How to Purchase Electronics on Layaway

Given the prohibitive cost of electronics goods, many retailers will offer you the opportunity to purchase items using a layaway program. Under the terms of a layaway purchase, you will secure the item by putting a down payment on it, and the store will hold your electronics purchase in safe keeping while you pay off the balance of its value.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Down payment
• Income to meet payment requirements

Take Advantage of Layaway Programs to Buy New or Used Electronics

1. Shop around the various electronics retailers in your community. Get a sense of which stores offer the best value, and make inquiries to find out which of them offers a layaway plan.

2. Find out if the retailer offers layaway for items that are on sale. If so, consider waiting for a sale. In the meantime, save money so that you can plunk down a sizable down payment. This will ensure you won't have any trouble making monthly layaway payments.

3. Agree upon a price for the item in question. If you're buying used electronics, make sure that you fully understand warranty terms before you commit to the purchase. This goes for new electronics as well, but it is particularly important to know what's covered under warranty when buying used.

4. Read the store's layaway policy. Never deal with a retailer that offers only an oral agreement of the terms of the layaway purchase.

5. Get all terms of your layaway purchase in writing. Both the seller and merchant must sign off on the conditions of the layaway sale.

6. Make your down payment in accordance with the terms set forth in the buyer-seller agreement.

7. Make payments according to the agreed-upon schedule until you pay for the item in full.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also find online electronics retailers that sell items on layaway. Don't limit your options just to what's available in your town or city.
• Protect yourself from less-than-honest retailers. Check into a store's background with the Better Business Bureau. If any complaints have been filed against the store, heed them as a red flag that you should strongly consider taking your business elsewhere.
• Make sure the warranty on your electronics comes into effect when you complete the layaway purchase, not when you make your down payment. If an item has a 1-year warranty and you take 3 months to pay it off, you should still have your purchase covered for a full year, rather than just 9 months.

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