Dos and Don’ts of Buying Technology Gadgets Online

If you’re a tech enthusiast, you know how fun it is to shop for new gadgets every now and then. If it seems like every day there’s a new product that you feel will change your life in some way – that’s because it probably is.

Gadgets are fun, there’s no way around it and with the IoT looming around the corner so it’s only a matter of time before we have a gadget for virtually everything, but that’s not what we’re here for today. Today, we want to talk to you about shopping for gadgets. Most of us, nowadays, shop for our savvy little devices online. On that note, we wanted to share with you a few dos and don’ts when it comes to online shopping. So, without further ado – let’s check them out.

Let’s start with dos.

Do Buy From A Trusted Source

Buying tech from unreliable sources is far from the wisest thing you can do, so always make sure you shop for a reliable, trusted source so you don’t have to worry about possible mishaps along the way. There are many trusted sellers and retailers online, so you don’t really have the need to try and purchase gadgets from scalpers or local dealers. If you do, you’re practically inviting trouble in your life.

Do Buy Well-Known Brands

Once again, there are way too many reliable brands and manufacturers for you to be experimenting with the ones you haven’t heard of. You might feel like it’s okay to buy a simple charging cable from an unknown brand instead of spending twice the money on a product from a well-known one. Now, granted, you might be paying an extra $5 (or $30 if you’re buying Apple) for the brand name, but then again, with these products, you’re certain they’re of the highest quality and you won’t have to worry about the longevity or durability.

Naturally, when you’re shopping for something slightly more expensive, say a mobile device, you might be tempted to try and save a couple of hundred dollars on a device from the promising up-and-comer, but in that case, really think it through and try and figure out if the price difference is worth the potential lack of quality.

Do Compare The Prices

You have to act like you’re shopping for any other type of product when you’re shopping for gadgets and that means comparing the prices. Ebest claims that the most common mistake people make is thinking that all tech costs the same at all places and that’s simply not the case. Tech prices vary from store to store and if you don’t compare the prices you could be missing out on some pretty significant savings – especially if you’re shopping for something pricey. For instance, Sony’s XM4s are retailing for $349 almost everywhere you look. However, they’ve dipped as low as $249 on Amazon in few instances and people didn’t know because they were shopping for headphones from their local tech store instead of comparing the prices online.

Do Read & Watch The Reviews

Before you buy any type of device, whether that’s a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a white noise machine with a built-in alarm clock – you have to read a review first. To be fair, you don’t have to – but we’d strongly advise that you do. You can find numerous reviews online on pretty much every product on the market and it would be dumb not to take advantage of that. You can learn a lot about a product from a non-biased review. You can learn its pros and cons, its best and worst features, where to get it and how to use it and so on. The only time you shouldn’t be looking for a review prior to buying a new gadget is if you’re buying the gadget to make or write a review on it.

Now, let’s check out the don’ts.

Don’t Forget About The Coupons

Shopping for gadgets can easily get quite expensive, especially if you’re in the mood for something rather spicy. Because of that, we’d strongly advise against not checking for coupons or discount codes you might use. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, but it could save you a couple of bucks. Just visit some of the most popular coupon websites and check to see if you can find one for the device you’re interested in.

Don’t Forget About The Open Box

Don’t shy away from the “open box” items. You may feel like those items are only reserved for the actual stores, not the online ones, but that’s not the case. A lot of popular retailers and tech stores have a separate page dedicated to the open box products that you can take advantage of. All of those products are good as new and they work just fine and you can get them at a fraction of the price. It would be ludicrous to pass out on them, right?

Don’t Spend On Extended Warranties

This is another thing you might not feel like you’d find online, as most of these “sales” are done by people that work in regular stores. However, those things can happen online as well. Online stores, just like salesmen in the regular stores, will try and persuade you into getting an extended warranty. Now, that might seem like a good idea at first, but in most instances, the regular warranty is all you’ll ever need. Most devices suffer too much wear and tear over the years and that alone could void the extended warranty which then means you’ve thrown money down the drain.

Don’t Let It Sit In Front Of Your Door

Even if you’ve ordered a simple USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack – don’t let it just sit in front of your door. It could easily get stolen or damaged. When selecting a delivery method, choose the one that requires you to personally accept it and sign for it. If you know you won’t be home at the time, try and send it to one of your friends or relatives or even better, if your boss allows it – send it to your office, there’s always someone there to receive the package for you.

There you have it – those were our dos and don’ts when it comes to online shopping for gadgets. Hopefully, we’ve been helpful and you’ll adopt some of these tips to your shopping routine.