Amazon extending deals on Prime Day

LOS ANGELES -- The countdown is on for the global shopping event known as Amazon Prime Day. The online retail giant's 36-hour sale for Prime members begins today at noon.

Some deals went live over the weekend for Prime members in advance of Prime Day.

You can also take your Prime status to Whole Foods for a discount off your grocery bill.

Look for the yellow sale signs in the store or online. All sorts of stuff will be marked down, such as the organic and natural items, produce, proteins, prepared food, and more.

Prime Members will get an additional 10 percent off those sale items. Plus, if you make a purchase, Whole Foods will put a $10 credit on your Amazon account to use toward Prime day shopping, so it's a win-win.

Whole Foods $10 credit with purchase for Prime Members

Just download the Whole Foods market app or head to Amazon to link your phone number to your account. The $10 bonus credit will be automatically added to your Amazon account by scanning the Whole Foods or Amazon app from your smartphone at the register.

Pre-load up your cart

You can begin prepping for Prime Day by placing items you want in your cart. That way, on Prime Day, when these lightning deals strike with limited quantities for just a flashing amount of time, you just have to click checkout when the price drops.

Deal or dud? Track price history

Make sure you're getting a deal, not a dud, on Prime Day. Track the price to see if it's been offered for less previously at different times of the year like Cyber Monday or Black Friday. Sites like Rank Tracer provide hour-by-hour price histories, so you can determine if the deal is worthwhile.

Pre-shop competitors

Amazon's competitors will surely be jumping on the Prime Day wagon. In advance, shopping expert Andrea Woroch suggests simply asking a site like Ebay or a brick and mortar store like Best Buy if they're game to beat the "Prime price" when it hits.

"The bonus from the competition can be that there's no membership fee required, and you may get more bang for your buck if you get local stores to throw in a freebie like free installation," Woroch said.

Don't forget, you can always sign up for the 30-day free trial offered by Amazon to take advantage of members-only prices. Just don't forget to cancel if you don't want to be auto-billed $12.99 a month.

Good luck Prime shoppers!

Don't have Prime? It's not too late to become a member. You can sign up for an Amazon Prime membership for $119 a year.

The price went up from $100 to $119 on May 11 for new members and on June 16 for those with existing memberships.

Amazon says last year's Prime Day was its biggest sales day ever.