Monday, January 15, 2007

Dabble in Computer Shopping

Recently, I purchased a new computer and got a fantastic deal. Am I going to gloat? Of course, I'm a savings snob. But hopefully, it'll impart a lesson.

It used to be that it'd take months for me to purchase a computer. I'd look over all of the computer magazines out there and visit Tom's Hardware daily to read reviews about different components. Then, I'd digest the trade offs of each part versus price versus my needs. It was grueling and never-ending. The parts and prices would always change and my knowledge would become outdated every month.

I didn't have the luxury of months of time with this purchase. I had my needs down pat (enough RAM/speed/video capability to run Vista quickly and a good quality, larger LCD monitor). The first step was to use the Electronics Comparison Shopping in Canada tool. OK, I now had an idea of the prices. Then I started going to the stores to check for in-store deals.

The first stop was a computer retailer that sends out a weekly flyer with "great" prices. Free everything. It was pretty evident that their strategy was the up-sell and you could feel the grease ooze when you walked in the door. Their pricing was extremely complex - purposely. It was to give the seller power in the conversation. No deals here. Next...

A trip to the electronics wholesaler was also disappointing. Yes, you could get a good deal on a powerful machine (which I didn't need), but they didn't have heads. No monitor. Once you added the monitor, the price was average.

Then, it was the big boxes. One big box, two big boxes, three big boxes... bam! The fourth big box had a hit. In the corner was a display model that had been significantly discounted. I spent 45 minutes inspecting it. OK, 3 pixels are burnt out, the eject button on the DVD doesn't work, there's only a 14 day warranty... I was willing to live with these at the price.

OK, it's discounted, but is it truly a deal? I spent another half hour using this display model to research specs and prices. Yes, the price was $100 less than the lowest Froogle price in American dollars, before shipping.

Just one more thing... there was another discount wholesaler next door. I ran to it and, no, no deal as good as the big box one. So I went back to the big box and bought the computer.

Did I get a good deal? Yes, but not because the item was discounted by 55%. It was because the sale price was comparatively less than all other prices - of similarly spec'ed models and exact models elsewhere.

The lesson: the more you dabble, the more likely you'll find a great deal.