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Top 5 Tips for Christmas Holiday Shopping

Saturday, December 1st, 2007
at 4:56pm


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Shawn from TechWebLog.net sent me his top 5 tips for Christmas and holiday shopping. Reading through the list, these are all excellent things to keep in mind at any time of the year.

  • Get an Extended Warranty. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an electrical product fail due to poor quality or excessive use. If a warranty isn’t offered where you are shopping, walk away. Chances are, another store or merchant will offer one.
  • Have patience. If the product is not in stock, don’t settle for something that isn’t exactly what you want. The store may get another shipment in within the next few days, or you may find it at another retailer. You can also ask a sales clerk or manager if they have some in “the back” that hasn’t hit the shelf yet. Sometimes, that actually does work!
  • Ask about the return policy. It happens all the time. People get a duplicate gift, the wrong size, or the wrong color/style. Make sure the store you are buying from has a return policy, and what it is. Do they give store credit? What about an even exchange for wrong sizing? How difficult will it be for the gift recipient to exchange? Always ask for a gift receipt, as well. Many stores now only give credit at the lowest sale price within the last 90 days. If you paid $60.00 for something, and it went on sale the next week for $30.00… the person would only get a $30.00 credit upon return without that gift receipt.
  • Shop around. Check sale ads for various stores, and even on their websites. You may find much better prices at a store three blocks away, than at your normal shopping haunt. You should also always consider checking for online coupons and deals to save even more money.
  • Do your homework. Search through blogs, reviews and posts around the Internet. Make sure that the majority of people are happy with the product you are planning to buy. Check to see if there are a lot of negatives, such as missing pieces and parts, shoddy workmanship, or the like.

These are all excellent tips to help you when shopping during the Holidays, or any time of the year. Be sure to keep an eye on my blog for many more excellent deals, coupons and tips throughout this Season.

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Jeff has something to add:

Chris,
I think you missed out on your Five Tech Shopping Tips. It really should have been Six Tips. Here’s the Sixth (and some say the most important!)-

Always read the fine print when you’re buying, be it new or used!
Before you plop down the plastic, read up on all the things you’d rather ignore. That includes return policies, DOA returns and or exchanges, price protection, etc… There have been more tears shed over a sniveling return policy with a monstrous restocking charge than those shed because someone bought something they simply wanted. Personally, I’d rather be sorry for busting the budget over an excellent product than working hard to buy something at the absolute lowest price, only to be tortured by a rat in vendor’s clothing.
Later,

Jeff

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25 Comments

inyournameband

December 1st, 2007
at 8:20am

hey dude where can i get that screensaver

SnareDaniel

December 1st, 2007
at 8:22am

your live viewers are morons.
the red light on your face is the recording light from your camera.

XeaI

December 1st, 2007
at 8:34am

Check out his other video, “Yule Log: Fire Video Screen Saver” Its not free though, he posts a link to the site, and the money goes to charity

R5p172

December 1st, 2007
at 8:36am

Lol, that was so funny in the beginning.

XeaI

December 1st, 2007
at 8:38am

No…they were actually correct by saying “Its his clock”, you need to pay attention

Cessna154

December 1st, 2007
at 8:44am

Awesome video Pirillo!!!

pancake292

December 1st, 2007
at 8:45am

lol he is having a conversation when their is a fire hahahahaah

obiewancoyote

December 1st, 2007
at 10:17am

Man if you see red dots and you’re thinking sniper. Get bellow something sturdy. Preferably really thick concrete or steel.

whodey11910

December 1st, 2007
at 11:40am

Did you really call 911?

jose3558

December 1st, 2007
at 11:56am

orifomationis right and iiiiwould like for you to sp making jokes and for youto tell me mre serious items because where you spnd moneyyou need to be carefull…so please be more serious not tryng to be mean but wee lookig for information not jokes ight?! thank you

KY_Wildcat

December 1st, 2007
at 6:26pm

Chris, I’ve got another really good suggestion: get a gift reciept! They don’t show how much you spend, but it allows the reciever to go back to the original place of purchase and exchange it. (for a diffrent size etc…) But, then again, that’s just my two cents.

leonacraft

December 1st, 2007
at 9:33pm

I have another tip about shopping that may come in handy, not many people know as much as they should about this, but some places (targets for example) have different prices for the same product depending on where they are located, so if you’re in some high class shopping area, more than likely the prices are going to be jacked up more than they should be, but be careful about going in the “ghetto” parts of town too, some of the same safe shopping places you normally go to, in another location may be known for shop lifting, theft, and even attacks in parking lots… always go with a friend if you plan to go some place that doesn’t seem as safe as you think it is. I hope everyone has a good holiday. ^_^

Work From Home

December 1st, 2007
at 11:56pm

you how many times I’ve had an electrical product fail due to poor quality or excessive use. If a warranty isn’t offered where you are shopping, walk away. Chances are, another store or merchant will offer one. Read the rest of this great posthere

Galaxia bloG - Una galaxia de opciones

December 2nd, 2007
at 2:25am

A traves deChris Pirillotraemos 5 tips para compras de navidad, las cuales son esenciales para que no tengamos problemas después de haber abierto el empaque, y siempre tendrás que tenerlas en cuanta al comprar algo.

RoshanPatel1990

December 2nd, 2007
at 3:28am

Thanks Chris for reading my Email!

Close enough to my name ;)

It techwebblog, with a “double B” :D

Keep up the fantastic work!

RoshanPatel1990

December 2nd, 2007
at 3:37am

Thanks for viewing (and talking about) my email Chris!

Keep up the fantastic work! :)

It’s Techwebblog, with a “Double B” :D

…Close enough to my name, I know it’s hard to pronounce! ;)

mauriciomblog

December 2nd, 2007
at 5:19am

Online Shopping Tips and Tricks Christmas SafetyTop 5 Tips for Christmas Holiday ShoppingFree Screen Capture Software for Windows Sudoku Games Online

Tyler S. Miller

December 2nd, 2007
at 6:24am

Online Shopping Tips and Tricks  - Dec 1, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo) Christmas Safety  - Dec 1, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo)Top 5 Tips for Christmas Holiday Shopping - Dec 1, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo) Free Screen Capture Software for Windows  - Dec 1, 2007  - chris@pirillo.com (Chris Pirillo) Sudoku Games Online  - 

Windows Vista Torrent

December 2nd, 2007
at 6:49am

Tech Interviews Online Shopping Tips and Tricks Christmas SafetyTop 5 Tips for Christmas Holiday ShoppingFree Screen Capture Software for Windows Sudoku Games Online Comcast Makes Me Gag Top 5 Tips on Buying Technology: Hardware and Software Top 5 Tips to Avoid Viruses and Spyware Top 5 Tips on Repairing Your own Computer: PC and Mac

BubblyBlonde12

December 2nd, 2007
at 2:56pm

?????no i dont t hink so i hope not

David Smith

December 2nd, 2007
at 6:26pm

Chris,

We love you, man, and love all the great links and advice on here. But, I have one big disagreement with Shawn’s suggestions, which you repeated here. Namely, warrantees. These are particularly expensive bits of insurance, and generally are not worth purchasing. There are instances where these programs have helped people when some purchase has failed after the in-store warrantee, but the overall payback of these plans doesn’t warrant the cost. Please help your readers understand this important aspect of cost.

David

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