Technologies

This hack gives you Black Friday savings year round on Amazon. Here’s what to do

You can save money and still get free two-day shipping. We’ll show you how.

Amazon’s «Black Friday-worthy deals» are here. The deals are coming in close competition with Target’s Deal Days that will start next week. You can save on toys, electronics and more. But there’s a hack that helps you get savings like these year round on Amazon. The best part is that Prime members can still get free two-day shipping (one of the membership perks), too.

It all boils down to picking the right quality grade, being open to unfamiliar brands and the possibility of not having a warranty. Plus, you have to be careful not to be redirected to the Amazon home page while looking for deals. It’s tricky but we’re here to help.

We’ll show you the ins and outs of Amazon Warehouse Deals and how to score the best savings since Amazon’s gotten quite good at hiding stuff. Once you learn how, you’ll never want to pay full price again. And here’s the rundown of everything Amazon announced at its most recent product launch so you can keep an eye on savings for these new items, too.

Look for the Amazon Warehouse Deals page

I begin nearly all of my Amazon searches on the Amazon Warehouse Deals landing page, because it cuts out full-price listings almost entirely so you mostly just see the discounted items (I’ll explain the one exception shortly). To get there, open Amazon using either a desktop browser or the Amazon mobile app and search for «Amazon warehouse» or «warehouse deals.»

Rather than getting a list of search results like normal, you should see a screen that looks a lot like the main Amazon search page, with a search bar, categories and so on. From there you can browse categories like Computers & Tablets, Kitchen or Home Improvement (click these and other links in this story to see actual, current Warehouse Deals listings) or you can search for more specific items just like you would on the regular Amazon homepage, except the results will be discounted, sometimes heavily.

This quick and easy approach works best if you’re not in the market for something in particular — say you’re just looking for gift ideas or killing time during your lunch break. It can be a lot of fun to scroll through the various categories looking for stuff that pops out at you. If you’re shopping for something more specific, however, keep reading for pro tips on how to find it discounted using Amazon Warehouse Deals.

Why Amazon Warehouse stuff is so cheap

Just like other major retailers such as Walmart or Target, Amazon takes in a lot of customer returns, which it can no longer sell as new-in-box, regardless of why the buyer sent the item back or whether it’s even been opened.

That’s why everything Amazon Warehouse sells is listed as used, even if the product itself has never been touched. Regardless of its condition, used stuff is just worth less — sometimes a lot less. And that’s good for you.

Amazon Warehouse Deals work for almost anything

Everything I’ve shown you so far works great so long as you’re a little flexible about what you’re looking for. If, on the other hand, you’re shopping for something really specific — like, say, an Otterbox case for your iPhone 12 ($829 at Amazon) — it can be frustrating to limit your search to just Warehouse Deals listings. You might turn up nothing at all relevant.

Whenever you head to Amazon to buy an exact product, go ahead and search for it just like you would otherwise. There’s a way to check and see if a discounted Warehouse Deals version is available from any Amazon listing.

First, pull up the item you want to buy just as you normally would on Amazon, but don’t add it to your cart just yet. Scour the page, keeping your eyes peeled for words like «New & Used,» «Buy Used,» «New & Used Offers» or just plain «Used.»

Usually there’ll be a price listed, too, representing the cheapest option available (but not including tax or shipping costs). If you’re not having any luck finding the link and you’re on a computer, try using your browser’s «find» function (usually Control-F on Windows PCs and Command-F on Macs) to look for these keywords.

Once you locate the link, look for items with «Amazon Warehouse» listed as the seller and an Amazon Prime logo displayed near the price. If Amazon Warehouse has more than one of the same item in stock, there will sometimes be a separate listing for each, especially if the items are in different conditions.

Be careful of Amazon’s redirecting trick

Another thing to keep an eye on — make sure you always go back to the Amazon Warehouse Deals splash page before starting a different search. Otherwise, if you just search for another item from the search bar at the top of the page, Amazon might bounce you out of Warehouse Deals and into the full site.

Same goes for «recent searches.» If you searched for, say, «bunny slippers» across all of Amazon, then went to Warehouse Deals and searched for «banana slippers,» then decided you definitely want bunnies over bananas, don’t select «bunny slippers» from the drop-down menu that appears when you select the search bar. Those recent searches will search not just the same terms but the same Amazon sections as the original search. In other words, it’ll yank you out of Warehouse Deals and back to the land of full-price slippers. Instead, type the search in again on the Amazon Warehouse Deals main page.

