When Is The Best Time To Buy A Laptop

Buying a new laptop can be a costly proposition. But you can save a lot of money if you buy it at the right time. 

Reasons To Buy A New Laptop

Are you reading this page on a laptop that has seen better days? Or maybe it’s just time to invest in something with a bigger screen. There are many good reasons to invest in a new laptop computer. Let’s take a look at some things that lead many people to purchase a new laptop.

Your Current Laptop Is Broken

One good reason to get a new laptop is if your current one has been damaged. If you have a laptop with keys that stick, a cracked screen, or the system will not boot up when you turn on the power, now might be your time for a new one. While some of these issues might be repairable, sometimes a new laptop is cheaper. 

To Upgrade Your Current System

The speed of laptops and the amount of memory they come equipped with improves at a steady rate. This is important, since new software continues to require more and more of your computer over time. Even a web browser now requires more memory than many systems were available with several years ago. 

Even if your system can run all the software you need, over time you may find that it does so at a slower rate than it used to. Part of this is because updates for software are now eating more of your system resources. If you are reading this on a laptop that seems too slow for your liking, it may be time to upgrade to a better system. 

To Give As A Gift

If you have someone in your life who could use a new computer, you may be thinking of giving them a laptop as a gift. Maybe you want to give your parents a new computer so you can chat with them online, or you have a student who is about to begin college and you want them to have all the tools for academic success. 

To Work From Home

If COVID-19 forced you to work from home, you know it’s important to have a good computer. Even if your line of work doesn’t directly require a computer, there’s a good chance you’ll have to attend Zoom meetings with your boss or your team.

A lot of people choose to work from home if they can because they just prefer it. They need to be able to host Zoom meetings with clients, send emails, do their taxes, update their website, or keep track of their schedule. A good, reliable system is a must.

Best Time To Buy If It’s Not An Emergency

If you find yourself forced to work from home because of a pandemic, or your current laptop fell down the stairs and shattered into twenty pieces, you may need to buy a laptop right now. But if you are just looking to upgrade to a newer system, you may be able to wait until the time is right to get the best deal possible. 

If your system is still functioning well enough to get you by for a little while, waiting could be a good idea. By waiting, you can often get a much better system than you can purchase now for the same amount of money. This is because the laptop manufacturers release newer, better versions of their systems every few months. 

Patience can pay off in another way as well. If you are looking at a specific model of laptop now, if you wait until the next version comes out, the current version will usually go down in price. That means you can get the exact same computer for less by just waiting a bit. Below are times you are most likely to find a good deal.

Black Friday

If you are looking for a new laptop any time in the Fall then you may be able to find a good deal if you can wait for Black Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving. This usually extends through Cyber Monday, which takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving. Some stores have in-person Black Friday sales only, while some have sales online as well. Cyber Monday focuses directly on online sales.

Many stores have major sales and give massive discounts on everything from toys to electronics. You can sometimes grab a solid laptop for a couple of hundred dollars less. If you’re waiting for Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals, you should start looking a couple of weeks before they begin. Not only will retailers start advertising them sooner, many also begin their sales earlier. Some even extend those sales several days past the official end of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Back To School

If you are purchasing a laptop and you can wait until July or August, you can often find good deals at Back To School sales. A lot of the major retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon, have deep discounts during this time. If you don’t find a laptop you like at retailers, you can check the manufacturers’ sites. Many sell directly to the public, and some even give Back To School discounts. Even if they don’t discount the price of the laptop you want during this time, it could come with software, headphones, or other accessories that you would normally pay extra for.

Amazon Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day is an event Amazon holds each year, usually in the first half of July. Typically, Amazon announces the exact date a few weeks in advance. They offer big discounts on a lot of their items, including Laptops. You’ll need an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the deals, but they do have 30-day trials on their memberships if you aren’t ready to make that commitment. 

