Wait to save money on gadgets

Waiting for the price of hyped gadgets to come down is the most sensible strategy, according to research.

Personal finance Website Fool.co.uk found that Brits have a collective total of £23bn worth of gadgets lying redundant as their owners have since upgraded to newer versions.

According to the website, there are significant savings to be had though how much the price comes down depends on what the gadget is.

David Kuo of Fool.co.uk said: "We've tracked some of the top gadgets on the market today and on average, £87.20 has been slashed since a product first launched. If you can hold out until the original hype has died down, you can make some significant savings."

"However, if you do find the latest technology too tempting, there are some gadgets that hold their value longer than others, but there are no guarantees they will do so over the long term," Kuo said.

Fool.co.uk found that the Nintendo Wii was still the same price - £179 - as it was in December 2006. However, a Samsung Blu-ray Disc player that went on sale in March 2006 for £800 now cost only £476, a saving of £324.

One example of waiting for prices to come down being the best option was seen recently when the Apple iPhone was launched in the US.

Apple shaved $200 (around £100) off the price just two months after it was launched. A customer backlash saw Apple offering people who'd already bought the device $100 of Apple Store credit.

www.fool.co.uk
www.apple.com/iphone

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