Gadgets can be an expensive investment to make, but if you play your cards right and follow our advice, you should be able to save money when you buy your next gizmo.
Shop online
While the high street may present you with the opportunity to get some face time with a gadget, the best place to save money when you commit to a purchase is the internet. If you own a smartphone, you can visit your nearest electronics outlet to examine a device in person, while also searching the web for it to see if you could get it cheaper from an e-commerce retailer.
You will often find that high street chains and big box out of town stores will have web-exclusive deals, as well as click and collect services that let you order online and pick up an item the same day from your closest bricks and mortar location. So before you buy, always consider the online options that are available.
Compare prices
If you don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home while bagging a bargain on a new gadget, price comparison sites will be a great way to satisfy your need to make savings. There are plenty of reputable sites to help you check up on prices, as well as a number of places where you can find voucher codes and short term deals that are not listed elsewhere, to take even more money off the RRP of hot ticket items.
Be wary of using sites which do not have a reliable reputation or feature offers that seem too good to be true, as some set out to trick innocent bargain hunters and could result in identity theft and other types of fraud. So shopping for gadgets online does require a little bit of savviness.
Be patient
While it may be tempting to run out to the shops or log on and buy a new gadget on the very day it is released, in reality it is much more sensible to wait a while before you make your purchase, especially if you are not in a real rush to pick it up. This is not only true of things like smartphones, but also of games consoles, digital cameras and a host of other top tech products. Early adopters pay the most, because the novelty of newness comes at a premium. Those who are more patient will reap the rewards of savings further down the line.
This is even more relevant when you consider that retailers often run special sales events which can help you make savings even on relatively recently released gadgets. From Black Friday to the January Sales and other seasonal events, there are regular opportunities to get discounts, if you are happy to hold off on making a purchase for a few weeks.
Read reviews
One left of field way to save money on gadgets is to change to a more value-oriented brand which offers exactly the same features and capabilities as premium competitors, at a fraction of the price. This works best with smartphones, tablets and laptops, as while companies like Apple and Samsung have high asking prices for their flagship models, there are affordable alternatives from emerging brands like OnePlus and Huawei which are just as good and will leave a much smaller dent in your bank account. Reading professional reviews will let you work out which cut price models represent the best investment in this instance.
Recycle
Selling old gadgets when you upgrade will not only help you do your bit to save the planet, but will let you squeeze some cash out of your unwanted items, which you can put towards your next purchase. There are plenty of high street stores and online firms that will buy old gadgets if you do not want to deal with private sales.