You’ll find the best deals if you’re not loyal to one brand

Say you’ve been thinking about getting a new cordless drill for a while. You don’t care who makes it, you just don’t want to spend a lot of money. Or a new dog leash, robot vacuum, whatever. You’re not brand-loyal, just cost-conscious. That’s the perfect time to search from inside Amazon Warehouse Deals.

Do it just like you would on the full Amazon site — type your search terms in the dialog box, then select «Search.» Searching from the Warehouse Deals main page, your results won’t be cluttered with a bunch of full-price listings.

Except for one caveat: Amazon’s «sponsored» listings. Unless you have an ad blocker that specifically removes Amazon’s paid listing results (I love the Amazon Ad Blocker Chrome extension), you’ll still see full-priced items peppered among the discounts. These undiscounted listings look almost identical to Warehouse Deals, except they’re labeled «Sponsored.» Sneaky, I know, but that’s why I’m warning you.

How Amazon Warehouse returns work

Of the dozens (if not hundreds) of Amazon Warehouse listings I’ve bought over the years, I only ever ran into problems with a handful of them — a Bluetooth adapter for my car that would randomly shut off, a wireless router that didn’t broadcast any signal, a very well-worn puppy harness with dog hair stuck to it; stuff like that.

Whenever that happens, I just return the item like I would any defective product, then order another one. Sure, it’s a bit more hassle, but considering the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars I’ve saved over the years this way, it’s worth the extra effort.

Truth is, most Amazon Warehouse items are in perfect working order — many haven’t even been so much as pulled out of their packages yet, like the Ring 2 Doorbell I got for $65 (it retailed for $139) or the Baby Trend stroller I paid $81 for instead of $110. Even for stuff that has been taken out of the box, Amazon puts everything through what the company calls a «rigorous 20-point inspection process,» after which each item is given a quality grade and priced accordingly.

Some items may have cosmetic damage or be missing parts, accessories, instructions or assembly tools, but Amazon will detail any damage to the product or packaging, as well as any missing element along with the condition, so you won’t be surprised. For example, I knew when I ordered a 100-watt Pyle amplifier for $29 that the accessories were loose and the amp would come repackaged. Who cares? I saved close to $15.

What the different Amazon grades mean

Amazon has five different grades it assigns to items it resells. Here they are with brief explanations of what Amazon means by them.

Renewed: This is the highest grade an Amazon Warehouse item can receive and is on par with what other companies might call «refurbished.» Renewed items have been closely inspected and tested and determined to look and function like new and come with a 90-day replacement or refund guarantee. The «refreshed» Roku Express Plus I ordered had never even been opened.

Used, Like New: No noticeable blemishes or marks on the item itself, although the packaging may be damaged, incomplete or missing altogether. All accessories are included, and any damage to the package will be described in the listing. The box for the Like New Evenflo locking gate I saved $6 on was a little banged up, but I’ve seen way worse on Walmart’s shelves. The gate itself was flawless.

Used, Very Good: The item has been lightly used, with minor visible indications of wear and tear, but is otherwise in good working order. Packaging might be damaged, incomplete or the item repackaged. Any missing accessories will be mentioned in the listing. I saved $4 on a Very Good Bosch Icon wiper blade that had, like, one scuff on it.

Used, Good: Item shows moderate signs of use, packaging may be damaged or the item repackaged and it could be missing accessories, instructions or assembly tools. Another Bosch Icon wiper blade I got was only in Good shape, but I saved $15 on that one, and honestly I can’t tell one from the other now that they’re on my car.

Used, Acceptable: Very well-worn, but still fully functional. Major cosmetic defects, packaging issues and/or missing parts, accessories, instructions or tools. I got an Echo Dot for $23 that was considered Acceptable. I think it has a scratch near the power port, but now it’s on my nightstand, where it does its job well, and mostly in the dark, for less than half the cost of a new one.

How to choose the right quality grade

If there are multiple listings with different grades available for the product I want to buy, I think about what I’m going to use it for. If it’s something purely functional and I couldn’t care less about its cosmetic condition, like hair clippers or a cordless drill, I’d go with the cheapest option, period.

If it’s something I’d display, like a kitchen mixer, end table or wall clock, I read the descriptions a little more closely and look for items that are rated Very Good or Like New.

