The Best Time To Buy ANYTHING 2015

 

If you’re after an awesome deal for the thing you want, it’s not just price comparison and cashback sites you should be using. You need to know the best time to buy the thing you want, and trust me, it’s not that easy to guess!

Now that Black Friday’s a distant memory, and the Boxing Day / January Sales are losing steam, it’s time to sit back and contemplate your purchases. You know that incredible deal you’ve been bragging to friends about getting? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it probably really sucked. Lucky for you I’ve been inspired by the Lifehacker article – The Best Time To Buy Anything During The Year – to bring you a UK version that’s up to date for 2015.

So whether you’re after a new budget laptop like one I mentioned in this guide, or even a new car, keep this calendar close to hand and make sure you never get stuck with a higher price just because of the time of year you’re buying!

When Is The Best Time To Buy Anything 2015

January Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Christmas Products
  This one goes without saying really. The best time to buy Christmas products will always be January; the shops are trying to flog their leftover stock and no one’s really biting because, come on, how many Christmas cards and Rudolph themed wrapping paper do you really need the rest of the year? Savvy shoppers out there snap up the deals, horde the Christmas themed cards tags and bags away for the year and pull them all out the following Christmas. Ok, so this is planning taken to the extreme, but it can save you a pretty penny if you have the time and space!

• Winter Clothes
  It’s almost time for the Spring stock, so again shops are desperate to get rid of their extra stock. You’ll find some great prices in January straight through to February.

• Gym Memberships
  Some people claim the best time to buy gym memberships is February, after the gyms are over the surge of ‘New Year’s Resolution’ buyers and more desperate for customers, but according to ABC News gyms actually have the best deals in December and January. Gym’s are aiming to have you committed to a monthly payment scheme by January 1st, so check out the New Year’s deals or bide your time and wait until the prices drop again in the summer.

• Second Hand Electronics
  Now that Christmas has come and gone, many people have replaced their old electronics with the newer presents they’ve received. This means the internet is flooded with second hand models that could be in great condition still. All this competition pushes prices down though, so it’s your time to grab a bargain.

• Games
  Games are released throughout the year to a schedule; and one of the main times is in the Fall just in time for Christmas present shopping! Late December and January are the perfect time to grab a deal in the Steam winter sale for PC gamers, and console gamers can find savings from shops like Amazon and Game.

February Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Mobile Phones
  All’s quiet on the savings front in February, but it is the best time to buy a new phone though, according to Analyst Stephen Mader of Kantar Retail. Shops begin cutting their prices in February and March ready for newer models – so this is the best time to grab a bargain on one of the older models.

March Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Cameras
  Just like with the mobile phones, cameras have their newest models announced around March so their older releases get discounted. You might want to hold off until Black Friday in November, but if you can’t wait that long then the best time to buy a camera is definitely March.

• Weddings
  Yep, now’s the best time to buy your new wife or husband! A terrible joke I know, but wedding organiser Louise Alexander does mention on a BBC article that venues are eager to get you to book their space in March and give great discounts to people willing to be flexible with their dates. So the best time to buy you wedding venue (and not your new spouse of course) is March.

April Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Chocolate
  As soon as Easter is over, April becomes the best time to buy chocolate not only in the UK but the world over. So as long as you don’t mind all your chocolate being bunny and egg shaped, you’re sorted.

• DIY Products
  The editor of DIY Week Fiona Garcia says that the best time to buy DIY tools is April. Not for any particular reason other than the weather getting warmer, it seems. Apparently the closer it gets to Summer, the more we all feel like putting together some Ikea furniture and knocking holes in our walls that we’ll probably never get fixed….

May Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Flights
  The best time to buy flights shouldn’t really be narrowed down to one particular month, because many, MANY articles just suggest getting your airline tickets at least 54 days in advance. May is when the new Summer holiday packages are announced and this could be the best time to book a flight for you; but try to steer clear of the advice claiming last minute buys are the way forward. Money Saving Expert reports that flight companies actually spike the prices of last minute flights to squeeze a bit of extra cash off of wealthy business people.

• Fridges
  It’s true that a lot of home appliances go on sale late in the year towards winter time, but refrigerators have new models released in May making it the best time to buy a fridge. As long as the fridge you want is an older model of course.

June Is The Best Time To Buy:

• A Gym Membership
  Gym memberships again? Well, your New Year’s Resolution has either been long forgotten, or you’re taking advantage of the slowly warming weather to save a few pennies and exercise outside. This leaves gyms struggling for members and more agreeable to your expert haggling.

• TVs
  Which? lists June as the month of new television model releases, meaning that just like with your fridges, cameras and phones, the older models are heavily discounted to clear a bit of space on the shelves. The best time to buy a TV isn’t always in the Black Friday sales you know!

• Summer Drinks
  Obvious or what? The best drink to keep an eye out for is Pimms, thanks to it’s association with Wimbledon. Even if you aren’t a tennis fan it’s still the obvious, cheaper, choice for barbecues as the weather warms up! Though you might have to horde away a supply until August thanks to the sun taking so long to find us each year.

July Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Laptops
  In this BBC article, Evan Kypreos from Trusted Reviews mentions July being the month old laptop models are given discounts in preparation for new product launches by September. In reality, this is just one of a few occasions that have become the best time to buy laptops; like Black Friday, or directly after Summer where University promotions are spread across most electronic stores. Good luck if you’re after anything Apple-made though, they rarely drop their prices even with the announcement of new products!

