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Amazon Prime Day 2019 is here: What you need to know

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Posted at 6:42 AM, Jul 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-15 08:20:43-04

(NBC/CNN) - Amazon's fifth annual prime day sale is underway -- an event that now stretches over 48 hours.

The online retailer's promising more than a million deals and hopes to avoid a website crash that hindered sales last year.

To capitalize on the deals, you have to have an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $119 a year or $12.99 a month.

Deals this year include:

An Amazon Echo will cost $49.99, which the company claims is half off its normal price of $99.99. But the discount is not as drastic as it might appear: The smart speaker is selling for $69.99 ahead of Monday's event.

The better deal is the Echo Show, its smart speaker with a screen and premium speakers. That will cost $159.99 — $70 off its current list price of $229.99.

Other Amazon gadgets on sale include the Fire TV Stick with Alexa for $14.99 (Right now, it's $39.99) and the Fire TV Cube for $69.99. That's $50 less than its current price of $119.99.

Amazon Fire tablets are also getting reduced. It's most advanced version, the Fire HD 10, will cost $99.99 — $50 less than its current price of $149.99.

These prices are similar to the deals Amazon offered on Black Friday of last year.

Amazon is discounting its in-house line of products, which its rapidly expanding. Men's and women's clothing from Amazon's lines like Goodthreads and Amazon Essentials, will be up to 50% off. Its home goods brands, such as Presto! and Solimo, will be up to 30% off.

And its AmazonBasics brand, which encompasses everything from kitchenware to small electronics, will be up to 30% off.

Amazon is emphasizing its new Lady Gaga makeup brand, HAUS Laboratories. Prime members will be able to preoroder her new products for the first time.

But there are several name brands on sale, too. Some Under Armour clothing will be 40% off, Lacoste clothing will as much as 30% off and Eddie Bauer clothing will be as much as 60% off.

Electronics that aren't from Amazon will also be discounted. For example, some Sony LED Smart TVs will be half off, Facebook's Portal device will cost $79
(It usually runs for $199) and the Nintendo Switch will also be discounted.

Not to be outdone, dozens of other retailers including Target and Walmart are also running sales on Monday in the effort to compete with the online shopping giant.