by acdczone in Tips

Christmas shopping? – don’t get stuffed!

You may have noticed that here at ACDCzone we have a nifty tool that taps into Amazon with live pricing information. I have set this up so that the prices being tapped into are the lowest on offer at or through Amazon.

With Christmas shopping getting into full motion with today being Black Friday, we’d like to offer a few tips to get you shopping stealthy whilst keeping your pocketbook healthy.

Take the items on this page, which are also on the gifts page on this site. Although we are able to tap into live pricing and the lowest price available for a given ASIN, Amazon’s API doesn’t allow us to do this with the shipping portion of the cost. (It’s a shortcoming we are hoping to persuade Amazon to get to grips with in time for next year.) In some cases this can be as much, or even more than the price of the goods. So get shop-smart and always check out the shipping costs.

Shop around: Buying online was the cheapest, not to mention convenient, way to obtain goods. High Street stores are waging war on web store prices, so don’t assume that buying online will always be cheapest. Factor in the shipping costs also. Case in point; The other day I was walking through a WalMart store and picked up the AC/DC “live” at Donington DVD for $2.75! just because the top corner of the cardboard container was creased. I already have several copies, but I couldn’t resist! Reminder here that the thought definitely does not count when it comes to giving your wives or girlfriends downloaded rip-offs even it is written on 22-carat gold CD stock!

Beware of cheap imitations. There are some pretty cheap imitations out there and whilst not everything can be classed as being “Officially Licensed”, if the prices are similar, but one is fully licensed and the other is not – it’s a good idea to go with the fully licensed merch. If you are not sure of an item’s quality – check out some customer reviews if available. Licensed merchandise is sold through various outlets, for instance, the same calendar we show here, can also be found in the Official AC/DC store for $19.95! so beware.

Shopping online? Pay with Paypal or your credit card. This is a given. Most credit cards cover you against theft, fraud and other unsavory practices. If you can’t pay by credit card, get yourself a Paypal account. At least you can put in a dispute if the transaction goes south and know that the company you are purchasing goods from won’t get their hands on your card details – this is especially important if you don’t know the history of the merchant you are buying from.

So here it is:

rule #1: Check the shipping costs
rule #2: Shop around
rule #3: Buy Officially Licensed merch if available at a similar cost
rule #4: Pay with your credit card or with your Paypal account

Have a rocking shopping time!

If you have any tips to offer or have seen a bargain you want to pass on to fans or Christmas shoppers looking to buy gifts for that special DC fan - let us know with a comment below, or give us a shove with the feedback form above…