Tech on the Cheap? 100
andyatkinson asks: "A technology enthusiast always has more products and services to buy than he or she can possibly afford. A variety of methods will help you save money: discount, deal, and coupon websites, price comparisons, eBay, and rebates. How do you save bucks on tech?"
OSS (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:OSS (Score:2)
But, fear not my dear Stallman! Be assured that Debian dot org is also on my list. It rates right after eMule, Kazaa, IRC, usenet, most abandonware sites, MAME stuff, any shareware I can dig up, and asking my neighbor to borrow his office disc.
Wait for the next version. (Score:4, Insightful)
6 months from now, repeat.
Re:Wait for the next version. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Wait for the next version. (Score:2)
Re:Wait for the next version. (Score:4, Insightful)
As networking goes, I tend to avoid eBay for most of it. A lot of tech sites have forums with a for sale/for trade section where you can find what you're looking for at a much better price than eBay. I trade a lot of my old parts that I don't need for old parts that I do need.
Re:Wait for the next version. (Score:3, Interesting)
Those jokes just never get old for me.
Re:Wait for the next version. (Score:2)
Or buy older model instead of latest & greates (Score:3, Insightful)
My father bought a Treo 650 about six months ago for around $500. After seeing/using his I decided to give the pda/phone combo a try. But instead of dropping the cash on a Treo 650, I bought the "old" 600 model on eBay for about $150.
It may not be cutting edge, but it still has all the basic features I need. In another year or so I'm sure I'll be able to upgrade to t
Re:Or buy older model instead of latest & grea (Score:2)
Yes, the 600 will do most of what you need. But the display on the 650 is spectacular in comparison, and the camera is far better. Also, the 650 has some things built in (like Versamail) that you'd need to pay extra for if you need them on the 600.
Of course, this points out a
Surplus Stores (Score:1)
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:2)
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:5, Informative)
I've been in the refurb business and have some experience with these surplus sales. There's a couple reasons why you don't hear about them.
One, most of this surplus sales are auctions meant for volume buyers. They don't advertise them in consumer channels because they don't want to sell 1 computer to an individual, they want to sell 2000 computers to a guy with forklift and a truck that will haul them away. When companies/schools decommission large amounts of technology, they want to get them out of the way as quickly as possible. Being able to sell some of it to recoup their losses on the way to the dumpster is just a small bonus to them. They're not in the business of opening a flea market to the public.
Two, a lot of the auctioneers and the big buyers play "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" games. Pretty much to hear about the good auctions you get the information directly from the auctioneer that was hired to conduct the sale. To do that you need to be on their list to begin with, and it helps if you've been a good customer to them for a while (i.e., pay for your lots on time and get them off-site quick). Of course this creates a kind of chicken-and-egg scenario, so if you want to do this for a living it helps to make some contacts up front with other buyers and find out from them where to go. Depending on the area, once you get in good with two or three of the biggest auction houses you'll get info on most of the auctions in the area.
Auctioneers are mostly regional (there are a few national clearing houses but prices tend to be high because of the visibility), but if you're local to Texas here's a couple I suggest (that actually have web sites, a lot of them don't):
Rene Bates Auctioneers, Inc. [renebates.com]
Lemons Auctioneers [lemonsauctioneers.com]
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:2)
The ones the school throws away are generally very old machines that after being good machines got swapped out of labs and into teacher's rooms where they are hardly used (and are barely usable due to the software they try to cram on them). The electronics teacher tends to try to salvage them e
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:3, Insightful)
They also frequently want to sell them to a company that will do data destruction, etc. for them, so they don't hav
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:2)
The question then becomes, "How does one find such surplus sales?"
I mean, hell, I could use other surplus equipment too, not just tech. If an office is unloading a bunch of swivel chairs or other office furniture, I'd take a couple.
But where would I find such sales?
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:1)
The Governement also auctions off stuff at http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/ [gsaauctions.gov]. The GSA isn't to good for IT type stuff though.
Defense Department gets rid of stuff at DRMO http://drms.dla.mil/ [dla.mil].
Re:Surplus Stores (Score:1)
spamming slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait, that's not me that I'm thinking of.
Re:spamming slashdot (Score:2)
Sure, I suppose I'm a hit, but does that matter anymore?
Re:spamming slashdot (Score:1, Informative)
no really (Score:1)
I need it to.... um.... work on that big project coming up.... yeah thats it.....
