Other than anticipating what products will be on sale during Prime Day, the most obvious way you can get ready for Amazon’s annual sale is to make sure you have a Prime membership, because you’ll only be able to shop the sale and that day’s Lightning Deals if you’re a Prime member.

If you don’t want to commit to a full membership, you can take advantage of the Amazon Prime free 30-day trial. A membership grants you the opportunity to save big on Amazon devices, electronics, back-to-school supplies, and hundreds of thousands of other products ahead of the holiday.

Starting your free trial before knowing the official start date, risks the free period to running out before Prime Day. This would require you to pay for the membership to take advantage of the holiday.

A Prime membership costs $13 per month, or $119 for a full year, which may seem steep, but it's still completely worth it (and to put it into perspective, JPMorgan estimated the true value of a membership is actually $785).

Fast and convenient shipping policies, free video and music streaming, and access to Prime Day just skim the surface of all the perks of a Prime membership, and if you're not convinced now, you can sign up for a 30-day trial to experience all the benefits for yourself. It's completely free, so you can shop Prime Day and try out other features of Prime without the commitment.

Amazon also offers discounted Prime memberships for the following groups:

Want to stay updated on everything Prime Day 2020? Bookmark this page and our master guide to the best deals of Prime Day.