While for years people talked about planned obsolescence - the idea that companies are innovating so much they expected you to simply upgrade when the last item you purchased breaks - research suggests it's the consumer that plans her own gadget obsolescence and companies have little to do with it.
Apparently, the pace of innovation of great new gadgets and electronics is so fast that people feel compelled to upgrade relatively quickly without waiting for their gadgets to break. This creates a real issue for geeks like us, who know that some of the items we buy today will be cheaper tomorrow. What's your buying style? Do you get gadgets when they're hot, wait until price and hype cool down or go for the impulse buy?
Superdrug
Barbara Bui
Beach Time
When buying computer stuff I read about upcoming events that could have major announcements and wait to see if there is anything new. Apple tends to make announcements at events like Macworld San Francisco.
Apple doesn't lower prices often so I don't watch for that but I watch for upgrades and new products.
1We repair Apple computers and we notice that a computer built 10 years ago are much sturdier than one built today. We have a lot of customers that boast how their Apple SE still runs, while that is impressive.. what can you really do on it? The other side of that is they probably paid $4000 for it as well. Technology has gotten better and way cheaper, the trade off is it doesn't last as long, but really do you need it to?
Anything Apple I normally buy immediately. You're not going to find a deal on it until it's no longer the current model.
2Im very hard to convince, I dont go with crowd mentality and generally do things at my own pace. When cell phones became big I was one of the last people to get one, same thing with MP3 players.
I generally get things when I need them, not when its hot or because others have it.
3My mantra is "research, research, research". And never buy the first edition of anything, before there's been a chance to iron out any bugs, etc.
4wait...research...and pray pray pray..for a sale or gift certificates, lol...yeah, i'm kinda cheap!
5Definitely wait a little while to see if prices drop!
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