There will almost certainly be a lot of robot vacuums in Amazon's second Prime Day, so it's key to know how to choose a robot vacuum cleaner in time for the big event. On October 10 - 11, there's a chance we'll see some of the best robot vacuum deals yet - especially as robot vacuums have been getting better and better in recent years.
But among all the Amazon Prime Day robot vacuum deals, it can be a challenge figuring out what makes a deal great and whether you're spending your money wisely. There's a huge variety of brands to choose from these days, so feel free to first check out our comparison of Shark vs iRobot vs eufy to see how three of the biggest robot vacuum brands compare.
Robot vacuums are big ticket, high tech, high margin products, and that last bit means there’s lots of room to cut prices. If you look at the average robot vacuum’s price history going back six months or so, it’s like looking at a particularly violent rollercoaster.
Read on to weigh up the facts then, and remember to bookmark our Amazon Prime Day deals hub for easy access to the best deals on all things home and garden, during and after the 2-day shopping extravaganza.
1. Sign up for Prime
If you’re not a Prime member, you’ll need to become one. You can get a free trial if you haven't had a membership before - this can be a great way to bag some discounted goods on Prime Day without splashing out on a membership.
2. Do your homework
Don’t let the “SALE!” stickers tell you what to buy; spend a bit of time reading reviews of the best robot vacuums and decide what it is you want to get a Prime Day deal on. If you know your Roombas from your Roborocks and your Sharks from your Samsungs then you’re really well-placed to pounce on the best deals when they arrive.
3. Be realistic
You’re very, very unlikely to get a fantastic Prime Day deal on a robot vacuum cleaner that only launched a fortnight ago. If you’re willing to get something a bit less cutting-edge, that’s where you’ll find the really big discounts.
4. Be flexible
There are lots of different models out there, and the QRX43 you want might not get as good a discount as the QRX34 you hadn’t considered. Rather than focus on model numbers, focus instead on specifications. What are the deal-breakers for you? Must it work with Alexa? Do you want one with its own self-cleaning bin? Does it need to navigate around dog toys and dropped socks?
5. Consult CamelCamelCamel
Of all our top tips, this is the best. Whenever you’re looking at an amazing deal on Amazon, copy the address from your web browser’s address bar and paste it into the search bar on CamelCamelCamel.com – or enter the full product name instead. This tells you the Amazon price history, in some cases going back years. But it’s the last couple of months we’re interested in.
The image immediately above this section is a pre-Prime Day example: one of our current best buys, the Neato D10, on Amazon UK. As you can see, the price when we checked in was £448.23.
Now let's do our best CSI impression.
Computer! Enhance!
Look at that dotted green line. That’s the lowest price recently, and it’s just £299. If we were betting types, we’d bet that the price will return to £299 for Prime Day.
What CamelCamelCamel does so brilliantly is let you see not just what a product costs, but how much that cost varies – so if you bought a £599 vacuum back in March, you’d have been pretty miffed to see it drop £200 in April, May and June. And on Prime Day you’ll be able to see how the Prime Day price compares to previous price cuts or whether it’s wise to wait a little longer for a deeper discount.
6. Check price comparisons
For all its joys, CamelCamelCamel can only tell you what the price has been on Amazon. There’s another bit of information you need to know, and that’s what the price is everywhere else. That’s because many firms co-ordinate price cuts among multiple retailers, so what might seem like a Prime Day bargain is just a price cut available everywhere. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good deal. It just means you don’t need to panic-buy for fear of missing out.
There are multiple options here. We find Google Shopping to be the least useful: our preferred options are Honey or PriceSpy (if you're in the UK), which have a lot of up to date data from a wide range of retailers.
7. Think beyond the Prime box
If you have your heart set on a particular product, you won’t accept an alternative and a Prime Day deal doesn’t pop up, put it through the price checkers we just mentioned – and if that doesn’t find you a deal, check out the manufacturer’s website. For example, earlier in the year Samsung ran a deal on its Jet Bot AI+: trade in your old Samsung kitchen or cleaning appliance and you can get up to $300 off the price. Samsung also regularly offers money-off deals that don’t need you to sell them your old fridge.
8. Read the reviews again
Before you hit that Buy Now button, make sure you've read as many of the customer reviews as you can bear – and definitely make sure you've read our robot vacuum reviews. It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of big sales events and end up buying something that just isn't right for you.
And remember, it's important to know how to spot fake reviews this Prime Day - there are lots of them out there.
9. Pay without pain
When you’ve bagged a bargain bot, don’t undo all your good work by paying interest on your purchase. Interest rates are incredibly high right now so if you’re buying over time, make sure your credit is interest-free or your could wipe out your entire saving.
