[NBLUG/talk] When to buy a laptop? Where's the "sweet spot" these days?

Alan n1al at sonic.net
Sat Nov 15 18:30:36 PST 2014


I've had good luck with "off-lease" refurbished computers from Tiger 
Direct.  http://www.tigerdirect.com

Alan Bloom


On 11/15/2014 02:41 PM, William Tracy wrote:
>
>
> On Nov 15, 2014 9:24 AM, "Steve S." <northbaygeek at gmail.com 
> <mailto:northbaygeek at gmail.com>> wrote:
> > #1/marketing:  when is the "good time" to buy, before next semester
> > starts in January?  Black Friday sales?  Pre-Xmas? Post-Xmas
> > clearance?  Or is this info just not really "knowable" because the
> > marketers' strategies are so arcane?
>
> Black Friday is rarely a good deal. (I could write another post about 
> why that is!) Instead, I recommend the following:
>
> 1. Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Hit up all the major 
> online stores such as Amazon, Newegg, Dell.com, Tiger Direct, (though 
> research Tiger Direct before you buy from there--I've heard a few 
> horror stories) and whatever else I'm forgetting right now.
>
> 2. Open box deals the week(s) after Black Friday. Lots of people buy 
> big ticket items on Black Friday and change their minds later. You can 
> buy stuff still under the manufacturer's warranty at a sweet discount. 
> (I saved almost 40% off the manufacturer's recommended price on a 
> camera buy buying it at Best Buy this way!)
>
> 3. Clearance items and open box items in the weeks after Christmas. 
> Stores are eager to clear surplus inventory in the weeks after the 
> holiday season, plus there's always the gifts that get returned.
>
> Finally, the advice I always give for buying computers for 
> non-technical users: Unless you know that you'll need it, get the 
> cheapest CPU you can and spend your money on RAM instead. If you have 
> the money to burn, SSDs will both feel a lost faster than traditional 
> hard drives, and be more likely to survive being dropped.
>
> Good luck!
> William
>
>
>
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