Don't get suckered by a bad online deal
The holiday shopping bonanza is upon us.
As you scramble to score sales on gifts, keep these basic rules in mind to avoid getting suckered by a bad deal.
For starters, always do a little background on the gadget.
Is it brand new?
Or is it last years model?
We have seen some nice sales advertised on last years Roku, which is still perfectly good, as well as last year's Beats Studio Wireless Headphones.
And last year's GoPro Hero 5. Smart speakers are gonna be a hot gift and we've seen many stores selling a new Google Hone Mini at a discounted price of $29 during Black Friday.
And then stores were throwing onus gift cards and coupons to sweeten the sale.
It sounds perfect until you remember that Google admitted there was a problem with the speaker and it had to disable the touch controls.
It's not a big deal, if you don't mind only controlling it with your voice.
See, research matters.
If you're getting wrapped up in Amazon deal hunting, you should use the site camelcamelcamel.
It's a funny name, but it will check the price history of everything sold on Amazon, so you know if it's a really good deal.
Also, do the math on bundles.
Getting a bundle doesn't always mean you're getting a discount.
We saw Nintendo had a Super Mario Odyssey Switch bundle that came with the console, game, and carrying case, and it costs the same as if you bought all three things separately.
When you're swept up in the shopping rush of a sale, be wary of buying extra accessories at full price.
And stay away from off brand or no brand tablets.
They just end up being junk.
When it comes to cheap tablets, the best choice is Amazon's Fire 7 tablet.
It's only 30 bucks when it's on sale.
I'm Bridget Carey and you can keep up with the hot holiday gadget deals at cnet.com
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