Frugal Pinoy

In the previous article on How to Spend Less on Gas, MoneySmarts blogger Salve Duplito left this comment:

someone once demo’ed to me a gadget put on cars to reduce gas expenses. do you think that’s safe and effective?

While I don’t know exactly what kind of gadget she was referring to, I did stress out this point: Before buying a product, do some internet research. In fact, the more expensive something is or the larger its effect on your life, the more you should do research on it. By doing some research, you’ll get to know a product’s price range, as well as its quality/effectiveness.

Here are some real life examples:

• If you want to buy a new appliance, you can look at prices and models from the Abenson website, the SM Appliance website, BX Appliances, and the Makro website. After finding some units within your price range, simply type in the model’s name into your favorite search engine (such as Google). For example “Sanyo SW-75ST washing machine”. Odds are, you’ll find out more about the product this way (such as dimensions, more detailed specifications, etc.). If you don’t find much about the model, research the brand, type of appliance, and add the word ‘review’ . For example, type ‘Sanyo washing machine reviews’ to find existing customer reviews on Sanyo branded washing machines.
• If you want a new cellphone, research the web for reviews. Again, just type the model name, followed by the word ‘review’. For example, I typed ‘Nokia 3220 review’ into Google and got this very helpful review as the first result.
• For a new car, motorcycle, or scooter, you can also use the same technique above. Except, personally, I love hanging out at MotorcyclePhilippines. People there are very friendly and helpful, plus their classifieds section lists some used vehicles.
• For tech gadgets such as cameras and computer gear, you can go to the Digital Photographer Philippines forum, ReviewRoundup, or TipidPC. The Digital Photographer Philippines and TipidPC forums are filled with several users who can give you their opinion of different products. ReviewRoundup, on the other hand, is a collection of magazine reviews of various tech gadgets.

Here are some additional ways to do online research before buying something:

• Go to online forums and ask people. Most of the time, you’ll find that many people online would be more than happy to tell you what they think of a certain product. Just go ahead and ask. I’ve already mentioned a few forums above that you can start with.
• Research “How to buy” that product. For example, if it’s your first time buying a vacuum cleaner or a refrigerator, you probably don’t know what to look for. By typing “how to buy a vacuum cleaner” or “how to buy a refrigerator” into Google, you can make a more educated purchase (if you’re curious, here are the results: how to buy a vacuum cleaner, and how to buy a refrigerator).
• Look for existing product reviews from consumers. I know I already mentioned this, but it’s very important. Try to read at least 3 product reviews, if possible.

Doing your research online takes less than 30 minutes. (Unless you’re on dial-up, that is!) This is the difference between making a good purchase and buying something you’ll regret. By simply doing some research int he beginning, you’ll be saving yourself some money and headaches in the long run.

For some reason, doing internet research before buying something isn’t uso in the Philippines - even for people who are online everyday! But doing this is so practical and useful, and takes so little time. There’s no excuse not to do it. With all the information available to us for FREE, there’s no reason why we should spend thousands of pesos on an appliance or device that will give in within a month or so.

Have you ever tried doing some online research before making a purchase? What was your experience like?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Financial Tips, Frugality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.