How to Score Big in October: Your Ultimate Guide to Fall Shopping

Wow, there’s a lot going on here – an exclamation, a command, and a misplaced Harvard Business Review-esque subtitle. As Nathan Heller remarked in The New Yorker back in 1992, there are more than 20 adverbs involved in conveying the romance and thrill of shopping through copywriting. It’s enough to make your eye muscles twitch. As per the usual formula, you begin with the command to shop – why else would you be reading this post? Then you move on to the reason behind the command, and here the author gets a little philosophical. She questions whether one can truly afford to skip out on October’s shopping deal. We all love a deal, don’t we? Finally, you get to the goods: shopping for the sake of shopping, without a particular intention or goal. It’s quite abstract and philosophical, really.

With the leaves turning brown, and a nip in the air, time seems to be catching up. Just as the fully-wooded trees are getting ready to drop their leaves, so is the retail sector. Amazon’s announcement about its Prime Day dominating the headlines, one can expect October this year to be electrifying. Best Buy is not far behind, boasting of unbelievable fall savings. Give this ultimate guide a read and know which of the two, PRIME Day sales or Best Buy’s Fall Fiesta, has better bargains to offer.

PRIME Deals vs. Best Buy's Fall Bonanza: What You Need to Know

PRIME Day Unleashed: A Sneak Peek into Amazon's October Extravaganza

Now it’s almost an annual ritual, a day when those hungry for bargains the world over wait with bated breath to see what is on offer. For PRIME Day on 13 October, they’ll be lining up to pounce on what I can only guess will be a glittering array of bargains. Hopefully, they’ll bite.

Best Buy's Countermove: A Full Spectrum of Fall Savings

To be sure, Best Buy quickly released its own behemoth calendar of fall savings, which tech-lovers and bargain-ists alike are counting down the days for. From member sales to the 48-hour flash sale launched in direct response to Amazon’s PRIME Day, Best Buy is out for blood this fall.

Exclusive Access and Unbeatable Deals

The race starts with an invite-only sale (27 September-29 September) for Best Buy Plus and My Best Total members. Only Best Buy’s membership is a serious antidote to Prime, being much cheaper than Amazon. A clever shopper has a head start.

Tech Up Your Life with Apple Trade-Up Event

Right after is the second event, available from September 30 to October 20, when those who want to make an Apple switch will be able to take advantage of the best trade-in offers. The event comes just a few weeks before the holiday season.

The Flash Sale Phenomenon

Block off 8 and 9 October on your calendar: Best Buy’s much-hyped 48-hour Flash Sale is going to go right up against PRIME Day for bragging rights on the best deals on eye-popping TVs, gaming accessories and more.

Gearing Up for the Holidays

Through programmes tailored specifically to gamers and early holiday shoppers, Best Buy is doing what it needs to do: keep the deals rolling in and the eyeballs glued to their screens. What this suggests is that Amazon PRIME is now competing on equal footing with Best Buy.

Head-to-Head: Comparing the Giants of the Fall Sales

Decoding the PRIME Mystery

Although PRIME Day is one of Amazon’s most secretive events (‘Amazon says it doesn’t even know what the best deals will be before the day itself’) that doesn’t mean it isn’t eagerly anticipated and widely advertised. Prime benefits are many but come at a price.

Best Buy's Open Book Strategy

Conversely, Best Buy’s explicit plan for its sales events plans out the ups and downs for shoppers: this is what I can expect, and here’s when it will happen. For someone thinking ahead, that can be the difference.

The Verdict: Where Should You Spend Your October Shopping Budget?

It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, but the optimal strategy is to watch both. Because these sales events are among the most competitive, it’s probable that both retailers will try to outdo each other in wooing customers, meaning the real victors here are the shoppers.

Embracing the PRIME of October Shopping

And that brings us, almost one month late this year, to the end of this PRIME Day guide to shopping the October sales at Best Buy. The secret of figuring out the annual PRIME Day binge is planning. And whether your thing is PRIME or Best Buy, there’s something here for most everyone.

Understanding PRIME: More Than Just a Membership

In a world where speed is everything, Amazon PRIME has changed the online shopping experience by delivering orders in two days, providing enormous libraries for movies, TV and books with PRIME video, and extending that universe of deals and discounts with PRIME membership. PRIME is not just a subscription; it’s a portal to easy shopping and savings, and especially to the deals of the gods known as PRIME Day. With PRIME Day (21 and 22 October this year) and Best Buy’s fall savings collecting eyeballs this month, remember that – at the heart of this online shopping craze – your deal-hunting heart will be beating strongest. Happy shopping!