While Amazon Prime Day used to be a one-company show, several other retailers have started to offer deals that are just as good in recent years. Best Buy, Walmart, Samsung, Dell, HP, and many others are all likely to hold excellent rival sales. In some cases, I'd even recommend these alternative retailers depending on what you're looking for.

Amazon is readying its sword for another big sale event, the 48-hour Big Deal Days running Oct. 8th and 9th. But even before that event kicks off, we're seeing some surprising price drops on all kinds of tech.

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days is almost here, but you don't have to wait until the main event to take advantage of those bargains right now. We've picked the best early deals on laptops from brands such as Asus,