Planning to buy a new computer, a new DSLR camera, a new power tool, a new home appliance, or new furniture? In this case, you should always take your time before making a major purchase. I’ve always asked friends and family to wait a bit and do a little research before going out and just buying something from the local store they used to go to.
It’s not just about just saving money: you could potentially buy the wrong item or buy what you need, only to find out that a newer model came out two weeks later, and now you’re stuck. Whenever I buy anything, even small items like computer speakers and the like, I do a lot of internet research to make sure I’m getting the most bang for the buck.
Online shopping guides have become really popular, and while most aren’t all that helpful, there are some that are of exceptional quality. Of course, you can always subscribe to something like Consumer Reports, but you have to pay for that. I will stick with the free online shopping guides. If you are using something else not mentioned here, feel free to leave a comment.
A Buyer’s Guide for Mac
I’m a huge Apple fan, so the Mac Buyer’s Guide is awesome. Never buy a Mac, iPhone, iPod, or any other Apple device until you have read the buying guide at MacRumors.com. A red, yellow, or green icon appears at the top, reflecting Do Not Buy, Neutral, and Buy recommendations based on the average time to update a product and the number of days since the last update or update.
If you scroll down, you’ll see a separate listing for each Apple product, along with other information such as recommendation, last release, number of days since the update, recent rumors, and history of all releases for that product. This is the best guide to buying Apple products.
Digital Camera Buying Guides
When it comes to digital cameras and camcorders, literally millions of websites provide advice and advice. I personally like sites that not only write detailed reviews, but also have a lot of reviews from real users. For me, the opinion of hundreds of people who have already bought a camera is more important than a review written by one or two people.
School of digital photography
School of Digital Photography
Before buying a digital camera, you should read the How to Buy a Digital Camera guide from the School of Digital Photography. This is a great site with a wealth of information on everything from the camera to photography tips and post production. The site also has a great page that is constantly updated with the most popular digital cameras purchased from Amazon by the huge community that the site has:
http: //digital-photography-shul.kom/popular-digital-cameras-and-gear
CNET Buying Guide
CNET Buying Guide
Another really good buying guide that I love is from CNET I’m not always a big fan of CNET, but I love their digital camera buying guide The nice thing is that it’s broken down into categories from budget, ultra-compact, to DSLR Pro. After that, it goes into detail about the main specs to look for and other features that the cameras have such as Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.
Two other favorites of mine among digital cameras are the Digital Camera Resource Buying Guide and DPReview Buying Guide. DPReview has several other interesting tools for those of you who are more advanced looking for certain specific features. For example, they have a camera feature search, a side-by-side camera comparison tool, a lens feature search, a parallel lens arrangement tool, and more.
Home Appliances Buying Guide
I have to admit that I am not a housekeeper. I’m so bad that I don’t even hang my photos on the wall. This is why the Home Depot buying guide is so useful for people like me. I would love to buy a new grill for this summer, but I have no idea about grills and how they work. The only one I ever used was when I was a child and it was a metal bowl that you filled with charcoal.
They have guides on everything from home appliances and paints to power tools and gardening. If you are a home owner, then it is not good to have no idea about your home. I learned a lot on this site and have always been happy with what I finally bought (not necessarily at Home Depot!).
When it comes to household items, another great site is IKEA. I think a lot of people love IKEA, and not just because they are cheaper. All their equipment is very modular, so they can be placed in a house or apartment of any size and shape. They have a bunch of buying guides for bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms and more.
Other buying guides
There are many other buying guides out there, and I’m going to mention the ones I use for other things like cars, TVs, and more. Again, these are my favorites, and if you are using anything else, leave a comment!
Auto Purchase Guide – Edmunds
TV Buying Guide – CNET
Laptop Buying Guide – Engadget
National Geographic Green Procurement Guide
Among other things, it is helpful to know when to actually buy certain foods. For example, if you are buying a boat, it is best to buy it in January / February / March as it is now off season and around this time there are many boat shows. Lifehacker has a great article on when is the best time to buy things throughout the year. Enjoy!
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