But honestly, a low-nough price on just about anything can woo me into putting up with some scratches or scuffs. Not to mention that in my experience Amazon tends to err on the side of caution, marking items as Good or Acceptable that the average person would consider Very Good or Like New.

Beware, you may not have a warranty with your Warehouse Deal

One of the benefits of purchases made through Amazon Warehouse is that Amazon’s standard 30-day replacement or refund return policy applies, which comes in handy if you wind up with a lemon. Amazon does caution that because these products are considered used they don’t come with the manufacturer’s original warranty.

That said, if the product hasn’t already been registered in someone else’s name, there’s a decent chance any issues you run into past Amazon’s 30-day window can be resolved with a call to the manufacturer.

Amazon Prime members still get free shipping

Subscribing to Amazon Prime won’t get you a bigger discount on Amazon Warehouse Deals, but you’ll get free shipping just as you would for any other Prime-eligible item, which is why I still pay for Prime even though most of my purchases come from Amazon Warehouse.

Most of the stuff I’ve bought through Amazon Warehouse ships and arrives within the same one- to two-day window I get with new items, although some orders do take longer to fulfill. If that’s the case, the extra handling time is usually indicated on the listing, so I know what to expect.

Quick tips about buying from third-party sellers

While wading around in the listings looking for Amazon Warehouse Deals you may have discovered even more discounted listings not sold by Amazon. What you’ve stumbled upon are items sold by third-party retailers whose only relationship with Amazon is that their items are for sale on Amazon’s marketplace, much like eBay.

Amazon’s buyer protections lag considerably behind eBay’s, however. eBay guarantees customers their money back in the event of a dispute, and although Amazon will ultimately do the same, its process is a bit more convoluted, so proceed with caution. Generally, if I can’t find a good enough deal on Amazon Warehouse, I’ll tab over to eBay and look for the item there instead. eBay is a little more transparent about both its vendors and the merchandise they sell. If I’m going to buy garage-sale used as opposed to Amazon’s never-opened used, I prefer eBay.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, April 5

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 5.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword took me a while, and not just because Saturday’s puzzle always has a few extra clues. There are some toughies in this list. 6-Down especially will test your knowledge of the animal kingdom. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cummerbund, e.g.
Answer: SASH

5A clue: Cheese-covered chip
Answer: NACHO

6A clue: Singer in a synagogue
Answer: CANTOR

7A clue: Like decision-making in a hierarchical organization
Answer: TOPDOWN

8A clue: Where a browser might get cookies?
Answer: BAKERY

9A clue: Mixes, as a drink
Answer: STIRS

10A clue: 10 in a lane
Answer: PINS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Politician on a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour with Ocasio-Cortez
Answer: SANDERS

2D clue: The first «A» of SAG-AFTRA
Answer: ACTORS

3D clue: Flamboyant
Answer: SHOWY

4D clue: Unicorn’s defining feature
Answer: HORN

5D clue: Lap protector
Answer: NAPKIN

6D clue: Raccoon-like mammal of South America
Answer: COATI

7D clue: 1/16 of a cup: Abbr.
Answer: TBSP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Trump Gives TikTok Another 75 Days to Strike a Sale

The president says he’s signing an executive order to push back enforcement of the ban again, pushing back the previous deadline of Saturday.

President Donald Trump is giving TikTok more time to sell its US operations, saying that «tremendous progress» has been made toward a deal and pushing off enforcement of a ban that was set to kick in Saturday.

In a Friday afternoon Truth Social post, Trump said that despite that progress, the deal still needs more work, so he’s signing an executive order giving TikTok 75 more days, taking the deadline out to June 19. The move prevents the wildly popular video app from potentially going dark in less than a day.

Trump went on to say that his administration will continue to work with China and credited the tariffs he enacted earlier this week, calling them «the most powerful economic tool» and «very important» to national security.

«We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark,'» Trump said in his post. «We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.»

Both TikTok and the Chinese government have long opposed a sale of the company’s US operations and it remains unclear as to if their positions have changed. TikTok didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.

Read more: TikTok Backups: 6 Similar Apps for Your Daily Dose of Fun

China on Friday reacted to the tariffs Trump spoke of by matching them with its own on US goods, escalating the trade war between the two countries and sending stock markets around the world tumbling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 2,200 points and the Nasdaq composite lost 5.8% in afternoon trading — its biggest drop in five years.

