It’s painful to see the desktop PC you bought just a few weeks ago costs only half the money now, and it’s equally unpleasant to have just bought a premium laptop and then find out that its much improved successor is going to come out next month with the same price tag.
The prices of most consumer electronic products are going to drop eventually, and there are always newer models coming around the corner, but when is the best time to make your purchase?
While the answer may depend on the circumstances you are facing (e.g., your old computer ceases to work, and you urgently need a new one), there are a few times in a year when you can probably score the best price of a computer.
1. Black Friday/Cyber Monday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are both part of a several-day shopping stretch starting with Thanksgiving. While Black Friday is the day that all kinds of goods are discounted, Cyber Monday, which happens only 3 days later, is all about electronics.
Research shows that shoppers get about 18.5% discount on average for the electronic products they purchase on Black Friday, and savings are even higher at around 22% on Cyber Monday. Most PC makers and retailers will offer coupons or discounts to attract customers during that period, but you need to act quickly to avoid the computer you target being sold out.
GEEKOM’s very own seasonal sales event, which includes lots of huge discounts and special offers, will also start in late November. If you are interested in getting a new quality mini PC, you can visit GEEKOM’s official website for more information.
2. Back to School Season
Some of the best annual computer deals, especially for Ultrabooks and small form factor PCs, usually happen during back-to-school season, when discounts are focused on products marketing towards students.
Many major online and offline retailers offer special promotions from late July to the Middle of August, helping students gear up before they return to school. Back-to-school deals for computers may come in many forms, ranging from price discounts, and gifts to free personalized customization.
For instance, Lenovo often gives mice, screen protectors, and portable speakers as gifts to their laptop buyers, and Apple routinely attracts customers by giving out free AirPods and Beats headphones. Some other smaller brands will customize the case of desktop PCs and laptops as per their customers’ requests for free.
3. Amazon Prime Day
If you have an Amazon Prime membership, you will be able to find lots of excellent deals for electronic products on Amazon Prime Day, including personal computers. However, finding out when Amazon Prime Day happens can be tricky for some. Although it is usually held in early July, Prime Day can sometimes be pushed back to later months.
In 2020, it was even delayed to October because of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are a regular Amazon user, chances are that you will get a few notifications before the final date is set. If not, you can go to the settings of the Amazon Store application, letting Amazon send alerts to you by Email when the day comes.
4. Christmas Holiday
Christmas is often the longest break in a year for most people in the western world. For retailers, it is also the perfect time to attract customers. Many stores will have special deals on different kinds of consumer products, including electronics, because they know how popular these are as gifts.
Mainstream laptops and desktop PCs are often too expensive to be considered as typical Christmas gifts, but inexpensive Chromebooks and mini PCs can be great choices. For instance, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook, a tablet & laptop convertible, is perfect for both the young and the elderly. The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 mini PC, which costs only $229, is a wonderful gift for a kid beginning to learn computer skills.
5. New Product Release
Most PC makers refresh their computer lineups annually. Whether you’re looking for the best deal possible or want to be the very first to get your hands on the latest top-of-the-line PCs on the market, it makes perfect sense to wait for the release of a new product.
The benefit of going for the latest PC model is that you’ll obviously get a more compact computer with the most advanced CPU and graphics card, but the downside is that new models are often expensive. So, is it a bad time for consumers who just want to save some dollars on their deal? Not really! A PC that was released a few months or even a year ago will still be good enough for most people.
When new models come out, retailers will start getting rid of old inventory and making room for new units that are about to come in. The best and fastest way to do that is by offering big discounts and price cuts on PCs of the last generation. For example, when the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 series came out on October 5th, 2021, the prices of the Surface Pro 7 series models were instantly cut down by 15% to 20%.
Besides the releases of new computers, you could also pay attention to the release schedules of new CPUs and graphics cards. Once a new generation of Intel and AMD CPUs or Nvidia GPUs are announced, computers with the last-generation specifications will instantly become less attractive, especially if there’s a huge upgrade in performance. Since tech enthusiasts and passionate gamers are now waiting for new models featuring the new hardware, retailers will have no choice but to offer discounts on current PCs to attract buyers.
6. When You Notice a Price Drop
There are many price-tracking tools available online for you to monitor the cost of your preferred PC model. The most used ones include Visualping, Scanlife, ShopSavvy, Honey, and CamelCamelCamel.
Not only can these tools help you check the price history of your preferred computer on Amazon, but you may also have them sending alerts to you by Email whenever there are coupons, big discounts, and price cuts on the PC you intend to purchase.
Verdict
Buying a PC is an important investment for average consumers, but since there are several times in a year when you can score a nice deal, it doesn’t make any sense to break your bank at its peak price.