New Mac Releases

A good time to find the best deal on a Macbook is just before the release of a new and updated model. Apple holds events throughout the year, and they announce new hardware during many of these. When Apple announces a new Mac model, often at their September event, retailers will start to discount current models just before and after these events to make room for the new stock. This is especially great if you don’t need the absolute latest, cutting-edge technology. The current model will work well for several years, so you can save big this way.

New Product Releases

Just like Apple, other manufacturers release regular updates to their product line. Sometimes it’s a simple tweak, such as more memory or a slightly faster processor, and sometimes it’s a complete revision of the laptop design. While they don’t all hold events and announce new hardware on a regular schedule like Apple does, when they announce new hardware retailers discount prices on their current lineup to clear out the stock and make way for the incoming updated laptops. Many manufacturers announce their new products in the spring, so you can often see deals on their current lineup around that time. 

How To Get The Best Price

When you are ready to purchase your computer, you want to make sure you get the best price you can. One way to do that is to buy at one of the times mentioned above. Whether or not you buy during those times, you can follow some of the tips below to make sure you get the best deal.

Compare Prices

This is something most people know they should do, but a lot of people become caught up in the buying process and don’t compare prices properly. Make a list of the system you want and all its specifications, then check around. Look at Amazon, Best Buy, Staples, and other major retailers to see if you can find that exact system at a lower price. Be careful with this, because what looks like the same computer may not be. This is because the manufacturers sometimes release the same basic system with a variety of processor and memory configurations. 

Compare Quality

Another thing to consider is whether you need a specific brand. Many manufacturers make systems with an i7 processor and 8GB of memory, for example. With a little research, you may find that several of them are of the same quality. You’ll need to look at the failure rates for recent laptops from each manufacturer whose laptops you’re considering. If you do this, you may find one brand could be quite a bit cheaper than others for a similar system. 

Refurbished Options

Many retailers offer refurbished laptops for much less than you’d pay for a new computer. A lot of these are recent models that customers returned for some reason. That could be because the original purchaser didn’t use it, or maybe there were minor problems that the manufacturer could easily fix. They repair any problems and usually replace any worn batteries. Sometimes they will even update to a new version of the operating system before reselling them. You can usually find these with a good warranty, so you shouldn’t worry that you’ll end up with a broken computer or a dud.

Open-Box

Some stores sell what they call open-box systems. This just means that someone opened the box for some reason. These can be systems the store used as a display or boxes that a customer opened in the store. They can also be systems that someone returned almost immediately after purchase, often because they used it once or twice and decided they didn’t want it. 

Open-box items occasionally have minor scuffs or fingerprints from handling by a customer or store employee. Most of the time they work as well as a new system, and you can get them at a steep discount. Stores usually allow you to return the item if you get it home and there is damage or the item doesn’t work, so this can be a way to save yourself a lot of money for what is essentially a new computer.

Online Discount Sites

When you’re looking for your computer, don’t forget to browse around online. While there are many, many places you can check, make sure to check some of these below.

• NewEgg: Newegg is known for its good deals on electronics and computers. You can find new and refurbished equipment from various manufacturers on their site.
• Woot: Woot is a site owned by Amazon. There you will find daily deals. The catch is that the deal is only available that day. 
• Back Market: This is a site dedicated to refurbished items. All products come with at least a one-year warranty, and they have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• TigerDirect: TigerDirect has been around for a long time, and they have a huge variety of systems of all kinds and brands. They sell both new and refurbished, and they even have daily deals. 
• Overstock: A lot of people don’t think about Overstock when they are looking for computers, but they have a good supply. They sell laptops from most major manufacturers, so you should give them a look.

This is just a small number of the places you can check. Don’t forget to double-check the big ones, like Best Buy and Amazon, and even check the websites of Target and Walmart. Sometimes you find great deals in these places, so it all depends on your timing and what you are looking for. Remember to keep an eye out for online ads about upcoming sales; you could save a bundle on your new laptop.