Hey everyone. We're Dave Kender (editor in chief) and Samantha Gordon (managing editor, ecomm) from Reviewed, a website that tests and reviews everyday products. Today is Amazon Prime Day and there's a lot of garbage on sale. But some of it is actually great and we want to help you find it! We're here to answer questions, share what we know, and teach you some tricks on always getting the best deals. The whole team is on-call here to help you: electronics, smart home, parenting, kitchen & cooking, home decor, apparel, and whatever else you need. TLDR? We also have a massive, constantly updated list of our best Prime Day deals: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2019/07/15/prime-day-2019-best-amazon-deals-you-can-get-during-massive-sale/1683589001/ .

We also take questions any old day of the year on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Ask us anything!

Proof: https://i.redd.it/91nb93bvix931.jpg

EDIT: That’s all we have time to answer today. Thank you for all the questions. Keep following our coverage at reviewed.com.

Comments: 367 • Responses: 34  • Date: 

sh1nes819 karma

As an Amazon employee I'm looking for the best brand of adult diapers that will allow me to go 8 hours without changing?

usatoday-43 karma

Well it really Depends what, exactly, you're looking for. - Samantha

usatoday-71 karma

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Clearly, Amazon is a charged subject. USA TODAY (which Reviewed is a part of) is dedicated to covering the issues discussed here.

Reviewed's mission is to help people buy the best stuff. Amazon is a large retailer and many folks will participate in Prime Day. We want to make sure that if you do choose to participate in Prime Day and you have a question about a product, we can help. - Dave

miloca1983222 karma

Im seeing a lot of electronics with up to 50% off the regular price, ex Ipad Pro 10inch $699, while on the apple website the same ipad is at $700. Is Amazon trying to deliberately scam us...?

Edit: i put the Ipad as an example but most electronics have the same “discounts” too

schoopderp52 karma

So they increased the "regular" price to make the sale price match the retail value?

usatoday66 karma

Yes, this happens a lot in the lead-up to major sales. Brands can increase their price for a week or so, then drop them on major holidays so it appears to be a good price.

When Reviewed is posting deals, we're checking the actual price histories using Keepa and Camelcamelcamel. - Dave

usatoday18 karma

As near as we can tell, Prime Day sales are just as prevalent, or maybe more prevalent, for knock-off brands. So I don't think Amazon is necessarily tricking people, but they do host a fairly permissive marketplace for suspiciously-named brands. It's not new for Prime Day, though. - Dave

[deleted]9 karma

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usatoday-14 karma

I totally agree with you. The inflated prices trend is all too real. But that doesn't mean there aren't some actually good discounts lurking in the sale too. I use price history tools like The Camelizer and Keepa that show me what the price has been over the life of the product right on the Amazon page so I know if a deal is actually real or a Prime Day trick. I also recommend actually reading customer reviews to get a sense of whether a product is total crap or not. - Samantha

[deleted]-2 karma

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usatoday-5 karma

If you're not worried about 1080 picture quality, I'd actually suggest checking out the YI Dome Cam. It's been our favorite indoor smart security camera for a while, and it's only $34, so it's more affordable than the ones you found. It's also got 7 days of free cloud storage and an SD card slot. (we recommend SanDisk, especially the Extreme Pro lineup, which outperformed other top brands when we tested SD cards

We've never head of the four you shared, and other than the Wansview, they all have too few reviews for us to confidently say they're good or not. The Wansview seller, however, raised some minor yellow flags when I looked into their overall review quality on Amazon via Fakespot. Hope this helps! - Samantha

usatoday0 karma

We haven't tested this model, but it doesn't look too bad, especially for sub-$100. The Prime Day price is definitely solid and its lowest ever, and it seems like customers like it based on the reviews. Lots of folks mention that it's quiet and on the smaller side, which are pros in my book. - Samantha

flarefenris-3 karma

Any opinion on the TicWatch smartwatchs? Most of them are on a fairly significant discount, the Pro in particular is about 30% off.

usatoday0 karma

We tested the Ticwatch Pro. It’s all right, but the display is hard to see in daylight and, in power saving mode, you lose much of the device’s smartwatch functionality. Also, our tester told me he thinks it's not all that attractive. I think I'd say pass on it. - Samantha

SendMeToGary2-3 karma

I’m looking for kona coffee (not a blend), can I get quality fresh kona on Amazon? I could get it directly, but I have an amazon gift card to burn up.

usatoday0 karma

It sure looks like there are some options for you, but doesn't look like they're necessarily on sale, if you were hoping to save money too. I love trying new brands and flavors for things like coffees and teas on Amazon, and I've found some awesome stuff this way. But I'm also not too particular about my coffee, so I'd recommend poking around and reading customer reviews to see what others have thought about the different options! - Samantha

TheDrSmooth-6 karma

Best Air Fryer?

