Ways to Save Money Shopping (continued)
Purchase damaged products. Lots and lots of computers, appliances, refrigerators, cars and such get damaged before they are sold. But few people want to buy a new item that has a scratch, ding or dent in it. If you are willing to put up with a scratch or dent, you can save hundreds of dollars. Find a specific product you’re looking for as follows:
(1) Cars. Save up to $2500 on the demo cars every car dealership has that are used as test-drive vehicles. They may not even be damaged.
(2) Appliances. Some manufacturers sell scratched or dented merchandise at ApplianceDepot.com. Sears, one of the nation’s top manufacturers of kitchen appliances, sells its damaged appliances at its outlet stores. Search SearsOutlet.com to find a store near you.
(3) Computers. You can buy computers, printers, tablets, etc. that have small scratches or damage on them but still work as they should. You can pay up to 40 percent less than retail. Visit Dell.com/outlet to find slightly damaged Dell computers or go to Store.Apple.com or MacOfAllTrades.com if you want an Apple product that is damaged or refurbished.
(4) Electronics. Every Best Buy store has all sorts of items that are discounted because they have been opened or are damaged in some way. Just ask a sales person at the store.
(5) Kitchenware. You can find deals on damaged or irregular pots and pans, appliances and other kitchen items at Cookwarenmore.com
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Ways to Save Money
Saving Money Shopping
Don’t buy new products when they first come out. Rather than running to the store and buying new products when they come out, sit back and wait a few weeks, months or years for them to sale for significantly less. For example:
- New smartphones, laptops and tablets usually drop in price by $80 or more in just a few weeks or months after release, depending on how well they sell
- Video games usually drop in price by about 10 percent just two weeks after they become available
- Televisions usually drop in price by 30 percent just two weeks after released!
If you researched the price history of many items you would find steep drops in prices as the years went by. For example, when microwave ovens first became popular in the 1970s, they cost more than $1000 each. Today you can buy a very good qualify microwave oven for about $100 or less. When laptop computers first became popular in the 1990s, they sold for almost $3000. Now, you can buy a good one for less than $500. And lastly, look at the price of the smartphone – in September 2013, Apple came out with a budget version that sells for less than $150. Believe it or not, there are millions of frugal Americans who have not purchased a smart phone yet because they’ve been waiting for the moment when they could save hundreds of dollars buying the budget model they knew Apple would eventually offer.
Let retailers track you. Although the media likes to scare the public in to thinking that retailers are invading our privacy by keeping track of all of our purchases, allowing them to do so actually comes with lots of perks. For example, if you regularly shop at Target and always use a debit or credit card to pay for your purchases, they can keep track of everything you buy. They will use this data to mail you coupon books for discounted merchandise and freebie coupons such as “get $15 off of total purchase”. If you regularly buy a specific product, they will send you coupons for that product. Stores who offer loyalty cards do this as well and you could hundreds every year. Use the CardStar app to organize all of your loyalty cards and get in-store discounts. MyGroceryDeals.com lets you find out what items on your shopping list are on sale.
Next Topic: Restaurant and Retailer Freebies and Giveaways
