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Community Newsletter: Q&A: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics?
- 11/21/08 4:30 PM
Fry's isn't always the least expensive
by rbsjrx - 11/14/08 11:41 PM In reply to: The best time to buy consumer electronics by linitwdwrdWhile shipping costs play a factor, I've generally found that, overall, Newegg beats Fry's prices. Again, though, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. At Fry's, I don't pay shipping, but at Newegg, I don't pay sales tax. On selected items, CompUSA.com can also be quite competitive with both.
Fry's in store warehouse pricing
by linitwdwrd - 11/15/08 12:24 AM In reply to: Fry's isn't always the least expensive by rbsjrxFry's web site is not the same as the Fry's Warehouse stores.
I can find lower pricing from 10 differant Online stores then Fry's web site everyday all year long.
The Store locations in Southern Califonia have the lowest pricing available.
No other electronics store in Southern California can touch or compete with there low pricing. You may get lucky and find a lower price online on a close out item maybe.
Including Bestbuy, Circuit City, Micro City, Office Depot, Sears, . No one even comes close. I have purchased Several laptops, Pcs, Big Screen TV's, Cameras, external hard drives, software. Security Cameras the list goes on and on from Fry's, And I compare the pricing with every retail location. And read the Sunday paper adds. I also research online. I am not trying to impress you or any one else. Its the facts.
Fry's in store warehouse pricing
by rbsjrx - 11/15/08 12:39 AM In reply to: Fry's in store warehouse pricing by linitwdwrd"Fry's web site is not the same as the Fry's Warehouse stores.
I can find lower pricing from 10 different Online stores then Fry's web site everyday all year long.
The Store locations in Southern California have the lowest pricing available.
No other electronics store in Southern California can touch or compete with there low pricing. You may get lucky and find a lower price online on a close out item maybe.
Including Bestbuy, Circuit City, Micro City, Office Depot, Sears [...]"
We have three Fry's warehouse stores in the greater Houston area, and I can regularly beat their prices at Newegg. Office Depot and Sears aren't contenders for lowest price. Circuit City usually beats Best Buy by a small margin, but both are more expensive than Fry's or Newegg. CompUSA offered the only serious competition on price, but they're gone now and only exist online any more (pity - they were the closest to my home). Micro Center has very good selection, but is only marginally better than the big box stores on pricing. I've spent a lot of my working life traveling to Southern California, so I know the prices are comparable.
Again, shipping from Newegg vs. Texas state sales tax is pretty much a wash. A month or two ago, the price of gas was also a major cost factor in the local vs. online price comparison, but not so much any more.
OK rrbsjrx almost a tie ha ha
by linitwdwrd - 11/15/08 4:53 AM In reply to: Fry's in store warehouse pricing by rbsjrxIf this was a contest in regards to pricing I have to call it a tie. I just compared 14 different items with the Friday’s ad Fry's and identical items on the Newegg.com Pricing was identical on 11 items. The special today for Newegg.com was 42" Panasonic 720P Plasma for $766.00, Fry's had it for $649.00 Newegg.com Does not sell Sony Plasma or LCD TV's unless I just didn't see it. The other 2 items Fry's was 30 bucks cheaper on one and Newegg was cheaper on the other by I think 30.00 Newegg also offered free shipping with most Big Screens again I don't know where Roger lives makes a difference for shopping. For taxes and I wouldn't want my Plasma screen sent by a common carrier. So for argument sake it’s a tie and either would be your best deal. BUT Roger did give specific time frame from now to Jan 31, 09. I could be wrong but my answer was specific on the actual one day sale fry's has. And if we are still debating who is correct I can cash in the Win with the ad in approx 10 Days. Bottom line Roger the one guy mentioned to know what you want very important doesn’t do you any good to save 350.00 on something you don’t really need if you could buy something that works for you and you Save 650.00 on an off brand. So research and figure out what you need first. Then check out the options offered here by this group of cheap skates like me. ha ha Timing is everything if you know what you want waiting a week or 2 can save you a good chunk of cash. Good Luck let us know what you buy and for how much. Were all rooting for you. Rik
Circuit City, now
by rernst2 - 11/15/08 4:04 PM In reply to: Fry's in store warehouse pricing by linitwdwrdCircuit City just went chapter 11. I am certain you can get great deals as they sell their store's inventories.