The TikTok ban delay wasn’t unexpected. Several potential bidders for TikTok’s US operations have made their interest known in just the past few days, and Trump has been meeting with administration officials this week to discuss possible deals and ownership structures.

According to recent reporting by The New York Times, one plan included private equity firm Blackstone and the tech company Oracle, while another involved a last-minute bid from Amazon.

Lawmakers in both political parties have long voiced concerns that TikTok could be a threat to national security and could be used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans or spread disinformation to further China’s agenda. TikTok continues to deny those accusations.

The law requiring the sale was passed by Congress last year with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. Free speech and other groups sued to overturn the law on First Amendment grounds, but it was upheld by the US Supreme Court in January.

So what’s next for TikTok? Here’s what you need to know.

What does the law do?

The law aims to force TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell to a buyer American officials are OK with and guarantee that ByteDance no longer has access to US user data or control over the TikTok algorithm.

TikTok was given nine months to comply, hence the original Jan. 19 sale deadline, at which point the government could require the removal of its app from US app stores and that other tech companies stop supporting the app and website.

TikTok shut down in the US the night of Jan. 18, citing the ban, but came back online the next morning after Trump made assurances that he would not immediately enforce it. Trump later formalized that promise by signing an executive order that directed the attorney general to not enforce the ban for 75 days, effectively moving the deadline to April 5.

The new executive order pushes the deadline back to June 19, which is Juneteenth, a federal holiday.

Read more: TikTok Loves to Give Financial Advice. But Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

What’s Trump’s take?

After originally calling for a ban during his first presidency, Trump said during the 2024 campaign that he wasn’t in favor of one and pledged to «save TikTok,» though he didn’t specify how he’d do that.

Trump told the press on Sunday that «there’s tremendous interest in TikTok.» He added that he would «like to see TikTok remain alive.» The president also said that «we have a lot of potential buyers» and that his administration is «dealing with China,» which has long opposed a sale.

On March 26, Trump said he would consider lowering tariffs on Chinese goods if that country’s government approved a sale of TikTok’s US operations. He also at that time reiterated his willingness to push the deadline back if needed.

Trump also has floated the idea of the US taking a 50% stake in the company as part of a joint venture, but hasn’t given specifics as to how that would work.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew was one of several high-profile tech executives to attend Trump’s inauguration in January, just hours before Trump would sign the order granting the 75-day extension.

Previous to that, during a press conference in December, Trump pointed to the role TikTok played during the election, crediting it with helping him pick up the votes of young people.

«TikTok had an impact, and so we’re taking a look at it,» Trump said. «I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart. I’ll be honest.»

Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 2: Here Are Emma Frost’s Abilities

Emma Frost is joining the Rivals roster in season 2 as a vanguard with a set of abilities that change depending on her form.

Marvel Rivals players are getting invited to the shores of Krakoa for the start of season 2 on April 11. The game dropped the first trailer for the new season, giving us our first official look at the new heroes, and a developer vision video dropped major news about the future of hero releases.

The trailer features Emma Frost, wearing slightly more clothes than usual, inviting people from across Rivals’ various timelines to the mutant nation of Krakoa, where everyone gets dressed up for a fancy gala — even Wolverine puts on a white tux. The event, however, is unceremoniously interrupted when Ultron shows up preaching extermination.

Emma Frost abilities revealed

Emma Frost joins the roster as a vanguard who can project a shield forward, give herself damage reduction by going into her diamond form and also choke-slam people while insulting them. We got a glimpse at her abilities in her hero trailer and a streamer event on Friday confirmed her full kit.

In Frost’s default form, her primary fire is a beam with damage that ramps up over time and her alternate fire projects a barrier forward. In her normal form, Frost has a Psychic Spear ability that pulls an enemy’s sentience into a crystal form, damaging them by attacking and shattering the crystal.

However, all of these abilities change when Frost transforms into her diamond form, which gives her damage reduction and makes her unstoppable. In diamond form, her primary fire turns into a punch and her alt fire kicks enemies back, dealing extra damage if they hit a wall. Diamond-form Frost can no longer attack people’s sentience but she can lunge forward to grab enemies and slam them into the ground.

