Buying a new laptop is quite an investment so it is in your interest to get the best deal that you can. There is nothing worse than buying a full spec laptop for $1,200 only to see it on sale a couple of weeks later for $750. Therefore, you need to be smart and not rush in to the first deal that you see.
It is often possible to find better laptop deals online than in conventional stores. Online retailers do not have the overheads that retail stores do and they can pass on savings to their customers. That is not to say that it is impossible to find a good laptop deal in a store, of course, because sometimes that happens.
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Wait for new laptop models to arrive
A very important thing that you need to bear in mind is that computer technology changes all the time. As a result, laptop manufacturers are always launching new models that have higher specifications than their previous models. This usually forces down the price of the previous model considerably.
Unless you absolutely have to have the very latest model laptop, it is worth waiting for the latest laptops to hit the shelves before buying a lower model. This can happen any time of the year. When this happens, you will be able to pick up a high specification laptop that is not the latest model for a bargain price.
A laptop that was released in the last six months or even the last year is still going to be excellent. When a new model supersedes it, the store will want to move the old models from stock as fast as they can. So, patience will help you to save a great deal of money here. You can get a really great laptop for a fraction of its original price when the new models arrive.
If you are interested in MacBooks rather than a Windows laptop, you need to know that there is usually a new model (sometimes only slightly modified) launched around September. This means that around this time you can get your hands on the previous model for a lot less.
Other companies have new laptop launch events at different times of the year, so if you are after a particular brand then you need to do your homework to find out when they intend to launch new models. Usually, you will find launch announcements made on the websites of the different manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP, Acer, Microsoft, Asus, etc. ahead of time.
Cyber Monday (and Black Friday)
Towards the end of November, there are two days in the calendar that you need to be aware of. These are Cyber Monday and Black Friday. On these two days, it is often possible to find some really good deals on laptops.
Some people will camp outside stores like Walmart and Best Buy for days so that they can get the best deals on Black Friday. You don’t have to do this as all of the major stores now have their own websites and you can find your bargain laptop there and order it online.
Amazon also has a lot of good Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Cyber Monday is a relatively new concept and was only started in 2005. So even today, you may find that some stores do not recognize this as a day to discount their laptop prices.
While there will undoubtedly be some bargain laptop deals available on Black Friday, you will probably find that it is worth waiting a couple of days until Cyber Monday to find the best deals.
Research shows that the average savings for product purchases on Black Friday is around 18.5% while Cyber Monday savings are higher at around 22%. Considering that Cyber Monday is all about technology products, it makes sense to wait for it to save even more money on your next laptop purchase.
Christmas holiday time
If you miss the laptop deals available on Cyber Monday, then the Christmas holiday period (and straight after) is another good time when you can find a bargain. You might not save quite as much as you would on Cyber Monday, but some stores are going to have some special laptop deals, as they know people like to give these as a gift.
Some retailers may not consider a laptop to be a typical gift for Christmas, but they will do all that they can to keep customers spending during the busiest period of the year for them. This means that it is very likely that they will reduce the prices of their laptops and you will be able to find a bargain.
The Christmas holiday period usually lasts until New Year’s Day (sometimes it can include this too) so you have more time to find a good laptop deal during this period. Search online for laptop discounts in December. There are comparison websites that will show you who has the lowest price for specific models.
Laptop bargains at back-to-school time
Consumer Reports have conducted research into the best laptop buying times and discovered that the summer months of July and August are just as good a time to buy a laptop as late November and December.
The reason for this is that it’s almost time for “back to school” and many parents will want to purchase a laptop for their kid’s education. July and August are the busiest months for back-to-school purchases as people want to be ready for September.
So, even if you are not a student anymore, search online for good laptop deals during July and August. Amazon is a big fan of back-to-school shopping and is a good place to start. They sell a lot of laptops and are often considered to have the lowest prices.
Buy a laptop when you need one
If your current laptop has stopped working or cannot handle the work that you want it to perform, anytime is the right time to look for a bargain. The truth is that many retail stores like Amazon have good deals on laptops all year around. Therefore, if you are not too concerned about the brand of your laptop, then you should be able to save money.
It is better to pay a little more for a laptop when you really need one than suffer without one while waiting for the Cyber Monday deals, for example. By doing your homework and comparing prices, we are confident that you will find savings.
Bear in mind that laptop manufacturers can launch new models at any time during the year (Windows laptops). So this could be a good place to start. Getting last year’s model for a significantly reduced price is always possible.
Best time to buy a laptop—things to consider
The first thing to say here is that you need to know what kind of laptop you want. There are many factors that may influence your buying decision, such as:
- Do you want a high-powered laptop (CPU, etc.)?
- Will you use the laptop for gaming?
- How much RAM do you want?
- How much hard drive space do you want?
- Do you want a laptop with a large or small screen?
- Is battery life an important factor for you?
- Is the brand of the laptop important for you?
When you answer all of these questions, it will be easy for you to shop around based on the specifications of the various laptops on offer at discount prices. If you don’t have anything specific in mind, then it is going to be a lot harder for you to know if you have found a bargain or not.
Some people prefer to buy laptops from the same manufacturers because they are happy with the performance and reliability of previous models they have owned. This is fine, but you may be limiting yourself when it comes to finding good deals.
Another way that you can approach this is to have a maximum price in mind. If you don’t know what the price should be, then take a look at the prices of laptops that have the specifications that you want and come up with an average figure.
Price shopping for laptops is all about making comparisons. There are a number of price tracking tools that you can use online to discover great laptop deals. We do not recommend that you just go for the lowest priced laptop on the market. This may not be of the highest quality and could require replacing pretty quickly.
Of course, if you are on a budget, then you need to do whatever you can. It is better to have a cheap laptop that will last you a couple of years than no laptop at all. If you find a good deal for a laptop online, we recommend you find this same laptop in a physical store and check it out there first.
You do not want to purchase a laptop, even for a low price, if you are not going to enjoy using it. Then there are the features that you need such as a specific number of USB ports, an HDMI port so that you can use your laptop with a flat screen TV, a wireless network adapter, and so on.
Final words
We believe that we have provided you with the answer to “when is the best time to buy a laptop?” You know that you can look out for new launches of laptop models, which will drastically reduce the price of previous models. Back-to-school time, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas holiday period are good as well.
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