First of all, I’m so sorry we didn’t have a new post on Friday! We had some logistical issues on our end that were beyond our control, but we’re back (and possibly with an extra post this week, so, you know, there’s always that.)
Anyway.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about Amazon Prime Day, but apparently the internet is going to explode on Wednesday when all the deals in all the world come to fruition, but only for Amazon Prime members (if you’re not a member or have wondered if it’s worth it, you can sign up for a free 30 trial membership and you can cancel at any time, no strings attached–in fact, before we committed to a Prime membership, we did the trial membership, forgot to cancel, and Amazon always refunded us the fee when we cancelled. They’re cool like that.) It’s supposed to be big. Bigger than Black Friday. A proverbial Christmas in July (gifts only; the celebration date of Jesus’ birth remains unchanged.)
Honestly, we’re not entirely sure what these deals entail, but we’re planning on being on top of the very best deals and sharing them on Facebook all day (and there have been some amazing steals in the past–I’m pretty sure Our Best Bites fans bought all the Scotch laminators and Blu-Ray copies of Band of Brothers at ridiculously low prices last Christmas.) Facebook is notoriously finicky about not showing posts to fans, but we’ve heard rumors that soon you’ll be able to choose pages where you see all their posts. The feature isn’t available yet, so until then, be sure to follow us on Facebook and interact with us as much as possible; the more you like, comment, and share, the more Facebook thinks you want to see our stuff and the more they’ll show you, which means you’ll get to see more of our hand-picked deals on Wednesday.
Bigger-than-Black-Friday or not, I couldn’t survive without Amazon Prime. I know that sounds dramatic, but really, being a food blogger who lives in semi-rural Louisiana, I don’t have easy access to a lot of things. From groceries to kitchen supplies to camera and computer equipment, I try to stay up-to-date with all the cool kids, and sometimes I need things quickly, so Amazon Prime has saved my bacon more times than I can count. These are a few ways that I use it all.the.time.
This is a particularly great deal if you have something you need every month–if you have a kiddo in diapers, you can save a BUNDLE, and they’re just delivered to your doorstep every month. Everyone is currently out of diapers (praise), but we still get Tide Stain Release, toilet paper, and face wash delivered to our house every month (among other things, but I figured you guys might not be interested in the entire contents of my toiletry closet.)
This is perfect for those shelf-stable basics that you need on a regular basis–cereal, mayonnaise, crackers, Diet Coke. You know, the stuff you’ll need in the Zombie Apocalypse. You fill up a box with heavy, oddly shaped pantry items and then they ship it to you (normally, buying these on Amazon is cost-prohibitive because of the size/weight and you’re better off venturing into the store with your kids who will not.stop.fighting over how people in England pronounce “banana.” That’s saying a lot.)
When they first introduced Instant Video, there was pretty much nothing anyone would ever want to watch, so this was not initially a selling point for me. But they’ve improved their library by leaps and bounds over the years and you can find a lot of awesome shows, ranging from older, hard-to-find TV shows to brand-new movies, that you can either stream for free, rent, or purchase (and the rentals are usually cheaper than they are from your cable/satellite company.)
If you love to read, you can “borrow” over 800,000 (!) titles! And they’re good ones, like real books that you would want to read. This alone is worth the membership to me, but I’ve been known to disappear into a book for 3 days and then return in kind of a haze where I still have a foot in a murder precinct in Ireland, so…
These are the features that I use the most, but there are definitely others. So. If you’re on the fence, give the 30-day free trial a shot and then stay tuned this week, both here and on Facebook, for all the cool stuff we find for you guys!
I love Amazon Prime! I share with my 2 kids – it was great for them when they were in college (they could purchase or rent text books through Amazon Prime). I recently caught up with Mr Selfridge via Amazon Prime – for free!
What do people use their Scotch laminators for? I have wanted one because it looks awesome but I’m not sure how I would use it! Lol! 🙂
I use mine for reusable signs, my job at church, my kids’ school projects. I was scared of it for awhile and it sat in a box forever and now I use it at LEAST once a week! 🙂
Love me some Amazon Prime! I’ve moved from Vegas to a small-ish town in Southern Oregon and there’s not a whole lot of shopping nearby. Not to mention having 3 kids 5 and under (including a darling terrorist of a two year old) keeps me from leaving the house much. UPS guy to the rescue! Can’t wait to see what deals they have!
I’ve found a few shows like Monk and Newsradio that I loved and have wanted to rewatch, but I haven’t been able to find on Netflix. For awhile, Frasier was only on Amazon, but I believe it’s on Netflix now. I’ll keep thinking to see if I remember more! 🙂
Yay, Prime!
So, can you offer any suggestions of hidden gems you are watching on Prime Video? I kind of want to take more advantage of that benefit, but I have Netflix and haven’t found much on Amazon that I can’t get already get there.
Thanks for the heads up. I earned a large amazon gift code recently for a blog post I wrote and I haven’t spent any of it yet.
I LOVE Amazon Prime! I didn’t sign up for years because I didn’t think it would be worth it, but when they raised the free shipping threshold to $35 last year I finally bit the bullet. I am astonished at how much I have used it since then. When I need something I can just get it, instead of having to let it sit in my cart for six weeks until I can build up enough things to reach $35. And, AND! If you choose the 1 week shipping instead of 2 day, which I always do unless it’s an emergency, then they give you a $1 credit to use on music, Kindle books, etc. I have gotten several books completely free from my accumulated credits.
In conclusion, YES. Prime is definitely worth the money.
I noticed on Facebook the other day, that you can choose a “See First” option on pages you follow. Not sure if this is old and I’m just now finding it. It’s part of the “Following” button on a page.
I’ve never taken the plunge into Prime because I’ve heard the Canadian version is not nearly as worthwhile. Any other readers have any experience with Amazon Prime up here? Not that I need any reasons to spend any more money…
Glad someone else mentioned the music! That’s one of my favorite parts. it seems like every time I go to buy an album, it’s on there! Amazon Prime is indispensable.
Ha! Totally took advantage of your Band of Brothers tip at Christmas. And the gift was very well received!
Are you reading the Dublin Murder Squad series?! I’m obsessed and can’t stop thinking about the story when I’m not reading! But haven’t managed to run into anyone who has also been drawn into that world.
YES! I started reading them a few years ago, right as our first book was coming out and I’ve been hooked since! I read “The Likeness” when I flew to Utah at the end of January and there were these terrible ice storms and all the flights were delayed, so I got sucked into that world for hours and hours on end in the airport. Then when I got back to Louisiana, the whole state was covered in ice and the sky was all these weird colors over and between that and the book, I felt like I was kind of in another world, haha!
Don’t forget Prime Music! Tons of free songs and albums to download. Over half of my running playlist is Prime music. Plus they have a radio set up similar to Pandora, which can be fun for a change when your favorite Pandora stations are all getting repetitive.