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Finding tech values: More bang for your buck - Part 2
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Gearing up with… well… gear… doesn’t have to be expensive. Frugal shopping can get the job done and keep more money in your pocket. Welcome to Part 2 of Finding tech values. Whether you’re looking for savings on MP3 players or GPS units, this guide can help you learn to find the best cost and savings.
Educate Yourself
“We don’t need no education…” says one song. I say a fool and his money are soon parted. This fits in hugely with feature creep as well (See part 1). Do research on the product you want to buy. What exactly does a given feature mean? What prices do other stores have? Is there a similar product that would work for you at a lower cost?
Obviously, research itself is a value decision. How much money would you need to save to make that research worth your while? What risks are you willing to take in time and cost to find the best deal? For some things, it might not be that much, for others, you might dedicate a week to it. Everybody needs to make their own judgment call.
As an excellent real example, a situation called for two portable DVD players. Average price: $200 for a 7” TFT portable DVD player. Use: Kids in the back of a car for a long trip. End result: $65 to an eBay store for a portable DVD player that came with its own rechargeable battery (No chewing through batteries!), 12 volt adapter included (Perfect for the car!), and numerous other features like video and audio out (Hook it up to a regular TV at the hotel).
The second one was purchased by a friend who spent $220 on the player, $40 on batteries for the whole trip, and $40 on a power adapter for the car when he got sick of pulling over to change the batteries. It came with no A/C power supply, so his kids went without while at hotels.
Total research time: 2 hours.
Money saved: $235.
Look for Sales
Need it now? You might be out of luck. If the need isn’t pressing though, make a list of options (using that wonderful research you did) and watch locally for sales. Almost all retailers will have loss leader sales that change weekly. They lure you in with a great price on a few items and stack on the margin buffers (like cables… See part 1) to make up for it.
If you’ve done your research well, you have a good number of options that would meet your needs, you have a good chance of finding provocative deals within a reasonable time. Don’t forget to check online sources too, and take shipping costs into account for the final cost. A small wait can save you tens or even hundreds of dollars.
Beware of False Sales
This is all the more critical these days, with all the going out of business sales happening. Some folks may remember CompUSA. Nice place, excellent service, but now gone. When they were having their liquidation sale, I found a device there that I wanted. Notably, this was a cosmetically-damaged and well-abused floor demo model, so I figured that the problems and the liquidation sale should get me a hefty discount. Boy was I wrong.
The MSRP for this device was $189.99. Buying it from places like Amazon.com or other online retailers could net me one for $160 or so after shipping. However the sign at CompUSA proudly proclaimed “Normally $249.99, now 20% off! Price: 199.99”. I sat and stared in awe at the audacity of this. $10 above MSRP and they claim it’s a sale?!
I inquired about the fact that it was a floor display and damaged, and their response was that they were already taking a deep discount and they could not reduce it further. I then proceeded to point out their own ad that listed it as regularly $189.99 and discounted to $149.99 just a week before the liquidation sale started. It went downhill from there.
Nothing quite beats claiming a high “Regular Price” and then taking a false markdown to something above normal price to wow undereducated shoppers with the deep “discount”. Remember that education part above? That’s your only protection against this. Use it wisely and use it well, lest you end up kicking yourself a week later when you find out the truth.
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