Did you ever notice how computer geeks always have the coolest gadgets, leading-edge electronics and mini data centers in their basements? Do you wonder where all that money comes from to buy that stuff? Well, they aren’t withdrawing their 401k funds to do it. They know where and how to shop. Learn how to shop and save like a geek. Clean your glasses, tie up your ponytail, groom your Van Dyke, turn on your digital voice recorder and slip on your ninja suit* for a trip into geekdom through this crash course: Geekonomics 101.
It might surprise you to know that geeks hit the big name computer brands first because they know that there are some nearly unbeatable deals lurking just beneath the home page. Geeks check out clearance items, special sales and refurbished units — that’s right, refurbished. Don’t be afraid of refurbished units because often refurbished means that someone opened the box and returned the unit without ever powering it on. The manufacturer can’t put it up for sale as new so it becomes part of the refurbished list. Even if refurbished literally means refurbished, you’ll still receive a full or near full warranty on the product at significant savings.
When you’re looking for those special deals, tune-in to the synonyms for inexpensive, such as refurbished, recertified, remanufactured, returned and “pulls.” Always look for exceptions, warranty information and language related to the sale for any non-new product. “All Sales Final” and “All returns subject to a 15% restocking fee” exist to protect the seller, and you should proceed with caution under these circumstances. Any vendor worth dealing with will honor returns on dead on arrival(DOA) devices, components and systems.
Some vendors prefer to work through online auction sites. Most of the time these vendors are reputable but you should check out their feedback and their overall ratings. Look for positive feedback above 95 percent and a seller status of “Power Seller” or similar.
When it comes to software, don’t fall for deals that you know are too good to be true. These so-called “gray market” deals put you at a great deal of financial risk. Gray market software is legitimate software sold to a company, licensed to that company and now resold without the original corresponding hardware. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software products fall into this gray market area. Computers shipped directly from manufacturers arrive pre-installed with an operating system and possibly other software. Software purchased for an existing system is “Retail.” While there’s generally no difference in the two products, their respective licensing is very different — an OEM license is attached to a specific piece of hardware and retail is attached to the consumer.
Deal with reputable online or local software vendors. Good deals are out there; great deals are out there. Unfortunately, illegal and unsavory deals are also out there. There’s plenty of free software available too: Linux, OpenOffice.org, GIMP, Evolution, KDE and GNOME. True geeks know that free software beats the alternatives at any price.
Every geek knows where to find hot deals on electronics and gadgetry. I’m not just referring to fancy phones and MP3 players when I say electronics and gadgetry, although you’ll find an abundance of those things on any good geek site. I’m talking about routers, switches, portable external hard drives, flash drives as well as the more esoteric devices such as GPSs, weather stations and game consoles.
A note of caution concerning electronics: Watch those shipping costs. Particularly on auction sites, shipping costs are a major source of problems for buyers. You bid on, and win, a refurbished router for $300 and the shipping and processing fees can cost you upward of $100. I’ve seen $25 items incur $50 shipping costs. Call or em-ail the vendor before purchasing. Geeks occasionally get taken by not reading the fine print in their excitement to land a deal.
Here’s what you’ve waited for — the “go to” places for geeks in search of techno-goodies. This list is by no means exhaustive but it’ll start you off in the right direction.
It’s a misconception that geeks have some sort of underground economy where the patrons speak in binary code or some TLA**-infested language that sounds like Klingon. In fact, just the opposite is true. Sure, geeks love their technobabble, but when it comes to the buying and selling of electronic gear, there is a universal tongue: Money. If you want to put your Geekonomics 101 course to practical use, the next time you’re in a super store, point to an item and say, “I can get that cheaper at ” and wait for the negotiations to begin.
Write back and tell me about your best geek deals and where to buy them.
* Real ninja suits don’t come in XXL and larger.
** TLA is a Three-Letter Acronym for Three Letter Acronym.
Article courtesy of Server Watch.
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on Datamation and our other data and technology-focused platforms.
Advertise with Us
Property of TechnologyAdvice.
© 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this
site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives
compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products
appear on this site including, for example, the order in which
they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies
or all types of products available in the marketplace.