How to Find Deals and Bargains on PDA Computers

Shopping for technology is difficult enough -- all those specifications and fine print to read through -- but shopping for affordable technology adds a wrinkle to the shopping experience that makes your online search all the more impossible. Digging around online in search of a bargain on a Palm PDA may seem about as worthwhile as banging your head against a wall. The good news is you can speed up your hunt for a bargain on a Palm PDA and still make sure you're getting a great deal.

How do I find the Palm PDA that I want?

Since Palm has four "current" models (and dozens of older ones), you need to know which specific Palm PDA you're looking for in order to find the best deal. Maybe you've seen a friend using a specific Palm PDA and you really want that model -- or if you have an open mind and aren't sure which model of Palm PDA you want, you can do some simple online research to determine which models is best for you. Luckily, there's plenty of legitimate review websites where customers talk honestly about the Palm PDA they use.

Check out the Consumer Search website aimed at PDA reviews for some good inside information on how users feel about their PDA model. You can also look up reviews of Palm products and compare them side by side at PCMag's product comparison page.

What are some other price search and comparison sites for Palm PDAs?

Any online product search site can help you find bargains and deals on Palm PDAs, but it is important to use the right comparison site. The popular Froogle search service (which is now called Google Products) is not really as hard working as other comparison sites, since it uses regular search engine techniques to find bargains. Compared to other comparison sites like Kelkoo or Pricerunner, which use "shopping bots" to find lower prices all around the Internet, Google Products is basically just a fancy web search.

Using Kelkoo or Pricerunner means you're getting the latest prices and information on deals and not just a random web search for prices.

Unfortunately, price comparison sites like Kelkoo aren't a perfect way of finding a great bargain. Remember that price comparison websites are run on money, just like everything else, and they tend to only display products that are offered by their sponsor companies. Searching for a good price on Kelkoo isn't the best way of finding a bargain on a Palm PDA.

What are some bargain hunting DOs and DON'Ts?

DO check if a website is reputable before you spend money with them. The company you're buying from should have an office somewhere in the western hemisphere, operate on a secure server with SSL encryption, and you should be able to find a viable address and customer support telephone number.

DO haggle with your online bargains. If you print out a price you found on the Internet and take it with you to a retail store, you're likely to be able to use that web only bargain to secure a better deal from a brick and mortar retail store. There's no harm in asking a retailer to match a bargain you found on the Internet.

DO think about the price of delivery when you buy an item online. Delivery costs fluctuate depending on the store and the item you're buying, so check into the shipping price before you plunk down your debit card. The delivery price you pay when buying your Palm PDA online could turn that bargain into a ripoff.

DON'T assume you can only find that Palm PDA bargain on the Internet. During sales and holiday times, you may be able to find a Palm PDA in a retail store for equal or better what you'd pay online.

DON'T ignore a sites "reliability". A low price doesn't always mean a good bargain. In fact, the cheapest purchasing option is probably not offered by a reliable website.

What online shops offer the best Palm PDA prices?

Some of the best sites for Palm PDA bargains and deals are the same sites you'd hunt for bargains on just about any item.

Amazon.com -- One of the benefits of buying a Palm PDA from Amazon is that you can buy your item used or new. Since you're buying from Amazon, you can be confident in the quality of their used products. I may not buy a used Palm PDA from a guy on the street, but armed with Amazon's reliability and my own shopping history with Amazon (mostly positive) I would feel confident buying a used piece of technology from them. A cursory look at the prices on new and used Palm PDAs on Amazon reveals bargains like used Palm TX handhelds at 60 and 70% off as well as brand new Palm m500 handhelds for under $80.

-- Gone are the days when buying on eBay meant buying used merchandise. You can still find good deals on used Palm PDAs on eBay (like a used Palm TX as low as $80) but eBay has plenty of brand new merchandise, usually listed as "new in box", that offer something of a good deal. The same Palm TX that will cost you nearly $200 brand new from in store retailers is available on eBay for as little as $119.

Crockapus.com -- A serious bargain site with a funny name, Crockapus gathers links to bargains on technology and arranges them all in an easy to read format, listing PDAs and other pieces of technology by brand and model number. Digging through their Palm PDA bargains, I find links to reputable sites like Palm's own website, as well as bargain sites like Amazon and eBay.

Thanks to the Internet, there's no reason to buy anything at full price. Doing a little hunting on your own for Palm PDA bargains online can offer you all kinds of benefits outside of just searching for a good price. You can find price ranges, special deals, and give yourself a bargaining point in a retail environment just for searching for online deals.