Dynamite Deals

Home Office Computing, June, 1999 by Bonny L. Georgia

FORGET MARKDOWNS, CLOSEOUTS, AND ONE-DAY SPECIALS. WE SHARE THE SECRETS TO GETTING GREAT PRICES ON COMPUTER EQUIPMENT ANYTIME AND EVERY TIME

Even if you're not much of a shopper, you've probably jumped through a hoop or two to get a great price on computer products. One minute you're curled up with the Sunday paper, pondering a second pot of coffee. The next you're flying out the door to CompUSA or Circuit City, hot on the trail of an amazing "today only" price on a PC or peripheral advertised in the circular.

Although the chase for bargains may be exhilarating, such impulse buys often end in disappointment. If you don't come up empty-handed, you often end up paying more than you wanted, or saddled with a white elephant. But with retail shopping, at least there's a chance that sanity will return before you hand over your credit card to the sales clerk; when buying by phone or online, there's nothing to stop you from dropping hundreds of dollars in seconds--all in the name of getting a great price.

But you don't have to be a slave to the dazzling deal. We'll teach you how to find true bargains, see through sleazy sales pitches, and shop everywhere confidently--with or without a sales rep's help.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK Before ever setting foot in a store, get the lowdown on product features and pros and cons by reading the reviews in HOME OFFICE COMPUTING. For additional evaluations and buying advice, turn to Web resources like the Product ReviewNet (www. productreviewnet.com) search engine; simply plug in the product name to get a list of related articles. Other good sources are ZDNet (www.zdnet.com), C/Net (www.cnet. com), and CMPNet (www.cmpnet.com).

For more general tips as well as quick-and-dirty comparisons of product features, check out the BuyersZone (www.buyerszone.com). In the Learn section, you can bone up on fax machines, for example, then answer questions about your faxing needs in the Easy Match or Advanced Match Compare pages to get a personalized list of appropriate products. Similarly, Computer Shopper's (www.computershopper.com) How to Buy advice area provides FAQ files on dozens of technology products.

COMPARE PRICES The Web makes it easy to find the lowest prices. You say your heart's set on a new ViewSonic View-Panel VP150 LCD monitor? KillerApp (www.killerapp. com) will search its database of vendors and provide you with a best-price quote--at press time it was just over $800. Another comparison shopping site, ComputerESP (www.shopper.com) pulls prices on products ranging from office suites to scanners from direct vendors around the Web. Armed with the best prices available, you'll then be able to factor in any shipping and handling fees, sales taxes, service plans, and other considerations that can make or break a bargain.

FOLLOW PRODUCT TRENDS Did you know that the growing popularity of 19-inch monitors has pushed formerly upscale 17-inch monitors into decidedly affordable territory? A good 17-inch display once cost $600 or more, but today you can get models like the Samsung SyncMaster 700s for less than $400, with improved picture quality and less bulk as a bonus.

Such emerging product trends are covered monthly in HOC and updated constantly on the Smalloffice.com site the magazine shares with its sister publication SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTING & COMMUNICATIONS (www.smalloffice.com), as well as on other high-tech news sites like C/Net News (www.news.com) and ZDNet News (www.zdnn. com). Before you shop, study these market moves and plan your major purchases around them whenever possible.

PICK THE RIGHT CHANNEL Depending on what you're buying, choosing between a retailer, online store, or direct-mail (phone and catalog) vendor might mean the difference between a good deal and a dynamite one.

Retail is your best bet for buying sub-$1,000 systems and popular software titles. Stores like CompUSA and Circuit City abound in supercheap systems from Compaq, NEC, and Hewlett-Packard, and often provide special rebates and other point-of-purchase promotions for software titles such as Intuit's Quicken Home & Business 99 or tax preparation software during the spring.

Plus, brick-and-mortar stores offer pricing policies you may not find elsewhere: When you bring in a flyer advertising a competing store's lower price, for example, retailers will often match or beat it. And if a peripheral goes on sale within 30 days of purchase, many stores (CompUSA and Circuit City among them) will refund the difference when you present your sales slip.

Direct mail offers a huge selection of business applications and more control over the configuration and price of computer systems, as well as larger inventories and lower prices than most retailers can offer--your tradeoff for less hand-holding; the chore of shipping rather than carrying in products for service; and the inability to "kick the tires" (test a PC's keyboard or eyeball a printer's output) before you make the buy.

Unadvertised specials are another direct-mail bonus. For instance, at press time, CDW was offering callers a discontinued Canon BJC-4300 color ink-jet printer for $105, or roughly half the original $199 retail price. And while you're on the line, ask the salesperson if the price of your intended purchase is due to drop. To avoid losing a sale, most will admit it, and some might give you the reduced price early.