Before Thanksgiving or after Christmas?

[Onionsoilder]

Well, I have my new computer all priced out, at around $850 for all the components. I was wondering if it is worth the wait for the after-Christmas sales, or if I should just buy it now?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

depends on how much longer you can wait. if your computer is on last legs, buy now.

 

[Padma]

One must always consider that 'Black Friday' - the Friday after Thanksgiving - is the day most companies figure they will go 'into the black' for the year. So they certainly won't have any really good specials during this time frame.

After Christmas, they need to get rid of their overstock, and will start slashing prices, just to clear out the shelves.

What aimee said is quite right. If you can afford to wait, I would do so.

 

[GoodGame]

You might check some stores that are at risk for bankruptcy, like Circuit City, but I do think the best deals are after Christmas. Check Newegg dailly also, as they have some good periodic sales.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Im in the same boat as you are, and it just depends on how long you want to wait. I plan to buy some of the stuff on Cyber Monday, as last year, there were good deals to be had on Newegg on that day. Generally, good computer parts dont drop in price after christmas because its really hard to overstock them. Seasonal items are very different though.

If you really want to save money, find a few friends, give them a list of the stuff you need and send them to a few computer stores on black friday. Places like Best Buy, Fry's and especially Circuit City are good for big sales. As LogicSequence pointed out in chat last night, last year he got two very expensive Samsung 22" monitors for 400$ at best buy. Their normal retail price was slightly over 300$.

I suggest that if you know what parts you want, you start buying as soon as you see them for a good price. Last weekend, Fry's had the 1TB HDD i want on sale for 80$ instead of 130$ like normal. Even though my last needed paycheck was still a month away, i went and bought it because I know a price like that will be hard to beat.

Look for leaked Black Friday ads for computer stores online. You may be able to find some of the items you plan to get on sale.

That, and decide whether or not you're really willing to spend the full amount. Because if you arent, maybe you should re-price your config.

 

[Onionsoilder]

If I wait till after Christmas, about how much would I save? If I'd only save around $50 on everything I'd rather just get it now, though if I could save something like $300 I'd wait.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I very much doubt you would save 300$. Maybe 100, 200 if you find some really nice rebates. Your system is only 850$, so dont expect to see huge price drops.

EDIT - My current config can net me 90$ in rebates out of 1500$ total price. So as I said, its not going to be a huge amount. YMMV of course.

 

[Onionsoilder]

Eh, I think I'll just go ahead and get it now. It's not really expensive, and I'm already saving about $140 total on various component rebates now. Plus, that way I'll hopefully have it assembled and working by Christmas so I can play my new games immediately.

 

[GoodGame]

I was just at a Circuit City and saw a couple tables of open box specials, including a complete E8xxx series mid-tower. Now might be a good time to look for some 'bankruptcy' sales.