Editor’s note: My son is off to university in September and he needs a new laptop. Naturally, he want an Apple laptop and, being an Apple fan myself, I could not fault his preference. For the last week or so, I’ve been looking at way to save money when buying a laptop and it seems that now buying from an Apple shop is one adage that comes over and over again. We ended up buying through a site that offers an educational discount on Apple products but this may not be an option for you. So here is a post on how to save money when buying an iPad – the suggestions make sense for any electronic product. Hope you find it helpful and useful.
Tablets have more practical uses now than ever before. Still, the newest iPads every year can cost upwards of £1,000 at release, making them inaccessible and impractical for even some of the more affluent buyers. Don’t waste your money buying a brand-new iPad at the Apple store.
There are lots of easy ways to save on a new iPad that will do everything you need and more. And saving money doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get last year’s model, either. Check out our top five tricks to save money when buying an iPad and put those savings towards something else that counts.
Pay for Smaller Physical Storage and Use Cloud Solutions
It’s kind of amazing that big-name brands like Apple still boast about their devices’ storage capacities in an age where cloud storage offers far more convenient and user-friendly solutions to cataloguing your music, movies, and pictures.
In 2020, there’s really no good reason that you should ever need 64 gigabytes of storage on a mobile device, but Apple is happy to sell you an iPad equipped with as much as 128GB or even 256GB of internal storage.
Then, of course, they’ll have the gall to try to sell you a paid iCloud storage plan.
Skip the excessive storage drive and go with a 32GB or 64GB drive. If you don’t keep much on your phone in the way of photos or videos, even a 16GB device may meet your needs. You can keep most of your files in your iCloud storage or even another free cloud storage provider like Google Drive instead of buying an enormous hard drive that you’ll never fill up.
Learn What You Need in Advance
Before you go to the store to buy, make sure that you’re not paying for something with far more features than you’ll ever need.
For one thing, if you’re not ever going to use your iPad outside of the house, then you don’t need to buy an iPad that’s 4G LTE or 5G capable. Any iPad will do since they can all connect to your home wi-fi connection.
As discussed above, determine the storage capacity that you’ll need. If you don’t keep a lot of files on your mobile devices, save some money and get a smaller storage drive. However, if you download a lot of apps on a regular basis, then it’ll be important to have some extra storage space.
If you don’t download a lot of apps and you don’t keep a lot of files on your devices, you might not want to purchase the latest-and-greatest model iPad in the first place. Models that are a few years old can all browse the internet, handle your email, let you read books and watch YouTube videos, and make video calls over your wi-fi. If you don’t need more than the most basic functionality an iPad offers, don’t bother spending your money on a new model as soon as it comes out.
Find Off-Brand Alternatives
While you definitely want to get yourself an iPad, you don’t necessarily need all of your accessories to be Apple-branded. It’s generally a good idea to use the charger cable that comes with your iPad, but if you lose it or it becomes damaged, there are alternatives you can buy that are far cheaper than the brand-name replacements you’ll find at the Apple store.
Check out any electronics dealer or even the electronics section at your favourite big box retail store, and you’ll find tons of hardware made for Apple that comes at a much lower price. If you’re a little bewildered at all of the choices on the shelf, an associate at the store will be able to help you find something that’s affordable and reliable that works for your iPad.
Shopping for New vs. Used vs Refurbished Devices
Buying an iPad brand new is a little bit like taking a brand-new car off of the lot. It’s going to start losing its value practically the moment you walk out of the store. While these devices do maintain strong resale value, they’re always more expensive when you buy them brand new and still wrapped up in the plastic.
A used iPad is a great money-saving option, and you can usually find even the newest models listed for second-hand sale not long after they come out. However, a used device may have drawbacks like hidden damage or a voided warranty.
Many services will offer refurbished devices as a way to guarantee that you’re getting a product in good working order even though it’s used. Refurbished devices will be a little more expensive than used devices you find on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, but you know that you’re getting a device that works as intended.
Trade-In Your Old Devices
Before getting yourself that brand new iPad, consider trading in your old one. If this is going to be your first iPad, don’t worry. There are all kinds of things you can trade into an electronics dealer to make some money towards your new purchase.
Some places will pay you cash for old phones and other electronics like stereo equipment. Others will buy your old CDs, DVDs, and even video game systems. If you’ve got some junk electronics around the house that still work, try trading them in for cash or credit towards the purchase of your shiny new iPad.
Photo by Daniel Korpai on Unsplash