Games Consoles

So you've got a HD TV or projector, now what can you do to make the most of it? Modern consoles are more than just games playing machines. They can play music, videos, HD videos, photo slideshows, browse the internet, organise your life etcetera, etcetera. Games are of course a great way of showing it off, but you might also use it for watching near-cinema quality films with the added bonus of no chewing-gum riddled, spring loaded, popcorn-salt covered, tatty velour seats. Here is what is on offer:

Wii
Nintendo
Typical price: €270, comes with bundled Wii Sports game

The market leader. Does not play High Definition discs, or any other kind of disc. Does not output resolutions higher than 480p. No internal hard drive. Has wifi. Does play video from SD card. Backwards compatible with Gamecube games and controllers. Downloadable games and retro games. Popular with all ages despite non-HD graphics.

Xbox360
Microsoft
Typical price: €200 for Arcade model, €350 for Elite model

The number 2 console. Play High Definition discs, however only in the soon to be defunct HD-DVD format. Plays and upscales DVDs. Output resolutions up to 1080p. No wifi or internal hard drive on Arcade model. Has ethernet networking. Backwards compatible with some Xbox games. Downloadable games and videos from Xbox Live!. HD-DVD discs are being sold very cheaply.

Playstation 3
Sony
Typical price: €400 for 40GB model

Last place. Plays High Definition Blu-ray discs. Plays and upscales DVDs. Outputs resolutions up to 1080p. Has wifi and internal hard drive. Has ethernet networking. Backwards compatible with some PS1 games. Built in web browser. Downloadable games from Sony Store.

...And a screen for that projector

Yesterdays 1080p projector, while good enough to project onto a bare white wall, would benefit nicely from a good reflective screen. Problem is these screens are usually limited in size, a bit of a nuisance to roll up and down and expensive. If you have a big blank wall that you'd love to fill with big screen goodness, take a look at screen goo. Sold in a can like regular paint, you can apply this directly to the wall, or onto a thin, flat layer of basecoated board and it acts like a fixed screen at the size you want.

1080p Projector

Right. Today I just wanted to post about something expensive, while trying to get a good price. 1080p? The highest of High Definition? Check. Projection? Over 200 inches? Check. Under €2000? No way, can't be done. Or can it?

Introducing the Mitsubishi HC4900. This little number has been getting some great reviews when stacked against pricier models. Silent, easy to use, fantastic price.

If I wanted to buy 1080p, and I will one day, this is what I would buy.

[Special Offer] Acer laptop €399, Cork

If you're currently residing in the peoples republic, a little birdie tells me that Flor Griffin are doing a limited time deal on Acer laptops. They do good special offers from time to time, so why not have a look if you are currently in the market for a new one. For reference, Acers normally start at these prices. If you're getting a non-celeron model, it's likely a good deal.

And if anyone happens to pick one up, write a comment and let us know how you got on!

Print your own coupons and more

Want to get a little something back from your shopping? Fancy entering a few competitions? You can't go wrong with pigsback, the Irish and UK based shopping rewards website. You earn "piggypoints" by printing out and using discount coupons in shops, reading special offers or participating in short quizzes. You then spend these on a list of rewards which range from cdwow vouchers to phone credit to free flights!

Ps. They do have a referral system but it involves having to know the new customers email so I'm not going to bother :P Just enjoy!

Are you local?

While the internet is great at yielding bargains from around the world, it can also be used to sniff them out closer to home. If you don't fancy taking a walk down to your local supermarket to check the notice board, you may want to check out buy and sell or adverts.ie. These can be used as a simplified type of ebay shop: you pick what you want, ring the seller to arrange payment and delivery and boom! you're in business. Great for people who are still wary of dealing with a faceless online seller.

Pros:

• If the seller is nearby you can arrange a pickup, therefore no shipping
• Items can be picked up quite cheaply
• No auction, no suspense, just ring to see if it is available

Cons:

• If you can't arrange a pickup, shipping inside Ireland is quite expensive
• Not sold by professionals, so quality can be hit and miss
• Sometimes the seller can make the sale and forget to take down the ad

Digital heaven or dismal lemon?

AKA how to spot a dud 101

Sometimes I see a deal that sounds too good to be true. And like all such deals, that's exactly what it is. For example, the 5 Megapixel SD memory video camera in Aldi this week promises to shoot video in 720p for the low price of €100. That is phenomenally good. It is also far, far from the full story. Just in case you are wondering, I did not buy it. I have seen the quality (or lack of) of the budget optical devices Aldi sell and suspected that this was not one of their better offers. A quick visit to hotukdeals.com was enough to convince me to steer clear.