Seriously, ask for as much as possible. The worst that will happen is they say no, most of the time you will bargain down to a compromise point which is still way more than you need anyways.... and at most places I've seen, the person doing the approving really doesn't
Re:no really (Score:1)
The problem with IT is everyone is so busy trying to show each other how smart they are that they e
Re:no really (Score:2, Informative)
and the part about the problem with IT is everyone trying to show each other how smart they are and looking like lost little idiots?
thats not just IT. infact that applies fourfold to most anyone wearing a tie.
i've been at my current job for 8 years and in the IT industry for nearly 20. my purchases were scrutinized when I was young and green. now? not at all. if anything now i'm the one doing the scrutinizing.
im guessing you're under 25. yes?
Re:no really (Score:1)
Oh and congratulations on being in the "IT Industry" for nearly/almost/not quite 20 years.
Re:no really (Score:1)
You must be new here...
Oh and congratulations on being in the "IT Industry" for nearly/almost/not quite 20 years
Thanks. I wasn't bragging, hell I'd give my left nut to be a 19 year old 'n00b' again. I'm just pointing out to you that there is the w
Re:no really (Score:1)
Being 19 wouldn't be nearly as fun without your left nut.
Stay a generation behind (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Stay a generation behind (Score:2)
Remember when people were paying hundreds of dollars for megapixel cameras? or $500 for 15" LCD displays?
The same items do the same things today, only they are 1/10 the price.
My only problem now is how to motivate. I told myself I'd get a 17" display when they hit $200, then 19", now I'm saying (without believing it) 21"/$200. I'll probably buy whatever I can get for $200 when my current "good" monitor dies. I hope it is within 10 years or I'll lose credibility.
Re:Stay a generation behind (Score:2)
I finally settled on a 19" from Samsung which has been great (of course now that I use a PowerBook for work I'm getting spoiled by the 'widescreen' aspect ratio, but thats a different story).
two things that finally pushed me over the edge to get a Flat Planel monitor:
1) It helped me reclaim desk space from my old 19" monitor.
2) the 19" flat panels are 19" viewable, vs. the CRTs which are an inch or two less on the diagnal t
Re:Stay a generation behind (Score:2)
Re:Stay a generation behind (Score:1)
Sweetspot for videogames (Score:2)
Free money! (Score:2, Funny)
Bad Math (Score:5, Insightful)
"In one 9 month period, I bought and sold 5 laptops, taking a loss of around $200-300 per sale, before settling on one to keep. This is a bit extreme and certainly involved a fair amount of hassle, but on the plus side, I was able to try out several brand new laptops on my own terms, and sell them for a relatively minimal loss. After about 9 months, I still had a new laptop for around US $1500 (as opposed to leasing laptops)."
Given the conservative estimate of $200 loss per purchase, that would $1000. That would mean that at the end he either had a $1500 laptop for $2500, or else he bought a $500 laptop for $1500. Either way this is not "Tech on the Cheap."
No, no, no (Score:2)
Re:Bad Math (Score:1)
Re:Bad Math (Score:2)
Re:Bad Math (Score:2)
Don't be an early adopter (Score:5, Insightful)
Avoid any proprietary formats - MD Disc, Blu-Ray, DVD-Audio. These never work out in the long run.
Re:Don't be an early adopter (Score:1)
Of course, next year's format never works out in the long run ?!?!?! Minidisc came from the chocolate starfish that is Sony, no surprise there. DVD-Audio suffered from requiring a unique (and extremely rare) playback device, it's far easier to release a video DVD with high-bitrate AC3-encoded audio (or DTS if you're "that kinda" special).
The very concept of disc storage is getting old already. Many people wo
What (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't have this problem. I'm not rich either. Is "tech enthusiast" some new code word for "sucker consumer"?
Indeed. (Score:2)
Hip Gizmo's (Score:2)
Cheap Tech (Score:4, Informative)
If you're shopping for laptops, check the chain stores like CompUSA and others. Sometimes they have special versions of manufacturer's products that are better-equipped than more widely-available items at greater cost.
EBay is definitely invaluable. Like others have said, if a new generation product comes out, like a RAID array or new server technology, you can often pick up the previous generation's products at a fraction of the cost. When Compaq discontinued one line of high performance servers, the market became flooded with these units for pennies-on-the-dollar.
For other kinds of tech, like cell phones, look into the pre-paid plans as an alternative to the standard monthly contracts. It is true, you may not find the Treo 650 on a discounted prepaid plan like you would if you committed to a two-year contract, but you can often get great phones at the same price people pay who commit to multi-year contracts when you sign up for the pay-as-you-go plans. This is a great deal that is geared normally for kids or people with bad credit, but ends up being a better deal for others who want to avoid getting locked into a particular calling plan that costs them more money later.
Re:Cheap Tech (Score:1)
Re:Cheap Tech (Score:2)
Find a good remarketer and stick with them (Score:3, Informative)
Auctions are good (Score:1)
I buy a lot of older/refurb equipment online. (Score:4, Informative)
I've actually been very happy using older PCs at home for years. Not only do I purchase most of my PCs and related peripherals on eBay, but I have a whole series of other sites I hit on a regular basis for various techie supplies and misc items (www.ubid.com, www.compgeeks.com, www.cyberguys.com, www.pcsurplusonline.com, etc.).
