Shopping Tips, 2012

This is my shopping advice update for 2012.  Much of it is the same as last year's.  Please be sure to read that first.  Its all still valid and points to way to a lot of discounts.

This year, I want to add three new tips to save you money and stress:

1. Don't bother with Black Friday.
2. Use your phone.
3. Don't forget your points.

Black Friday

No one likes fighting crowds of anxious shoppers.  Good news:  You shouldn't bother.

Black Friday sales actually cost more than routine pricing from online stores.  There are exceptions, but that is not the norm.

Smart Phone = Smart Shopping

If you do decide to go shopping in a physical store and have a smartphone, download a couple of comparison shopping tools first.

There are a number of apps that will use your phone's camera to scan barcodes or even search based on a picture of the product.  They look up the price on Amazon, Google, eBay, and other services.  This is amazingly easy and quick.  Look on your phone's App Store to see what I mean.

Here are a few examples for iPhones:

• SnapTell
• Red Laser
• Price Check By Amazon
• Google Shopper

If you have an Android phone and can recommend an app like these, please put it in the comments below.

Credit Card Points

Lastly, it your credit card gives you "points," consider trading them in for gift cards.  For example, you could trade in 10,000 points for $100 at Amazon and then buy several gifts.  You could also trade in points for several small iTunes or Amazon gift cards.  These would make great gifts for children who are about to receive an iPad or Kindle Fire from their parents.

As stated at the beginning, don't forget to check last year's tips for more advice.

Electronics Shopping

Its mid-November now and that means a lot of people are shopping to replace their computer, iPod, TV, or what-have-you.  I thought it would be helpful to review some on-line shopping tips.  If you think that I missed anything, feel free to add it to the comments below.


General shopping:

• Check for coupons on RetailMeNot.com & DealCoupon.com
• Compare prices on many sites using www.google.com/products.
• Check product reviews to avoid problems. Amazon.com, Google.com, & Epinions.com are good for this.
• Watch sites like www.DealNews.com, www.Woot.com, and www.DailySteals.com for sales.
• Remember to include the tax and shipping when comparing costs between stores. I have often found that the store with the lower advertised price is not the cheapest once shipping is added.

Computer & electronics shopping:

• See the general list above.
• Check DealMac.com and DealNews.com for sales.  They even have Black Friday news.
• NewEgg.com is well known for good pricing.
• Some one-day-deal sites can be useful, but you'll have to check them every day.
• CowBoom.com
• DailySteals.com
• MeritLine.com's Daily Deals page
• Woot.com
• For cameras, check the reviews on www.Steves-DigiCams.com and www.DPReview.com.
• Steves-DigiCams.com also has a feature & price search that will suggest models and stores.

Check for academic discounts.

• Apple: http://store.apple.com/us-k12
• Dell: http://www.dell.com/us/en/k-12/df.aspx?refid=df&s=k12&cs=RC1084719
• HP: http://www.hpk12.com/

Sale on Apple Computer for Students

Apple just posted a sale on new computers.  In addition to the usual academic discounts, you can get $50 or $100 in iTunes credit.  That lets you buy music, TV shows, movies, books, iPhone or iPad apps, Mac software, rent movies, and more.

More details on their web site.

Apple Sale for College Students

As a follow up to the previous post about purchasing computers for college-bound students, you might be interested in knowing about Apple's new sale.  You can buy a Mac at the discounted/academic pricing and they'll discount an iPod -- including the iPod Touch, which is basically a pocket-sized computer.

EDIT:  I stand corrected.  The sale hasn't started yet.  It has happened every May or June for the last few years, so it will probably start soon.  Sorry if I got your hopes up.  Just try Apple's web site in a few weeks to see if its changed.

EDIT 2:  The sale just began today.

College Purchases

Looking for a computer for college?

Apple offers student discounts year-round, but often offers a laptop-and-iPod deal in the May - August time frame.  Check it out at http://www.apple.com/store and click on "Education Store" on the left.  (Or just go to http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/education_routing).

Dell offers discounts to college students at http://www.delluniversity.com.

HP offers discounts to students at http://www.shopping.hp.com/academy.

Lots of software can be purchased at http://www.academicsuperstore.com/.  This includes the ever popular Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and others.  These discounts are available to both students and teachers.

Also, keep an eye on deal sites like woot.com, dealnews.com, dealmac.com, and cowboom.com.  You never know when they list a great deal.  You can also check out RetailMeNot.com for coupons.

Lastly, compare prices and read customer reviews of products on sites like Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, Epinions.com, and Google.com/products.

Happy shopping.