And they worth it?

usatoday4 karma

I personally don't think they're worth it. They take up a ton of space and, from the tests we've done with them, don't really seem to turn out top-notch food. More like "good enough." But others, bother at my office and in general, seem to love them. However, there's this one by Ninja that's $100 off for Prime Day. It is not just an air fryer but also a pressure cooker and steamer, so at least it's not a single-use device. Our cooking editor just confirmed that she liked it a lot, and she has feelings about air fryers. - Samantha

ErinGodzilla-6 karma

Charcoal toothpaste..? Probably not on sale today, but I've been wondering for a while.

usatoday-2 karma

So, here's the thing with charcoal toothpaste. People LOVE it, but it's super abrasive and might not be good to use (we do not test anything for medical- or health-related claims). I've spent a LOT of time at the dentist over the last year and a half (I literally go to a dental school once a week to get work done because my teeth are a mess and I'm finally taking charge of my dental health) and I overhear dental students talking all the time about how bad it is for teeth. So, maybe check with your dentist first if you still want to try it? That being said, if you are still gung-ho for charcoal, ActiveWow is easily the most popular option and it has a 20% coupon today (but please consider your decision carefully! teeth are so important!): https://www.amazon.com/Active-Wow-Whitening-Charcoal-Natural/dp/B01N8XF244/ - Samantha

CynicClinic1-7 karma

Anything fun out there to pick up for a good price? Got a birthday to throw soon for my sister.

usatoday0 karma

Oh man, I'm sure there's a ton of fun stuff I could recommend. What sort of fun things are you looking for? Party favors? Gifts? Games? Let me know and I'll see if I can find some great stuff for you! - Samantha

A321098-8 karma

I know it's just a marketing strategy but it's prime day. So the question is I have around 15 dollars as credits and want to buy something. What should I ?

usatoday-6 karma

What shouldn't you? Kidding. There are lots of great things under $20 on sale for Prime Day. This egg cooker is probably my top choice: https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Rapid-Egg-Cooker-Scrambled/dp/B00DDXWFY0/

I've had one for a couple years and it's so effortless to make hard boiled eggs. And it makes weird but totally fine little omelettes for when you're lazy but still want brunch. - Samantha

Here are some other top options under $20 (sorry we don't have a list curated for under $15!): https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2019/07/15/amazon-prime-day-2019-best-deals-under-20/1733831001/

TheCyberSniper-9 karma

Favorite car camera(s)?

usatoday2 karma

Pasting my answer for someone else looking for a dash cam earlier (-Samantha)

I'm not familiar with dash cams, so I asked one of our product testers who lives on the road and is actively testing dash cams right now! He said that the Garmin Dash Cam 65W is the front runner for the title of best dash cam. It’s feature-packed, highly customizable, and offers 1080p 2.0 video recording with a wide field of view (enough to see four lanes of traffic). Most importantly, it’s small and unobtrusive--it stays out of your way while you’re driving. And it's about $40 off for Prime Day, which is the lowest it's ever been.

CaptCurmudgeon-10 karma

Why are you better than a computer-based learning algorithm like FakeSpot?

usatoday6 karma

Fakespot is a great tool and we use it all the time. But it's only one piece of the puzzle and isn't always perfect. Just this morning I noticed that it was giving an "F" rating to the Echo Dot, which is pretty clearly a legit product (regardless of your feelings on Echo products in general).

So frequently we're using our own research + Fakespot + price tracking tools to vet deals. - Dave

monadoboyX-13 karma

Is there any good apps or browser add ons you recommend to compare the prices of things?

usatoday-3 karma

Yes! We love Keepa and Camelcamelcamel. They don't have data for every item on Amazon, but they're both incredibly valuable (and free) resources that we're happy to shine a light on. - Dave

nato0519-15 karma

What about the generic go pro camera? Asakoi I believe is the brand name.

usatoday3 karma

So, we are not familiar with this brand, but I spoke with our head photographer, and he said "I would stay away from generic camera brands… Lot of room to cut corners and scam there."

