How do you shop for electronics? Some simply go to their favorite electronics store or Web site, browse the electronics and computer selection, and buy whatever they are looking for. Others spend days and weeks researching the best product for the best price. Regardless if you fall into either of these categories or anywhere in between, I hope to give a few simple tips to help make your electronics shopping a little easier on you and your wallet. Over the next few days I’ll give be giving tips and reviews of online and storefront electronics retailers.
● Check weekly ads – Most newspapers have special insert ads scattered throughout their Sunday editions. These inserts advertise weekly specials for retailers such as department and electronic stores, as well as supermarkets, furniture retailers, and pharmacies. If you’ve ever picked up a Sunday edition newspaper, you’ve no doubt noticed the thick bulge in the middle where all of the ads are sometimes grouped.
Weekly ads will give you a snap shot of a majority of the sales going on at local electronics stores. The sales usually last for the week until the next weekly advertisement comes out. Some stores such as Fry’s Electronics release their weekly ad on Fridays and the sale prices don’t last an entire week. Most storefront electronic chains also post their weekly ads on their Web sites so you don’t have to go out and buy a newspaper every Sunday to check the sales.
● Comparison shop online – The Internet provides a relatively easy way to compare prices of similar products in a short length of time. What used to require driving from store to store can now be accomplished in a matter of minutes using the Internet. There are Web sites that help you out by comparing prices from a number of different online retailers. PriceGrabber.com, Shopping.com, and Shopzilla.com are among the most popular sites that show you prices, including shipping costs for 20 or more retailers at the same time.
● Try out products in store – Sometimes it’s difficult to really see if a product is good for you without trying it out first. Digital cameras and camcorders are usually good products to try out in the store so you can see how they fit in your hand. Once you have tried out products first-hand, you can continue to compare the features and prices online or at other stores. Not all stores carry the same products, so you can reduce needless driving by calling the store or checking online to see what products are actually stocked at the store.
● Read reviews – It’s always a good idea to read both professional and user reviews of the products you are looking at. Consumer electronics magazines such as PC World, PC Magazine, or Computer Shopper have monthly professional reviews of various types of electronic products (not just computers). Each magazine also has a corresponding Web site where a lot of their reviews are posted.
User reviews can be found at various places across the World Wide Web. Specific review sites such as Epinions.com give reviews on more than just electronics. Retail sites from the big box retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City to online only retailers like Amazon and NewEgg.com offer user reviews of the products they sell. I suggest reading a number of reviews from various different Web sites, since a lot of people only leave comments and reviews for products they don’t like or have trouble with.
● Talk to friends – Similar to reading reviews online, talking to friends and acquaintances about the electronics they use is often beneficial. Friends will hopefully give their honest opinions of the products that work and don’t work for them. Ask not just about how products perform, but also they price they paid and recommended features