My Palm PDAs are all older (two Palm m105's, one IIIc) with the exception of my Fossil/Abacus WristPDA (which at US$49 on eBay was the least expensive of the lot). My digital camera is still a refurb Casio QV3000EX I picked up on uBid five years ago for half its retail price. The last piece of hardware I purchased was a new 16-port 10BaseT/100BaseTX auto-sensing switch for US$22 at CompGeeks. It seems to work fine. The second-to-last one was a refurb 8-port Belkin OmniView Pro KVM (F1D108-OSD-B) which I absolutely love. Cost: US$70 including 8 new 10-foot cables from a nice guy on eBay.
If you do the research, learn what what you actually need instead of what you want, and spend a little bit of time looking around, you can find a lot of good stuff for very little money.
Re:I buy a lot of older/refurb equipment online. (Score:1)
Re:I buy a lot of older/refurb equipment online. (Score:2)
Right now I'm usually running the following on the LAN:
On Hitachi 21" monitor via KVM:
1 Compaq ProLiant 2500
1 IBM IntelliStation model 6899
2 Compaq Deskpro 6200s (a third is currently in surgery).
1 Micron PPro tower
1 HP Laptop on docking station
On IBM 17" monitor:
1 IBM IntelliStation model 6899 (firewall)
On
Re:I buy a lot of older/refurb equipment online. (Score:1)
Bang for the buck relibility (Score:1)
Identify your wants and needs (Score:2, Insightful)
And paying of your credit card bill is a great need than any of your wants.
For many things waiting just a few months can make something you want more affordable. This especially applies to computer hardware, but also applies to DVDs, CDs, as well. Patience has its rewards.
Don't underestimate missing out on your typical upgrade cycle and just sticking with what you have. Oh, and know your product release cycles by r
Re:Identify your wants and needs (Score:2, Informative)
Patience definitely has it's rewards. If you don't absolutely NEED the latest and greatest, wait. Saving today leads to greater consumption tomorrow, or in other words, saving today allows you to purchase the same thing for less money later. Which of course, leaves more liquid cash in your hands to purchase more things. The point is, don't be a bleeder out on the bleeding edge. It's just not worth it. The only exception to this rule is wh
Getting good computers for less (Score:2)
Re:Getting good computers for less (Score:1)
With things like graphics card, an otherwise identical card from two different manufacturers can differ in price by as much as 15-20%, plus the savings you get from not having the system builder's markup on top of that makes i
Re:Getting good computers for less (Score:2)
This is good advice, but isn't a global truth.
If you attempt to go for a low-end computer, you will have a hard sell as the retailers can order in bulk and assemble in bulk. Even if you match their monetary amounts, it generally takes a few more hours to setup.
For medium strength computers, you might get a better deal. It vaires based on what you can get your hands on.
For high strength computers... you'd be taking a
Re:Getting good computers for less (Score:1)
Not once have I ever encountered a mfg who won't honor a warranty unless you have abused or neglected a piece of hardware.
LK
Re:Getting good computers for less (Score:2)
Why would I be putting WinXP on a new computer when I don't use it now? I'd either transfer my current HD, or set up a new one with Linux. YMMV, of course, and probably does.
Easy.. (Score:2)
Re:Easy.. (Score:2)
Example: A friend of mine had a computer that just quit working one day, and gave it to me. The motherboard was shot, but there was some RAM, a CD burner, DVD reader, 80GB HD, and 20GB HD in it.
Free upgrades, plus no police or angry storeowners!
If you need *cough* Microsoft software (Score:2)
Re:If you need *cough* Microsoft software (Score:2)
Find a more personal store, or refurbished machine (Score:1)
Feh. (Score:1)
Maybe you have time to waste salvaging some POS out of the dumpster, but I spend that time making more money to buy things.
Re:Feh. (Score:2)
Re:Feh. (Score:1)
Hmm.
I'm not saying that dinking around with [whatever] can't be a lot of fun, but that's not the question here, it's about technology, and since we can assume that the original poser isn't asking about pulleys and levers, then I have to say the best way to acquire new technology is make more money.
Or are you guys out there all just happy taking what's in your paycheck?
Re:Feh. (Score:1)
I hate to give out the secret, but... (Score:1)
Now that doesn't happen all the time, but there are enough good deals to m
Don't buy crap (Score:2)
it all depends what you mean by tech. Most stuff on think geek etc is crap, don't buy it. Don't play games unless you like upgrading every year. When you do buy, by good gear that'll last.
