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I've had good luck with "off-lease" refurbished computers from Tiger
Direct. <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.tigerdirect.com">http://www.tigerdirect.com</a><br>
<br>
Alan Bloom<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 11/15/2014 02:41 PM, William Tracy
wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CACSkqzz8TH0c67iiHtWSofQMd7kbroGZjf+4mpvzuFeog1wv7Q@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<p><br>
On Nov 15, 2014 9:24 AM, "Steve S." <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:northbaygeek@gmail.com">northbaygeek@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
> #1/marketing: when is the "good time" to buy, before next
semester<br>
> starts in January? Black Friday sales? Pre-Xmas?
Post-Xmas<br>
> clearance? Or is this info just not really "knowable"
because the<br>
> marketers' strategies are so arcane?</p>
<p>Black Friday is rarely a good deal. (I could write another post
about why that is!) Instead, I recommend the following:</p>
<p>1. Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Hit up all the
major online stores such as Amazon, Newegg, Dell.com, Tiger
Direct, (though research Tiger Direct before you buy from
there--I've heard a few horror stories) and whatever else I'm
forgetting right now.</p>
<p>2. Open box deals the week(s) after Black Friday. Lots of
people buy big ticket items on Black Friday and change their
minds later. You can buy stuff still under the manufacturer's
warranty at a sweet discount. (I saved almost 40% off the
manufacturer's recommended price on a camera buy buying it at
Best Buy this way!)</p>
<p>3. Clearance items and open box items in the weeks after
Christmas. Stores are eager to clear surplus inventory in the
weeks after the holiday season, plus there's always the gifts
that get returned.</p>
<p>Finally, the advice I always give for buying computers for
non-technical users: Unless you know that you'll need it, get
the cheapest CPU you can and spend your money on RAM instead. If
you have the money to burn, SSDs will both feel a lost faster
than traditional hard drives, and be more likely to survive
being dropped.</p>
<p>Good luck!<br>
William</p>
<br>
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