Get a jump on Amazon Prime Day with these early deals - CNET

With Amazon's second annual Prime Day sales event kicking off Tuesday, the inteet retail giant is offering a peek at the kind of deals customers can expect.

The Amazon-created event offers deals on thousands of items from nearly every category on the site to Prime members, who pay $99 annually for free, two-day shipping and other benefits. The sale, which has been likened to Alibaba's own manufactured event in China called Singles Day, is extra muscle in Amazon's fight to stave off competition from Walmart and other discount retailers.

This year, Amazon says it is doubling the number of Prime Day deals it's offering as often as every 5 minutes, with nearly 30 percent of its Lightning Deals coming from third-party sellers. To whet customers' appetites, Amazon spilled the beans on some of the curated Spotlight Deals that Prime customers can expect to see beginning at midnight tonight.

Amazon will offer the 2016 Samsung 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $549.99; a Vizio 5.1 Channel Sound Bar for $199.99; and a Fire tablet starting at $33.33. Customers can also expect to save $50 on an Amazon Echo; 30 percent off the Segway miniPro; and 50 percent off LSTN headphones and speakers.