Her Psyonic Seduction ultimate has different effects. It damages and stuns enemies in range and locks them out of activating ultimate abilities. Additionally, enemies who are caught in the blast for long enough will be psychically compelled to move toward Frost, making it easier for her to grab them, kick them, slam them, etc. Rivals devs have seen the players’ thirst and seem to be leaning heavily into it.

Ultron is coming in the season 2.5 update, which should be in late May.

Team-up changes and other season 2 balance adjustments

Some team-ups are changing in season 2, including three new team-up abilities that were previewed in the newest developer vision video.

Emma Frost allows Magneto and Psylocke to create illusions of themselves.
Doctor Strange teams up with Scarlet Witch allowing her to use small portals to seemingly increase her damage output via a rapid-shooting alternate fire.
Cap finally teams up with Bucky, allowing the Winter Soldier to leap to allies.

A few existing team-ups are getting adjustments, with Psylocke, Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange being removed from older team-ups in favor of new ones, and Namor is moving from working with Luna’s anchor to Hulk’s to empower his squids with gamma energy. Two team-ups are being removed entirely: Magneto can no longer team up with Scarlet Witch, and Thor is no longer anchoring Cap and Storm.

Rivals announced the full list of season 2 balance changes, including buffs to Peni, Mister Fantastic and Moon Knight, with Strange losing some damage for more survivability (via his new anchor buff) and Rocket getting several adjustments, while Loki and Adam Warlock receive nerfs to their Regeneration Domain and Soul Bond abilities.

Future seasons will be shorter, which means more new heroes

One of the most surprising moments in the developer video was the announcement that, beginning with season 3, seasons will be two months long instead of roughly three. There has been a lot of discussion online about whether Rivals’ pace of new heroes (about eight per year based on three-month seasons) was sustainable. Well, apparently the Rivals devs took that personally and are cranking up that pace to a new hero every month, meaning 12 new heroes per year.

This feels borderline ludicrous compared with other hero shooters that average about three new heroes per year, or even MOBAs like League of Legends, which has averaged about four new champions per year in the past five years. Rivals benefits from having an overflowing stable of Marvel characters to pull from rather than inventing their own hero concepts, and compared with Overwatch, the developers seem less worried about mechanical overlap in their heroes, as seen with many support ultimates. Still, a new hero every month feels unheard of for a hero shooter.

New Krakoa map and competitive changes

Season 2 is adding two new maps, including a Krakoa-themed domination map at the season’s start. Yggsgard: Royal Palace (domination) and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya (convergence) will rotate out of the map pool for ranked modes, though they’ll still be available in quick play and custom games.

The threshold for competitive picks and bans, which currently only happen in diamond-ranked lobbies, will be lowered to gold 3. Players in Eternity or One Above All ranks will only be able to duo queue, instead of queuing with larger groups — a measure that’s likely intended to keep high-level teams from stomping lobbies.

Speaking of ranks, season 2 will drop everyone by 9 divisions, which is equal to 3 ranks. That means players in Eternity will drop to diamond, and any players at platinum 3 or below will start their climb from bronze 3 again. (AGAIN… AGAIN.)

Rivals developers also announced that individual player performance will be weighted higher when determining competitive progress after a match, meaning if your stats outperform your team’s, you’ll earn more for winning and drop less for losing. This change can help elevate smurfs and other high-skill players in lower-ranked lobbies by getting them into their appropriate ranks faster. However, it can also lead to players stat-farming, instead of playing in a way that is most effective for winning games. Overall, given that Rivals doesn’t use any sort of competitive placement matches, this should be a net positive for the game.

Other announcements

Rivals is adding new skin recolors to certain hero skins and (finally) giving players the option to gift costumes to their friends so they can surprise someone for their birthday, which you definitely did not forget about.

Missions are changing a bit, with the addition of weekly missions and a redistribution of where battle-pass-progressing chrono tokens are earned. The devs framed this as creating a «smoother expectation» of how to earn chrono tokens, but the surface-level description sounds like they’re just making it harder to earn battle pass progress over the season by tucking away more progress under missions with shorter time limits.

The developer vision update also gave us our first look at the competitive distribution, showing how many Rivals players are in each tier as of season 1.5.

The Hellfire Gala trailer says season 2 will start on April 11 UTC. While it doesn’t give a specific start time, expect the between-seasons maintenance to finish sometime in the middle of the night in the US.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out which heroes and roles you should play and how to get free skins.