When to Buy New Technology

Whenever I buy a piece of technology I know that one day, without fail, this is going to happen - but it still kinda gets to me when it does…

Yesterday while flicking through a catalog I saw a camera that is a new and better featured model of one I bought only about a month ago (when it was still quite new to the market). This newer model’s advertised price was also $20 cheaper than the going rate of mine when I bought it.

The retail price for my camera was around $599 and although I got if for considerably cheaper (more on how to do that later) I was kind of annoyed to see the newer and better model for $577.

Now I know from around 6 years spent working in IT retail that as time goes by the technology gets better and cheaper but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting each time I experience this truth. I mean, had I known the better model was coming that soon I’m sure I could have waited a few weeks…

So, just when is the best time to buy new technology?

Certainly not when it’s completely new. Do that and you’ll be likely to pay in two ways:

1. With some products (especially software - a certain operating system springs to mind…) if you buy them at release you’ll join the guinea pig group of defacto beta testers and have to contend with a whole bunch of bugs that slipped through testing and wait until they get ironed out…
2. You will pay a price premium for being an ‘early adopter’.

Technology is virtually always most expensive when it’s first released so if you want a cheaper price then it’s simple - wait.

But how long do you wait?

Take laptops - there’s been a massive increase in power and a dramatic reduction in the price you pay for that power over the last few years. When I was selling them the ‘entry level’ notebook was around $2000. These day’s it’s closer to $600 and what you get for $600 is way more than what you used to get for $2000! And that’s all in less than 5 years!

The longer you can wait, the more ‘bang for your buck’ you’ll get. But you could end up waiting forever to get the very best deal…

So, here’s my advice - wait as long as you possibly can!

Buy new technology when you are ready to use it and right before you need to use it - there is just no point in buying it any earlier and paying more than you have to.

Don’t jump in and buy it right when it comes out because you want to ‘use it later’. Chance are by the time ‘later’ comes round there’ll be a newer, better and cheaper model out there that you could have bought. And if you still have the older model sitting untouched in it’s box you’re not gonna be feeling too great about that purchase. Technology products have a very short life cycle these days and newer improved models come quickly to the market. For example, the big brand computer models (desktops and laptops) are current for only a few months before they are replaced by a new range.

The bottom line is: wait until you absolutely NEED it to purchase it.

In another post I’ll share my tips on how to get the best price on technology products when the time does come to buy.