Find the Best Deals
So you have your hardware wish list, your spreadsheet, and your list of PC brand preferences. Now it’s time to hit your local big-box electronics store with credit card in hand, right? Not so fast – while you’re likely to find plenty of deals in this week’s circular, you can save even more with some additional research.
Next to the holidays, back-to-school time is computer manufacturers’ biggest season, and with so much new inventory arriving, you can save a bundle by purchasing last year’s, or even last month’s, model. Ask a sales associate or online sales rep for recommendations if you’re shopping during either of these high-pressure seasons: odds are they have inventory to unload.
You may also want to shop manufacturers’ outlet stores – Dell Outlet, the HP Outlet and Refurbished Store, or Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store are all excellent choices – for discounts on returned, refurbished, or scratch-and-dent items. And, of course, you can find coupons and discount codes throughout the Web, with some of the better options being available at sites such as TechBargains, FatWallet, and RetailMeNot.
Finally, if you have students in the home, you can register with manufacturers’ education sites – HP Academy, the Apple Store for Education, and Dell University, for instance – for offers exclusive to your or the kids’ schools. Have an .edu email address? Use it to cash in on thousands of student software discounts, some of which can even net you top-name software free of charge.
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