a ceiling for October, not a promise:
| Category | 2026 peak discount (forecast) | 2025 peak discount |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics | 30% | 30.1% |
| Toys | 29% | 28% |
| Apparel | 23% | 23.2% |
| Sporting goods | 19% | 19.5% |
Toys are the only line forecast to get deeper cuts than last year, and that’s the category sealed TCG product sits in.
Are there real sneaker deals on Amazon during the sale?
Sneaker deals on Amazon during Prime events are real, but they’re general releases, not SNKRS heat. After the June event, NBC Select listed the Nike Air Max Excee at $70.97 against a $95 list price. By our math, that’s $24.03 off, or about 25.3%.
That’s a good price on a daily beater or a gift. It’s not a flip. GR pairs that sit on Amazon at a discount don’t have a resale premium to begin with, so after fees and shipping you’re usually underwater. The pairs we actually bot still drop on SNKRS and Shopify, which is where most NikeShoeBot users keep their tasks pointed through October.
Our rule of thumb: if the sale price only matches the 90-day low, it’s a normal deal. If it beats the 365-day low, it’s worth a second look.
Which categories are worth watching for resale?
Toys and collectibles are the category we’re watching hardest, because that’s where Adobe expects the deepest cuts and where sealed product holds its value. Here’s what those forecast discounts do to a few round-number retail prices (our own arithmetic):
| Item (example) | List price | Discount | Sale price | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sealed collectible box | $50.00 | 29% (toys peak) | $35.50 | $14.50 |
| GR sneaker | $120.00 | 23% (apparel peak) | $92.40 | $27.60 |
| Nike Air Max Excee (June price) | $95.00 | 25.3% | $70.97 | $24.03 |
A sealed box at $35.50 has room to flip if it’s already trading above retail. If you’re running Pokémon tasks anyway, our Pokémon card bot setup guide covers the drop prep that carries straight over, and how to buy in bulk from Amazon walks through ASINs, accounts and billing.
Is a Prime membership worth it just for this sale?
Prime is the paid membership you need to see event pricing at all. According to Amazon, it costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year, with a free 30-day trial for eligible accounts, and Prime for Young Adults runs $7.49 a month.
The math is simple. One $120 pair at the 23% apparel peak saves $27.60, which covers a $14.99 month and leaves $12.61. On the $139 annual plan, you’d need about five of those pairs ($139 ÷ $27.60 = 5.04) before the sale alone pays for the year.
So if you’re only here for two days of deals and you don’t already pay for Prime, the monthly plan or the trial makes more sense than the annual one. Cancel after if you don’t use the rest.
Can you run a bot on Amazon during Prime Big Deal Days?
Running a bot on Amazon is something plenty of our users do, but you should know the risk going in: Amazon’s Conditions of Use prohibit robots and similar automated tools, and accounts that break those terms can be restricted. We cover the tradeoffs in our breakdown of the best Amazon buying bots.
For one or two personal buys, Amazon now has its own option. According to Amazon, Alexa for Shopping lets you set a target price on a specific item and turn on Auto-Buy, which purchases it automatically when the price hits your number. It won’t beat a restock monitor on sealed product, but for a single pair at a target price it’s zero risk.
Either way, the deals only matter if the buy price clears your resale floor after fees.
Our prep list before October 6
Prep for this sale is mostly list-building, and it’s the same work you’d do before any big restock. Here’s what we’re doing this week:
- Build a watchlist with target prices. Write down the price you’d actually pay for each item, not the price you hope for.
- Check price history. Amazon’s Price History link shows up to 365 days of pricing on product pages, per Amazon, so you can spot inflated list prices.
- Set alarms for the three drops in your own timezone, using the table above.
- Get accounts and billing sorted. Make sure at least one card works on Amazon before day one, not during drop one.
- Know your floor. If the sale price minus fees doesn’t clear current resale, skip it, however good the percentage looks.
Everything else is patience. Most of the good stuff sells through at a drop and comes back at the next one.