My current rig is 1.4 P4, 678MB, 60gb. I run Deb so my graphics are 2d only. Man I wish the 3D OpenHardware was making more progress. I have a FPGA on a PCI slot for emulation etc.
My last expensive purchase was 1.6tb raid array
Re:Don't buy crap (Score:2)
I used to do a rebuild every two years to keep up with gaming and other software demands. That meant replacing my motherboard, cpu, video card, and (when necessary) RAM. The last time I did that was in 2002. I've averaged maybe $300 a year on non-storage upgrades since and have no intention of spending any money on hardware this year in anticipation of a legacy-free upgrade in late 2007.
closeouts & refurbs (Score:1)
I figure with refurbs they've already failed and been fixed once, so I'm ahead of the game.
If you're not too picky and can accept the "-1" generation, closeouts work well too.
Even cheaper (Score:1)
Re:Even cheaper (Score:1)
I just put together a Hylafax fax server using 2 ISA jumpered modems, recycled HD's (4 & 6 GB),MoBo(533Mhz), etc.
Worked nice yesterday after finally finding & getting the 2 hardware modems in. Unfortunately I came in today to one of the HD's slamming the read arm against the stop trying to thermal calibrate
So, I love recycled hardware, but some days it doesn't pay to dig through the scrap bin...
Easy (Score:2)
(Normally I'm the first to hate this sort of snotty answer, but in the case of "wanting more than you can afford", it's a necessary, if perhaps not sufficient, part of the solution.)
(I suppose, technically, "make more money" also works.)
I'll tell you my secret (Score:1)
Rebates: You get the right to argue for your money (Score:3, Informative)
Use the "F" word: Fraud. Every time an employee quits, it costs the rebate company a lot to hire and train someone new. Minimum wage people don't like to think they are helping break the law. Ask the employee how she or he can justify working for a dishonest company. Tell the employee he or she has the worst job in the world.
Call the manager of the store where you bought the rebate item. Use the "F" word again. Managers have a special telephone number. The rebate company will listen to them. Store managers don't like the word fraud applied to their store; that could cost them hundreds of thousands, if the word gets around. If you don't get satisfaction from the store manager, get his or her name and call the store's main office. The people who work in main offices don't want fraud calls; and they definitely don't like fraud calls in which the name of a store manager is mentioned.
Never let rebate companies steal from you. If you ever accept that once, they will know they can do it again. Remember, there are a limited number of rebate companies, and they keep databases on those who apply for rebates. Don't allow yourself to become a known easy target.
Tell the rebate company that you will file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and your state's consumer fraud department and do it. Tell the store that sold the rebate item the same thing. See the links for filing below.
Apparently all or almost all rebate companies are involved in fraud either for their own profit, or pre-arranged with manufacturers. They try to concentrate on the customers that will accept excuses. The stores will tell you they know nothing about the fraud, but that is not true; they know very well.
Typical experience with a rebate company:
I'm not the only one to have a huge amount of trouble with Parago; read this amazingly ugly April 22, 2005 story: [parago.com] Parago Rebate Gripes Keep on Coming [gripe2ed.com]. Here is Parago's Better Business Bureau information: Parago BBB info [bbb.org]. My experience with Parago is that the company will try many, many tricks to get you to stop expecting a rebate. Other people have reported that Parago will ask a caller to fax some information, and then give an invalid fax number. Most people don't have a fax machine, and going to an office supply store and paying to fax something discourages them. Parago changes phone numbers frequently, apparently; on March 13, 2006, someone said that (888) 641-4109 is a good number at which to call Parago. (Parago operates Rebates HQ [rebateshq.com]. )
This story by Jonathan Kamens at MIT about Parago contains many Parago tricks that are very familiar to me: My "Staples Easy Rebates" Horror Story [mit.edu]. Here are the tricks Parago used to avoid paying:
Re:Rebates: You get the right to argue for your mo (Score:1)
Complain to your state Attorney General. Ohio's has a website to submit claims (making it rather easy. Not much in correspondence, but after about 2 weeks I suddenly got a rebate check in the mail), and I'm sure others do, too. Few companies are willing to risk the wrath of any state AGs, especially not over <$100
Several strategies (Score:2)
I've done this for years with computers. The Mac Mini I bought last year was my first new computer in 10 years. In 2001, I was using a Mac IIci (yes, a 1990 design). Good thing Apple builds their computers to last.
2. Buy good stuff
When you do buy equipment, don't skimp. If it's well-built, it'll last. 2 of the loudspeakers in my HT setup are 18 years old - they still sound good, so why replace them?
3. Prioritize
To avoid spending more than you can afford, try to set a budget and stic
easy formula (Score:2)
Definition: If you buy something that's not making you money or saving you money, it's a liability.