Here are the best tips for securing restocks at Amazon.
What Day of the Week Does Amazon Usually Restock?
Amazon tends to restock on weekdays, and often mainly towards the end of the month, from the 20th onwards. The site doesn’t appear to have a specific date it prefers.
What’s more, Amazon will often restock high-demand products during its Prime Day or Black Friday sales, so watch out for upcoming events.
What Time Does Amazon Usually Restock?
Typically, Amazon restocks between 7 AM – 9 PM PT / 10 AM – 12 PM ET.
However, Amazon, unlike other major retailers, is often entirely unpredictable when it comes to restock times. We’ve had drops at 3 AM out of the blue just as casually as standard midday restocks.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict exactly when an Amazon restock will drop.
How Long Do Amazon Restocks Last?
Amazon restocks are infamously over in a flash when it comes to high-demand products. Being the world’s largest online retailer means that this is also where many consumers will check first for restocks.
However, it should be noted that Amazon may report ‘Out of Stock’ earlier than it actually is. Stick around even after the stock seems to be gone and it often comes back within the hour as orders get canceled.
Do I Need Amazon Prime for Restocks?
No, Amazon Prime isn’t necessary to net yourself a restock, nor does it give you an advantage over other customers.
However, for select products such as the PS5, Amazon has sometimes announced in advance that it will offer Prime customers priority, so watch out for any announcements on the store page while refreshing.
Amazon Restock Tips & Tricks
Set Up Account & Payment Early
Whether you’re opting to use Amazon Prime or not, you’ll need to set up your Amazon account in advance and sign in before any drops go live.
Make sure your account has payment details and shipping information ready, so you’re all prepared to make your purchase.
Use Amazon Lists
Try adding the item you’re looking for to your Amazon wishlist, which should be possible even when it’s out of stock. Then, when a restock is going live, try adding the item to your cart from your wishlist instead of the main store page.
To access your lists, click ‘Account & Lists‘ in the top right corner of the site, then ‘Your Lists‘. When the item is back in stock, keep refreshing your list until the add to basket option appears.
Doing so should net you better success than you’d have otherwise, as those on the store page will often get a notice stating ‘This Product is Unavailable’.
Site vs App
Both the Amazon app and website are excellent options when it comes to buying high-demand items. But what’s great about having both methods signed in and ready is that you can often use them together.
If you’re able to add the item to your cart on the website, it’ll also appear in your cart on the app. As such, you may actually have more luck hitting checkout on your mobile device, if you’re struggling on PC.
Be sure to download the app and log in prior to any drops going live for the best results.
Sign Up for Stock Alerts
For some specific purchases, such as Sony’s PlayStation 5, Amazon may allow users to sign up for specific stock alerts or invitations to buy an item.
Simply head to the store page for an item and look for a yellow ‘Request Invitation’ button to be added to the list of future buyers.
Here’s how to increase your chances of landing restocks at other major retailers: