UNLESS you want a gadget badly enough - be it a computer, music player or game console - you should never have to pay the retail price for it.
There, the secret is out.
Unlike fashion, where looks and styles can be re-invented with a change of, say, colour or an accessory, gadgets don't have the same flexibility. They die (depreciate with newer, faster, sleeker releases) the day they were born. So shelf life is highly limited.
Which means vendors are constantly under pressure to push sales. Chances are, unless the gizmo is a cult must-have like the iPhone, there will always be leftover stocks.
Which explains why Singapore has four annual electronics fire sales, namely the IT Show, PC Show, Sitex and Comex, where deals are a dime a dozen. Rather than wait for about three months for each event to roll around, you can stretch your IT dollar right now.
1. Bargain
Believe it or not, you can bargain at Best Denki, Harvey Norman and Courts. The big IT retailers may publish a price, but their salesmen have some leeway in shaving off some dollars or throwing in additional freebies. At the very least, pay by cash and save on the credit card fee, which has been worked into the selling price.
2. Buy older models
Items like cellphones and digital cameras are being launched almost incessantly, which means that prices for older models will fall. So, wait. The difference of a few months could save you some moolah.
3. Choose cheaper brands
For every Sony Vaio laptop or iPod, there's a cheaper - but not inferior - alternative from the likes of Asus, Samsung or Creative.
Brands like Apple and Sony put a premium on - and spend on - design. They need not be superior in terms of hardware. For example, the 8GB iPod Nano, which sports a 2-inch screen, retails at $318. Creative's 8GB Zen X-Fi has a 2.5-inch screen and costs just $229.
4. Compare prices
You don't have to run around the shops in Sim Lim Square to do price checks. Just go online. International sites such as Pricewatch.com track online retailer prices and cover everything from laptops and video cards to cooling cases. The online rates serve as a great benchmark for bargaining as well.
5. Go for mass orders
Check out local forums for threads on mass orders, where people who want the same product combine their orders and split the shipping costs.
Some online retailers offer bulk discounts for mass orders too. It's riskier because these buys may carry a limited warranty. However, that's not too much of a worry for small items such as graphics cards and video games which don't cost an arm and a leg anyway.
6. Buy online
Movies, songs, cameras and memory cards - these are just some of the stuff you can buy online with discounts on Amazon. Try: http://deallocker.com/tool/secret-amazon-discount
First, do a search by category. Decide how much discount you want. You will then be led to a webpage on Amazon that lists deals matching the parameters of your search. Be warned though: You may be tempted beyond what you're able to pay and end up with stuff you don't need.
7. Do the legwork
Literally. There are times when it's worth ferreting the shops in Sim Lim Square and Funan DigitaLife Mall. I got an official Wii Guitar Hero controller for $69.90 in one of the outlets at Funan when every other shop was selling it for at least $99.
Like it or not, shops in both malls attract customers by dishing out daily specials that are not advertised or promoted. You may get lucky.
8. Ask around
Someone might know someone who works for an electronics company or an IT distributor. This means one thing - staff price.
Grow a skin thick enough and ask - you could get between 10 and 30 per cent off the retail price. A colleague recently bought a nano cordless laser mouse for $89 off the shelf because she was 'too paiseh' to approach another colleague who had the connections. Well, she would have paid only about $60 if she'd asked.
9. Get it second-hand
Again, head for the local forums. Loads of people here want to unload stuff like laptops, cameras and game consoles. They may not be green in palming off their wares but you will be for picking them up - saving the Earth from another piece of junk and a few hundred dollars for yourself too. Remember to check the condition of the goods before the money changes hands.
10. Trade in
It might seem crazy to trade in the old printer or camera for a few bucks but what's the point of letting it collect dust? Plus, your leftovers can now become someone else's second-hand buy.
This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 20 August 2008.
