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Step 1
Decide if you really need what you’re getting. Sometimes even if you’re getting something for free, it may not be a good deal if you don’t need it. You will be wasting your time and space in your home if you don’t need something and maybe wasting gas to get the item.
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Step 2
Check the true original price. Don’t always take someone or even a store’s word for the original price. Do your homework to find how much what you’re getting normally costs. Beware of stores that always have a sale. Their sales may be inflated original prices discounted back to normal. Also, beware of bulk or club stores. You can find good deals there, but not everything is cheaper in these stores. In fact some things may be more expensive.
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Step 3
Add up the true cost. If there is anything extra you must or will want to buy, or time you must spend, you should calculate this into the cost. If batteries are not included, this needs be to added to the cost of the item, plus a lifetime of replacing the batteries. Talk to a sales person and find out what is not included and what other people usually buy in addition to this item. If you’re buying a game system for example, you also have to factor in the cost and frequency at which you’ll buy games
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Step 4
Decide what the item is really worth to you. Will you really use what your buying and how often? Something may be a good deal to someone who will use the item a lot, but not such a good deal to someone who will rarely use it. Don’t buy an electric coin sorter, no matter what the cost, if you only collect a few coins a year.
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Step 5
Find out what others have paid. Talk to your friends who may have purchased the item you’re looking at. They may have gotten a good deal somewhere that they can recommend. If you find this information out afterwards, you may feel like you did not get a good deal. You can check the completed listings on auction sites to see what others have paid for an item.
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Step 6
Find out if what you’re buying is quality. If it won’t last, it’s not worth it. You don’t want to have to replace something several times. Generally if something is very cheap, it’s not quality. In most cases, you do get what you pay for. On the other hand, don’t pay more just for brand names. Brand names don’t necessarily equal quality.
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Step 7
Take your time. Don’t rush to buy something. When you rush, you are probably ignoring some of the other principals of getting a good deal. Don’t buy the latest and greatest of something. When you buy the latest, it is usually more expensive and will likely come down in price in the not too distant future. But the most important thing about waiting is that you will find out if there are problems with the item and the manufacturer may put out a better version soon. You’re not getting a good deal if your new purchase is full of problems.