Just remember, 5 Megapixels of crap is still crap.

Credit card management

In light of the tempting offer of free money when you sign up for a free credit card, I was thinking of doing a guide to how to manage your new credit card. Personally, I would use it once and then cancel before the renewal date next year. But if you want to use a new credit card the smart way, this guide from the thrifty scot should help.

VoIP: Talk for less (or nothing)

I'm sure you've heard of VoIP by now, I see another player has announced their intentions to move into this space today. In a nutshell it means taking your calls off the traditional lines, like landline and mobile, and pushing them onto smart devices like your PC and PDA/smartphone connected to your internet provider. There are a couple of ways you can benefit today, depending on your needs. If you want an irish geographic number you can try blueface, freespeech or skype. If you just want to make calls to other users and the occasional mobile/landline call, you mind find gizmo does the job with its free calls to friends deal.

And don't be suckered by others selling VoIP packages bundled with their broadband or tv. It saves them money, not you!

photo by Babak Fakhamzadeh

Making payments online

Over the last 9 days I've meandered about from site to site, letting you sample some of the plethora of delights the internet offers. From the cheap and cheerful dealextreme*, to sober dabs and the ever useful but downright dull revenue commissioner. In my first post, I promised to cover the basics. To my mind there is a part of online purchases that I haven't gone into enough detail on: purchasing. So, here is a list of ways you can make purchases online, with comments where appropriate.

1. Paypal

THE online payments processor. Owned by and promoted heavily by Ebay. Acts as a proxy between you and a seller, allows you to pay by bank account or credit card. Big. Well known.

The good: It's pretty safe. The seller never sees your credit card details, so they can't draw all your money and leave you to pick up the pieces. Free to use for consumers.

The bad: Their customer service has left a trail of destruction. Don't make purchases over €500 with Paypal or you could be very sorry if things don't go smoothly. Also, they have a convoluted verification process which is a nuisance, but necessary for some sellers.

2. CCNow, WorldPay, RealEx etc.

The other online payments processors. Independently owned. Do pretty much the same thing as paypal and quite often better. Small. Frequently bullied by Paypal in the yard.

The good: Very little difference to Paypal. Don't ask too many questions.

The bad: Again, like Paypal. Lack of verification may give people the impression that they are less secure than Paypal (not true).

3. Credit Card

The standard in international payments. There isn't a business man alive who doesn't understand visa. Accepted by medium to big stores. Most common and easiest method of online payment. Costs €30 in tax to hold one for a year or part thereof.

The good: Reasonably safe to use. Unlikely to lose money if you are a victim of fraud. Easy to acquire.

The bad: If you do get into a dispute, you could be without a working credit card for a while.

4. Virtual Credit Card

Ooh, virtual! Nothing to do with virtual reality. Acts as a pay-as-you-go rechargeable credit card. Not taxed. Suitable for 16+ years.

The good: Same as a credit card. Can only be emptied of the credit that is on it.

The bad: Joining fees and administration charges. Cannot be used on certain websites.

5. Debit Card

Direct access to your current account. Payment is transferred (almost) immediately. Usually specific to a certain country or area.

The good: Convenient. Easy to acquire.

The bad: Not accepted in a lot of places. Not particularly safe.

6. Cheque

Limited access to your current account. Payment is transferred within 5 working days upon receipt.

The good: Easy to acquire.

The bad: Not accepted in a lot of places. Not particularly safe. Slow.

7. Bank transfer

Don't even think about it.

8. Cash

What did I just say?


That about covers it for today. If you have any questions, comments or just want to hang out and talk rubbish, feel free to leave a comment (see below). Comments can be anonymous so if you want to ask a question without giving away your email, go for it!

[Special Offer] €25 Executive Leather Chair from Viking Direct

Thinking of getting a decent computer chair for your home office or PC corner? You won't go wrong with this offer. I bought one of these the last time they came around and I absolutely love it. It's worth at least 2 to 3 times what you pay for it, shipping is free and FAST; mine arrived by DHL the next day! It's just brilliant.

www.vikingdirect.ie

Buy it.

