The 3 Best Places To Find Tech Deals
By Jeffrey | April 25, 2007
The typical mainstream geek - if that’s not an oxymoron I don’t know what is - has an insatiable need to constantly acquire new techie stuff.
It doesn’t really matter what it actually is, as long as it is electronic, and can be described in a way no normal human will understand.
For example, “Sure, that 3X-6 heatsink will enable you to overclock your Radeon to the 2ghz memory range, but I’m not sure if it will overheat your Dual-Core SLI-enabled motherboard!”
With conversations like that you can guarantee the girls will come running - past you, and as far away as they can get.
That’s probably because buying tech gear can put a substantial dent on your wallet.
I can’t help you with the girl situation, but doing your browsing at one of these locations should help with the financial side of the equation.
#3 - EBay
The bronze medal goes to the obvious choice: Ebay.
Whether you are looking for some clip-on Teletubbies dolls, or for that autographed pink T-Shirt of Cyndi Lauper, Ebay is your place.
For those items, it is probably your only place.
But with some fine-tuned searches you can find some sweet deals on the tech, as well. Such as a MacBook Pro for $800 cheaper than retail.
The drawback is that browsing Ebay is like walking through a WalMart - the size of Texas.
It is full of cheap products, rip-offs, half of the stuff offered kind of looks like the real thing - like the genuine iPod Shuffle for only $1, and it’s almost impossible to find exactly what you’re looking for.
The deals are there, but most of the time the hassle of finding them isn’t worth it.
#2 - Craigslist
Ah yes, the ubiquitous classified site: Craiglist.
Not only does it offer goods for sale, but it has the Rants & Raves section, which is a great resource for restoring your faith in humanity. Well, at least your faith that it will fail.
The two places we are interested in, though, are Electronics and Computer.
Browsing through there you can find anything from a 62″ HDTV for $900 to an Apple iBook for $450.
Like Ebay, the possibility of being scammed is still there, but is substantially lessened due to the fact that you generally purchase the items in person - so you can check them out before you buy. Plus, if anything goes wrong you always know who the person you bought it from is.
Unless, of course, you really do want to buy from that prince in Nigeria.
The best way to use Craigslist, though, is by trading and swapping, the long way round.
I’m not talking about putting items up for trade, which can be done, but rather to sell one item then turn around and buy the one you want.
For example, you want that new TV, but nobody wants to trade you one for your vintage Star Wars action figures? No problem, just sell the one for cash, and buy the other.
Doing this, I upgraded an old computer system for a new(er) one for the exact same money. I sold my old Athlon XP 2400+ system for $500, then bought an Athlon 64 3500+ system for $500, all on Craigslist.
#1 - Government/School Surplus
This is the most ignored place to find those great tech deals.
It seems Uncle Sam doesn’t like to hang on to things for too long - whether it be an unused Fire Engine, or Pentium 4 laptops.
You can use that to your advantage.
Surplus can be found on various web sites, or through a whole plethora of physical locations.
My personal favorite are the local state universities and colleges. My school has a monthly sale where they offload boatloads of old stuff, for dirt-cheap prices. Like the LCD monitor I picked up for $10.
Granted, most of what is offered is not exactly cutting-edge.
But if you’ve always wanted to try Linux, set up your own web server, or just have an old piece of hardware to abuse, you can’t beat the prices.
For that, I’ll take an old Pentium 4 system for $35 (the typical deal at my university) any day.
Final Thoughts
I make no guarantees about any of this increasing your chances to date the homecoming queen, but it should make it less likely that you bounce your rent checks.
If you know of any other places I may be missing, let me know!
Topics: Guides |
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