Products to avoid on Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days and the ones that won’t let you down, according to Which? tests

An unsafe car seat, grainy TV and a kettle costing more than £100 are among the products to avoid if seen in the Amazon Prime Big Deal Day sales, Which? finds, as it reveals the standout items that customers should snap up if they get discounted.

Each year the consumer champion puts thousands of products through tough and independent laboratory tests to find the truly exceptional ones worthy of the Which? Best Buy endorsement. The products that fail to perform, or are found to be unsafe and should be avoided at all costs are labelled as a Which? Don’t Buy.

Which? is warning consumers about the Don’t Buy products that are on sale at Amazon and could be discounted in the sales, to help them avoid being saddled with an inferior item that fails to live up to expectations.

The Kinderkraft Comfort Up (typical price £65) is a car seat suitable from 12 months until around 12 years old, which has been approved to R44 car seat regulations so is legal to sell. However, in Which? testing, which goes beyond the legal minimum standard, we found it to be poor when it came to safety. During side-impact tests, the crash test dummy hit its head on the inside of the test car.  

In terms of Don’t Buy TVs, the Hisense 43E77HQTUK (typical price £275) is currently the lowest-scoring 4K TV Which? has ever tested. Experts said it is “quite simply, terrible” with a “wobbly picture” and “weedy audio”.

The Radley Series 1 Activity Tracker (typical price £29.99) has limited features and an inaccurate heart rate monitor. Experts also found that the screen is prone to scratching. Which? testers advised giving this model a wide berth – making it a Which? Don’t Buy.

Despite costing well over £100 at full price, the Smeg KLF04CRUK Variable Temp Kettle (typical price £149) was deemed mediocre at best in Which? testing. As well as being generally slow – taking three and a half minutes for the kettle to boil a litre of water – it also has a higher than average minimum fill capacity, and it is pretty noisy. To make matters worse, Which? found this kettle takes nearly a full minute to switch off after it has finished boiling – a real waste of energy.

Shoppers looking for speakers should probably avoid the Ruark Audio MRx (typical price £409) which is both very expensive and very disappointing according to Which?’s tests. Testers said “It’s one of the worst-sounding home speakers we’ve tested at our lab in recent years” and “to buy one would be a very expensive mistake”.

Not everything on sale at Amazon should be avoided, however, as some products currently available on the platform passed Which? ‘s testing with flying colours. Shoppers keen to make the most of the sales should keep an eye out for discounts on Which? Best Buys.

Shoppers in the market for an air fryer should look at the Instant Pot Vortex 4-in-1 air fryer (typical price £79). This is primarily an air fryer, but it also has settings for roasting, baking and reheating so users can cook an array of recipes with just the press of a button – saving on energy and washing up.

For one of the best all-around cordless vacuums, shoppers should keep an eye out for the Shark IZ300UKT cordless vacuum (typical price £329). Not only does it clean well on hard surfaces and carpets, it comes with a variety of attachments for pet hair. 

Avid readers might want to look for the Amazon Kindle 2022 (typical price £94.99 for the without ads version) in Amazon’s deals. The 11th generation of Amazon’s Kindle ebook readers has 16GB of storage, which is double the capacity of the previous model.

Anyone looking for added home security should look for the Ring Video Doorbell Wired (typical price £59). From a smartphone, users can check to see who is at the door and, if they’ve signed up for a Ring subscription, look back at old footage.

Apple AirPods Pro 2022 (typical price £229) have the Which? Best Buy recommendation because they offer exceptional sound, are comfortable to wear and have a long-lasting battery. Which? expects Apple’s exceptional headphones to be discounted on Amazon this October, however Apple products are rarely treated to massive price cuts.

For those out to bag a bargain, the consumer champion’s experts will be sifting through the deals on Amazon around the clock and updating the Which? website with the discounted tech, kitchen appliances and home goods that are worth snapping up.

Natalie Hitchins, Which? Head of Home Products and Services:

“Like all sales events it’s easy to get sucked in by the masses of deals on offer and end up buying something sub-standard, so we’ve cherry-picked the best and worst products that could be on offer this sale season.

“Our retail experts will be hunting out the best deals on products that have performed well in Which? tests this week so make sure you do your research if you want to bag a genuine bargain.” 

ENDS

 

Notes to editors/Advice:

  • Which? recommendations and reviews are written by experts after putting products through tough, independent laboratory tests. These help to separate the best from the rest — and help shoppers avoid what Which? calls a Don’t Buy.,

 

 

  • Only Amazon Prime members get access to the Amazon Prime Day discounts. This includes Amazon Prime monthly and annual members, free trial members, and Amazon Student and Amazon Household members.

 

  • Amazon Prime membership is charged at £8.99 per month, or £95 per year. With a subscription, you get access to Prime Video, plus unlimited premium delivery.

 

  • If you time it well, you can sign up for a free Amazon Prime trial once the Prime Day sales begin, and then cancel for free before you get charged.

 

  • To cancel your membership before the trial expires, you’ll need to visit the Amazon Prime membership page, choose Manage membership and select End membership.

 

  • If you buy a product on Amazon Prime Day and it arrives on your doorstep damaged, the retailer is fully responsible.

 

  • Under the Consumer Rights Acts, your purchase needs to be of satisfactory quality (not faulty or damaged), fit for purpose and as described. If your Prime Day product doesn’t meet one of these requirements, the retailer (not the manufacturer) is in breach of the Consumer Rights Act.

 

  • Amazon will refund the cost of sending an item back if it was sold or dispatched by Amazon. If the item you purchased isn’t eligible for a free return, and you’re using a pre-paid return label, Amazon will deduct the cost of the return from your refund.

 

An Amazon spokesperson said: 

 

“We are always looking for ways to offer customers more value, and Prime Big Deal Days will offer Prime members some of the best deals of the season across some of our most popular items – including our lowest prices so far this year on products from top brands including Barbie, Samsung Mobile UK, Sony and more. 

Our goal is to help customers find the products they care about at great prices, during deals events and all year round, and make informed purchase decisions. Reviews are a core part of why customers love shopping on Amazon and customers can use the reviews and ratings – nearly 1.5 billion posted globally on Amazon last year alone – to make sure they get the product that’s right for them.”

 

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk. 

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