7 questions and answers all about Prime Day

Happy Prime Day! If we had to guess, you’ve either ordered something already or you’re thinking about it, loading up that virtual cart.

You have some time -- this year, we actually have Prime Days, meaning the promotions started at midnight, and will last through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22 (times are in PDT).

There’s typically a LOT of hype about Prime Day and how to score the best deals.

So, in case you’re feeling like you missed the boat, or you want to be able to nod along with your friends, either IRL or online, let’s take a step back and talk more about the big day.

We’ll give you a “primer,” so to speak.

Let’s start from the beginning. What the heck is Prime Day, anyway?

The first-ever Prime Day was held in 2015, to celebrate 20 years of Amazon. It’s kind of like Black Friday for deals and promotions, except it’s held in the summertime, not the day after Thanksgiving. And multiple retailers are involved in Black Friday. With Prime Day, it’s obviously just Amazon -- and of course, seemingly a million companies sell through Amazon, so that makes it arguably just as good.

Plus, the free shipping! Oh, and there’s no formal date set. Every year it seems to be a little different, but Prime Day is typically bigger and better each year, and it’s held in June or July.

So, I have to be a Prime member?

Yes. It’s $119 if you pay it once for the year, or $12.99 a month, plus tax (so you’ll save about $37 over the course of the year if you choose the annual plan).

If you’re curious about Prime, now might be a good time to give the 30-day free trial a shot -- not only will you score the Prime Day perks, as in, starting today, but you’ll realize how much Prime members really benefit.

We’re talking:

• Free, fast delivery on most items.
• A streaming service: BTW, you’ve got to watch “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” It’s one of the best shows on TV. Also, this is perfect for those of you who have ditched traditional cable in recent years, especially if you’re getting a little sick of the offerings on Netflix or Hulu.
• Prime Music, Prime Reading, Prime Book Box if you have kids, Amazon Photos, Amazon Household, Alexa, etc.
• Discounts at Whole Foods. (!!!)
• And probably a slew of other benefits you could use -- click or tap here for a handy guide to making sure you’ll get the most out of your membership.

By the way: You do have to input your payment information to start the Prime trial, and after your 30 days is up, if you haven’t canceled, Amazon will just assume you’d like to keep it going. However, once you’re all registered, you can go into your settings and prompt Amazon to send you a reminder when your window is almost up, so that you won’t miss your cancellation window.

Why should I care?

Well, we kind of broke that down above, but we’ll reiterate: Prime Day is about door-busting deals, and you can tailor the experience to flag you about items you’re specifically looking for. This story will show you how:

If you like deals, and the convenience of having all your sought-after new items dropped at your doorstep, Prime Day will be for you. It’s Christmas in June! And hey, not a bad idea to get a jump start on any holiday ordering. But if you’re not into ANY of the benefits we’ve listed so far? That’s OK, too.

At least now you know!

How do I fully take advantage of this?

Like we said: become a Prime member. Here’s another link about all those perks -- shopping, streaming, eating, reading, listening, you name it.

And then once you’re signed up, you can search for and “watch” any particular items you want especially. This is important, because once you’ve found something you really want, you’ll need to jump on that deal before it sells out.

Prime Day(s) can get kind of competitive, but it’s better than the in-store fighting that sometimes comes with Black Friday, right?

Good luck out there!