You have to pay sales tax in CA for Newegg though...
by BigGuns149 - 11/16/08 1:31 PM In reply to: Fry's isn't always the least expensive by rbsjrxIf one lives in CA NewEgg isn't as good of a deal on a lot of items. While they tend to get better prices on video cards and CPUs their prices on other items are often only marginally better than retail and in some cases their prices are above MSRP!
When the 8800GT came out NewEgg was charging above MSRP and there was a multi-week wait for the card. Meanwhile most local retailers were selling it at MSRP. You would have been better off finding a local retailer that had one in stock then ordering off of NewEgg.
On most larger items the shipping costs will eliminate virtually any savings and in many cases it will be cheaper to pick up the item at retail that day than to buy it off of NewEgg.
I don't question that on some items that NewEgg is still a better deal even after shipping, but I don't think that NewEgg is nearly as great of a deal as some people make it out to be.
Taxes & shipping costs
by rbsjrx - 11/16/08 2:28 PM In reply to: You have to pay sales tax in CA for Newegg though... by BigGuns149Use/sales taxes & shipping costs are the wild cards in any of these discussions. Many online merchants have sales and specials where shipping costs are waived or greatly reduced. Others have membership programs (e.g. Amazon's Amazon Prime program) with free expedited shipping for a fixed annual fee. Even then, though, be sure to read the fine print - I've been an Amazon Prime member for years and although it's been a really good deal for me, it doesn't apply to Amazon marketplace orders.
OTOH, I've read that there's a strong possibility that under the new administration, the Federal government will get behind efforts of states to collect sales taxes on interstate purchases (i.e. use taxes).
So, the bottom line is wherever you buy, be sure to compare apples to apples by accounting for all the costs involved.
Recession
by dincz - 11/14/08 11:46 PM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
"Now that it appears our country is in a recession"
Which country is that?
Now is the time
by RunRagged2 - 11/15/08 12:21 AM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The best time to buy is when you have the spare cash to do so and you see what you want.
Prices change all the time, but your financial status should be a prime factor.
Don't borrow to fund the purchase.
Deflation
by R41 - 11/15/08 2:15 AM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
November 2008 is a tough economic time. We have DEFLATION. That means that prices are declining. The prices of raw materials began their decline at the end of June, 2008. This includes agricultural products, industrial metals, petroleum, energy, livestock, precious metals, and all the other "stuff" that civilization uses. DEFLATION is the opposite of inflation, and is very, very painful on the working man. Already we have seen a major tech retailer fail (Circuit City), and more are sure to follow. Millions will be unemployed. (Go to stockcharts.com and get a chart of $CRB to see the evidence of price decline.)
So, the longer you wait, the cheaper everything is going to be. If you are a capitalist, you measure price and value in dollars. But dollars will become much harder to earn and keep. So if you put those easily-earned dollars under a mattress NOW and wait as long as possible, you will acquire your electronics for less dollars.
Whatever your choice, do not be surprised if your supplier goes bankrupt and is unable to honor a warrantee. Large banks have already folded, and what consumer electronic company is more stable than a bank? In this world, everything is temporary... even life, even the earth itself. (Asteroid strikes, sun becomes a red giant, etc.) Perhaps it is best to enjoy life while you have it, for there is absolute certainty that at some time in the future it will be gone.
Now go out and be happy!
Best time to buy consumer electronics, etc.
by walkerdine - 11/15/08 2:27 AM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Judging from the market activity in the UK, now might be that time. With the seasonal rush to buy presents, etc. suppliers are dropping their prices big time. This is noticable across a very wide range of goods, especially those that have competitors. These price reductions are obviously much more than one would expect, in fact 'sales' do not usually happen until after Christmas. There is some panic selling I feel, a profit of $5.00 or a few of whatever currency you use, is better than nothing. You will probably find the same for late get away holidays as well.
If you want that new 1.5TB hard drive, now is the time. The prices being charged cannot be far above the break even point. Tough for the retailers, but life is like that.
Strike when the price feels right...
by Wolfie2k5 - 11/15/08 3:27 AM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Honestly, that's quite a loaded question. The simple fact is, there IS no real right time.
