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Friday, July 27, 2007
Buy your PC as if it was a bottle of wine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When I started this column - way back in 1992 - I frequently offered computer buying tips. Technology was moving so fast that many of us replaced computers as frequently as shoes.
Nowadays, most home users can hang onto a computer for three or four years without making huge sacrifices in performance. Most any new brand-name computer will perform adequately in most homes. So I don’t write about computer shopping as much.
But with the advent of power-hungry Microsoft Vista and the approach of the back-to-school shopping season, it seems a good time to revisit the topic and talk about ways to save money. I’m talking about ordinary home users; not to those looking for a PC that could design nuclear submarines.
Wiith that in mind, here are some of my rules:
Stay in the middle: Think of a wine list in an expensive restaurant. At the very top you’ll find bottles going for hundreds of dollars. These are bottles that only make sense for show-offs, true connoiseurs, or people rich enough to disregard price. At the bottom, you’ll find cheap wine. It isn’t good wine, but it is cheap.
It’s no different with computers. The safest spot for most buyers is in the middle.
Be brand-aware: My stepdaughter wouldn’t wear blue jeans without a designer label. And she pays plenty for that label. That doesn’t make sense. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and brand names make sense when the ordinary person buys a computer.
While there are bargains to be found with off-brand computers, it’s important to assess the quality of components used. If you can honestly do that - hey, save some money with the off-brand. If you can’t - and that’s most of you - stick with a brand name machine.
Beware of bundles: I spent many years working in marketing and advertising for a Fortune 500 company. We often bundled products to add perceived value. Instead of selling each item separately, we’d offer several as part of a package. That adds what marketers call perceived value. And often it really is just a perception not a reality. All the added products in the bundle make it difficult for the consumer to calculate the true value.
That’s why many computer stores love bundling. You are offered a computer, monitor, printer, maybe even a camera. You may also get “free” software and maybe even virus protection and Internet service.
But if you already have a good printer, monitor, and Internet service, all this “free” stuff isn’t a bargain at all. If you truly need the add-ons, these packages actually can be a bargain at times. If you don’t, you’re losing money on the deal.
Shop smart: It seems really elementary to say this, but you can save money by watching for price cuts and sales. Let me suggest an experiment.
Go to the Web site for Dell or Gateway and price a computer. Check back in a week. You’ll often find some element of the deal has changed. On one week you’ll find free shipping, but on another the same computer may come at the same price but with added RAM or a monitor upgrade.
By repeating this process for four to five weeks, you’ll often find a deal that fits your needs and that saves you $100 or more.
The bargains can be even better at stores. Watch for sales and promotions. Also, don’t be afraid to bargain. Most people don’t realize that a sales person often has some latitude, even at a chain store. I’ve been able to get small price breaks - and in one case a free joy stick - just by asking.
Remember rebates: Many folks are leery of rebate offers. They assume they’ll never get the money or it’ll be a bigger hassle than it’s worth. But stores lately are making rebates easier to get. I can’t think of a time in the past few years when I failed to get the rebate money. So it’s smart to look for rebate offers as long as the offer is for a product you really need.
Shopping smart will add enjoyment to your computer. Sometimes the most fun a computer offers is the chance to brag about the deal you got.
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