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When I shop for anything over $100, especially electronics, the thrill of the chase is actually one of the best parts of the shopping experience. I love getting a good deal- especially one that is siginficantly off MSRP. Thinking back to my college days, one of my great buys was when some $399 Pocket PC was somehow sold at an academic price of $160. After getting on that deal, courtesy of fatwallet, I was hooked and so excited about this concept of going broke while saving money. I used that Pocket PC for a good two years and then sold it for more than I bought it for. To this day, one of the slickest deals I’ve pulled off.

As such, I’ve compiled a listing of the steps I take in making a good big ticket purchase:

Step One of when I shop for a big-ticket item: read reviews. I’m still surprised at how many people stroll into the store and talk to the employees for advice- my input is that they don’t know jack shit. So many employees have told me wrong information or just flat out lied when they don’t know the real answer. This stuff is available all over the web. Sites like cnet.com and shopper.com or whatever are ok, but a bit sugarcoated as many things just can’t go wrong. Instead, I look towards forums to get a good sense of what people really feel about the product. For example, for photography stuff, I always stop by dpreview and read the latest insight from professionals and prosumers alike. Then I might stop by amazon and read some reviews (although I have heard that certain reviews on amazon are actually pseudo-fake and paid for by companies). After doing reviews, searching for comparisons, etc.. I will probably lower my list down to one or two items that I want to do additional follow up on.

Step Two - pricing. Time to figure out the best pricing for the best product I found out of all those reviews. Usually the first step is a quick search on froogle (google’s buy engine) to check out the average price range. Then it’s off to fatwallet and slickdeals to shop around. Finally, I always check the amazon price. Amazon is a great company and their prices are very competitive- most of the time, much better than fry’s or best (worst) buy. Another factor to consider here is how much you really need the item. Many times I will wait for a really good deal to show up, but this takes a lot of time (browsing sites/rss feeds, or you can subscribe to alerts) but it pays off in the long run. For example, I was able to score a set of Z-5500’s for about $180 off of amazon with free shipping and no tax. Compare that to the $300 price that is still being carried most places (not to mention tax and shipping) and you’ll realize that that is a great deal. End deal is that you want to make sure you’re getting the best price available at the best given time.

Step Three - Paying. You’d be surprised that this is a step, but I highly recommend that you determine how you want to pay for the item, as there are multiple differences. For example, through Dell, if you use their financing, you might save an additional 1% off - but is that worth your credit score decreasing? Same thing with those credit card offers. You can save 20 bucks or 50 bucks now, but will that be worth the extra interest you pay on that car loan you’re taking next month? Probably not. My criteria is that if it’s not going to save me at least $100, it’s not worth hitting my credit score. Especially if I’m looking to make a house or car loan in the next year or so. New credit lines will definitely drop your credit score, as will credit line inquiries.

Another important factor of paying is the additional warranty/coverage you get. For example, many credit cards (such as AMEX) will provide an additional year of warranty coverage past the manufacturer’s warranty if you buy the whole product on your AMEX. I’ve never used this, but many posts online lead me to believe that it is a small net that could be worth it in the long run. Credit cards also have ‘purchase protection’ coverage - here’s an AMEX example. These provide some base level of coverage for damage - it’s always worth a shot. FINALLY, this is on top of the rebate that some cards get. If you’re not getting back at least 1% of your purchase, you’re using the wrong card. Some even offer 2%, or 5% on eating out, etc. You should definitely be taking advantage of this free money. Best of all? Most of these credit cards are free. This should be a duh. Paying by check? pul-lease.

Step Four - enjoy your purchase. There’s nothing like that new gadget feel or the enjoyment of that new purse you picked up. Enjoy it while you can, because soon enough, you will feel the ticking of new gadget envy….

Anyway, this is basically the process I go through every few months when I get an itch to buy something. In the end, you have to think… do I really need that? And if the answer is no, then think… how much satisfaction will I get from it? In the end, that’s really all that matters. We buy plenty of crap that we don’t need, but once in a while, it’s just worth it.