Prime Day is not a scam overall. Amazon offers special sale prices on its own devices; although Amazon’s devices frequently go on sale, the Prime Day deals are especially good, often the best deals that Amazon ever offers on those devices. Amazon also offers sales on popular items it sells such as the Instant Pot, again typically at the best price they offer all year.

The deals on Amazon Marketplace items (things that are sold through Amazon by independent sellers) are more mixed. Some of them are legitimately good deals, especially the ones in branded stores. (Anker’s Soundcore brand for sound gear is one example.) Smaller sellers, on the other hand, sometimes tout deals that are no better than they offer the rest of the year or that don’t compete well with deals available elsewhere on the internet.