If you’ve worked hard this year, you deserve to play even harder, and you can do that on a modest budget with some of the Prime Day gaming deals available right now. Amazon’s Prime Day 2024 sale is currently live and offers plenty of discounts on video games, controllers, headsets, storage, and other gear and accessories to level up your experience.

We’re seeing new all-time low prices on some of the top games that have released over the past couple of years. There’s a healthy assortment of titles to consider, whether you’re playing on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox Series X / S. There’s also quite a few deals for actual hardware, too — though no consoles apart from the Meta Quest 3 as of now.

We’ll keep this space updated with the latest Prime Day gaming deals that pop up over the next couple of days, including limited Lightning Deals and some that may be exclusive to day two. Check in with us periodically to ensure you don’t miss out on all-time low prices and rare discounts.

Update, July 16th: Updated pricing, flagged expired deals, and added a deal for 8BitDo’s Ultimate C 2.4GHz Wireless Controller.

I don’t know how people wear headphones in the summer heat. I’m strictly in earbuds mode when the temperatures climb this high. But no matter your preference, Amazon Prime Day is a great opportunity to upgrade your aging gear (and declining battery life) with the latest and greatest from Bose, Samsung, Sony, and plenty of other brands.

For Prime Day 2024, expect plenty of deals that’ll have you considering an impulse purchase. Many of our favorite earbud and headphone picks are on sale at some of their lowest prices yet during the two-day event.

Some products (like Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Max) are due for a refresh in the coming months, but there’s nothing wrong with picking up the current version — especially at some of these prices. You’ll want to check back often, as we’ll be adding the best deals as they come up.

If you want the absolute best noise cancellation in the game, Bose’s latest QuietComfort Ultra products should be your pick. They outperform all competitors when it comes to quieting the outside world, and both are significantly discounted for Prime Day 2024 at some of the lowest prices we’ve seen yet.

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones are down to $198 for Prime Day. You’re not missing out on much by choosing these instead of the newer 1000XM5. The M4 offer powerful noise cancellation, LDAC codec support, and more.

Amazon’s invite-only deal on the Sony WH-CH520 is a great opportunity to get in some early Prime Day practice. The tan model will be on sale for an all-time low of $35.99 ($44 off) on July 16th and 17th; however, you have to be a Prime member and request an invitation to purchase them. If selected, Amazon will email you details on how to complete your purchase, which is how invite-only deals will work throughout the event.

Prime members can pick up a pair of the Echo Buds with Active Noise Cancellation with a wired charging case for $34.99 ($85 off) or a wireless charging case for $44.99 ($95 off). Amazon’s wireless earbuds feature hands-free Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri with noise cancellation and ambient passthrough. They also last up to five hours per charge or 15 hours with the included case. Sure, none of the features are going to measure up to some of the more premium options from Apple or Sony, but Amazon’s proprietary earbuds offer a lot of value for the price.

Amazon’s entry-level Echo Buds are also on sale for Prime members at Amazon for an all-time low of $24.99 ($25 off). The wireless earbuds lack more premium features like noise cancellation and aren’t particularly attractive, but there aren’t many earbuds with seamless Alexa support, water resistance, and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity in this price range. They’ll last up to six hours per charge, too, or 20 hours with the included charging case.

Update, July 16th: Adjusted pricing and removed expired deals where needed. Also added new deals, including the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and JLab Go Air Pop.

Remember when you were young and dreamed of opening up that store one day or starting that business? For many retirees, there is no time like the present. Many retired people still like to keep themselves active and busy, and what better way to do that than realizing a passion you’ve always had? For some people, this may seem like a daunting task, but the internet has made it much easier to open up shop from the comfort of your home. And the start-up costs are also much more affordable than doing it the brick-and-mortar way.

Still, opening a store online, whether you’d describe yourself as tech-savvy or not, can be challenging if you don’t know the correct steps to take. The good news is that today, we’re going to walk you through it all in this beginner’s guide to building an online presence and finally pursuing that post-retirement passion project (that could also earn you some bucks).

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1) Choose your passion project

Deciding what to sell is the first step in setting up an online store. Perhaps you’ve already known the answer to this for a long time, and that’s what inspired the store in the first place. But if you’re not quite sure, consider your expertise, interests and what’s in demand in the market.

For retirees, it’s often beneficial to choose products or services that align with your passions or past experiences, as it’s not just something you’re interested in but, by now, you’re likely already an expert in it, too. And, being an expert in your niche will help you establish yourself as a trusted authority in the industry, which is something that potential customers look for.

And, it’s not just products you can sell; you can also sell services like coaching or consulting or even create a blog that can be monetized. The options are endless, but it’s important to have some direction before you get started.

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2) Identify your target audience

Knowing what you want to sell is one thing, but knowing who to sell it to is another. Understanding who your potential customers are is essential for effective marketing and product development. Therefore, take some time to research and understand your target demographic. Consider factors such as age, gender, location, interests and purchasing behavior. A good idea is to start off in your own community.

If you know anyone who would be interested, talk to them and see who they can connect you with. You can even create a research survey to get feedback on your audience and what they are looking for. In fact, some people do this step first if they are not sure what to sell but are certain they want to start an online store.

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3) Ideas for online stores and businesses you can create

When it comes to doing your passion project online, the options are endless. But if you’re not sure, there are various types of online stores you can establish to cater to diverse needs and preferences. Start with an idea that you are passionate about. Below are some examples:

E-commerce store: This is the most common type of online store, where you can sell physical products ranging from clothing and electronics to groceries and furniture.