How can this be? Consider that computers (and most other electronics) tend to drop in price. What might set you back $1000 today, you can bet it won't cost anywhere near that 3 months from now, 6 months from now and a year from now, you'll be fairly lucky to find one on the shelves of your electronics megamart. Such IS the nature of the business.
Keep in mind that you WILL find ads after the fact featuring the item in question at a price well below what you paid for it. As long as you know that it's going to happen ahead of time, you can mostly avoid the feeling of remorse for not waiting.
But... If you really want bargains... You've got your work cut out for you. The best thing to do is research, research, and more research! First off, find a model of the product you want. From there, keep your eyes open and look at ads, web sites, and check pricing sites - like http://www.pricewatch.com. Find the average price for the item.
And then there are the numerous "Black Friday" sites that have the ads from many prominent retailers' Friday after Thanksgiving specials. Should you happen to find something intriguing, be prepared to get up VERY early and go down to the store. Camping out overnight... Eh.. It's not always necessary. A key indicator - would be if the store in question has a "MUST HAVE" goodie in stock and on special. Also, it pays to watch the Thanksgiving night news. If you see a huge crowd camping out on the late night news... It'd probably be best to have a sleeping bag and some comfy chairs loaded in the car before hand. An example of this would be the Nintendo Wii... Hot item, limited stock, TONS of people camping out.
There's also the avenue of auction sites like ebay.
Sometimes auctions can be frustrating - like when you've been outbid at the last second by someone who swooped in. Other times, it can be quite satisfying like when you find a brand new or nearly brand new item that's priced 40 or 50% below the best retail price you've found anywhere else.
Keep in mind that like with any other enterprise, there are honest ebay vendors and there are those who...shall we say, aren't. Always review feedback left by previous buyers and judge for youself if you want to do business with the guy or not.
There's also the school of thought that the best time is the final week of the year. Some vendors will be trying to dump inventory before 2009. I've found sales on electronics after Christmas to be somewhat lackluster in the last few years. The deals aren't as good as they were before the big day.
And finally... Look for blow out clearance sales. Unfortunately, some vendors are not exactly on firm financial footing - Circuit City being a recent notable casualty. Watch the news/papers/etc... for any store closing sales. Should a vendor go belly up, and they have a huge close-out sale, it would be prudent to check their ads - or better yet, pay them a visit. Keep in mind, Circuit City's prices are not exactly inspiring. I stopped by there to check the prices on some stuff and they were anything but "Clearance" priced.
Case in point: Fry's Electronics featured a special last week on a pair of Polaroid branded SDHC chips, 4 GB each for a special price of $16.99. They're made by PNY - a good brand. Circuit City today, had a pair of Polaroid (PNY) 2 GB SD chips marked as "clearance" for $47.99. Makes me wonder what the "regular" price for those chips was.
What it boils down to is Circuit City expects to charge me almost 3 times the price for HALF of the storage. Any questions as to why they filed Chapter 11...? Didn't think so.
It pays to shop around!
On the other hand, when CompUSA went out of business last year, there were some pretty good deals to be had. I saw a full copy of Windows Vista Ultimate selling for as little as $149.99 - and that's NOT the upgrade version.
Key points to remember:
1.) Figure out what you want ahead of time. Read reviews on CNet and elsewhere. Find the item with the features you WANT.
2.) Shop around! Research, research, research!
2a.) Google is your friend. (see point 2)
3.) Look for sales, close-outs, store closings, etc...
4.) Don't be afraid of ebay. They do have some pretty spectacular bargains.
5.) Don't be afraid to buy. Whatever you're after will get cheaper as manufacturers come out with their next new "MUST HAVE" item. At some point you'll have to "pull the trigger" and buy the item. Consider the difference between what you spent and the new discounted price as the cost of having the item and enjoying it.
When?
by able211 - 11/15/08 3:56 AM In reply to: When do you think is the best time to buy consumer electronics? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Probably now? Or maybe Christmas sales. As production line volumes are reduced to plan for anticipated decline in markets, prices may even rise next year, but the markets at the moment are pretty well supplied, with falling demand. But, depend how bad the recession becomes. Lots of people will start spending savings when interest rates fall to 1%, so difficult to anticipate buying market early next year. Pays your money, takes your choice!
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