We had heard rumors and seen leaks, but Amazon has made it official. The Prime Early Access Sale (opens in new tab) will take place on October 11 and 12. In effect, it's Prime Day 2 in everything but name.

The sale will take place in 15 countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In the U.S., the sale will begin at 3:00 a.m. ET (12:00 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday, October 11, and in the UK at 12:00 a.m. ET (12:00 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday, October 11. Both sales are likely to run until 11:59 p.m. Japan time on October 12.

Other than the names, little seems to have changed from Prime Day. The discounts offered at the event are exclusive to Amazon Prime members, and retailers are promising rich deals on a variety of products from companies such as Lego, KitchenAid, Samsung, Shark, and Nespresso. The announcement even says that some products from Tiphar, Elemis, and Braun will be the lowest prices of the year, at least on Amazon.

We've been hearing rumors of a second Prime Day for some time, presumably to mark the beginning of Amazon's Black Friday sales season. That happened in 2020, but Prime Day itself suffered serious delays thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, instead of taking place in July as usual, it began on October 13.

It returned to normal in 2021 and 2022, but since June we had heard rumors that Amazon might hold a second Prime Day sale in the fall. Then last week, details of Prime Early Access were posted on the Terms and Conditions page, and it appears that the retailer itself leaked the news.

If you are not already a Prime member, now might be the time to sign up, especially with Black Friday and the holiday shopping season right around the corner. Amazon itself notes that Prime Early Access is roughly six weeks before Black Friday and that the number of deals is only going to grow.

Free Prime membership is also available for 30 days for regular shopping and 6 months for students. After the period, a fee is charged, currently $15 per month or $140 per year.

If you are not a member, you will not have access to Prime Early Access deals. Other Prime member benefits include unlimited free 2-day shipping, free same-day shipping in certain zip codes, access to the Prime Video and Prime Music catalogs, free Amazon Fresh shipping over $35, exclusive discounts and deals, and much more than just Prime Day are included.

This is a roundup of Amazon's best deals that will appear during the Prime Early Access sale, as well as other big discounts that will appear during that time. Other major retailers regularly hold sales before and after Prime Day.

So be sure to check our deals coverage to see what great discounts are being offered.