If you can find a link (I couldn't find what you were talking about), I'd be more than happy to check it out and give you my opinion on the quality based on reviews and price histories and other things like that! - Samantha

Fr0D0ugh1996-16 karma

I wanted to get a mac. Any ideas? Based in U. K if it helps. Cheers guys.

usatoday-2 karma

We have a piece we published on just Apple products: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2019/07/15/amazon-prime-day-2019-best-apple-ipad-iphone-and-macbook-deals/1702384001/. Apologies if the links don't render for you (the GDRP-compliant version of USAT strips out ads and some links). But I double-checked some of the products on the Amazon.co.uk and it appears that the sales are similar. Good luck! Let everyone know what you find. - Dave

whatsupkevin-16 karma

How do you deal with the insane amount of copycat items from numerous unheard of brand names on Amazon? For example, if you search cordless vacuum, wiper blades, french press, USB charger, or even clothing/shoes of a particular design, numerous brands will pop up, among a couple known "name-brands." I understand that not all of the copycats are illegal, for example when a patent expires (e.g. Dyson cyclone, irobot roomba), anyone can exploit the same technology without licensing the patent.

I can't imagine if you can test them all. But if you don't, how do you choose which ones to test?

usatoday-4 karma

When we do a roundup we review as many products as we can, but in some categories there are indeed a ton of copycats and we can't do a hands-on with all of them. Typically, we'll start with best-sellers, then look at what our competitors have reviewed, then look at other places (like Reddit) to see what people are talking about. We'll get them all into the lab and test them together.

For all the also-rans and no-names, we'd recommend that check user reviews. You can try running them through Fakespot, which is a great free third-party resource. You're also definitely welcome to email us if you think we should test something. - Dave

KW5656-17 karma

Any good laptops for video and photo editing?

usatoday-5 karma

Any good laptops for video and photo editing?

Yes! Our laptop expert said the best option is the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which is def more expensive than PCs, but Macs can handle all the processing power it takes to do video editing. - Samantha

starwyo-17 karma

Any thoughts on air purifiers for heavy polluted areas (LA) and seasonal allergies?

usatoday4 karma

Yes! We just wrapped up nearly a year of testing air purifiers. Our top-rated was the Winix 5500-2, which performed really well and at ~$200 was cheaper than a lot of the competition. - Dave

More: https://www.reviewed.com/home-outdoors/best-right-now/the-best-air-purifiers

MyCoffeeIsCold-18 karma

I’ll start! Do you have any recommendations on PoE Camera for Indoor or Outdoor use? Obviously, preferable if they didn’t phone home to China with my data. I have heard that Ubiquiti makes good products but the image quality can be sub-par. Thanks!

usatoday-3 karma

That's a tough one. Our top-recommended outdoor camera is the Nest Cam Outdoor, with the Netgear Arlo Pro as our best value (details: https://www.reviewed.com/smarthome/best-right-now/best-smart-outdoor-security-cameras). But as to where they're sending data, that was not part of our original rubric. (Taking notes on what we can do for the next update, though.)

We don't have any experience with Ubiquiti. It looks like the Ubiquiti Unifi UVC-G3 is not on sale today, but it has legit positive reviews. And if you're up for it, there's a tool called IoT Inspector that can track what your smart home devices are sending.

tilman2015-19 karma

I'm after some good noise-cancelling headphones for office / train use along with making calls.

By the sounds of it, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 are probably best for the call quality and the 1000XM3 are not as good for calls.

Is this the case or is it worth the saving to get the 1000XM3 on prime and, if so, is it worth getting the manufacturer refurb elsewhere for even less?

Edit: WTF @ being downvoted for asking a question!

usatoday1 karma

We haven't gotten to test the new 700s, so I can't speak to the call sound quality specifically, but I can say that Bose never lets us down in real-world or lab tests. The Sonys are great because they have customizable noise cancelation that lets you modify it to your exact specifications, which might be good for taking calls? If you're not concerned about buying refurbished (and you shouldn't be as long as you buy them from an authorized, official source) I'd say go that direction. Why not save the extra money if you don't care about having something fresh out the box? - Samantha

spaaace83-19 karma

Which robo vacuum should I get...there are so many models and brands...I just got the Roomba 690 and it's cleans well but is pretty "dumb" so I'll probably return it....any recommendations? I saw the Deebot 930 just got reduced and so did the Roomba 900 series...what do you think?

gloggs0 karma

Anker makes the eufy. I love it, quieter than my Roomba that bit it, and just as robust

usatoday-1 karma

Eufy robot vacuums almost always score highly in our lab tests. We have this awesome little robot vacuum obstacle course with the different things robot vacuums may encounter in our homes, and pretty much every eufy that's ever run it has done well for suction and navigation! - Samantha

usatoday-13 karma

It sounds like you want something a little more feature-heavy. The Roomba 891 is WiFi-connected, has an app on your phone, and works with Alexa. Plus, it's $300 for Prime Day, and it looks like it's never gone on sale at all, let alone for $150 off. The Neato lineup, as u/pinks1ip pointed out, is totally solid as well, but we haven't seen any deals on them yet, at least none cheaper than this Roomba. - Samantha