As Amazon Prime Day starts in less than a week, NJ.com’s shopping team—tenured Prime Day veterans—reveals the specific items they’ve held off on all year for the kind of markdowns that usually disappear fast. From a JBL Flip 5 speaker and pool-ready sunscreen
Amazon Prime Day kicks off in less than a week. and the deals are the kind that tend to vanish quickly once the prices hit. For the NJ.com Shopping team, that urgency is personal. They see discounts 24/7. sure—but Prime Day is when the biggest markdowns land on Amazon. and when they can finally stop holding back.
The tradition inside the team is simple: build a master list of products they’re genuinely going to buy. then wait until Prime Day to make sure the deal is as good as it gets. Major discounts on bestsellers from brands like YETI. Apple. Ninja. Dyson and more are common during the event—so the hard part isn’t finding deals. It’s choosing what’s worth buying when the clock starts running.
One item has been waiting longest.
The first pick comes from Ana. the Senior Manager of the Shopping & Deals team and a Prime Day veteran of 10+ years. She’s planning to finally buy a JBL speaker—after seeing the price drop hard every Prime Day she’s tracked. Her decision is split between two models: the JBL Flip 5. which she’s considering because it has over 84K reviews and. in her words. looks durable enough to survive “so sandy at the Jersey Shore. ” or the JBL Clip 5. which she’s drawn to for its “easy clip” design for a beach bag.
For the JBL Flip 5, the predicted Prime Day price is $70 or less. It’s also available in over 9 colors on Amazon.
Beauty restocks are next.
Sarah. one of the Commerce Editors on the Shopping & Deals team and also a Prime Day veteran for close to a decade. is using Prime Day the way she usually does: to restock skincare and beauty. Last year. she was watching for K18’s AirWash Dry Shampoo to go on sale—and she might pick it up again this year if it drops. This Prime Day. though. she’s aiming her focus at one specific product: Kopari’s Sun Shield Soft Glow Daily Face SPF 30.
Sarah is a big fan of Kopari’s Sun Shield Body Glow SPF 50 body sunscreen, and she wants a matching set. She’s looking at the SPF 30 face version described as lightweight and packed with vitamin E for added antioxidant benefits. Her predicted Prime Day price: $25 or less.
For Dawn, Prime Day isn’t about gadgets or sunscreen first—it’s about shoes she’s never seen discounted.
Dawn, Sr. Commerce Writer for NJ.com. says her Amazon cart is always overflowing with items on her wishlist. but this year her attention is locked on retro-style Crocs. Specifically, she’s eyeing the Crocs Classic Retro Runner clogs. She hasn’t seen this style go on sale on Amazon “ever. ” and at $60 a pair she’s waiting for a deal before hitting checkout.
She describes the look as throwback and “almost Converse-esque,” but the real sticking point is price. She’s holding out for at least a 15% price drop—hoping the Retro Runners fall to $50 or less. The product is available in 4 colors.
Then comes the summer problem-solving.
Victoria, Associate Editor of SEO/Commerce for NJ.com, is hunting for gadgets that solve a specific issue for her—heat. She’s going on a trip to Florida in early August, and she’s blunt about it: it’s not the best idea, but she’s going, so she wants something that can help her stay cool.
Her pick is a portable neck fan: the Staholz Neck Air Conditioner. What stands out to Victoria is a feature she says other fans don’t have—back airflow cooling. She notes that the back of her neck is where she heats up most. and the fan’s “tall back piece with a cooling metal plate” is what makes it different for her.
She’s also relying on the brand’s claim that it can run for up to 18 hours on a single charge. which she says fits long outdoor days. Right now. she points out it’s already on sale for 29% off. dropping the price from $70 to $50. with a secret coupon for an extra $2.50. She adds that she’s hoping the discount improves once Prime Day officially arrives.
Another editor is stacking SPF protection with a tint.
Amanda, Commerce and Shopping Writer for NJ.com, says she waits for major sales like Prime Day to splurge on something extra nice, and she’s focused on summer skincare—especially a wishlist item: ISDIN’s Eryfotona Actinica SPF 50+ tinted sunscreen.
Her reason is straightforward. She wants face sunscreen coverage that won’t make her look “ghostly pale.” She loves a classic tinted moisturizer. but she wants actual SPF coverage and skin-protecting benefits. She also points to broad-spectrum coverage, plus photoaging benefits, hydration, and claims that it won’t clog pores. Her predicted Prime Day price is less than $78.
Even body care has a waiting list.
Nicole. Commerce and Shopping Writer for NJ.com. says her cart is filled with makeup. skincare and body care. but she usually purchases these items during big Amazon sale days. She remembers buying haircare during a prior big sale day. including the COLOR WOW Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer and the amika dream routine overnight hydrating hair mask—both of which have become everyday favorites.
This time, she’s aiming for a long-planned upgrade: CYKLAR Sensorial Body Wash. She notes that it has over 800 positive raving reviews saying that after using it, they “could never go back.” Nicole is keeping her fingers crossed that it’s on sale as soon as it drops.
Her predicted Prime Day price: under $30.
And for Danielle, the waiting is also personal—because time is in short supply.
Danielle. another Shopping and Commerce Writer at NJ.com. says she doesn’t let Prime Day pass without buying something she considers worth it. and she usually ends up with a beauty product. She’s previously grabbed hair tools on sale. including the Drybar Double Shot Blow Dryer Brush. which she bought for over 30% off in July of 2024.
This year she’s watching a different tool: the Wavytalk Power Wave Hair Crimper, which is currently advertised at 35% off. She’s hoping premium hair tools will drop as much as 50% during Prime events, and she wants the crimper priced even lower than its current sale price.
She’s planning her purchase around a major life moment—she’s expecting her grand finale, fourth baby, in a month’s time. With “any self-care time” likely to get harder, she wants this tool for a routine that takes her from blowouts into low-maintenance waves.
Her timeline is clear: she wants to use the crimper for “pretty, yet low-maintenance tousled waves,” and preserve the results with Moroccan Oil’s Dry Shampoo spray, which she says never goes on sale.
For the Wavytalk Power Wave Hair Crimper, the predicted Prime Day price is $40. It’s available in pink (pictured) and orange, but she points out orange is priced as a bundle with other Coachella-branded accessories.
The pattern across the carts is hard to miss: every editor is waiting for a very specific moment where the right item finally matches the price they’re willing to commit to. And when Prime Day opens. their “hold out and refresh” strategy stops being a habit and becomes a race—because they all know the best markdowns don’t linger.
Amazon Prime Day 2026 Prime Day deals NJ.com shopping editor's picks JBL Flip 5 Kopari Sun Shield Soft Glow SPF 30 Crocs Retro Runner Clog Staholz Neck Air Conditioner ISDIN Eryfotona Actinica SPF 50+ tinted sunscreen CYKLAR Sensorial Body Wash Wavytalk Power Wave Hair Crimper