Do You Lust after the latest? (Non-Domain Goodie you might like)

Hi,

Do you lust after the latest high end gaming computer or other tech goodie? Well I want to let you into a little secret. In the morning while drinking my morning cup of coffee I’ll spend five or ten minutes scanning the lists that are bargain lists that are updated daily. It’s like starting out my day with a treasurehunt. So go to www.techbargains.com. Each day they will have bargains on tech items and components from vendors like Buy.com, Tigerdirect, Newegg, Dell, etc.

I was interested in a building a fast computer to replace a couple of my older computers. One of my AMD XP computers was taking 24 hours to run a domain sort that I try to run on a daily basis. Having grown up and built some electronic gear the prospect of building a computer didn’t look to difficult and it really wasn’t - more like reading the instructions and putting together a Tinkertoy.

I wasn’t in a rush and I like to get the best buy that I can so this is what I did. I would scan the lists each morning and order the components that were on-sale or had big rebates. It took me a few weeks of ordering a case here, memory there, motherboard on Friday, Power supply on Monday. (Well you get the idea) But in the end I build a very nice Dual core machine with an up to-date motherboard, fast memory and hefty power supply for a little over $200 and my quad processor machine cost about $400. (I did get a little carried away I was able to collect the parts for 3 machines and have half the parts for a fourth)

Here’s a couple of tips for you if you want to try. Read the users reviews that just about every vendor has right on their site. Sometimes a component that costs zero after the rebate is worth zero. Usually the name brand products like Intel, Thermaltake, Ultra, Seagate, OCZ, Crucial, etc are the best bet.

To get those low prices most of the products that I’ve purchased depended upon rebates. So I’ve gotten cases that would normally sell for $150 for $10 after rebate, 2 gigs of fast memory for $25, 650 watt power supplies for $20. Some people have reported having trouble getting back their rebates - but so far I haven’t had any problems. Follow the rules in filling out the rebate, send out the rebate right away - right after you tested it and know the item is functioning. Almost all of the rebates say we are not responsible for forms lost in the mail. So I have one last tip for you that has slammed that loophole shut. If the rebate is more than $20 I send it out certified mail which means I have a confirmation of delivery. Of course that does cost about $3 but I figure its worth it.

Rebates do take time - usually 6 to 8 weeks. So for me it’s like a second Christmas right now - getting $80, $40, $20 rebate checks in the mail. One thing you do have to watch out for is some vendors have started sending out their rebate checks in post cards. So if you quickly scan through your mail to throw out the junk mail, and you might inadvertantly throw out a postcard that is actually and $80 check. I almost did it with an $80 rebate and the rule is if you don’t cash it by the deadline stated your out of luck. It happened to me with an HP rebate that got misplaced.

So you want to take part in the bargains but don’t want to build a computer? They have lots of bargains on laptops and desktops. I’ve seen quad processor Dells and HP’s going for less than I could build it. So decide what you want, do some research to see what other users have found, and wait for your hearts desire to come up on the list. And don’t forget to send out that rebate!

All the best, Ted Sudol TheDomainHunter.com

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