What Are Amazon Lightning Deals and When Can You Find Them?
Written by
Kristopher Kane
Edited by
Melanie Grafil
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Have you ever seen notifications about Lightning Deals on your Amazon app or the Amazon website and wondered exactly what they are? Maybe you have questions about how they differ from the usual types of deals you might see while scrolling through the online retailer.
Keep reading for a look at Amazon Lightning Deals, how they differ from other kinds of Amazon sales, and some important restrictions and limitations you should be aware of to make the most of these great offers.
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What Is an Amazon Lightning Deal?
Like other kinds of special offers you may see from time to time while browsing on Amazon, Lightning Deals makes select items available for deep discounts. Lightning Deals are separate from regular sales like Amazon Prime Day Deals and are designed to create more of a sense of urgency to your shopping.
Amazon Lightning Deals are limited-time offers that can disappear within a matter of hours (or less). They are time-bound, limited-quantity discounts that show up for just a couple of hours or until the product sells out — whichever comes first . All of these deals have a timer ticking down, but the available quantity may hit zero before the timer does.
Unlike regular deals, Lightning Deals are often more steeply discounted and create a sense of racing against the clock — and other shoppers. This unique combination of big savings and limited availability is meant to make these offers attractive and a fun twist to your online shopping experience, but be aware that these deals can go quickly.
Time Limits and Other Amazon Lightning Deal Restrictions
You’ll want to be aware of some potential drawbacks concerning these deals. Because of the major discounts offered by Amazon Lightning deals, you’re limited to buying only one unit of each item at the discounted price.
There’s another timer you should know about, too. When you place a Lightning Deal item in your Amazon cart, Amazon only gives you 15 minutes to complete your transaction. If you don’t make your purchase within this timeframe, you’ll find that the Lightning Deal won’t stick around waiting for you.
The deal disappears when the countdown hits zero, and Amazon automatically removes the item from your cart. If you still want to purchase it, you’ll have to find it again, and there’s no guarantee it will still be available.
How Do You Find Lightning Deals on Amazon?
Amazon’s Lightning Deals cover a wide range of items at substantial discounts, but not everyone knows about them, and they’re not often featured directly on Amazon’s search or home pages. That’s partly by design and intended to keep Lightning Deals from selling out too quickly.
So, how do you find these elusive, semi-secret Amazon sales? It’s a simple, three-step process:
- Sign in to your Amazon account, which is required to access Lightning Deals. If you don’t have an Amazon account, setting one up is quick and easy.
- Navigate to the “Today’s Deals” category, which will have listings of all special deals or sales currently available across Amazon.
- From “Today’s Deals,” find the “Lightning Deals” section. Here, you’ll see Lightning Deals listed for a wide variety of items from many different manufacturers. You can filter by category, brand, or other criteria. Be sure to pay attention to how long a Lightning Deal may be available, and refresh this page often to be sure you’re looking at active deals.
How Do I Get Notified About Amazon Lightning Deals?
Unfortunately, because of the sheer number of Amazon Lightning Deal offers made each day, there’s no way to get notified of each new deal. But by taking advantage of another useful feature available in the Amazon App, you can get notifications for specific items.
Here’s how it works:
- Log in to your Amazon App.
- Go to “Today’s Deals” and select “Upcoming.”
- If you see a deal you’re interested in that has yet to launch, click “Watch this deal.” This deal will now appear in your “Watching” tab.
- When the deal starts, the app will send you a notification. To take advantage of the deal, click the notification, put the product in your cart and check out within the 15-minute time limit.
Final Take
Amazon Lightning Deals are a lesser-known perk for online shoppers. They can add a fun twist to a normally simple process, but some customers may find the limited availability frustrating. If you don’t get the deal you wanted, there are always new ones popping up. Set your notifications for any upcoming deal you’re interested in and warm up your clicker finger.