Importing: Duty & Tax

Before you see horrendously good deals online and splash out on a monster home cinema from America, bear the following in mind:

• Shipments sent from outside the EU may be liable for Customs Duty, Excise Duty and VAT
• VAT on goods is calculated using the rate the same goods sold in Ireland would use (21% for electronics)
  
• VAT is calculated on the total of the price of the goods, shipping, insurance, duty and other taxes
• Gifts from one private individual to another up to the value of €45 are exempt from Duty and VAT
• Commercial shipments up to €22 are exempt from VAT and Duty (note: this is set to rise to €150 on December 1st)
  
• Cigarettes, perfume and alcohol are never exempt, but we're not interested in them right now.
• For one off shipments where the value of the goods is less than €250 and the Import Duty due is less than €10 then an exemption from VAT and Duty may also be granted to customers who are VAT registered

Of course not every shipment is stopped and held by customs. All I can say is if you do decide to import, be VAT registered if it's less than €250 total. And if it's greater, start praying.

Note: I in NO WAY condone avoiding tax. But if you are not legally obliged to pay it, don't.

Sources
dhl.ie
revenue.ie

iBood

Internet's best offer online daily. Sometimes it's an exaggeration, sometimes it's not. Watching ibood is more for those of us who like to use the "I'm feeling lucky" button :)

http://www.ibood.com/


Shipping is €12.50 to Ireland for one item or two items, and €25 for three items or four items. 4 is the limit. Bad for small items, great for 50 inch tv's!

[Special Offer] €100 for new Halifax customers

Halifax are offering €100 to new customers signing up for a new credit card. Free is always a great bargain!

The deal is:

• Offer applies to new customers only.
• €100 will be lodged to your credit card account after the first purchase.
• Offer ends 31st July ’08.

And remember, government duty on credit cards is €30 per annum.

http://www.halifax.ie/

Buying a new PC

As I can somehow deduce, you occasionally use a computer. This means you are part of a greater cycle of updates, obsolescence and sometimes just plain old vanity. But do you know how to select the most appropriate source of your next purchase? Well, let's take a look at the options.

The High Street

Be it Tesco or PC World, you will pay well over the odds here. Sometimes you may see what appears to be a good deal (an iQon PC for example) but you can be sure it is either substandard equipment or old stock. The exception is a sale, but even these are highly variable. Avoid like the plague.

Dell

Ah, good old Dell. You can't open a sunday paper without having at least five brochures fall on your lap. The only thing worth buying from Dell is their budget offering. Anything else will be marked up at least twice as much as you would pay for the equivalent elsewhere. €400 laptop? €300 desktop with Monitor? €20 printer? OK. Anything else? No way.

eTailers

Assuming you want something other than a basic PC, you should look to the online shops such as komplett or dabs. They sell pre-made desktop PCs with better quality parts than Dell for a reasonable cost. Customisation options are also better. They sell big brand and more obscure laptops. Want that new ultra-thin postcard-size netbook? You'll find it here.

eBay

Getting a deal on eBay is a skill in itself. Recognising a good seller, minimising risk, understanding shipping rates are all skills the crafty buyer needs to acquire before venturing onto what could be described as the worlds biggest car boot sale. Sellers can sell directly or you can try and grab a bargain through an auction.

DIY

If you are confident, you can try a mixture of the above. A monitor from Dell, some components from ebay, a case from a dabs... its more an option for the hobbyist but by far the cheapest option for the best equipment.

Satellite TV (and radio)

Ah, satellite. Is there no end to the joy you bring? For many years now people all over Ireland have been reaping the benefit of Free To Air satellite transmissions. For a very modest outlay, you can get over 200 television and radio channels beamed into your home for no monthly cost. Since early May '08, these channels have been supplemented by Freesat: an offering that delivers an EPG, a range of High Definition decoder boxes and PVR functionality without a subscription. At the moment there are about 80 channels available on the EPG and the PVR boxes are not on store shelves yet but it's only a matter of time.

I'd like to make a special note of how good the satellite radio is: the sound is better quality than FM and you can get a great variety of channels. Well worth looking into!

