Be a Better Tech Shopper

Scanning MSN’s Tech & Gadgets site means encountering a wish list of new  PCs, notebooks, MP3 players, gaming consoles and an endless chain of peripherals and gadget sundries. Now, many of us—except underpaid tech writers—have enough disposable income to buy some of what appeals to us, but that doesn’t mean we should throw money out the window. How can you tell a good deal from a techno trap?  

Think about timing
The Web may be a 24-hour shop, but that doesn’t mean it’s not affected by the same sales cycles as brick-and-mortar retailers. Buying during holiday sales seasons is a strategy most people know, but there are other cycles to consider.

“Always look around the return bins at places like Sears, CompUSA and those places right after prime vacation times,” says Brian Chee, a business associate who lives and works in Honolulu. Chee points out that many tourists arrive at a destination, buy new tech equipment—especially digital video cameras—and the return them at the end of the vacation because it still falls within the store’s no-questions-asked return period. “So at the end of typical vacation cycles, like late February or early March and at the end of the summer, you can find amazing deals on practically new equipment.” Chee’s in a good position living in Honolulu, but this works in any major metro area that attracts tourists.

Buying after consumer electronics trade shows is also a prime time to save money. Many new products are introduced at shows like the giant annual Consumer Electronics Showin Las Vegas. Often these launches come with new introductory sale prices that aren’t available very long. Additionally, as the new products come into stores, especially in the fast-moving cell phone market, retailers often hold short-lived fire sales on older equipment.

The Consumer Electronics Show has this effect on cell phones, PDAs and, to a slightly lesser extent, televisions and other digital media products. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, a similar show held annually in Los Angeles, has that effect on gaming consoles, game peripherals and digital entertainment equipment. (However, with the news that next year’s  show is going to be scaled back, we may have seen the last of those sales breaks.)

Do some homework
But just because CompUSA is holding a Memorial Day sale doesn’t mean you should run right over there and buy whatever has the lowest price. Do a little homework on the type of product you’re interested. First, build a features list, or as we call them in the tech pub trade, a buyers’ guide.

A buyers’ guide is a table comparing the features available on different products in the same category, say, digital cameras under $300. You won’t find too many buyers’ guides for consumer electronics on the Internet because that market tends to change too quickly. But for your purposes, you should take the time to build a small guide yourself—even if it’s only a short list of must-have features. Use the Web to gather this information on the various products. In fact, right here on Tech & Gadgets, we have a deep selection of reviewsand general tech primersto help you get started.

As you dig through this information you’ll learn about all the features available on the product you’re considering and others in its class. You’ll find out what online and retail stores are generally charging for them, too. Armed with that info, then it’s time to start asking around.

Talking to folks who’ve used a product is easier than ever. It used to be you’d have to hunt through the haystack for advice from a Usenet group (big, old-fashioned e-mail-style discussion threads with clunky navigation). But with the recent proliferation of blogs, it’s easy to get deep information on highly specific topics. You also have a larger set of attention-hungry folks eager to answer your questions.