Amazon’s Prime Day sale, and the various accompanying sales all over the web, are great. But a deal is only a deal if you actually need it and you can afford it. So a $900 OLED monitor might be tempting, but somewhat less so if you have to worry about inconsequential things like food and rent. So here are the best ones I’ve found under fifty dollarydoos.
The best Staples budget desk chair: $50
Staples
An office chair, or at least one that’s comfortable to use for more than a few minutes, can be a surprisingly pricey item. At $120, the basic Staples model was already pretty affordable, but at $49.99 on the Staples website with free delivery, it’s unbeatable. And it’s got a 4.4-star rating, too. If you’re looking for a slightly more deluxe option, the phenomenal Staples Hyken beloved by Redditors and PCWorld staffers alike is also on a deep discount, 60 percent off.
Get a Staples office chair for $50
A tiny, portable laptop desk: $50
Dekhaoxe
I love my 6-foot-wide “battlestation” in my office, but it doesn’t really work if I want to use my laptop on my couch or my bed. In that case, this light, maneuverable little desk on wheels is a perfect alternative. The best part is that it’s height-adjustable, making it ideal for a variety of users and furniture.
Get a laptop desk on wheels for $50
A dual-monitor USB-C laptop dock: $38
Baseus
Modern laptops are amazingly powerful and versatile, but they tend to be a little light on ports. You can fix that on the cheap with this Baseus extender. Plug it into your USB-C port and you’ll get tons of extras, including two 4K HDMI ports for monitors, SD and MicroSD card slots, three more USB ports, and wired Ethernet. Oh, and it’ll charge your laptop at up to 85 watts.
Get a laptop USB-C dock with dual 4K monitor support, $38
A portable laptop USB-C extender: $19
Anker
Okay, but what if you’re more of a digital nomad, and you don’t need to connect to multiple displays all the time? This Anker dongle extender is a perfect companion for your laptop bag. One USB-C port gives you access to two extra 5-gigabit USB-A ports, plus keeping access to 100 watts of charging and USB-C data, with an HDMI port to boot.
Get a portable USB-C laptop dongle, $19
A tough solar-powered USB battery and flashlight: $23
Blavor
This little gadget has something of an identity crisis. In addition to being a 10,000mAh USB-C battery, it’s also a MagSafe wireless phone charger and a flashlight. Oh, and it can recharge itself via a built-in solar panel. And since it looks like a great camping companion, it might also function as a blunt weapon to fight off bears and mountain lions. And since it’s tough enough to resist shocks, dust, and water, that might actually work! (That’s a joke. Don’t use a battery to fight bears.)
Get a tough solar-powered 10K charger and flashlight, $23
A super-handy USB-C phone battery extender: $20
Anker
A full USB battery bank is great for extended jaunts, but not exactly pocket-friendly. I love this little Anker design with a fold-out charging port. It’s just big enough to give my phone a full 5000mAh recharge, and small enough to keep plugged in while I’m using it. You can even recharge the thing without any extra cables. This makes a great stocking-stuffer, so buy half a dozen and you can be sure you’ll give all of them away — I certainly have.
Get a tiny Anker USB-C phone charger, $20
A big 9-device wall charger: $36
Anker
Laptop, phone, watch, headphones, other headphones, battery, portable gaming gadget…good grief, we’ve got a lot of stuff to charge these days. This Anker charging station can get it all juiced up, no matter what plug it needs, with 100 watts of power and standard wall outlets, USB-A, and USB-C ports aplenty. It’s a great addition to a guest room, too.
Get a 9-device 100-watt charger, $36
A slim 6-device wall charger: $38
Anker
And if the big chunk of wattage above won’t fit, this slim one will. This smaller charger is great for slapping next to a bed or a couch to meet all your device charging needs — it’s perfect for giving a boost to all those battery-hungry game controllers, for example. It’s sleek, but still has room for two wall outlets, two USB-C ports, and two USB-A ports.
Get a slim multi-device charger, $38
A cheap, USB-C and USB-A 256GB flash drive: $23
SanDisk
No matter how ever-connected we get to the web, sometimes you just can’t beat the good old flash drive. This one’s crazy flexible thanks to USB-C and USB-A ports that slide out when you need them, and stay hidden and protected when you don’t. Throw it in a bag and you’ll be the savior of the meeting when the Wi-Fi goes down.
Get a 256GB USB-C/USB-A flash drive, $23
A squishy keyboard and car cleaner: $9
ColorCoral
Don’t look now, but your keyboard is filthy. So is the dashboard of your car, or the little bits in the crevices of your furniture. This goopy stuff is what the pros use to clean all that, getting into the nooks and crannies that are so hard to dust. This deal is two tubs of the stuff for under ten bucks!
Get a laptop USB-C dock with dual 4K monitor support, $38
Other Amazon Prime Day deals
For all the best Prime Day deals from Amazon and across the web, you can check out the rest of PCWorld’s coverage.