Camera Memory

A quick one today. The most common question I get asked is why memory for cameras is so expensive. Well, it is if you buy from a retail chain or local electronics store. These are the places you buy cookers and fridges, basic workhorse stuff that can be serviced by a technician. If you want good quality memory at affordable prices I'm going to recommend a couple of places further afield:

• LED Shoppe
• Dealextreme (affiliate link*)

Compare their prices with Argos or even Amazon. An [Integral] 1GB SD micro card (compatible with many cameras and Nokia phones) costs €39.99 in the latest Argos catalogue. The same type of card will cost $7.83 on DX for a Kingston* or $5.99 on ledshoppe for an unbranded model. So for a tenth of the price you can get the equivalent capacity! Despite their hideous countenances, these places are kosher and use tried and tested online transaction systems such as PayPal which gives a strong measure of security. The downside is you have to wait about 2 to 4 weeks for delivery (which is FREE) but then again it's not like there is any rush, right?

They sell other types of memory too, so take a look before you blow your cash at the checkout. Go forth and snap happily!

* Affiliate link. This means if you click on this link and buy an item within a certain amount of time, I get a small reward. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but if enough people do it it means I can save on some of the cost of maintaining this site. Which is nice.

Local Knowledge

The first rule of buying any commodity item from a television to a toaster is define your needs first, choose the source later. So many people get this backwards, it's not even funny. They see an item in a shop window and start rationalising why they should buy it right there and then. "Well, it has a great extended warranty option if something goes wrong." "I couldn't do better elsewhere." "Well, I wouldn't want to buy something like this off the internet, imagine the hassle of sending it back if there's a problem."

Oh dear. The shop window display is winning. The surge of adrenalin that comes from opening the wallet is flooding into the hapless punters brain and drowning out the voice of common sense.

Now that's to say that a high street shop can't be the right choice, the shop window could just as easily be a online shop. Cards on the table, I am a firm advocate of supporting local businesses and encouraging your local economy. But only when they deserve your business. And I will touch on this topic again in future posts.

To understand your needs better you need to consider the type of purchase you want to make. If you are buying something like a PC or television and a once-in-a-lifetime 5 year warranty is being offered for the low, low price of whatever you have to stop and think. These things depreciate. A standard PC now is going to be less powerful than a kids game console in 5 years time. A TV is going to be half the price with twice the features in 5 years time. Is it really worth spending that much more for peace of mind? The answer is usually no.

Another factor to be aware of is your perception of the seller. This could be from experience or brand reputation. If you get a good deal from a seller once, you may be tempted to think that other items they sell are also good deals. But quite often sellers use what are call loss leaders. These are items they sell at near cost to give the appearance of being good value, and indeed they are - for that item alone.

Returning faulty goods to online retailers? Yeah, I'll give you that one. I once sent a tv to france for repair and it cost €80 in shipping AND I had no tv for a month. But you know what? I'm not addicted to Eastenders, so I survived somehow. And I had €120 in savings to console myself with.

So if you're wondering where I'm going with this, or if this particular tale has a moral of some kind it's this: be prepared. Before you work yourself up into a wallet-busting frenzy, take a step back and have a look around. A good source of local information I use is the Bargain Alerts forum on boards.ie. You can see current alerts that others have posted, post requests in the sub-forum or chat and discuss experiences with sellers.

So, first post done :) More tomorrow

Please allow me to introduce myself... I'm a man of whelks and snakes

First of all I'd like to congratulate you on your fine choice of reading material. I hope that Smart Consumer will be a useful and entertaining guide to your hedonistic purchasing lifestyle. Secondly I'd like to mock you mercilessly for choosing to read this introduction which actually contains not one single hint, bargain alert, factoid or nugget of information that will enrich your wallet or fill your life with the gadgets, gizmos or tinkertoys you so richly deserve.

What this introduction does do however is tell you what you can expect from Smart Consumer. Starting with the obvious, it's going to tell you where you can sniff out the best value for a wide range of techie stuff like cameras, phones, PCs & accessories, home entertainment. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll throw in few left fielders like restaurant reviews or gardening tools. I'm Irish, and have been for many years, so there's going to be a decidedly Irish flavor to the whole thing. By which I don't mean spiced shamrock boiled in Guinness, rather the issues that surround Irish pricing on the high street as well as taxation on imports and shipping costs. I'll keep these separate to the main content so you can easily ignore them if you're not fortunate enough to live in Ireland. When it's sunny. Lastly, I'm going to try to post one entry a day for the next two months at which point my backlog will definitely be depleted and I'll be forced to do some novel research. (Argh! That sounds like work!)

So, thanks for reading the ramblings, now go and enjoy the show!

Slán go fóil!