I have written a little about how I found Amazon deals groups, and other “deals” pages/groups/channels in other posts. However, I haven’t written much about how I go about determining a deal. My thinking and process for determining deals are important because this highlights part of why my Facebook deals page and blog are not like all of the other deals sites. Thus, I’m sharing a bit about my mental algorithm (subject to tweaking) that I use when I’m shopping for the best prices on items that I need (or want). In reflecting on my process, I categorized different levels of deals, Best Value, Great Sale Price, and Super Deals. I’ll describe each of these categories in detail below.
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How does Doc go about determining a deal?
Best Value
I think of purchasing an item that has the best value as more than only considering the price of the item. Determining the best value includes considering all the features of the item compared to similar products or offerings across retailers. I also consider how often the item will be used or enjoyed, and I compare the prices at similar stores. Sometimes the lowest price is not the best value as another retailer may offer free shipping, extended warranties, free returns, or extra accessories for a few dollars more (or the same price). I also consider if I can earn cashback on a credit card or through a click-through site. For example, when we purchased our ZGrills smoker, we purchased from the retailer that offered the best accessories. The smoker we purchased was offered for $649 at BJs, and it came with a cover. However, we could purchase the same smoker from ZGrills for $649 in a bundle that also came with a cover, thermal blanket, and some other accessories. I also found a coupon online that brought our total down to $629. All of the accessories increased the value of our purchase to about $949, but we did not spend that much money. To add value, the smoker would be used often to cook meals for our family. Doing so is especially useful in the summer months when we avoid heating up the kitchen because we are doing much of our cooking outdoors. This purchase is only one example of how I consider the “best value” rather than only the best price when deciding on what to purchase.
Great Sale Price
An item has a great sale price when it is marked down over 10% of its original price. These are the kinds of deals that I try to find when buying household staples that I can buy in bulk or stock up in my pantry. I usually find these deals at wholesale clubs like Costco, BJs, or Sam’s Club. Costco and BJs have trends in when certain items go on sale so I hardly ever pay full price for some products like dishwasher detergent, soap, and facial lotion. I just wait for the sale. Then I buy them. This requires me to have some space for storage as I usually stock up on a product before I have completely run out of it at home. Sometimes these sales are approaching a super deal, but they’re only 15% – 30% off. For example, we waited for a great sale price to purchase all of our Ninja appliances. Based on other sale trends, I could estimate when the appliances were going to be on sale at Costco or BJs. Then as soon as an appliance went on sale, we would buy it. For example, we paid $150 for our Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker/Combo Cooker and our Ninja Foodi Grill. At the time these were retailing for $189 at Costco and about $250 at department stores. While those weren’t super deals, we saved $100 off regular retail prices. Another recent example of this type of purchase was a folding wagon to carry groceries from the car. We live in an urban area, so we hardly ever find street parking right in front of our house. Having a wagon to reduce trips back and forth to the car is extremely valuable to us. Thus, I had been keeping an eye on different wagon prices. Most places wanted around $100 for one of these wagons, but I did not want to pay that much. At the beginning of the summer, Bed Bath and Beyond put a wagon on sale for $52.50, so we ordered it as it was offered at a much lower price than other retailers. It’s currently out of stock, but if it’s marked down even more now! I have countless examples of these types of purchases as great sale prices are easy to find with some price monitoring and pseudo-analysis.
Super Deals
Super deals are usually, at least, 50% off, and the lowest price across retailers and over time. If some “best value” features are included that makes the deal even sweeter. These deals are often clearance items that I have been waiting to go on sale. My friends often ask me to help them find these kinds of deals, and I have a reputation for finding super deals. Years ago, while I was in undergrad one of my friends referred to a great deal he found as a “Hummer of a deal,” named after yours truly! My most recent super deal was on a propane firepit. Most of these retail for over $200. However, I didn’t want to spend more than $50. Thus, I waited, and at the beginning of the summer, BJs marked down a $249.99 firepit to $49.98. Similar firepits usually retail for about $300 at other stores. I often find good deals on firepits, so be sure to subscribe to my blog and keep an eye out for my Amazing Deals.
Deciding on Deals to Post on Doc’s Deals
When I first started the page, in addition to posting financial tips and rewards apps, I wanted to focus mostly on posting super deals. At the time, I didn’t have enough followers to post affiliate links, so I would just share whatever deals I received via e-mails, text messages, or other means. Now that I can post some affiliate links, I try to find the best deals through retailers that I can earn from. However, if those retailers don’t have the best value or best price, I won’t share the deal, and I’ll share the retailer that has the best deal (even though I can’t earn from those postings). Unlike, other deals groups, who often post anything that’s on sale or marked down, I try to only post items that are truly the best price (or value). Doing so also keeps my posts a bit more focused and not as overwhelming. Some groups post hundreds of deals per day. That’s impossible to keep up with. I want my followers to be able to go back to my page to easily find a good deal on something they really need, and not have to sort through hundreds of items that they don’t need. Additionally, many of the sellers who give away codes, inflate the item price so that the discount code simply marks down the item to the actual value of the item. This isn’t the case with ALL of the Amazon deals, but one must be careful to not assume that something is a deal just because it’s marked down in price. Some department stores also inflate prices so that sales prices really only mean “regular price.” Kohl’s is notorious for that, but if you watch, you can get some phenomenal deals there too. Regardless of what other bloggers and sellers do, you can depend on me to only post deals that are actual deals (not inflated fake deals).
I also want to point out that I won’t be posting glitches or super fast deals. For one, I usually learn about those kinds of deals through the other deal groups, and I won’t steal their deals. Another reason I won’t share these types of deals is that they are challenging to get because they don’t last long (sometimes seconds). Also, glitches will often cancel (not always, but there’s a solid chance of cancellation). Since affiliate marketing isn’t my main gig, I’ll leave it to others to post glitches and speed deals. Also follow me on social media as I often review items that I’ve purchased.
Thanks for reading! To keep up with Doc and her financial tips, follow her on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. You can also find all of Doc’s favorite rewards apps and sites here (always a work in progress).