Digital products store: If you specialize in creating digital goods such as e-books, software, music or online courses, you can set up a digital products store to distribute your creations.

Subscription box service: Subscription-based businesses are gaining popularity, offering curated boxes of products delivered to customers’ doorstep on a recurring basis. Examples include beauty boxes, snack boxes and pet subscription services.

Marketplace platform: Instead of selling your own products, you can create a marketplace platform where multiple vendors can list and sell their items. Etsy and eBay are prime examples of successful marketplace platforms.

Service-based store: Beyond physical and digital products, you can offer various services through an online store, such as consulting, tutoring, freelance services or event planning.

Dropshipping store: With dropshipping, you can sell products without holding inventory. When a customer makes a purchase, the order is fulfilled by a third-party supplier who ships the product directly to the customer.

Print-on-demand store: This model allows you to sell custom-designed merchandise, such as T-shirts, mugs and phone cases, without the need for inventory. Products are created and shipped on demand.

Membership-based store: Create a store where customers pay a membership fee to access exclusive products, discounts or content. This model fosters customer loyalty and recurring revenue.

Blog: Combine content creation with e-commerce by creating a blog where you share valuable information or insights related to your niche, such as health and exercise, and integrate it with an online store to sell related products or services.

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4) Choose a website builder

Selecting the right website builder is crucial if you are looking to set up an online store. A good website builder should have a user-friendly interface and customizable templates, making it accessible even to those who aren’t tech-savvy. Look for a platform that requires no coding knowledge and offers a variety of professionally designed templates that can be easily customized to create a unique and visually appealing website for your online store.

Additionally, the website builder should offer built-in e-commerce features, making it easy to manage inventory, process payments and track orders all in one place. Before you start building your online store, you’ll need to select a plan that best suits your needs and budget. Many website builders offer a range of plans, from free options with basic features to premium plans with advanced e-commerce capabilities.

Consider factors such as storage, bandwidth and the number of products you plan to sell when choosing a plan. If you’re just starting out, you may want to start with a basic plan and upgrade as your business grows. With flexible pricing options, you can easily scale up your plan as needed to accommodate your growing online store.

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5) Pick a website name, domain name, hosting provider

Choosing the right name and domain for your online store is crucial as it’s the first thing customers will see and remember about your brand. Your name should be catchy, memorable and reflective of your brand identity. When selecting a domain, try to keep it simple and easy to spell to ensure that potential customers can easily find and remember your website.

You can use various domain search tools to check the availability of your desired domain name and explore different options until you find the perfect match for your online store. While some platforms offer free domains, upgrading to a premium plan often allows you to connect your own domain and remove any platform-specific branding from your URL.

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6) Design your website for success

Now, it’s time to start designing your website. There are many platforms that offer a wide range of professionally designed templates that you can customize to create a unique and visually appealing online store. Choose a template that best fits your brand identity and industry, then use the platform’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor to customize it to your liking. 

Add your logo, change colors and fonts and rearrange elements to create a website that reflects your brand personality and effectively showcases your products or services. A good tip is to start off simple; you can always add to your design as you go.

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7) Decide on what pages to include on your site

When building your online store, blog or business, you’ll want to have useful pages on your website. This not only helps people find your website, but once they are there, it gives them all the information they need.

Common pages for an online store include a home page, product or service pages, an “about us” page, a contact page and a blog (unless, of course, this is the focus of your site, in which case the blog page may be the home page). Generally speaking, the fewer steps it takes for someone to engage in a call to action the better.

You may also want to consider adding pages for shipping and return policies, FAQs and customer testimonials to build trust and credibility with your audience, as well as a privacy policy, disclaimer, regulatory compliance and other legal notices.

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Illustration of various pages to use on your site (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

8) Familiarize yourself with SEO to stand out

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a buzzword that you may have heard going around. SEO is essential for driving organic traffic to your online store and improving your visibility in search engine results. You can optimize your website for search engines by adding relevant keywords to your content, optimizing your meta tags and descriptions, and improving your site’s loading speed and mobile responsiveness. Many website builders offer built-in SEO tools and guides to help you optimize your website for search engines and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.

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9) Consider email marketing

Email marketing is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience, promoting your products or services and driving sales for your online store. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. If you already have email contacts, consider reaching out to them to tell them about your project. Most people want to support their friends and family with their pursuits, even if it’s just by spreading the word.

Otherwise, in order to collect more emails, consider offering a discount or incentive in exchange for signing up for your email list to encourage visitors to subscribe, like an e-book or a downloadable such as a brochure. Then use an email marketing platform to design and send professional-looking emails that direct them to products, services or blog posts on your website.

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What else to consider

The above are some of the most common steps to opening an online store, but it will look different for everyone. There may be steps you skip and steps you add, and some good advice is to perhaps talk to other retirees you know who have already done it. Maybe they have some suggestions, especially if there’s anything they can share that they wish they had known before they started down that path.

When launching a website, you have a variety of choices to suit your specific needs, whether you’re seeking simplicity, customization or advanced features. Explore these top website builders to find the perfect fit for your online presence: Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Shopify and WordPress. Learn more about these options by clicking here.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Starting an online shop or launching a website for your passion project might seem a little overwhelming, but many of these sites have wizards, resources and customer support teams that can help. Once you get started, you’ll be on your way to running your online store or project while enjoying your retirement.

Have you started an online store or blog? What was your experience? If you haven’t, is it something you would consider? Why or why not? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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