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What to buy in July, and some things to hold off on buying

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The month of July is full of deals, starting with the July 4th savings weekend. But July might actually be a case of what not to buy, at least not yet.

That’s because Amazon’s Prime Day, and big back to school sales, are just around the corner, with some of the biggest markdowns of the year on home items and tech devices.

Mom Stacy Henderson and her children know the big sales haven’t started yet, but they wanted to get a head start on back-to-school shopping.

“We’re getting some paper, binders, highlighters,” she said, while heading into a Target store.

But those deals get sweeter as the month goes on.

What to know about Prime Day this year

Shopper Ariel Nelson always tries to shop Prime Days. “They have great deals,” she said. Nelson’s right, according to Consumer Reports.

“There are prices that are as good as Black Friday on a lot of items,” deals editor Samantha Gordon said.

Gordon says Prime Day brings deals savings across all major categories, but especially on Amazon-branded products, like Echo devices and Ring doorbells, as well as back-to-school supplies.

“So everything from clothing to your essentials, notebooks, and pens and backpacks, as well as tech devices are going to be on sale this month,” Gordon said.

Her advice: track items you’re interested in now to make sure the price actually dropped, and wasn’t just slapped with a “sales” tag.

“You can also comparison shop, go to other retailers, see what their prices are, and you can come to CR.org/deals,” she said. “I track all of the prices on all the items we test, to let you know when there’s a really good price and I’ll be doing that all through Prime Day.”

Best Buy’s Seph Swaenepoel says you don’t need to be in school to enjoy the July tech deals.

“I think it’s a great time, regardless of whether you are a student or not,” he said.

That’s what Stacy Henderson wants to hear, who told us she will be shopping for deals “all summer long.”

That way you don’t waste your money.


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This article originally appeared on WCPO, Scripps News Cincinnati.

About the Author
John Matarese

John's goal is to help as many TV viewers as possible save money, avoid bad deals, know a rip-off when one comes their way, and be educated consumers. His informative weekly consumer segment "Don't Waste Your Money" now airs on 45 TV stations from San Diego to Tampa to Houston and Cincinnati. More.


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