• Home Decorations
  July is apparently slap bang in the middle of wedding season, so if you’re after some new tableware or cutesy home decorations, now’s your time to keep an eye peeled for sales. Just try not to buy anything too wedding related if you’re single; you’ll find yourself sitting down staring at your new heart shaped home decoration with a tub of ice cream in one hand and a phone ready to dial your ex in the other.
• Games
  There’s still a few months left until the new game releases in time for Christmas, which means a lot of games are at pretty low prices in July. There’s a big sale for PC gamers over on Steam too, with some game prices dropping by as much as 90%!

August Is The Best Time To Buy:

• School Supplies
  The obvious buy this month are school supplies. All stationary, folders, notepads, organisers etc are put on sale with some hefty discounts for the parents forced to restock their kids for the new school year. Of course, it’s not just school kids who need these kinds of  things, all us grown up people do too! So stock up while the sales are on, and don’t just look at the usual retailers like WHSmith. If you’re into art, a lot of art supplies retailers put on discounts, as do electrical shops like Currys for things like Microsoft Office and printer ink.

• Summer Clothes
  Autumn styles are on the way, which means summer clothes are officially out. The best time to buy bikinis and swimming costumes is August as well; now that the new Autumn stock is coming in and most people have had (or are on) their holidays, the shops will be trying to free up their shelf space.

September Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Printers & Ink
  September and October are the going / returning to University months, so expect some deep discounts on printers and ink in preparation for the work to come. Currys and PC World are ones to keep your eyes on, but most printer shops should be getting into the act too.

• Computer Equipment
  Again, you can thank all the Uni students across the UK for computer equipment discounts in September. Think tablets, notebooks, laptops, software like Photoshop and Microsoft Office, and USB sticks. The majority of these sales need no student discount either, because most students who are going to Uni for their first year won’t have theirs yet, so the best time to buy computer equipment is September.

• Cruises
  The third week of September is National Cruise Week, a time where most cruise companies band together with events and slashed prices to promote people taking cruises. This is the best time to buy a cruise if you want a great deal and don’t have a set place in mind; you’ll find out on the week what places and specific cruises will be on sale, so go in with an open mind if you want to save the most money.

October Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Bikes
  New bike models are released from August – October, which means October is the best time to buy a bike if you don’t mind getting one of the older types. It’s also when a chill’s starting to set in, so less people will be going out of their way to get a shiny new bike, meaning the sales reps will be much more accommodating for hagglers.

• Garden Furniture
  Leaves are starting to fall, the nights are growing longer, and no one really wants to go to your garden party. It’s cold. And wet. No time to be standing around outside with a soggy barbecue and a drink in hand. This makes it the best time to buy garden furniture, with shops desperate to make a few final sales for the year.

November Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Houses
  No one wants to be trudging around looking at houses in the cold grey evenings of November, which makes it the perfect time to snap up a bargain. The best time to buy a house is sort of split between November and December for a great deal; but be warned, the selection is pretty small. Just like you don’t want to bother looking at houses, it seems most people don’t want to bother selling, especially the closer it gets to Christmas. If you’re after selection then buy in the Spring, when prices are high for people wanting a new start for the new year, but the amount on the market to look at goes through the roof.

• Books
  The best time to buy books is always on the run-up to Christmas, with highstreet bookstores as well as Amazon dropping their prices on classics and bestsellers. These deals run well into December, like this last year where Amazon dropped hundreds of Kindle books down to just 99p for a few days.

• Certain Electronics & Home Appliances
  It’s difficult to say that November is the best time to buy home appliances and electronics; you can definitely grab a deal in the Black Friday sales here in the UK, but you can’t guarantee what will actually be cheaper than it usually is. Last year we saw coffee machines, TV streaming devices, laptops, kettles and toasters and more discounted. It’s probably best not to wait specifically for Black Friday before buying though.

• Sweets
  Halloween’s over. Shops have an abundance of spooky sweets left over. Need I say more?

December Is The Best Time To Buy:

• Cars
  On the face of it, it seems like there isn’t a best time to buy a car, other than buying an older model as soon as a newer one’s released. But what’s the most frustrating thing about buying a car? Without a doubt it’s got to be the salespeople. But they’re just people like you and me, doing their jobs, and they normally have certain quotas to meet if they want to get a good bonus. This means that if you’re after a convertible in the Summer, the salesperson will probably be quite strict on the price because everyone wants their own convertible when it’s sunny. But if you give them a visit when it’s snowing, they’ll be all over you trying to get a sale so they can meet their quota! This happens with most cars because December’s such a slow time for car sales – after all, you’re probably spending your hard earned cash on presents for friends and family at this time of year, which makes it the best time to buy a car!

• Coffee Machines
  Coffee machines make fantastic gifts, which means they fly off the shelves in time for Christmas. To get you to buy a coffee machine from them and no one else, most shops drop their prices to ridiculous levels (Currys notably sold a Tassimo Vivy machine for just £35 last year, when it’s usually £99.99!), and these discounts can sometimes stretch right into the January sales. So December is without a doubt the best time to buy a coffee machine.

• Builders
  A strange one on the list, I know, but this BBC article suggests that December is the best time to get a building contract. This is because most builders are sorting out their contracts for the new year, with little work to do while people are preparing for Christmas in December, so if there’s something you need doing then get it done now.

No matter what you want to buy, make sure you have some idea of it’s general price, especially if it’s a big purchase.

Disagree with any of my points above? Let me know in the comments, or over on Twitter or Facebook!

SEE MORE: Shopping Websites: Are The Best Deals Online? >>

Picture: Via Pixabay