Black Friday is coming up, which means supposedly lower prices, tons of advertising, carnage, and lots of other festivity as the Holiday Season shifts into full gear. There may indeed be some good deals out there (as well as online on the following Cyber Monday), you have to ask yourself if you are really saving any money by partaking in these sales.
If you follow prices, you may realize that some of the items that you are longing for are actually more more expensive, or that you could have saved money at other times during the year. You also have to keep logistics in mind, such as the gasoline that you might use, the time that you might spend waiting in line, or the fights that you might get into. While going home with a new laptop bought at 25% off of the usual price and a black eye might appeal to some, let me pull your coat to a tactic that I have used to purchase electronics conveniently and at bargain basement prices.
Here is the plan to save money on electronics
If you have been on the Internet for a while and have hunted for electronics, then you probably know about TigerDirect. TigerDirect specializes in consumer electronics and computers, often at competitive prices. Where they get you is shipping prices. If you are willing to wait for a few weeks to get your item, then you won’t have to pay for shipping, but if you need it right away, then you are going to have to fork over some money.
This is where Staples comes in. Staples will match prices with other stores if you can find the item at a lower price elsewhere. I am sure that other retailers offer similar deals, but I have more experience with Staples. If you have used this trick with another retailer, I’d be more than happy to hear about it in the comments section.
What you do is search TigerDirect’s online catalog for the item that you want to buy (keep in mind that you can save even more by paying attention to the specials that they offer via e-mail). Once you have found the item that you want, see if Staples (or another price-matching retailer) has the same item, and you can either pick it up in the store, making sure to show where the item is sold cheaper, or order over the phone. Unfortunately, you cannot use this money-saving technique by ordering from Staples’s online store, but you can end up saving hundreds of dollars by making a phone call, so it is worth it.
Now, for the sweeter part of the deal. Staples has free shipping, and at least in my experience, the items that I have purchased are at my doorstep the very next day! So, we not only get the low prices of TigerDirect, but we also avoid paying for shipping or having to wait to get our items. I am not sure if other price-matching retailers do the same.
I wonder if there is a similar way to save money on electronics in China (without getting fake or fouled items). If anyone has any insight, or similar tactics that they use to save money in America, please feel free to let us know in the comments.